![]() By Laurel Elders Technology. Technology! Technology!! Wow. Over centuries, humans have invented and implemented technologies to advance our comfort and safety. Fast-forward to today. Our inventions have surpassed many of our wildest dreams. But is it true advancement if we are shooting ourselves in the foot with new tech? Each year, we hear of another invention that just created five more problems. Then, we have to come up with five more solutions. Then, we deal with overly complex systems that cause more stress. The simplest example of this can be witnessed in the women's bathrooms in US airports and big box companies. Someone created an auto-flush toilet. So when you sit down, it flushes. If you move, it flushes. When you stand back up, it flushes. This invention is such a waste of water and energy. Not to mention, it is truly annoying to boot. One extreme form of this has shown up in our food. Decades ago, I was watching the national news. They polled Americans to see if they were okay with introducing genetically modified foods into their diet. 97% said no. The newscasters were floored. They said that typically, they see results like a 40/60 split or even closer to 50/50, but they had never seen so much consensus in all their years of polling. When the company responsible for spearheading "GMO," genetically modified organisms, got wind of this, they hid what they were doing and lobbied and won. GMOs do not have to be labeled. I had an opportunity to speak to a college student studying GMOs and planning to enter the field. He said it is not genetic engineering that is so bad. It is the lack of ethics from the money-hungry companies that want their way, even at the expense of others. For example, you buy that item if they took a gene from a shellfish or mushroom that increases the shelf-life of whatever they splice it with. You think you are buying... let's say, a typical apple because the apple isn't labeled. If you happen to be allergic to shellfish and they gene spliced it with shellfish without transparency, you would eat the apple. All of a sudden, you react as if you've eaten shellfish. They also genetically modified plants to resist RoundUp. So, a plant that would usually die could now withstand loads of RoundUp. This created three new massive problems:
We. Can. Do. Better. I reckon we've cultivated a society addicted to advancement, with an equal lack of wisdom around what true advancement should look like. After all, wouldn't true advancement mean we get to a finish line without shooting ourselves in the foot? We live in a world where we've allowed our technological addictions to grow faster than our collective emotional intelligence. When you live in a world that values linear progress over perspicacity, we accidentally limit the potential for real, authentic advancement. Consider this. The first scientists had a thirst for truth. The heart of the original scientists sought to discover the truth of what made up reality and how we could better understand that reality. Much of science now is bought out by a company that aims to make more money. Any incidental truths of how the invention might impact anything beyond the bottom line are often thrown out the window in the name of progress. Yet, it doesn't have to be this way. This linear thinking has led to limited thinking. Instead of companies asking, "What new tech can we invent to make more money?" they could ask, "What can we invent to make more money that will also leave a positive impact?" The bigger question lends to bigger success. Why are we settling for inventions that cause harm? Humans are definitely intelligent enough to create solutions that lend to success in ALL areas. The other consequence of the addiction to advancement is that instead of enjoying the fruits of invention, we envelop this "it is never enough" mentality. "Never enough" is a fast track to imbalance. Unfortunately, being that the human race has a global overpopulation, we now leave a large-scale impact and can do so rapidly. The good news is that with an Integratively Intelligent philosophy spearheading our technological advancement, we can use large-scale impact to rapidly reverse negative impact. When companies are driven by the pinnacles of true success (success in all areas), they will outshine other companies that don't care and are solely focused on monetary gain. Technology. Invention. Innovation. None of these are good or bad, right or wrong. It is how we relate to progress that needs to shift for the better. What common denominator is keeping us stuck in the linear limited obsession? Ignore-ance: Ignoring any impact before inventing leads to ignorance. Ignoring can also come from arrogance or a lack of caring. Why would someone who owns three houses care about the environment when they can sleep at night on the softest pillows and get a massage the next day? Ignoring also is fuel to obsession. Obsessing provides us with tunnel vision. The upside is we hyper-focus and can accomplish the linear task at hand. Consequently, we become blind to how we impact the strands of interconnection that exist all around us. A true sign of intelligence is to include the strands of interconnectivity already there. As the Native American Chief Seattle said, "Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves." We also have interconnectivity within us that is being ignored. This leads us to our next question. What are the consequences to us as human beings when we obsess with tech advancement in imbalanced ways? Externally focused attention distracts us, eclipsing personal potential. Self-actualization is reaching one's potential in a lifetime. As we look through the lens of integration, we see how reaching potential is a form of inner-innovation. I've come across speculations that we are de-evolving mentally due to our extreme external focus. We may have used skills like intuition that have been muted out because instead, we go to the phone. In our current tech-obsessed culture, going within is no longer our first response. Why not have both? Why not have the tech and develop our inner technology? The human being has fascinating amounts of untapped potential. Innovation versus Inner-innovation When our inner-innovation drives our external innovation, we will stop seeing massive consequences and start experiencing an equilibrium of true success. True success will never have a negative side effect attached. If there is a negative side effect, then that is not true success. It is time we look at technology and the heart of advancement through a more integratively informed lens. We are collectively intelligent enough to create technology for good. Technologies where we don't have to put the blinders of self-deception on to make the next buck. Technologies that don't overcomplicate the world. Instead, they simplify it and align with it. Technology done truly intelligently has the potential to elevate human potential exponentially.
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![]() By Laurel Elders I was fortunate enough to land a job "randomly" at a school for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC). I did not seek out this job. It somehow found me through a referral from a friend. That referral became an eight-year career shift into higher education and integrative medicine. My life's work is embedded in Integrative Intelligence. We define Integrative Intelligence as the wisdom that develops from understanding interconnectivity. TCM embraces this truth. Western medicine is allopathic and does not go there. Allopathy is the practice of treating a symptom by opposition. In other words, the symptom is stopped or hidden by the application of a drug or surgery designed to counter the symptom. I learned that allopathic medicine is brilliant in emergencies or anything that needs immediate attention. Thank God for Western medicine in these circumstances! However, because of the linear focus on stopping a symptom from externalizing, it falls short of healing the cause of the symptom. Those of you who know me well know I'm a natural-born skeptic. When I first started at the school, I believed that acupuncture couldn't be more than a placebo. But hey – if a placebo works, then by all means, bring it on! Over those eight years, I was exposed to people healing themselves by "alternative" means, pathways to healing that defy logic, and integratively intelligent practitioners who saw the interconnected nature of physical health. My awareness of cause and effect deepened. I learned that Western medicine and thought have their place, but they are linear and naturally yield substantial limitations. The body is designed to self-correct. We see this at the most basic level of getting a paper cut, a scab forms, and the skin repairs itself. It does all of this without our intervention. The body is designed to issue warning signs of the two primary causes of injury or disease: constriction and imbalance. We experience aches or pains alerting us that something is off. If your heart clogs from the combination of inflammation and cholesterol that constricts blood flow, the outcome is a heart attack. If you trip and twist your ankle, the ligaments experience Hyperextension or tear, which creates a significant imbalance, aka injury. One day, I hurt my shoulder. After a week of suffering and not being able to do yoga or climb, I asked one of the Tuina bodywork experts at the school to take a look. He did a two-minute examination and said something to the effect of, "I can fix this. I can fix it quickly, and it will hurt. Or, I can be gentle and fix it over the next two weeks for you. What do you prefer?" That was a response I was not accustomed to. I said, "Let's fix it quickly so I can return to normal life." He nodded his head. Over about a five-minute – very painful timespan - he twisted here, pulled there, placed a few acupuncture needles, and said, "Ok, you are all set. You will be sore for two days, that will dissipate, and you will be back to normal." My recovery happened precisely as he outlined. I was sore for two days and then good to go, yoga handstands, rock climbing, chasing children around and all. It turns out that the medicine with the ancient lineage, aware of the interconnected nature of the human body, has a solid capacity to heal ailments at the root. Why is it so effective? How?? My inner skeptic had to know. I joined a talk by a Tuina practitioner who apprenticed under a world-renowned master to learn more. He shared that the roots of this medicine go back thousands of years. Back then, they didn't have emergency medicine. People in China worked in fields or on farms. If there was an injury and you didn't correct it immediately, you didn't eat. They culturally tapped into healing as a necessity for surviving and thriving. During those eight years, I've had my own healing experiences. When I was 15, I was thrown from a truck that was going 80 MPR on the freeway from Tucson to Phoenix. The ER doctor told me that 99% of people who survive such a crash are paralyzed or permanently handicapped. I beat those odds, but in my twenties, I developed chronic back pain. Based on the accident's severity, my primary care doctor delivered the bad news that I could expect to experience a bleak future, living with chronic back/neck pain and developing arthritis. I then discovered yoga. I began to stretch and strengthen. Yoga corrects both constriction and imbalances. My pain completely disappeared, only to return if I missed a week of yoga. That is when I realized I played a crucial role in my health. This example is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the human body's capacity to heal itself. I spoke to many people who cured cancer from nutrition and energy work. I talked to people who walked in with "incurable pain" and walked out with complete relief (no drugs were issued). I spoke to people who experienced emotional, spiritual, and psychological healing. All first-hand experiences of everyday miracles that never made the news…. Why? There is no money in healing. ![]() By Laurel Elders In part one, we explored the possibilities that surround us and that are within us. In part two, we are expanding upon the truth that possibilities within us in a new light. "I'm going to speak up," I said. "I don't think you should. These things get sticky quickly, and I don't want to experience recoil. Even though you are right, the situation is horrible, it can come back to bite you." I listened to my colleague and ruminated on her words. I was working in a company with a "good 'ol boy" mentality in the leadership. One of the three leaders abused his power by threatening people behind closed doors and manipulating votes to his favor, etc. I had enough. Something inside of me wouldn't allow me to look the other way. Something inside me wouldn't let me sleep at night, knowing that people were dealing with the emotional abuse this leader was resorting to. Something inside me also knew I would be speaking to brick walls if I spoke up. I took matters into my own hands. I took action in another way. I sent a company survey out to all the stakeholders and gathered anonymous feedback on what people were experiencing. The feedback was so strong and detailed that this leader was eventually let go. My point in sharing this story is that just like we have virtues within, we also carry with us core values. In this circumstance, I tapped into the virtues of courage and protection. What prompted me to do something and not look the other way? My deep-seated values for respect, equity, and truth. What is fascinating about being human is that we can go our entire lives without knowing these parts of ourselves. Virtues and values can be untapped potentials waiting to be activated. Virtues we choose. Values are reflected in our behaviors and reactions. Values become evident when we excavate them by expanding our self-awareness. It makes sense to me that we don't know them. The majority of us do not live in cultures that invite self-awareness, self-actualization, or to expand our personal intelligence. In my coaching practice of almost 20 years, I've noticed that the majority of my coaching clients come to the work without knowing their core values. After a value sorting exercise, this self-knowledge illuminates their life. Their reactions that didn't previously make sense now make perfect sense. Everyone thought I was crazy for going up against the "good 'ol boys" club, but I couldn't do it any other way. Oh, and my boss fired me for the survey results. When the results went beyond my boss to the company owner, I was hired back, given a promotion, and the leader most at fault was finally let go after three years. While getting fired for doing the right thing was daunting, I could sleep at night feeling right within myself. Our values are our internal compass that tells us when we are in and out of alignment with them. In that drastic circumstance, I felt compelled. That wasn't always the case for me. There are more times than I'd like to admit when I've chosen to go against my values and felt it. Have you had those moments? Where you know what is right for you to do is, and you justify doing the opposite and then later scratch your head? The Aribinger Institute teaches a powerful lesson about justification in their book The Anatomy of Peace. They highlight how, in carpentry, we only need to justify something if it is crooked and out of alignment. So, when we take our truth and twist it into a justification, we get out of alignment with ourselves. This is called self-deception. Self-deception occurs when the ego steps in to justify the fear or objection we have. To the ego, success is scary, doing the right thing is scary, and living aligned with our highest self feels untrustworthy. As we integrate and grow in our Integrative Intelligence, we see that our core values are the truth of our highest self. They carry the essence of who we truly are at our core and what we are made of. They are both the lantern to our path through life, and yet they are also the path. The good news is that we all embody different core values, and thank goodness for this! If we all valued justice higher than anything else, we may all be lawyers. If we all valued helping others, we may all be doctors or nurses. The diversity within us has the capacity to balance our communities. We each have a place. A purpose. A patch of grass for us to tend to in our life. If you do not know this part of yourself deeply, I invite you to take the sacred journey within yourself. What values are at your core? What do they have to teach you about your potential and your truth? ![]() By Laurel Elders I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons where the main character would inevitably come to a crossroads. They have to make a choice. Do I do the "right" thing and consider others? Or do I do the "wrong" thing and hurt others for my own gain? An angel would magically appear above one shoulder and a devil upon the other. They would then argue back and forth and try to get the main character to abide. It has been said that every human is capable of either vice or virtue. We get to choose. Today, we are exploring the precipice of human vice and human virtue through the lens of Integrative Intelligence. I define Integrative Intelligence as the wisdom that develops from understanding interconnectivity. Before we dive in, I wanted to share with you a fun fact. Get this! We don't create possibilities. We also can't create them. Why? They already exist. They surround us 365 days a year, 24/7. While we may not create possibilities, we do create probability, and by expanding our probability, we create access points to opportunity. A prime example is if I show up to work with a chip on my shoulder. I am short with my colleagues. I don't engage much. I avoid new projects. I'm not all that pleasant to work with or be around. What is the probability I'll get the upcoming promotion? I think we can all agree that the probability is relatively small. Yet, what happens if I get coached? What if I begin to dispel the chip on my shoulder? What if I'm now showing up more open, talkative, and supportive? What if I contribute my creative ideas freely now? And what if I'm now much more pleasant to be around? With this shift, what is the new probability I'll get the promotion? I may or may not get it, but I've increased my access to the possibility by opening up an opportunity for myself. Possibilities abound! The question is, do we have access to them? Just like possibilities exist around us, possibilities also exist within us. Unlike external possibilities, where we have to increase our probability to gain access to them, the internal possibilities can be activated anytime we need them. Internal possibilities ignite the expansion of probability. Let's reference the example above. To address the chip on my shoulder, I had to choose to activate the human virtues of self-acceptance, appreciation, and grace. Once I activated those within me to address and resolve my "chip," this naturally increased my probability. Activating the possibilities within us gives us greater access to the possibilities surrounding us. So you may be wondering. What are these human virtues? What possibilities exist within me? The list below is just a snapshot of the possibilities that exist within each human being. You may also be wondering… if all of these possibilities exist within each human being, why don't we all act like it? Why does evil exist?
There is one answer to these very historical questions. The answer is simple—the implication is complex. The human ego shrouds the human heart. The ego is bound by hyper-external focus. Its projections are all in the name of our self-protection. It creates defenses, reacts to fears, and cultivates stories that become the walls encasing our hearts. Human virtue we only see once we are free. Now that you are aware of the potent interconnectivity surrounding you and the inner-connectivity within you, what will you choose to activate? Speeding up is the ego's solution. Worrying is the ego's pollution. By slowing down, we begin to ground. Looking into the heart, there is wisdom to be found.. |
DISCLAIMER:
The articles provided here on Integrative Intelligence do not capture, nor claim to capture, the full breadth of human dynamics. These articles offer a glimpse into new possibilities when we become more integratively aware and develop our scope of wisdom through a more interconnected lens. There are many facets to a single prism. These are but a few facets to help inspire a deeper and broader exploration. ARCHIVES:
July 2024
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