Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber, one of the most comprehensive contemporary philosophers of our time, is the inventor and proponent of "Integral Theory", a synthesis derived from a personal comprehensive knowledge of Psychology, philosophy, and both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. He is an active meditator who has shown the ability to conceptually bridge both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions in his work, having books which range across entire fields of knowledge, from quantum physics http://ecee.colorado.edu/~ecen3070/Wilber1105.htm to developmental psychology and the history of religion. http://www.sunypress.edu/p-3798-ken-wilber.aspx He is knowledgeable of the world's mystical traditions, such as Mahayana Buddhism, Vedantic Hinduism, Sufism and Christian contemplation. Levels of consciousness and awareness are frequent topics in his books, where he ascribes existence to multiple levels, or quadrants, relating to interior, exterior, individual and collective states of being. He argues for evolution of conscious that cultivates awareness of an individual's being at all levels.

Recommended starter books:

• 1996: A Brief History of Everything, 2nd ed. 2001
• 1998: The Essential Ken Wilber: An Introductory Reader
• Other published works:
• 1977: The Spectrum of Consciousness - A book that offered a synthesis of psychological knowledge from both Eastern and Western traditions. Wilber is not a formally trained psychologist. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/CogSci/Walsh_on_Wilber_95.html
• 1979: No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth, 1981 reprint
• 1980: The Atman Project: A Transpersonal View of Human Development - This text covers the integration of theories of development from infancy to adulthood, from the point of view of both East and West. The upper realm of development is described which results from the practice of various contemplative practices. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/CogSci/Walsh_on_Wilber_95.html
• 1981: Up from Eden: A Transpersonal View of Human Evolution
• 1983: A Sociable God: A Brief Introduction to a Transcendental Sociology, 2005 - subtitled Toward a New Understanding of Religion
• 1984: Eye to Eye: The Quest for the New Paradigm, 1984, 3rd rev. ed. 2001
• 1984: Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists (ed.)
• 1986: Transformations of Consciousness: Conventional and Contemplative Perspectives on Development (co-authored with: Jack Engler, Daniel Brown)
• 1987: Spiritual Choices: The Problem of Recognizing Authentic Paths to Inner Transformation (co-authored with Dick Anthony, Bruce Ecker)
• 1991: Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life of Treya Killam Wilber
• 1995: Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, 2nd rev. 2001 - This work covers evolution of these factors within the paradigm of perennial philosophy, the basis of wisdom traditions of great religions. The material is grounded by recent research in many scientific fields and it is far-reaching in its treatment of topics and the introduction of new ideas. It is said that the vision and breadth of Wilber's work in this book has only been rivaled in the past by the work of Hegel and Aurobindo. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/CogSci/Walsh_on_Wilber_95.html
• 1997: The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad, 3rd ed. 2001
• 1998: The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion
• 1999: One Taste: The Journals of Ken Wilber, rev. ed. 2000
• 2000: Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy
• 2000: A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality
• '2002:' Boomeritis: A Novel That Will Set You Free
• 2004: The Simple Feeling of Being: Visionary, Spiritual, and Poetic Writings
• '2005:' The Integral Operating System
• 2006: Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World
• 2007: The Integral Vision: A Very Short Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything
• 2008: Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening
• 2008: The Pocket Ken Wilber

"It is often said that in today's modern and postmodern world that the forces of darkness are upon us. But I think not; in the Dark and the Deep there are truths that can always heal. It is not the forces of darkness but of shallowness that everywhere threaten the true, and the good, and the beautiful, and that ironically announce themselves as deep and profound. It is an exuberant and fearless shallowness that everywhere is the modern danger, the modern threat, and that everywhere nonetheless calls to us as savior." From: Sex, Ecology,Spirituality

• "In Democracy, man exploits man; in Communism, it's the other way round." From: Up From Eden

• "Raindrops are beating, a large puddle is forming, there on the balcony. It all floats in Emptiness, in purest Transparency, with no one here to watch it. If there is an I, it is all that is arising, right now and right now and right now. My lungs are the sky; those mountains are my teeth; the clouds are my skin; the thunder is my heart beating time to the timeless; the rain itself, the tears of our collective estate, here where nothing is really happening." From: One Taste

• "Human beings have a variety of intelligences, such as cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, musical intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, and so on. Most people excel in one or two of those, but do poorly in the others. This is not necessarily or even usually a bad thing; part of Integral wisdom is finding where one excels and thus where one can best offer the world one’s deepest gifts." From: AQAL Journal, pp. 8-9, Vol. 1, No. 1

• "And whatever the form of your own resurrection, you will arise, driven not by the Great Search, but by your own Great Duty, your limitless Dharma, the manifestation of your own highest potentials, and the world will begin to change because of you. And you will never flinch, and you will never fail in that great Duty, and you will never turn away, because simple, ever-present awareness will be with you now and forever, even unto the end of the worlds, because now and forever and endlessly forever, there is only Spirit, only intrinsic awareness of just this, and nothing more." From: The Eye of Spirit : An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad,