Our greatest error could be to take seriously the  pessimistic temper of  our times, and to give in to the fear and cynicism that  pervade the media.  For then we will come to believe something really  catastrophic: "Things are  bad and getting worse, and nothing can be done about it." 

As sociologist Fred Polak showed in his study of 1,500 years of European history, "The Image of the Future," if a whole culture holds a very pessimistic image of the future, that image will be a self-fulfilling prophesy. The actual predictions about decline don't have to be right or to come true: The pathalogical behaviors released may be quite > sufficient to bring about decline. It's a disease of belief. And the contrary is also  true. When a culture holds positive images about the future, they may not be right, but investment in new opportunities, and  willingness to build a  good society, are sufficient to make a decent way of life,  if not the best of all worlds."

Paul Ray

The Rise of the Integral Culture

CREATIVITY, YES; ANTI-SCIENCE, NO

Discussion of a U.S. Case Study on "Cultural Creatives,"

conducted by Paul Ray of American Lives, Inc. in 1995.


The survey, entitled "The Great Divide: Prospects for an Integral Culture" (which I have seen, but was unable to obtain) shows a long list of attributes shared by "Cultural Creatives" (persons concerned with our unsustainable life style, and actively working to change it), all of which I share, except for two of them: belief in the paranormal, and the rejection of mainstream science. -- In fact, I believe that these two attributes constitute grave obstacles on the way to our goal.

Paul Ray differentiates this "core group" of Cultural Creatives (about 10% of the American adult population) from a surrounding group of persons with similar ecological and social concerns, but less concern with spiritual or psychological growth. The latter group, which he calls "green cultural creatives," comprises 13%, so that approximately 23-24% (or 44 million) adults show active concern for our biosphere and our future.

The nature of this "spiritual and psychological growth" which divides these two groups is described throughout the "New Age" literature. Duane Elgin's "Global Consciousness Change," 1997 (p. 15, "Experiental Spirituality and a New Consciousness") condenses and measures its core assumptions. (Reference on p. 23.)

"The percentage of the U.S. population who believe in telepathy (communication by means other than the five sense) grew from 37 percent in 1949 to 56 percent in 1996. This trend is persistent with a reflective/living-systems perspective, which views consciousness as a life force that can extend beyond the body."

I am strongly convinced that neither a reflective/living systems perspective nor cultural creativity demand any of such beliefs. Rather, the more we reflect, and the deeper we think (provided an adequate reservoir of knowledge is available to us) the more we recognize these assumptions as ties and shackles which bind us to ancient magic and mythical conceptions of reality. Such conceptions do not liberate, they inhibit and prevent the creativity we need to overcome the true dangers that confront us.

Paul Ray, however, who admits that "periods of transition are inherently uncertain," and that "on the crest of a "Great Divide," history may slide either way," sees hope in the anti-scientific and anti-rational trends that appear to be inseparable from the search for greater simplicity, more satisfying human relationships, and deeper meaning in life.

Our future depends, I believe, on our ability to untangle the latter strongly desirable goals from belief systems that would prevent their achievement.

In summary: Ray's survey found the existence of three worldviews or cultures: traditional, modern, and transmodern. Continuing adherence to the former two is unsustainable. The "Integral Culture" of his title refers to the last one -- which could be our salvation if the critical, error-correcting attitude of science were included. -- It would add power and potency to the major aims of the new movement (all of which I share): concern and responsibility for our planet and all its inhabitants, concern and responsibility for our descendants, awareness of the interrelationship of all living and non-living systems, and most of all the development of a positive and creative mindset in the face of reality's problems and perils.

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Dr. P.H.Ray, executive vice-president of American LIVES Inc., specializes in research and analysis of values and lifestyles as a cultural phenomenon. -- The present discussion is based on two of his publications (listed on p.24).