What is Integral Deep Listening?
Integral Deep Listening (IDL) is a unique system of self-directed healing, balancing, and transformation that has evolved from 40 years of psychotherapy and personal exploration.
IDL is multi-perspectival. It introduces you to multiple emerging potentials that are innate and unique to yourself that function like the pattern of an oak in an acorn to direct your life toward its fullest expression. I have posted a series of essays on multi-perspectivalism in the “essays” section.
IDL is deep listening. IDL involves learning to listen to others, nature, and yourself at a depth that involves empathic mergence, unification, and transmutation.
IDL is phenomenalistic, meaning that it lays aside as many scripted cultural assumptions and mental-emotional framings as possible in order to listen and hear in a deep and profound way.
IDL is experiential, meaning that it is a yoga and integral life practice to be lived rather than another form of philosophy, idealism, or cognitive multi-perspectivalism.
IDL is transformative. It is for those who want to take their current level of life equilibrium to the next level of homeostasis. This is in contradistinction to the impulse to race ahead in this or that developmental line or mystical skill set, because to do so is to lose balance by running away from an authentic polycentric identity, which is both here and nowhere. In addition to naming meditation and pranayama, IDL uses dreams and current life issues in a dynamic system of interactive reinterpretation to reconnect you to your unique pathway of healing, balance and transformation.
IDL effectively addresses multiple serious life issues. Much more than an integral life practice to further personal lucidity and enlightenment, IDL has been successfully used to treat nightmares, anxiety disorders, phobias, depression, physical illnesses, personal problems, relationship issues, and many other physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual challenges. If you are a person who is looking for tools to heal stubborn problems — or just want to radically improve your life — and would like to tap the innate wisdom of life to do so, IDL is worth your careful consideration.
IDL balances self-development and the collective good. While the flaw of Western psychology has been to dismiss transpersonal states while focusing on individualism and self-development, the flaw of both Eastern mystical traditions and spirituality in general has been to ignore or minimize the built-in and culturally-derived barriers to finding and living out our collective good. These include the dogma of karma and the focus on individual enlightenment at the expense of collective social-cultural advancement. For IDL, collective awakening and advancement is more important than enlightenment, because many people experience enlightenment without authenticity, balance, or a commitment to service to others. Coaches, Practitioners, and Trainers of IDL who routinely take the perspectives both of others and interviewed emerging potentials tend to move beyond a worldcentric to a polycentric and multi-perspectival clarity, peace, and an empathetic global embrace, regardless of their age, health, status, wealth, or talents.
IDL focuses on empowerment. Rather than imposing generic, external, one-size-fits-all philosophies and practices, IDL teaches children and adults to access and listen to their emerging potentials and to align themselves with their own unique life compass. Specifically, IDL teaches a series of skills that deconstruct cultural and mental-emotional scripting while strengthening access to emerging potentials, clarity, respect, reciprocity, trustworthiness, empathy, and inner peace.
IDL emphasizes access to your own unique life compass. Rather than imposing generic, external, one-size-fits-all philosophies and practices, IDL teaches both children and adults to access and listen to their unique life compass. Specifically, IDL teaches a series of skills that deconstruct cultural and mental-emotional scripting, drama, and cognitive distortions while strengthening access to emerging potentials, clarity, empathy, and inner peace. In addition to naming meditation and pranayama, IDL uses dreams and current life issues in a dynamic system of interactive reinterpretation to reconnect you to your unique pathway of healing, balance and transformation.
For more information about Integral Salons and the Coaching, Practitioner, and Trainer IDL Certification tracks, email Joseph.Dillard@gmail.com.
