Hi Marc, thanks for reading and for your kind comment. I agree, what is important is what’s now and what’s next. In some ways, I wrote the piece in order to let go of the (perceived) past and focus on emergent endeavors. This forum (Infinite Conversations) and the co-operative collective we are co-creating here (Cosmos) are among those things I’ve moved onto.
I observe that there are a number of different integralish or downright Integral projects and communities sprouting (& growing) up all over the world—much like you describe Circling being discovered approximately independently and simultaneously by different small groups or individuals. One possible integral view would be to see these manifestations as expressions of a common field, which we could roughly call ‘integral consciousness’—albeit things are not always what they seem.
Integral Theory describes this field—but the point is to enact it; so that is what we are trying to do here, with a particular (though not exclusive) focus on creativity, literature, and the arts—but also a deep concern for our social, economic, and technological designs; thus a participatory, cooperative enterprise. This is a Big Experiment, too.
I have not directly participated in Circling or Authentic Relating exercises—I have heard mostly good things. We did host a dialogue, a few months back, on an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson called “The Circle,” which might be a fun alternate, out-of-left-field (or at least, out of the 19th century) take on the underlying form. Emerson was in many ways an Integral philosopher, another giant (like Auribindo, Gebser, Steiner, and a few others…) in the tradition that Wilber comes out of.
In any event, it’s good to connect…and perhaps, connect the dots between our various integralish endeavors, and salvage whatever pieces we can from the mixed results of early exuberant experiments, and, with a song growing in the cracks of our hearts, move on.