Recovery from Addiction: Body, Mind, & Spirit
Leave a commentFebruary 15, 2013 by Dr. Bob Weathers
My selected website this week is: http://www.integralrecovery.com/.
My interest in this site has to do with my long-term interest in the work of spiritual philosopher, Ken Wilber. Wilber has, over the past few decades, published numerous books addressing what has come to be known as Integral Theory. Wilber’s view is comprehensive, ranging across disciplines such as psychology and spirituality, in particular; but also to include sociology, cultural anthropology, and contemporary science. He is my favorite writer, period.
So it is with special interest that I discovered the above site, which brings together Wilber’s Integral Theory with my current passion in terms of both professional and personal endeavor, recovery from addiction from a body-mind-spirit (holistic) perspective.
In a nutshell — what I know by heart — is that Wilber’s Integral Theory achieves a powerful and compelling integration of multiple perspectives on our lives and the world we live in. Specifically, you can examine your own life from both an empirical (scientific) vantage as well as from an inner (experiential) angle. As if that weren’t enough: it’s also possible to take each of the previous and explore them from within more individualistic (I, me, mine) perspectives, as well as from a broader, collective standpoint (as in sociology or cultural anthropology).
Finally, the plot thickens significantly once we realize that we can examine the complexity within each of four quadrants (drawn from the above distinctions) by applying biological, psychological, cultural, and spiritual means of understanding the integral body-mind-spirit (inextricably holistic) nature of the created order.
The potential applications to the treatment of addictions has already been on my mind for some time, and I can only say how thrilled I am to see a well-formed articulation of Integral Theory-meets-recovery is now coming to public light.
Encouraging news right away is that a brand-new book is coming out this May (2013), the first to draw applications from Wilber and his adherents to the field of recovery and addiction. (See the site for further details.) You can bet I’ve already placed my pre-order!
As for the site itself, there are abundant resources available both for professionals and laypersons. Audio and video lectures and interviews, written essays, meditation programs: just for starters. Plus I very much like the links (with related video material) to my personal favorite Buddhist recovery program (which I attend weekly), “Dharma Punx” (see AgainsttheStream.org).
Highly recommended!
Dr. Bob Weathers 