Embodying Integral Development

In this fourth and final volume of the CARE-ing for Integral Development series, Ronnie Lessem integrates all that has come before in terms of: Community activation; Awakening integral consciousness; and institutionalized Research. Here he focuses on individual and community development alongside that of the organization or society, and sets it in the context of an integral economy. The four critical success factors identified in recognizing and releasing integral development aligned with CARE are: GROUNDING – linking up with and building upon existing local and global movements for socio-economic development; EMERGENCE – maintaining interconnected focus; NAVIGATING – locating and developing GENE-ius in a particular community/society; EFFECTING – committing to resolving an issue and identifying the most fertile development path. Embodying Integral Development offers a comprehensive system of accreditation. Supported by examples and illustrations of CARE, this book makes a case for Integral Development as a whole. It argues that it is a qualitative means of self-assessment rather than a quantitative one, focused on engagement, immersion and interpretation, as well as evaluation, rather than empirical verification.

Chapter 10: Emerging: organizational learning and development -- Introduction: grounding individual, enterprise and societal renewal -- MedLabs: an unfolding enterprise story, by Manar Al Nimer -- MedLabs as a developing organization -- Conclusion: pioneering, differentiation and integration -- References -- Chapter 11: Effecting: embodying inter-institutional genealogy -- Introduction: institutionalize development -- Start CSAL with nature and community -- Local-global museum as sanctuary -- Towards a research academy -- Genealogical laboratory -- Conclusion: nature reserve, museum, university, laboratory -- References -- Chapter 12: Navigating: integral society -- Introduction: European Community -- The identity of Slovenia: European sanctuary -- Social science and technology: an emerging research university -- Conclusion: towards an integral economic laboratory -- References -- Epilogue: CARE-ful self-assessment -- ReLational Communal activation GENE -- ReLational Awakening of integral consciousness GENE -- ReLationally innovation driven institutionalized Research GENE -- ReLational Embodiment of integral development GENE -- ReNewing Communal activation GENE -- ReNewed Awakening of integral consciousness GENE -- ReNewed Embodiment of integral development GENE -- ReNewed innovation driven institutionalized Research GENE -- ReaSoned realization of Communal activation GENE -- ReaSoned realization of Awakened integral consciousness GENE -- ReaSoned realization of Innovation driven Research GENE -- ReaSoned Embodiment of integral development GENE -- Index

This is the third volume in the CARE-ing for Integral Development series. It continues to build on the previous two works, Community Activation and Awakening Integral Consciousness, as well as preceding the fourth and final book, Embodying Integral Development. This book serves as a follow-up to the author's approach to integral research and development, economics and enterprise, contained within the Innovation and Transformation series, and as a focus for how put all of this "CARE-fully" to work. This third volume, in the CARE quartet is perhaps the most crucial one, building on the organizational systems (see Awakening Integral Consciousness) that came before and turning from trans-cultural and transformational to trans-disciplinary, from integral reality and integral rhythm to integral realms, with a view ultimately to transpersonal, integral rounds. The author turns his attention to research and innovation, and then focuses in on enterprise and economics, management and leadership. As such, he introduces his Inter-Institutional Genealogy in place of an "integral", yet still inhibiting, university. In the process this book paves the way for a new kind of institutionalized, innovation driven social research, which, while rooted in a particular place, speaks to the world as a whole. Moreover, such a research-and-innovation institution has a fundamental role to play in the evolution of a specific community, building on what has come CARE-wise before.

Alexander Schieffer and Ronnie Lessem introduce a groundbreaking development framework and process to address the most burning issues that humanity faces. While conventional top-down, outside-in development has reached a cul-de-sac, a new, integral form of development is emerging around the world. Integral Development uniquely articulates this emergent approach, and invites us to fully participate in this process. The integral approach has been researched and framed over decades of in-depth experience in transformative development education and practice all over the world. It uniquely combines four mutually reinforcing perspectives: nature and community; culture and spirituality; science, systems and technology; and enterprise and economics. Conventional development theory and practice has prioritized the latter two perspectives, neglecting the former two. This has caused massive imbalances in today’s world. The four interconnected perspectives allow for a transformative and integrated engagement with core development issues in a way that is locally relevant and globally resonant. Throughout, the practical impact of Integral Development is brought to life through highly innovative cases from around the globe, drawing on the authors` first-hand experience. This makes the book a living demonstration of the power of this pioneering approach. Integral Development shows how individual, organizational and societal developments need to be interconnected to release a society’s full potential. It shifts the responsibility for large-scale development from often-distant experts and organizations to each individual, community, enterprise and institution within the society. It is essential reading - and a call to action - for everyone concerned with the current state of local and global development.

As mass global and social media communications spread across the globe, we are seeing a need for a change in the way we approach issues of political and economic development. The effects of these growing communications are that, on the one hand, we see the significance of place rising, while on the other, marginalized people clamour to be heard and identities become increasingly threatened. We are quickly realizing that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach is not going to work. Despite more than half a century of attempts to address issues of development, we have seen fairly bleak results. In fact, the rising of economic stars, such as Japan and the Pacific Tigers hitherto, and China and India of late, have little to do with such programs of development or cultural studies, notwithstanding their accomplishment. Typically, such successes have developed top-down, with theories born and bred in the ‘West’ affecting,or maligning, practices in the ‘rest’. The approach taken in this book looks at these developments by turning them on their head: instead, starting bottom-up with an emphasis on what the author terms ‘community activation’. With a selection of case studies, this volume looks at where community activation can be found and explores how it could evolve and be of use in developing societies at large. In the process, he addresses such topics as how to embed development in a particular society, how to generate social and economic solidarity, and how to generate wealth from pre-industrial and post-industrial networks. This book provides a guide for readers on how to build community within their organization-and-society from the ground up.

The idea of Self and the authenticity of particular identities have been rapidly dissolving in the acids of post-modern globalising capitalism. The hegemony of patterns of work, wage-labor and the operation of labour markets in the American West (and European North) has ridden rough-shod over distinctive ways of enabling communities to flourish in many parts of the Southern and Eastern worlds (Global South). But, this is not inevitable. Indeed, as this book indicates, there are many practical examples across the globe – that connect with some of the most significant theoretical challenges to the operation of dehumanising work – which reveal that a profound reversal is taking place. As such, the core theme of this book is to show that a movement is occurring whereby self-employment can be transformed into communal work that employs the Self in ways that release the authentic vocations of people, individually and collectively. The approach taken in these chapters traverses the globe, utilising the original ‘integral worlds’ model that will be familiar to students of the Trans4M/Routledge Transformation and Innovation series, developed over more than a decade. Such a standpoint points the way to the release of particular social and economic cultures in each of what we term the four "realities" or "worldviews" of South, East, North and Western worlds. In this book we use the methodology of GENEalogy – identifying the realms associated with each world – to show how the rhythms, that is Grounding, Emergence, Navigation and Effect, of each is leading to greater economic, social and spiritual freedom for individuals, organisations, communities and, indeed, entire societies.

There are many misconceptions and concerns regarding Islamic societies and how Muslim countries have failed to come up with their own localised solutions to socio-economic problems in dealing with poverty alleviation and societal development. This book explores why there is so much disconnect between spirituality and enterprise development in the world today, and how a part of the Islamic world, in fact located in Pakistan, can be part of the solution rather than being central to the problem. This book builds upon Ronnie Lessem and Alexander Schieffer’s theory of ‘integral dynamics’ which works through a fourfold rhythm of the GENE. Set against a mono-cultural perspective, the authors highlight the ever-increasing and deepening divide between Western and Islamic cultures. Through the course of the book, the authors use the transformational GENE (Grounding, Emergence, Navigation, Effect) rhythm developed by Lessem and Schieffer to take readers through the 4C (Call, Context, Co-creation and Contribution) process, articulated to CAREing-4-Society. They ground their call in Akhuwat’s community of Akhuwateers (donors, beneficiaries, borrowers, volunteers and replicators), to explore alternative models of spiritually based finance through an emerging SOUL-idarity paradigm. Furthermore, through these models and Akhuwat’s CARE (Community, Awareness, Research, Embodiment) process, they put forward that encouraging community activism, raising awareness around Islamic practices of Qard-e-Hasan, institutionalising their innovative research, and finally transforming and educating the community, will provide an alternative to microfinance for poverty alleviation. Showcasing an unconventional spiritual-financial solution, deeply immersed in spirituality and infused with local moral values and traditions, this book demonstrates how poverty can be alleviated in countries around the world, specifically, in developing Muslim countries.

This book depicts the role of both formal and informal institutions in achieving long-term economic efficiency and development. It is organized into three sections: the first section deals with the historical and political roots that make institutions favorable to development; the second section offers theoretical perceptions of immaterial institutions; the last section explores how the various official institutions – such as international organizations – interrelate with the process of development. As both the recent global financial crisis and the subsequent sovereign debt crisis within the Eurozone have shown, sustainable development is a combination of human, social and institutional factors that interact with each other and go beyond the strictly economic conditions of each country. With contributions from several countries in Europe as well as Iran, this volume offers readers an international and multidisciplinary perspective of the institutionalist determinants of growth in the long run.