The Integral Vision: A Very Short Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything

Ken Wilber is a profoundly important thinker - and this is a useful and light intro to his sophisticated work. A bit too light in places perhaps but any introduction is a fine thing, frankly.A far more rigorous though literally also a very chatty and engaging introduction is his, A Brief History of Everything, written in dialogue form, and a phenomenal book nonetheless. The technical academic depth version of that book, is his formidable Sex Ecology and Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution which I have yet to get to.This book, The Integral Vision, helps you grasp the core principles and concepts and also get a feel for the Integral Life Practice (another fine book, on what to do about all of this on a personal front), but like I say be aware of the above two books too. His other book A Theory of Everything is also apparently a fine one, but gets mixed reviews, just to mention that too.All the best in integrating your world.

Having been an avid reader of Wilber's books for years, I have been deeply moved by his philosophy as it has helped me orientate and weave multiple perspectives in coherent and compelling way. Although this is far from my favorite book of his, I applaud it for what it is meant to be: a primer on integral theory for someone that is new to it and isn't ready to dive in too deeply. This is something I have been looking for a while, as I have often recommended Wilber's work to friends. When asked what was the first book they should read, I would often suggest "Brief History of Everything" (the abridged version to "Sex, Ecology, and Spirituality"). Still, for many of my friends not accustomed to reading philosophy, they felt that "Brief History" was a bit much."The Integral Vision" hits the right note for just about everyone, as it goes down easier than most of Ken's work, but still gets its point across thoroughly. This is still not light-weight material, however, most readers will find the attractive illustrations helpful and crisp non-academic prose refreshing. "The Integral Vision" also demonstrates that integral theory passes the "mother-in-law test": the idea that if you can't explain it simply and succinctly to her, it's probably too complicated and nonsensical to use. Any decent theory needs to be elegant for intellectuals and simplistic enough for everyone else. "The Integral Vision" successfully lays out quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types in both a manner of elegance and ease.With integral theory, Wilber has brought something of a gift, albeit "true, but partial" (as he would put it), that has built on many philosophical foundations and resealed some cracks in the process. "The Integral Vision" is worth a look for newbies and Wilber fans who are looking for a gift read for friends.

Already familiar with Wilber's work, I bought this book with the intent of lending it to others; to introduce his wonderful Integral Theory to them.My first lendee, a woman in my meditation group, found the content fascinating, but wanted more detail, so I then loaned her "A Brief History of Everything" and "A Theory of Everything",which she's now enjoying. Perfect! It's Just What It Says It Is- a very short introduction, inviting & even enticing the reader to devle more deeply into understanding, well, EVERYTHING!I highly recommend this book to anyone who senses that everything in our world (and beyond) is or might be inter-connected, and wishes that there were a way to see how.Here it is!

Ken Wilber is a genius at synthesizing vast amounts of knowledge and human experience and thought and pulling them together into a single, coherent system. Everyone should know his work. The problem is, he sucks at trying to talk about it to normal people. Every time I read one of these attempts, I have to cringe as I imagine "wilber virgins" reading it. His most successful attempt so far I would have to say is "The Marriage of Sense and Soul", which doesn't go as far as this book (it's a much older work) but is MUCH easier to digest.In this book Wilber tries so hard to be accessible he seems to be forcing a mickey mouse face on top of a buckminster fuller dome. I would steer people who want an "introduction" to Wilber away from this book and toward "A Theory Of Everything". Or do some pushups and take on Sex Ecology Spirituality if you've got the guts (I haven't yet). The thing is... given what Wilber has managed to do -- which is enormous and ground breaking in its scale and depth -- one can hardly expect him to re-learn how to talk to normal everyday idiots. But in my opinion, this book is damaged by its author's voice, which veers unevenly between being cute (ie. accessible) cursory (giving a shallow version of his ideas) and confusing (leaping into the deep end). The 'stoned kid with photoshop' graphics are mostly gratuitous and are there to break up text rather than add a layer of meaning or illustrate anything. The net effect is to preach to converts and not reach a new public, which was obviously his intent. I also think the structure of this book is flawed, getting too "spiritual/new age" too early. You have to start from what people can accept easily and build slowly from there, and he fails to do this, leaping too soon into material only a full fledged, bead wearing, incense burning, mantra chanting eco-putz would appreciate.Sounds True put out a nice box set of disks of Wilber interviews that is a great way to familiarize yourself with Wilber, although it would help a lot if you read "Theory of Everything" at the same time. It's called Kosmic Consciousness. Also log on to youtube and search his name, there's lots of stuff there. You can also go to his site "integralnaked.com" but it suffers from a lot of the same myopia as this book, ie. annoying to the outsider. I mean come on. Couldn't they call it something other than Naked? I don't need to see Ken naked, thank you very much.

Great book

I really am impressed with the methodology/roadmap that is being presented in this book and it can be applied across literally across ALL dimensions of your life. TOP BOOK and is written in a very beaufitul language too. I was especially touched with the last chapter.

This is my first read from Ken Wilber ..the book is truly awesome..looking forward to reading next one.

I personally think that this is a perfect place to start getting into Ken's work. I have read plenty of books on the subject, but Ken's model really enables you to toy around in an intelligent manner with "life, God, the Universe, and Everything." If you don't get it the first time, keep on trying. If it is too basic for you, why in the first place did you buy an INTRODUCTION? The book is well balanced and the presentation is of a very high level (great for visual learners). The figures are great aids for understanding some of the concepts presented. Go ahead and start spinning these ideas into your every day life.

Elegant and impactful!A 'must read' for every thoughtful person.