Consciousness-in-Action

I am happy to finally be able to share a very positive review of my book appearing in Integral Review: A Transdisciplinary and Transcultural Journal for New Thought, Research, and Praxis, an online, peer-reviewed journal. Written by Bonnitta Roy, IR editor and integral theorist, this review was completed and shared with me earlier in the year. Now that the issue has been published, I am able to share it with you all. [Unfortunately, the mistake concerning my last names was not corrected.]

So, please check it out, and share it with others in your networks, people that might be interested in using my book in their own work.

INTEGRAL REVIEW June 2008 Vol. 4, No. 1

Book Review

Consciousness-in-Action: Toward an Integral Psychology of Liberation and Transformation.
Raul Quiñones Rosado. (2007). ile Publications, Caguas, Puerto Rico.

by Bonnitta Roy

Raul Rosado’s new book succeeds on many levels. He makes an important contribution to integral studies; he describes new ways for understanding group and self identity; he opens new ways for transmuting the processes of fear, oppression and victim-hood into liberation and transformation; he creates a unique synthesis between the highly rational-analytic AQAL model and the native American medicine wheel; and he creates a processural system that overlays and resonates with both models. His writing style is personal and intimate. He allows the reader to feel into his own experiences of oppression, and his own journey toward liberation and transformation. But because Rosado also has worked with various communities on such issues, he is able to put the personal in context with the group—a necessary ingredient of his work. 

The main feature of Rosado’s process model relies on the metaphor of a cyclone. After Rosado identifies the various patterns of oppression with respect to each of the four AQAL quadrants, he shows us that these factors are not merely inter-related, but mutually inter-active and continually reinforcing the system of oppression. When visualized as a process, the system of oppression becomes a cyclone of oppression, “moving” inwards, causing continual contraction of self-identity. He describes two such levels of contraction: 1) the impact of cultural oppression on personal identity and 2) the psychosocial pattern of internalized inferiority. With these system models, Rosado is able to demonstrate how the processes of oppression accumulate tremendous power on the personal, cultural and institutional levels and therefore are highly resistant to change. The systems of oppression, Rosado is warning us, are active not static.

In the second part of his book, Rosado puts consciousness in action. Again, overlaying the wisdom of the medicine wheel with the pluralistic methodology of the AQAL model, Rosado identifies positive patterns called “spheres” of action and influence. Rosado argues, if the direction of oppression is inward, toward contraction and stasis, the direction of consciousness is outward, toward liberation and transformation. With this process framework, Rosado is able to explain the possibility of fighting “fire with fire”, as it were, by activating the positive, outward momentum of conscious liberation. This momentum requires participation at the same levels that feed the cycle of oppression – and so the active response is multi-layered, multi-leveled, multi-perspectival, and integral.

Consciousness-in-Action is a useful and purposeful manual for people interested in social activism at any level. It is also a wonderful personal narrative, giving us an insight into a caring, thoughtful, and hard-working integrated person. Finally, it is a great example for how integral writers can expand the existing models into process versions, into infinite riches of discourse.

I don’t know how this Dervish didn’t drop from all his twirling, anymore than I know how I’ve managed to remain steady upon my return from the gathering of Integral practitioners in Istanbul and the spiritual retreat of organizers of Color in New York. But here I am, back home in Puerto Rico, reflecting on the past two weeks.

Integral Without Borders, a gathering of international and community development workers applying integral theory to their efforts, was indeed a wonderful event. As I mentioned in my previous post, there were people from and/or working in every continent (except Antartica), doing their work through the lens of “integral” as put forth by Ken Wilber and others. During five days (April 22-26), we shared theories, approaches, feelings, lessons and questions that arise from our experiences as we each develop our own integral praxis. A lot was shared through the many presentations, workshops and scheduled activities, and perhaps even more over meals (or coffee and baklava).

It was great to make new friends from around the globe: Walberto Tejeda from Honduras & El Salvador; Fernando Bretas from Brazil & DC; Soledad Teixidó, Chile; Julian González, Argentina & Canada; Yene Assegid, Ethiopia & South Africa; Carissa Weiler and Katherine Coder from the US; Lee White from Canada; and so many others. I was delighted to finally meet Gail Hochachka, who invited me, and the other event organizers, Paul van Schaik and Emine Kiray. It was absolutely wonderful to meet and learn from both Rollie Stanich, of the Integral Spiritual Center, and Diane Musho Hamilton, teacher of Zen and Big Mind/Big Heart. I also got to spend some time with my friend and compatriota, Vernice Solimar.

And, of course, I was more than happy for the chance to share an overview of the Consciousness-in-Action approach and ilé’s work. It was nice to see practitioners recognize its contribution to integral theory and its relevance to their work. It was also nice to be able to sell a few books, too, particularly knowing they would be read and used from Turkey to Chile to El Salvador to Canada to South Africa to the US to Norway and beyond. I look forward to seeing many of my new friends and colleagues at the First Integral Theory Conference in California this August.

Needless to say, I am still integrating a lot of learnings, insights and feelings from the event, as well as from being in one of the oldest cities in the world. Though I would have needed a least another full week to see all I wanted to, I came away more than full from the experience. So much so that I’m not quite sure how I was able to engage and be present at the retreat in upstate New York.

But, I’ll get to that in my next post.

It’s incredible how quickly the first quarter of the year has already gone by! And it feels like things are just getting started. For me, in many ways, they are. As I shared in my last entry, this work is starting to get broader exposure, with important presentations scheduled, a book chapter published, and a glowing review of my book coming soon.

Early in March, I was delighted to offer a Consciousness-in-Action workshop in Amherst, Massachusetts. Held at Hampshire College, the full-day event was organized by the Undoing Racism Organizing Collective of Western Massachusetts for organizers, activists, educators, students and helping professionals from that region and beyond. It was attended by thirty-seven participants, most of whom had previous anti-oppression training of some sort, including ilé’s leadership training and/or The People’s Institute’s Undoing Racism Workshop. The group’s understanding of social power coming into the workshop allowed the process to flow and deepen in the relatively short amount of time we had together. Having said that, some of us already feel the need to make this a considerably longer workshop, so we can delve even deeper into the patterns of reactivity identified and further explore contemplative practices as vehicles toward greater  response-ability and well-being. Meanwhile, I really want to thank Judith Feinstein and UROC for inviting me and organizing this event, and Mary Bombardier, director of Hampshire College’s Community Partnership for Social Change, for co-hosting, as well as the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society for their help in announcing the workshop. And, of course, I want to thank all the great people that attended.

As I was getting ready for the workshop, I received an invitation from one of the organizers of the Global Integral International Development Meeting to attend and present at this year’s gathering in Istanbul, Turkey. This will be a meeting with practitioners, activists, scholars, and social change agents involved in integral praxis addressing issues, such as poverty, community development, education, leadership and capacity building, environment and sustainability, economy, human well-being and resilience, among others. So, from April 20-26, I will be in Istanbul to share the consciousness-in-action approach with, and learning from, approximately forty other participants coming in from Africa, Latin America, Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Turkey. Needless to say, I am absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to share with others around the world who are also involved in developing and applying integral approaches toward collective transformation. Many thanks to Gail Hochachka from Drishti: Center for Integral Action (Canada), and Integral Institute (US), for putting this together and for making my participation possible.

So, stay tuned… I’ll be posting impressions and pictures. That is, as soon as I get back home from the Retreat for Activists & Organizers of Color, organized by the Social Justice Program of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. From April 29 to May 2, I’ll be co-facilitating this retreat with my dear colleagues, Rev. Ryumon Gutiérrez Baldoquín, Francisco “Paco” Lugoviña, Sensei, Kyra Bobinet, Shásh Yázhí, and Rose Sackey Milligan. We’ll be at the beautiful Menla Mountain and Retreat Center in upstate New York with a group of about 35 participants, supporting their personal well-being and development, as well as their work and leadership as change agents. There still may be room for activists of color interested in attending, so check it out.