Consciousness-in-Action

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on this blog. I expect to be adding news and comments here a bit more frequently in the coming months.

First of all, consciousness-in-action.com has been registered as a new Internet domain and my primary cyber-address for matters related to my book, workshops and events in the US and beyond. Moreover, this blog is primarily about the consciousness-in-action approach to personal and social change. In addition to posting announcements of my work (and other acts of blatant self-promotion), I will be posting comments and links having to do with other people, events and issues of interest. (I will, also, still maintain “el BLOG de Raúl,” my Spanish-language blog, to to announce events and address issues closer to home in Puerto Rico; go check that out if you read Spanish.) And please, bookmark both sites and check in every couple of weeks or so.

So, in my first act of self-promotion of the year (on this site, anyway), I’d like to announce the publication of a new book, Counseling in a Complex Society: Contemporary Challenges to Professional Practice. Edited by Nicholas Young and Christine Michael, this book gathers writings from a number of contributors who approach issues in counseling from a broad range of perspectives, including my own chapter: On Counseling, Spirituality and Consciousness-in-Action: An Integral View. My colleague and mentor, Dorothy Firman, co-author of Mothers and Daughters: Healing the Relationship, also contributes two chapters, one on Psychosynthesis as a transpersonal counseling approach, and another on diversity and social justice in the counseling profession. These and other chapters that address issues of race, sexuality and class oppression alone make this book worthy of reading. Counseling in a Complex Society is available at Amazon.com.

In another bit of news: I will be presenting a paper on consciousness-in-action at the First Biennial Integral Theory Conference to be held in August. Hosted by at JFK University and Integral Institute, I’ll be one of about eight to present applications of integral theory to community/activism/diversity. There will be about 100 presentations in all by people from 10 different countries. For more information on the conference, please visit the site. I’ll give more details on my presentation in a later posting.

I might also be presenting this summer at the 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis Conference at Union Institute & University at Vermont College. My proposal is still being considered, though I am quite hopeful. I’ll keep you posted on this as well.

At a later date, I’ll also be able to share the forthcoming review of my book to be published by Integral Review, a peer-reviewed journal (not affiliated with Ken Wilber and Integral Institute). All I can say right now is that it is very positive. If you’re interested in a complimentary take on integral theory and praxis, check out their site and past issues of the journal.