Integration: Phenomenal into Mundane

This topic has been crucial in my life and seems relevant for many people today. Discovering how to bring natural well-being into the adversity of existence opens the doorway to lasting happiness. We’ve all experienced a range of wonderful and dreadful events in life, and it's fair to say that everyone wants to face life’s challenges effectively.

Increasingly, I hear the buzzword "integration," but it often lacks a clear definition, aside from its importance. How does this "integration" process relate to shattering life experiences, inner exploration, or sacred plant ceremonies, and what does it mean for your everyday life?

Mowgli Syndrome

One example is when I found myself in a tough spot in 2004 after emerging from three continuous years studying an ancient healing art from indigenous elders in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. The curriculum entailed healing by understanding the entire scope of causes behind ailments and afflictions in myself first, so I could then be useful to others.

These traditions view consciousness as the main healing agent and the healing journey as the greatest art in the universe—the art of consciousness transformation. I discovered that this ancient art's underlying principles run parallel to other disciplines I had become familiar with prior to visiting the Amazon, especially Jungian transpersonal psychology and Tibetan Buddhism.

Integration plays a major role in these approaches because they share a common focus: transcending the shadow of the human condition through direct insights relevant to one’s constantly unfolding journey, thus revealing life itself to be the greatest teacher. With each tradition’s unique angle on a shared purpose, they complement one another, together offering deeper perspectives into the nature of existence.

Since insights are only meaningful once tested in all weather conditions, the final exam took place when I exchanged the supportive cradle of the rainforest for the other extreme: a major metropolis.

With such a great gap between cultures, lifestyles, and environments, I had a rough time integrating back into society. I called it the Mowgli Syndrome back then, finding myself unable to identify with either culture, compelled to apply all that I learned in uncharted territory. Eventually, this challenging in-between no-man’s-land proved to be a great blessing in disguise. It allowed me to become a bridge between these two worlds, integrating essential facets from all experiences into my evolutionary journey.

My indigenous teachers never asked me to forfeit my cultural background in favor of theirs or to keep holding on to my own cultural identity. Instead, they focused on rekindling the freedom of undiscriminating openness we all knew in early childhood. Nowadays, my 11-month-old son teaches me a lot about this beginner’s mind.

In today’s world, where all cultures collide, many people get lost trying to find themselves amid all the turmoil. Beyond cultural identity, recognizing those universal childlike qualities is an important step for objective learning to take place. The genuine teachers in my life were those who did not hide underneath any roles or identities. They were real human beings I got to know by living alongside them every day, witnessing how resiliently they applied their wisdom lineage to every challenge, hardship, and misfortune.

Hijacking the Phenomenal

Many of my acquaintances have a particular spin on integration, bombarding themselves with mind-boggling experiences (such as psychedelics, plant medicine ceremonies, and extreme sports) at steady intervals as a substitute for the lack of extraordinary in everyday life. These otherworldly getaways become pressure release valves that maintain “sanity” while tunnel-visioned in conditioned existence, creating the illusion of a “secret advantage” over other members of society.

Integration then degrades into managing the tedious weekdays until the next phenomenal extravaganza. I was tempted by this idea myself during my late teens, but the main insight I discovered was that such a lifestyle did not offer me lasting fulfillment. Like a pendulum in full swing, I moved to the opposite extreme, residing in the Amazon before realizing the middle way.

While the weekend warrior or jungle hermit approach can be useful to an extent, without a willingness to fundamentally question one’s deepest purpose, merely adapting to an unfulfilling routine or escaping from it becomes disempowering. The gap between the phenomenal and mundane only widens when using the extraordinary to accomplish the superficial, whether hiding behind the facades of society or exotic ritual. Powerful inner experiences were never intended to supplement a subsistence-type lifestyle; rather, they serve as tools for evolution out of herd mentality.

By acknowledging the gap, taking time to understand both ends of the spectrum and making intentional effort to continuously embody these alive and often breathtaking explorations, weekend warriors and jungle hermits alike can enjoy deeply fulfilling lives. Moreover, I believe everyone has the potential to live with wholehearted inspiration under all circumstances when integration is approached with an inclusive mindset.

Vulnerability is Key to Heart’s Wisdom

As long as integration is used as a method of being “better” than others, it will keep people stuck in the same illusion of separation, merely upgrading the rusty chains to golden ones. Individual expression of vulnerability, on the other hand, brings light to our common afflictions, simultaneously allowing for their resolution. After all, a shadow’s main purpose is to point in the direction of the light.

Rather than maintaining some kind of illusory experience or the appearance of symptoms relating to it, how about discovering an innate resourcefulness to face all situations—pleasurable or painful, better or worse—with unwavering openness of the heart?

Traveling throughout the United States recently, I often heard friends express concern about the rising suicide rate and the epidemic of violence sweeping the country. Individuals with no sign of being troubled suddenly turn destructive to themselves or others. While people compete for the appearance of happiness, hiding the vulnerability of inner turmoil, it’s inevitable for desperation to emerge as a wake-up call in a society disillusioned by Facebook likes.

In light of all the issues today, the inner work of freedom amidst adversity is increasingly relevant to share. And the more it’s shared, the more it’s available.

The Integral Approach

Back to the ‘Mowgli syndrome’ I contracted after returning to the cement jungle of New York City after 3 years in the Amazon. I was taken aback by the gap between the phenomenal and the mundane. I struggled to establish common ground with those around me, feeling my cultivation of authenticity was somehow inappropriate in a society focused on appearance.

I saw how conditioned society is built on the illusion that all life's troubles should have a scapegoat. The problem is that troubled teens or enemy nations always serve as targets for blame. There are always conditions to blame for issues that keep arising, whether they involve boredom or an emergency. In reality, that troubled individual, rogue nation, or specific issues in one’s life cannot exist without the greater organism and serve an integral role within it. They may represent a wake-up call for distorted societal values or a lesson in vulnerability to be learned with ourselves and others.

My own journey required me to discover how to integrate into society while standing for my values and honoring those around me. I aimed to encourage their spark beneath appearances by seeing them as neither separate nor different from myself. Thus, an integral approach to life is key to integration. This view is confirmed by the reciprocity many ancient cultures recognize as universal law. This bird’s-eye view sees the greater whole, allowing objectivity to reveal patterns of evolution in seemingly isolated incidents, transforming the walls of separation into the shared heart of humanity. The darker the shadow, the brighter the light.

From Mystical to Practical

The European philosopher, René Descartes, famously said, “I think, therefore I am,” a notion still popular in the West today. However, the integration I find effective cannot be found in this kind of thinking. Thinking tends to go into autonomous cruise control mode if left unchecked, repeating old stories without genuine integration. Without objective insight, there’s a tendency to interpret everything through a narrative that fits the old story, justifying conditioning, sometimes in a mystical way that prevents real, life-changing action.

The indigenous elders I studied with explained that fantasizing a myriad of magical creatures without recognition of the inner qualities they represent simply perpetuates the same external dependency, avoiding practical transformation. I’ve seen conditioning disguise itself as either God or Devil, righteously delivering “important” messages of elaborate self-deception—a neurosis that arises from an inaccurate mapping of the inner landscape.

Whether mythical deities or annoying coworkers, the principle remains the same: integrating either one necessitates internal conflict resolution instead of finger-pointing. How could anyone or anything disturb the peace if unresolved issues within oneself weren’t stirred? Rather than allowing the mind to wander and justify the continuity of a separate self, intentional thought can help recognize the unconscious patterns that justify this separation.

Thoughts typically dwell in the past or future, obstructing the fresh and spontaneous presence of the here and now. Yet, once we apply these thoughts to end avoidance of what is, true identity emerges as heart wisdom, bridging the gap between opposites.

The Definition of Integration

A definition offered by dictionary.com states that integration in psychology means “the organization of the constituent elements of the personality into a coordinated, harmonious whole.” This definition is a relevant puzzle piece in the type of integration discussed here; bridging the gap between phenomenal instances offered by life’s greatest highlights and the shadows covered up by mundane routine.

The living wisdom traditions emphasize joyous glimpses of your true nature to be integrated, recognized, and trusted in each breath, at all times.

In my own story shared here, I first became disillusioned with personal conditioning as an incentive to glimpse the phenomenal, followed by a motivation to turn it into a prolonged gazing period. Finally, I made my life’s journey about cultivating the extraordinary in the most practical way in all circumstances of life for the benefit of all beings.

This means not hiding in either spiritual or mainstream conformity but being a pillar of support in the midst of impermanence by cultivating qualities of patience, generosity, integrity, objectivity, determination, compassion, and loving kindness, among others.

Over many years, with the help of my cohorts at Paititi Institute, a guideline has emerged containing the essential integration facets many people have found very useful, sometimes even life-changing.

The Integration Principles

We created this reference sheet for Paititi Institute's recommended integration principles. Click for a larger image, and feel free to download them.

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