There is a lot of great work out there regarding integral theory. Ken Wilber has been instrumental in bringing it all together. His different books reflect the evolution of his theories. Many are very dense and a lot of folks give up. I find that when Ken talks about integral theory, I get it a lot easier than from reading him. These discs are a series of structured interviews that lead you step by step through his map of integral theory. Work with this and his next greatest work, Sex, Ecology and Spirituality flows a lot easier. Also his latest book on Integral Spirituality will sink in a lot easier. This is a must have if you want to really get integral theory and certainly if you want to understand Wilber. As an integral coach, this work is the foundation for my training lineage.

By all accounts this product is in the condition promised. Thanks!

For an audience made up of new age environmentalist pseudo intellectuals, I'm sure this succeeds on all levels. In it's best light, this work could be considered a form of literary criticism, or a conceptual piece on the philosopy and psychology of spiritual development. But for people with some knowledge of true science, or maybe just a normal sized b.s. detector, they will find at least a few flaws in an otherwise interesting package.

Wilber's fame apparently comes from attempting to put the stamp of science on the panoply of spiritual thought and development through a slavish devotion to categorization and comparison. I was reminded more than once of Emerson's saying that "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." The amount of categorization at times became amusing to me as he seemed to blindly put square pegs into round holes, just to get categories to line up.

Wilber comes across as a sharp, well read and mostly entertaining guy, albeit a bit too sure of himself and his ideas. He attempts to wipe all things spiritual with the patina of science, treating myth as hard fact, playing fast and loose with what little science there is, and occasionally throwing in some mild but apparently playful skepticism when the research is critically lacking. As he does with the lack of evidence for reincarnation, which he later makes clear that he absolutely believes in. Frankly, he seems to believe as fact anything anyone has ever written about in the area of spirituality. I certainly believe that people have had some amazing experiences in their brains, but to believe that every bizarre inner experience anyone has ever had reflects a concrete, external, measurable reality is crazy, or at best a form of wishful thinking to support one's faith.

Nonetheless, I should emphasize, a stimulating listen. [Reading this whole review later, I feel maybe I was a little hard on the guy. I'm not changing it, but just consider it as balance to the large number of glowing reviews.]

I have, to my eternal embarassment, tried to read several of Ken Wilber's books over the years, to no avail. After chastising myself and wondering if my cognitive powers were deteriorating with age, I gave up. Then I bought Kosmic Consciousness, and WOW! I GET IT! Wilber is earthy, funny and irreverent, which makes him my kind of super-intelligent person. He is easy to listen to, and his crystal clear explanation of the Integral Model not only makes perfect sense, but also gives me a perspective on the developments happening around me and within me, as the society I live in and my own consciousness move forward in their awkward dance. And with this understanding and perspective comes an easing of the anxiety that had been following me around, saying, "Gack! There are crazy people running my world!" Looking at events as part of a developmental continuum makes them seem far less chaotic and incomprehensible, and allows me to cut myself and everyone else some slack. I'm looking forward to listening to KC a few more times, and I have also taken up the books that defeated me in the past. With Wilber's live voice in my head, his written words have become a story I can play on my brain's CD deck. Thank you Sounds True for perservering, getting the interview, and providing such an excellent container for this vital informaion.