🔮 Integral Life Practice (MOE)
🧭 Purpose
A structured approach to whole-life development based on Ken Wilber’s Integral framework. ILP treats the cultivation of body, mind, soul, and spirit — across individual and collective dimensions — as a single integrated practice rather than separate pursuits.
“The most important thing is to engage in an ILP that touches all the essential modules — body, mind, spirit, shadow — in an integral way.” — Ken Wilber
🗺 The AQAL Framework
All Quadrants, All Levels, All Lines, All States, All Types
Four Quadrants
| Quadrant | Domain | Perspective | Key Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Left (UL) | Mind / consciousness | I — interior individual | Meditation, shadow work, psychotherapy |
| Upper Right (UR) | Body / behaviour | It — exterior individual | Exercise, diet, sleep, physiology |
| Lower Left (LL) | Culture / relationships | We — interior collective | Relationships, ethics, worldview |
| Lower Right (LR) | Systems / society | Its — exterior collective | Work, environment, finances, community |
Five Elements of ILP
| Element | Description | Your Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Physical health, exercise, diet | |
| Mind | Study, contemplation, integral theory | |
| Spirit | Meditation, prayer, Big Mind | |
| Shadow | Psychological integration (3-2-1 process) | |
| Ethics | Service, relationships, civic engagement |
🔑 Core Modules
💪 Gold: Body
The physical foundation. Without a strong body practice, other development is limited.
Minimum viable practice:
- Strength training 3x/week
- Aerobic exercise 2x/week
- Sleep 7-8 hours
- Nutrition — reduce processed food, adequate protein
Your practice:
- Current:
- Target: 4x/week exercise
- Tracked in: 🌼 My Health (MOE)
🧘 Gold: Mind — Meditation
The single highest-leverage practice in ILP. Wilber recommends starting with 20 min/day.
Practices (pick one to anchor):
- Mindfulness / Vipassana — witness awareness
- Zen — koan practice, shikantaza
- Tibetan — deity yoga, dzogchen
- Centring Prayer — Christian contemplative
- Big Mind Process — Genpo Roshi (Wilber’s recommended entry point)
Your practice:
- Current:
- Target: 20 min/day
- Linked: 🧘♂️ My Mindfulness (MOE)
🌑 Gold: Shadow — 3-2-1 Process
The most neglected module. Shadow work integrates disowned aspects of self.
The 3-2-1 Process:
- Face it (3rd person) — describe the shadow figure or quality: “It is…”
- Talk to it (2nd person) — dialogue: “You are… I feel…”
- Be it (1st person) — embody: “I am…”
Triggers for shadow work:
- Strong emotional reaction to another person
- Persistent negative pattern
- Dream figures that disturb you
- Qualities you strongly admire or strongly despise in others
Your practice:
- When: Weekly or when triggered
- Journal: Log
🔷 Gold: Spirit — Big Mind / Big Heart
Non-dual awareness practice. Direct recognition of awareness itself.
Entry practices:
- “Who is aware of this moment?” — resting as the witness
- Big Mind process (Genpo Roshi) — voice dialogue with different aspects
- Headlessness practice (Douglas Harding)
- Noting practice — “seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking…”
Your practice:
- Current:
- Integrated with: meditation sits
🤝 Silver: Relationships / Ethics
Lower Left quadrant. How you show up in relation to others.
Integral ethics:
- “What would a person at integral altitude do here?”
- Perspective-taking — genuinely hold 1st, 2nd, 3rd person views
- Service — contribution beyond personal development
Your practice:
- Partner: Maria Belen — quality time and presence
- Community: Gaeiras / Portugal integration
- Service:
🌍 Silver: Work and World — LR Quadrant
Systems, environment, finances as spiritual practice.
Integral approach:
- Finances as stewardship — Shannon’s Demon is portfolio mindfulness
- Energy independence as values expression
- Garden as systems thinking in practice
- Knowlden as right-livelihood for the mind
Your practice:
- 💰 My Finance (MOE) — stewardship
- Energy Independence (MOE) — values expression
- 🌱 My Garden — Gaeiras (MOE) — systems
📊 ILP Dashboard
What does a healthy week look like?
| Practice | Target | This week | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation | 20 min/day | ||
| Strength | 3x | ||
| Cardio | 2x | ||
| Shadow work | 1x | ||
| Study/reading | 3x | ||
| Quality time (LL) | Daily | ||
| Service/contribution | Weekly |
📈 Developmental Lines
Wilber identifies multiple independent lines of development
| Line | Current level | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive | ||
| Emotional | ||
| Moral | ||
| Spiritual | ||
| Interpersonal | ||
| Somatic | ||
| Aesthetic |
🎯 Current Focus
What is the leading edge of your practice right now?
Primary: Secondary: Avoiding:
📚 Key Resources
- Ken Wilber — Integral Life Practice (book)
- Ken Wilber — ILP video course
- Genpo Roshi — Big Mind process
- 🧘♂️ My Mindfulness (MOE)
- 🧘♂️ Integral (MOE)
- Deep Life Stack 2 0 — related framework
- 🌼 My Health (MOE) — body module detail
- Comprehensive Reasoning and Analytical Framework for Thinking — mind module
🔗 Related Efforts
📓 Practice Log
Weekly: brief note on what was practiced and what arose
Week of 2026-04-22
Body:
Mind/Meditation:
Shadow:
Spirit:
Relationships:
Insight this week:
💡 ILP Copilot Prompt
Open this note. Review the ILP Dashboard table above. Based on what is filled in, identify which modules are being neglected. Suggest one concrete practice for the most neglected module. Keep suggestions brief and immediately actionable.