Integral Polarity Practice

John Kesler has developed an awareness, life and group practice which he has named integral polarity practice (IPP).  See www.theippinstitute.org.

IPP grew out of the big mind process, in which John was one of the first to be certified as a large group facilitator by Zen master, Genpo Roshi, the founder of the process. The big mind process enables a person to access non-dual awareness or big mind and other transcendent states of awareness through an application of voice dialogue, a Jungian therapeutic technique. John integrally informed the big mind process with developmental and other integral perspectives as well as other aspects drawn from other spiritual traditions particularly his own Mormon tradition. Ultimately, by John inhabiting a new world space created by all of the above, IPP essentially flowed out of him and has been continually refined in the context of facilitating others and his own practice over a number of years.

Due to his discovery and development of IPP, John was invited to be a founding teacher in the Integral Spiritual Center, affiliated with the Integral Institute, both founded by Ken Wilber.  There is no claim that IPP is an exclusive path, but rather IPP provides a rich practice which can complement any approach to life or spiritual practice.

IPP reflects an understanding of human psychology, eastern and western perspectives, and tantric practice which appears to be unique. As Ken Wilber the leading philosopher who has perhaps the most comprehensive grasp of the traditions of both East and West has commented:

There is nobody doing more leading-edge work on the integration of Eastern and Western approaches to consciousness and growth than John Kesler. His fully integral approach includes conventional and contemplative dimensions of psychology and spirituality, spanning body and mind and spirit and shadow, a truly remarkable and effective approach. I give his work my highest recommendation.

In addition John has explored and charted how aspects of energy and consciousness show up in archetypal polarities through the entire spectrum of human development. As Susanne Cook-Greuter, perhaps the leading researcher and scholar of higher ranges of human development has observed:

John Kesler has created the richest matrix that covers development through the whole spectrum of consciousness from birth through personal individuation into the heart of Big Mind. Kesler provides exquisite detail within an elegant and comprehensive structure. His polarity map illuminates the still points between polar opposites at 15 or so junctures along the way. By clarifying just what the fundamental tensions are he has deepened our understanding of human development and experience in a profound way.

Also very distinctive in this practice is the discovery of the same five themes which pervade every aspect and dimension of life experience. The five themes are physical / gross, relational / subtle, aware / causal, the ground out of which the three themes emerge, and their integrated expression. Through IPP life become an aesthetic experience of the integration, interpenetration and flow of the themes.

In any event IPP tends to be a practice which engages the person on multiple levels, triggering differentiation through more discriminating awareness and moving toward integration and transformation, with the impact over time of increasing awareness and capacity in multiple dimensions.  Terri O Fallon, a leading scholar in the field of human development, a partner in the Seattle consulting firm, Integral Pacific, and executive director of Developmental Research Institute notes:

There are many approaches and practices to awareness and how one manifests in the world That can serve humanities trek along the journey of waking up and growing up, but     I  am not aware of any applied practice which covers the entire developmental continuum in this regard other than John Kesler’s IPP Practice.  It is unique; no matter where you are along the developmental continuum of growing up, he has corresponding practices to support both your “waking up” and “growing up”.

IPP is relevant to working with groups and individuals in the context of how they work with polarities, paradoxes, and otherwise attempting to be more inspired, creative and aesthetic.

John shares IPP  through the IPP institute and it is reflected in the work John and other do in the Salt Lake Civil Network, the Global Civil Network and Civil Consulting Associates.

John is certified in the StAGES scoring system and debriefing individuals with regard to their developmental center of gravity and related issues.  When he scores a person’s developmental center of gravity, John is able to better customize an IPP practice for a person to become better integrated at her current stage of development and over time transform to the next stage of development. John is also able to advise an organization about it’s approach to its work in the world based on developmental stages of those in the organization.