The "How To" of Integration

[Matt23]

I've recently been thinking I've been having lots of insights, pieces of knowledge, and areas to explore come across my experience.  Yet, also that they come and go so quickly.  It feels like there's a  waterfall of gold showering around me but I have no pots to catch the gold with.

What does your integration process look like?

What does integration mean to you?

Do you know of any resources or people that have helped you improving your integration?  Why?  What are they?  

 

For me it feels like I need to slow down and not rush, like I'm avoiding doing the effortful work of integrating by glossing over insights, not journalling about them, contemplating them, thinking about how i can change my behaviors, etc.

Also, due to the vast array of places worth integrating, I feel like there's too much to do at once.  Like if I fully integrated one part I'd miss out on a lot of others.  It seems like a quality vs. quantity thing.  

Do you have this issue?  

How do you prioritize which topics or domains you'll focus on integrating? What's your integration strategy?

[Lento]

I think it would be helpful to look closely at the desired outcome. It seems like a paradox, a contradiction, or a duality. I mean how can you become integrated if you are executing some strategy to become integrated? And would you need a strategy if you're already integrated? The question seems like asking; how to get "there" if I am always "here"?

I think the key here is to be highly mindful/present. With proper mindfulness of the present moment, you will know what you need to do. You won't need anything else to guide you, even though you can still use a guidance.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Lento

[Commodent]

 

9 hours ago, Matt23 said:

What does your integration process look like?

What does integration mean to you?

To me it has very much been to reclaim these disowned parts of myself. Those parts of myself that I had proclaimed as "not me", disrespected and oftentimes even tried to get rid of. This was done by digging into my past, and seeing the inherent validity of any thoughts and feelings that were experienced. I let myself be with those emotions, giving them total allowance to be as they are. Giving them the love, care and attention they had ultimately always wanted.

This was essentially the integration of emotions and memories. A move away from the strictly left-brain thinking that had predominantly driven my attitudes. The left-brain developed respect for the right-brain, and the right-brain in turn developed warmth for both the left-brain and itself. Experientially, this could be described as inner harmony.

Some say the purpose of life is to undo negative karma and gain positive karma. I'd say it is to resolve trauma, both individually and collectively. Which is the same thing, really.

Regarding your specific issue, I can say that I have very much struggled with the same in the past year or so. Feeling like there is too much out there to be discovered in a lifetime. I think it has much to do with re-awakening the part of me that is fearful of wasting my life. And I suspect that same fear might be running in you. Note that this is also a problem of integration. Integrating the part of you that is perfectly content in the moment, with the part of you that is striving towards something greater.

I think one  way of dealing with this feeling of hurry is to meditate on the impermanence of everything we build and accumulate. Whatever kind of understanding you build up will eventually be destroyed. Your life and all your actions will eventually be forgotten. The culture you live in, will fall apart. Nothing will last. So ultimately, there really was nothing to hurry about. You will never reach the end. No matter how far you go, it will be destroyed not even midway through. So what more is there to strive for really, other than balance in the process?

I know myself that striking the right balance can be a very confusing thing, as there really is no one to tell you what is the right balance is for you. I would, however, like to say as a general principle; whenever there is confusion, move towards order. Get the chaos out of your head, and put it into a system you can easily adhere to. Deeply contemplate the balance you would like to have, and put it down on paper as a concrete plan. This way you will avoid mental clutter and simply acting on autopilot throughout the day, which is a recipe for imbalances.

[K VIL]

@Matt23 I'm not so rigid with integration. Trust that what needs to be integrated will be integrated.

Reading and watching are the beginning. Once you are ready, you will take discovery further.

[K VIL]

No need to read more theories on integration, unless you choose to do that. 

[tsuki]

On 1.01.2020 at 1:27 AM, Matt23 said:

What does your integration process look like?

It depends on the level from which you understand this word.

The integration of the mind is the measure of how interconnected your knowledge/concepts are.
How easily you are able to traverse your mind and connect things from different domains and how many irreconcilable paradoxes run through it.
For example, how does science fit with religion? Can you explain a concept from POV of various branches of science and develop a workable solution? Do you approach problems in a hard, technical, way, or do you factor in business ideas, soft (interpersonal) skills, marketing, etc? 
The practice is, IMO, learning and meditation.

On the level of the heart, integration is about owning your shadows and not disconnecting from your emotions.
It's about recognizing your needs and fulfilling them in a sustainable manner, consciously, without addiction or allergy.
Examples cover your basic needs and the way in which you fulfill them: intimacy, sex, food, approval, money, etc.
The more integrated you are, the less unconscious loops run through your life. It also has a lot to do with relationships, how healthy they are, etc.
The practice is, IMO, shadow work and various ways of releasing trauma.

[Matt23]

@Commodent 

On 1/1/2020 at 5:50 AM, Commodent said:

Your life and all your actions will eventually be forgotten. The culture you live in, will fall apart. Nothing will last.

On 1/1/2020 at 5:50 AM, Commodent said:

So what more is there to strive for really, other than balance in the process?

I see the wisdom in this.  

Thanks