Who is Ken Wilber

I was introduced to KW and his ideas when I spotted a book with the title "A Theory of Everything" in Borders bookshop Oxford in 2003. Since I had studied physics at university, I pulled it out somewhat cynically, expecting yet another layman's introduction to particle physics/space-time theory.. or whatever.

But in the introduction, Ken made it clear that his book was not about the Cosmos (the universe regarded as made up only of matter, energy and things that science can measure), but about the Kosmos (which includes things measurable AND the inner world of things that cannot be directly measured - beauty, love, opinions, feelings, a sense of justice).

That immediately raised a whole host of "yes but..." questions in my mind, but I was hooked! I've since read seven or eight more of his books (lost count) joined various lists and online communities, and helped found the Oxford Integral Circle.

Ken has a great "model" for understanding how the Kosmos hangs together - Integral Theory or Integral Philosophy - and has built up an Institute around these ideas.

What's great about Integral is that it is inclusive rather than exclusive. So you have people from all the major religions, and from no religion who are founder members of Integral Institute. And I'm greatly indebted to Ken for introducing me to many fascinating and deep thinkers of all flavours.

But there are two fundamental ideas which I was introduced to by Ken that changed the way I look at the world forever. Two key pieces of the jigsaw of life.

Firstly, he introduced me to the idea of stages of development: the idea that the development of our consciousness does not stop at 18, but continues (in principle) throughout life. Through Ken's books, I've found different researchers who have shown this to be true: it's a dimension of life that effects everything we think and do (and how we think it and do it) - and yet it is rarely taken into account.

Secondly, he solved a terrible dilemma I'd had for years. For just about all my adult life I had a belief in something "mystical". Throughout my life that belief took different forms - including some experiences. But I could never square my belief with the various scientific explanations for such experiences. Brain science seems to have advanced so far that just about any so-called mystical experience can be "explained" by chemical and/or electrical phenomena in the brain.

The brilliance of the Integral approach is that it honours both the extraordinary explanatory power of science AND the undeniable reality of our inner experiences. Neither of them takes precedence over the other.

Finally, let me make it clear that, although I greatly admire Ken, and fully expect history to give him a place of honour, he is not my "guru" - nor anyone's guru, in fact. All the people I know who "follow" his writings also challenge and question his ideas, and have interests in other ideas and models and theories.

But for many, many people, Ken is the person who has helped them break out of years of confused ideas about spirituality and the meaning of life, and opened up tremendously exciting, new ways of understanding the Kosmos.

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Doesn't that feel good?