„Buenos DIA!“
– or: a lucky birth
Report from the inauguration of the DIA – Die Integrale Akademie on September the 3rd in 2008 in Frankfurt, Niederursel
On September the 3rd in 2008 DIA – Die Integrale Akademie saw the light of day at the official inauguration celebration in Frankfurt, Niederursel, Germany. It was preceded by a seminar of Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter on “Adult Development”.. Around 40 participants of the seminar had found their way to Frankfurt, Niederursel – a place that could be called ‘the cozy melting pot of the integral movement in Germany’, because you will find not only the editorial offices of the integrally progressive anthroposophical magazine “info3”, but also of “what is enlightenment?”, right next to the “Integrale Initiative Frankfurt” in one street. Susanne being the co-director of the Integral Psychology Center of Integral Institute – as well as new president of the DIA – taught the nuances of her model in a vivid way with many exercises and anecdotes. The audience cherished her presentation and her character accordingly. Most of the participants joined the other guests (all in all around 60), that brought the local “Teescheune” to the limits of its capacity for the inauguration event. Beside the board members of IIF, EIA and IF representatives of the anthroposophical magazine “info3”, EnlightenNext, the World Spirit Forum, the Academy of Inner Sciences, the University of Cologne, as well as about a dozen salon leaders of the Integrales Forum (IF) filled the room. A lot of international friends, among them Terry Patten (I-I), Sean Esbjörn-Hargens (JFK University) and Brian Robertson (Holacracy One) were virtually present on a board with their good wishes for the DIA inauguration.
Sonja Student, driving force behind the Integrale Initiative Frankfurt (IIF) as well as early visionary of the DIA, welcomed the guests and guided them through the evening program in her fresh and unconventional manner. She especially appreciated the many financial sponsors and supporters of the project.
After a collective toast the German AQAL-Expert and author Michael Habecker played two self-composed pieces on his guitar. It was followed by an address of the new president of the DIA, Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter, in which her bridge-building function between Europe and the USA became very clear. After that the poet, singer and songwriter Shmuel Khedi took his turn and played two pieces on the guitar, one sad, one frisky.
The highlight of the evening was a telephone-interview with the most prominent figure in the integral movement, Ken Wilber, that Dennis Wittrock, designated CEO of the DIA moderated with the other dialogue-partner, Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter.
Central topics of the interview were developmental theories, as well as the emergence of an integral culture. Ken and Susanne emphasized their mutual appreciation for each other and the respective theoretical contributions to the common field. Further topics were a critical appreciation of the Spiral Dynamics model, “switchpoints” of horizontal development through the states of consciousness as well their pathologies, difficulties in the prognosis of collective developmental trends, the new Internet portal “Integral Life” and a report from the first Conference on Integral Theory in San Francisco. The entire interview was recorded and is available on this website in the audio-archive.
After this rich cognitive input the guests enjoyed an equally tasty culinary input at the buffet - both of which they digested in personal chats with a glass of wine and candlelight. All in all it was an very lucky birth for DIA – Die Integrale Akademie and we are all excited about how this child will develop in the future.