Reflections on the 2026 Integral Conference of North America (ICON)

By Said Elias Dawlabani, first publish on Substack June15, 2026

One of the most exciting developments in Ken Wilber’s integral community in the US was the revival of the Integral Theory Conference after a decade-long hiatus. My friend Tom Habib spearheaded this revival in 2024, championing the diversity of voices contributing to a comprehensive integral vision of the future. Committed to bridging the divide between the Wilberian and Gravesian communities, Tom invited several Gravesians, including myself, to the 2026 conference. It was delightful to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and meet the younger generation of Wilberians and Gravesians engaged in various projects advancing the understanding of the human condition. The theme of the conference was the role developmentalists play in defining a post-tragic future.

While I believe every keynote and workshop were memorable, I will briefly comment on those that completed the integral circle by addressing the Lower Right Quadrant (LRQ), which, in the integral model, represents social systems and the environment. In the Gravesian model, the LRQ is the dynamic part of the model, the sungear determining the movement of all other gears in the system. It is the source of change that triggers higher psychosocial intelligence to solve more complex problems. Therefore, it was no surprise that many attendees were eager to shift focus from exclusive spiritual and personal growth to real-world challenges and understand how these solutions align with our respective models.

Geopolitics

One of the most intriguing presentations in the politics category was made by Bence Ganti, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Integral European Conference (IEC). As a Hungarian native, Bence guided us through Hungary’s developmental stages, warning of pitfalls modern democracies might encounter. By meticulously mapping Viktor Orbán’s 16-year regime of oppression and authoritarianism, Bence illustrated how this plunged the country into hopelessness and shame. He questioned whether the situation was tragically immutable—that change was impossible, that Orbán was unbeatable, and that development was regressing. However, he detailed the rapid transformation of the system as Hungarian citizens reached a breaking point. (This state of despondency is one the US is at least a decade away from). Bence described how anger and absolute defiance made this change possible, culminating in a two-thirds parliamentary victory for a new political force that challenged the global autocratic trend and indicated a developmental course correction. The images and clips he shared depicted a contagious euphoria not just in Hungary, but across the European Union and beyond.

The lesson is clear: any leadership adhering to a strongman mentality that negates social progress will be short-lived. The focus must shift to how we can shield our institutions from such leaders or mitigate downshifts with minimal pain.

Peace & Governance

While Bence’s presentation focused on existential issues affecting national, regional, and global geopolitics, other talks addressed even larger global issues. My longtime friend and colleague, Dr. Darrell Gooden, conducted an interactive workshop on the challenges of the Digital Age. Darrell began with the question: What happens when peace erodes to the point where the capacity to coerce surpasses the capacity to relate? As a military and digital expert, he explained how this critical boundary is now encoded in algorithms, automated through hybrid state–technocratic surveillance systems, and deployed across military networks in ways that surpass every ethical and legal framework designed to govern them. He then introduced the Peace Architecture Model (PAM) from his upcoming book. PAM is a developmental systems framework that maps four recursive layers of relational capability: interior integration, relational holding, field coherence, and functional institutional design. These layers parallel the architecture of the AQAL model, emphasizing the Lower Right Quadrant (LRQ) as the source triggering our response to existential threats.

The Nature of Change

Christine Habib and I co-led a workshop on the nature of change, approaching the issue from two different perspectives. Christine explored its cyclical nature based on Neil Howe’s concept of the Fourth Turning, which argues that American history follows repeated cycles lasting roughly 80 to 100 years, divided into four phases that assess the strength of societal institutions versus individual power. She indicated a reverse relationship between these two elements: when institutions are strong, individualism is weak; conversely, when individualism is strong—like it is today—institutional collapse becomes imminent.

In my portion of the workshop, I differentiated between Cyclical Change and Emergent Change. I introduced two additional models of cyclical change: George Friedman’s socio-economic cycles (40 to 50 years), which coincide with my MEMEnomic Cycles, and his institutional cycles (80 to 100 years), which illustrate what occurs when a socio-economic cycle progresses past its Nexus Point toward institutional collapse (see the graph below). The other cyclical model was based on Ray Dalio’s work regarding the rise and fall of empires, depicting the current decline of the American empire and the rise of China.

I then introduced Graves’ Emergent Change model, which has been central to my work for over two decades. I emphasized the importance of maintaining our institutions and societal clusters—along the entire spiral—in an open psychosocial state. While this is challenging to achieve, successfully doing so has a profound impact on societal emergence: as the failing system reaches its natural Nexus point, the emergent system can take over and begin to spread its virtues with minimal disruptions, contributing to the evolution of institutions rather than causing their collapse.

Artificial Intelligence & the Future

Craig Hamilton and Adam Leonard delivered keynote speeches about the potential of AI. Craig proposed that this technology offers an unprecedented evolutionary opportunity hiding in plain sight. He outlined a scenario in which machines take over most tasks currently performed by humans, viewing this as a new leverage point to create a flourishing, integrally led society. He detailed how integral leaders can guide the emergence of this utopia.

Adam’s presentation provided an insider perspective, given his leadership role at Google’s DeepMind. He presented a futurist view of “magical technological powers” defined by forthcoming advances in cybernetic augmentation, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology, which will allow humans to live beyond previously imagined timeframes. These changes bring key polarities and moral dilemmas, according to Adam. He believes there will be losses and gains, failures and triumphs, grief and gratitude. He posed critical questions: How do we, as a community, handle the imminent transhumanist wave? Are we biased toward interior evolution while wanting exterior evolution to remain static? What does it feel like to see ourselves as a transitional species, and what will emerge next? He concluded with a recent quote from Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s DeepMind: “We are at the foothill of Singularity.” This quote resonated with me for two days and I used it to begin my keynote presentation on a different Singularity: Planetary collapse and how to build collapse resilience.

Human Exceptionalism and Gaian Intelligence

My keynote primarily focused on the themes of my latest book, Second Sapiens, and the necessary shift both of our models must undergo to understand the dynamics that have led to our tragic world. I discussed the critical transition phase and what a post-tragic world might look like considering the planetary degradation and ecological collapse we have inflicted on our planet. This differentiation centered around the idea that our ascendance into the fifth stage Orange system has led us to mistakenly believe that human intelligence surpasses natural intelligence. I argue that transcending the former and integrating it within the latter is our species’ best chance for survival.

Below are images from my presentation that illustrate the shift our models must embrace as we transition from the Holocene Epoch, driven by human intelligence, to the Anthropocene/Gaian Epoch, guided by natural intelligence.

I concluded my keynote with a warning about the limitations of AI, which cannot derive data and knowledge from a future that relies on a far more complex form of science emerging from the eighth stage of development (Turquoise). Wilber often refers to this as the “broad sciences,” commonly understood as the complex adaptive systems of life science. According to researchers in this field, we are at day zero in comprehending its complexity.

Tom led the closing ceremonies with heartfelt reflections on the experiences shared throughout the conference, emphasizing the integration of what we learned, felt, and meditated upon. Many participants noted a significant shift within the community toward embracing systems thinking (LRQ), which was music to my ears. A profound sense of gratitude filled the room as we acknowledged the importance of these gatherings and the vital role they play in our unwavering quest to explore the depths of the human condition. Together, we reaffirmed our commitment to this journey, knowing that each step forward brings us closer to understanding ourselves and each other with reverence to the planet on which we live that makes it all possible.

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The Clarion Call for Second Sapiens Consciousness.

First published on Substack on June 16, 2025.

As someone who has been deeply immersed in the realms of Spiral Dynamics integral, I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my intellectual life to understanding the complexities of human consciousness and cultural evolution. I’ve seen how this model can illuminate the diverse values and perspectives that shape our world, providing valuable insights into everything from organizational dynamics to societal trends. However, recent experiences and deeper reflection have led me to a critical realization: as powerful as both, Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory are, they currently lack the necessary frameworks to adequately address the scale and urgency of planetary collapse. We need to evolve; to move beyond the limits of our current understanding and embrace a new form of human intelligence I call Second Sapiens consciousness. This is the new developmental roadmap that will help us navigate the Anthropocene. It involves the transcendence of what planetary system scientists call the Human Exceptionalism Paradigm and the embrace of a New Ecological Paradigm that is far more inclusive in its wholeness.

For those less familiar, Spiral Dynamics, building on Clare W. Graves’s work, outlines a series of stages of development that individuals and societies progress through, each building upon the previous one. Integral Theory, spearheaded by Ken Wilber, offers a comprehensive framework that seeks to integrate different perspectives, including science, philosophy, art, and spirituality. Both models emphasize the importance of understanding and integrating different levels of consciousness for personal and collective growth.

But here’s the core issue: both Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory, in their prevailing interpretations, were largely developed during a period of relative environmental stability – the Holocene. While they acknowledge the importance of ecological considerations, they tend to treat them as just one factor among many, rather than the defining context for all other aspects of human existence. We’ve been applying frameworks built for a relatively stable world to a world that is rapidly destabilizing. It’s like trying to use a map of a calm lake to navigate a turbulent ocean.

Think about it. Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory identify stages of development, each with its own strengths and limitations. The “Green” stage, for example, values equality, community, and ecological awareness. But even a well-developed Green perspective can fall short when confronted with the sheer scale and complexity of planetary collapse. Green values can be undermined by a lack of systems thinking, a tendency to focus on local solutions without addressing the systemic drivers of environmental destruction. More importantly, Green is prone to the clever manipulation of the Orange system that has mastered the skill of giving it a bone (greenwashing is a good example), to keep it from realizing its full potential.

Similarly, Integral Theory emphasizes the importance of “waking up,” “growing up,” “cleaning up,” and “showing up” – attending to our inner lives, developing our cognitive capacities, healing our psychological wounds, and engaging in meaningful action in the world. But what if the very ground beneath our feet is shifting? What if the “world” we’re showing up to is on the verge of collapse? Integral Theory, in its current form, doesn’t adequately address the existential threat of planetary breakdown. Having just heard Wilber emphasize the importance of the 4 “ups” at the Integral European Conference, I’d like to add another up: “looking up”. Borrowing from the 2021 political satire movie Don’t Look Up, because doing so will make us see the deep shit we’re in. This is how Graves captured the deficiencies inherent in our exclusive focus on the inner quadrants to the exclusion of our existential reality. He describes it as the ceiling caving in on our heads as we sit in our meditative states contemplating our navel. The “ceiling caving in” are the planetary issues he identified as early as 1974.

This isn’t to say that these two models are irrelevant. Far from it. They provide essential tools for understanding the diverse values and perspectives that shape our responses to the environmental crisis. They can help us identify the limitations of different approaches, from the materialistic worldview of Orange to the traditionalism of Blue and the destructive behavior of Red. But we need to go further. We need to evolve beyond the limits of our current understanding and embrace a new level of consciousness – what I’m calling Second Sapiens consciousness.

Second Sapiens consciousness, as I envision it, is characterized by several key features:

1. Planetary Awareness: First and foremost, it’s a deep and visceral understanding of the interconnectedness of all life on Earth and the fragility of the Earth’s systems. It’s not just an intellectual understanding, but a gut-level awareness that our actions have profound consequences for the entire planet. It’s what Joanna Macy calls “ecological self” – a sense of identity that extends beyond our individual selves to encompass the entire Earth community.
2. Systems Thinking: Of life that is. Second Sapiens consciousness requires a capacity for complex systems thinking. We need to move beyond linear cause-and-effect thinking and embrace a more holistic understanding of how different systems interact and influence each other in a dance that seeks ecological and planetary balance. We need to be able to see the feedback loops, the tipping points, and the emergent properties that characterize what I call the Gaian sciences defined by the totality of the complex adaptive systems of life.
3. Natural Intelligence: It’s about learning how to listen to and learn from the wisdom of nature. This involves recognizing the inherent value of all life forms, not just those that are useful to humans. It also involves embracing indigenous knowledge and traditional ecological practices that have sustained communities for centuries.
4. Existential Courage: It’s about having the courage to face the enormity of the challenges we face without succumbing to despair or denial. It’s about acknowledging the possibility of collapse, while also holding onto the hope that we can still create a more sustainable future. It also means finding the resilience to keep acting in the face of uncertainty and setbacks.
5. Ethical Responsibility: Second Sapiens consciousness implies a deep sense of ethical responsibility to future generations and to all life on Earth. It’s about recognizing that we are not the owners of the planet, but rather its custodians. We have a moral obligation to leave the Earth in a better condition than we found it.
6. Transcending Anthropocentrism: Ultimately, Second Sapiens consciousness requires a transcendence of anthropocentrism – the belief that humans are the center of the universe and that all other life forms exist solely for our benefit. It’s about recognizing that we are just one species among millions, and that our fate is inextricably linked to the fate of all other species.

So, how do we cultivate Second Sapiens consciousness within the frameworks of Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory? I believe it requires a deliberate effort to expand the scope and deepen the understanding of these two models. Beyond Spiral Dynamicsintegral, lies Spiral Dynamics Gaian, and here are some specific steps that will get us there:

1. Integrating Planetary Boundaries: We need to explicitly integrate the concept of planetary boundaries into Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory. This means recognizing that crossing these boundaries poses an existential threat to human civilization and that all human development models, not just these two, must be nested in this larger holonic structure without which life itself is not possible.
2. Nesting the Green Stage in Gaian intelligence: The Green stage needs to be expanded to incorporate a more sophisticated understanding of ecological systems and the systemic drivers of environmental destruction. We need to move beyond the labeling of the stage as the “mean green meme” that equates to deconstructionism and surface reactions and recognize that without empowering its healthy more complex manifestation, our movement to Second Sapiens consciousness will be greatly impaired.
3. Re-evaluating the Yellow Stage: This stage, which emphasizes systems thinking and holistic integration, holds the key for fostering Second Sapiens consciousness. However, we need to ensure that a new Yellow perspective is grounded in a deep understanding of the much higher holonic structure of planetary realities and ethical responsibilities.
4. Integrating Indigenous Wisdom: Indigenous knowledge and traditional ecological practices offer invaluable insights into sustainable living and ecological harmony. This is the re-embrace of the simplicity that existed in the Purple stage while using best practices and lessons learned in our journey from the Red to Green stages of our First Sapiens existence. It is what I call the brain-heart-soul syndicate that defines the models on the other side of the Holocene.
5. Embracing the Dark Side: Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory tend to focus on positive development and integration. We are swimming in positive psychology that ignores everything negative. Second Sapiens must acknowledge the shadow side of human consciousness and the destructive tendencies that have led us to the brink of planetary collapse. This involves facing our collective traumas and working to heal the wounds that have driven us to exploit and dominate the natural world.
6. Cultivating Existential Resilience: As we confront the challenges of the Anthropocene, we need to cultivate existential resilience – the capacity to face the possibility of collapse without losing hope or succumbing to despair. This involves developing practices that foster inner strength, connection to community, and a sense of meaning and purpose in the face of uncertainty. The approach is that of humility that acknowledges our misuse of the world and its precious resources as we embarked on a self-aggrandizing, insatiable First Sapiens journey that placed at the mercy of Mother Nature that has become far less merciful towards our species.

It won’t be easy to evolve to Second Sapiens consciousness, because change can hurt. It requires a willingness to challenge our deeply held beliefs, to confront uncomfortable truths, and to embrace new ways of thinking and acting. But it’s not an option; it’s a necessity. If we are to have any hope of creating a sustainable future for ourselves and future generations, we must move beyond the limits of our current models and embrace a new level of consciousness – a consciousness that recognizes our interconnectedness with all life on Earth and our responsibility to protect the planet that sustains us. I am dedicating my work now, and in the future, to doing just that. Welcome to Spiral Dynamics Gaian and Second Sapiens consciousness.