Integrative Archetypes: A Menagerie Of Liminal Luminaries - Part One

In 2023 I put forward a theory that there are five foundational worldviews. I defined a worldview as being ‘a collection of values that has crystallised into a distinct paradigm, attitude and cultural perspective.’ As the branching imagery suggests the idea was that each new worldview grows out of the last.

In order to more fully flesh out these worldviews I then profiled a number of the ‘subpersonalities’ or archetypes that tend to show up in each one. It’s important to note that we often contain a myriad of these subpersonalities within us as opposed to just manifesting as one. We are multitudes after all.

Here in this piece I’m focussing in solely on the kinds of subpersonalities (or archetypes) that specifically arise within the Integrative Worldview.

It’s a worldview I define as being uniquely meta in nature in that it tends to see the system as a whole and places great value on synthesising the wisdom of each of the other worldviews in order to arrive at novel insights and stumble into new ways of comprehending the world.

A collection of images and thinkers evoking the Integrative Worldview

It’s possible to get glimpses of this Integrative ‘structure of feeling’ through studying the new wave of Metamodern art identified by the academics Vermuelen and Van Den Akker in 2010. They describe a kind of oscillation between modern sincerity and post modern skepticism that includes a healthy lashing of both exquisite hope and poignant melancholy.

Such an Integrative perspective is also present in the ‘new sincerity’ that David Foster Wallace pointed to in the 1990’s when he described a fresh wave of anti-rebels that were earnestly attempting to re-engage with the world and step past ironic sniping into an earnest and concerted effort at making positive change in the world.

Integrative thinkers value the ability to inhabit multiple perspectives and tend to explicitly acknowledge that each of us is composed of an inner constellation of many ‘parts’. They value playful provocation as well as the heightened ability to be able to dialogue with, be affected by, and remain open to learning from a wide variety of different sources. This tends to encourage the translation of wisdom from one domain into another and as such it can often precipitate the building of bridges between various peoples and cultures. I see this as a good thing, though of course every worldview has it’s own unique set of shadows to go along with its strengths.

Emergent Integrative Archetypes

I’ve been tracking the gradual unfolding of one pocket of what could be thought of as an Integrative culture for some years now and I’ve been fascinated by the kinds of personas and archetypes that arise within it.

As such I’m excited to share with you the exotic menagerie of Integrative archetypes that have been inspired by friends, colleagues and teachers I’ve encountered in my adventures through a network of thinkers sometimes referred to as The Liminal Web.

In describing these personas I feel akin to an 18th Century Naturalist doing his best to faithfully capture the essence of a fantastical species he is encountering for the very first time. And whilst most of the descriptions make for a quick read, in certain cases I’ve employed a kind of maximum fidelity poetical prose in order to best outline the nuances of each type. In other words this series will oscillate between being shamelessly poetic and outright geeky so hold on to your hats.

It’s worth noting that:

1. These archetypes are not hard and fast distinctions.

2. That this is a collection of ideas in progress as opposed to a rigid taxonomy.

3. That we can often simultaneously embody a number of these archetypes at the same time.

Finally I’ll add that these archetypes are somewhat aspirational in that we may only embody their full potential for the briefest of moments. As such they can be seen as a kind of roster of 21st Century super heroes, brilliant suns in the luminescent skies of our collective unconscious.

And yet as we learned from Alan Moore’s The Watchmen even our most revered costumed crusaders can have devastating flaws. And while it’s always well worth mapping such shadow tendencies in advance this piece starts out with just meeting them in their best light and saves exploring the shadow sides of each of these potent Integrative personas for another day.

To aid in your mental digestion I’ll be presenting this archetypal banquet over a series of courses. This is part one.

With that said, here they are.

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1. The Meta Monk

• The multiperspectival monks who steadfastly rejuvenate their lineage with a healthy dose of contemporary wisdom culture. They ground emergent stories of regeneration and renewal in the time tested soils of transcendental tradition.

• They integrate psychological science, contemplative practice and routine prayer into a meditative melange of applied wisdom that draws as much from 20th Century humanist psychology as it does from the desert fathers and axial sages.

• More ‘guide on the side’ than 'sage on the stage' they accompany and embolden each of us to partake in intricate weaves of co-supported unfolding.

• As the winds of polarity and the fractious fires of epistemic discord howl and burn outside the gates, they seek to reimagine and restore the monastery and congregation as profoundly relevant cultural institutions that serve to gather, preserve and refine timeless wisdoms.

• Cultivating verdant pockets of deeply lived sustainability they remain closely connected to the modern world and lean into new technologies that can assist them in sharing their rejuvenated dharmas and theologies.

• They leverage the Élan vital of awakening to empower themselves and others to fully face up to and meaningfully engage with the immediate implications of existential risk.

• Often cycling in and out of their formal duties and residencies. As initiates they commit to a formalised regimen of rigorous mental, ethical, and interpersonal practice. As lay people they serve as pioneers in the herculean task of attempting to directly bridge our contemporary lifestyle with that of the monastic tradition. They wrestle with how to balance right livelihood, the virtues and noble silence with hypernormal stimuli, late stage capitalism and our ever shrinking capacity to simply be still.

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2. The Bard Of Belonging

• Those eager experimenters in the real time laboratory of relationality. Creating new communal constellations, reinventing religions, reimagining organisations and diligently working towards the propagation of wholly novel networks of supportive collaboration.

• Human traffic controllers by day, depth psychologists by night. They work to regulate new rhythms of connection and communion that dovetail elegantly with the contours of our 21st century lives.

• Drunk on the symphonic majesty of a perfectly primed yet oh so subtly conducted human orchestra.

• Intimately attuned to the reality that an often subconscious longing for deep communal connection is at the heart of much of our modern malaise. In the words of Carl Rogers they are excruciatingly aware that 'all of us are pretty good at carrying the secret of our own loneliness'.

• Forever re-arriving at the delicately unstable balance between the fullest possible diversity and the minimal congealing homogeneity required to cohere a sustainably invigorating cultural stream. Tangoing with this tension they consistently honour the magic of a truly diverse weave and assist all of us in avoiding the ever present temptation of only sinking into what we’re already comfortable with.

• Initiated into the truth that an initial and often ongoing degree of courageous exclusivity is frequently a prerequisite for the creation of a high fidelity communal substrate. One that is both rich enough to nourish nascent interactions and robust enough to serve as a medium for the inclusion of more peripheral species and specimens over time.

• A scion of small group settings they deftly embed therapeutically infused relational experiences within novel containers of friendship and fellowship. They encourage us to routinely and unceremoniously massage through our generational knots of inherited psychic tension and normalise the experience of regularly sharing what it's like to be us.

• Keeping one eye focussed on the fact that before too long we're going to need each other more than ever. They are keenly cognisant that in an age of all inclusive AI infused digitalisation the human to human experience of communal bonding and belonging will be an all too essential ballast for a collective psyche beset with a consistently rising tide of redundant futility.

• Willing to tend to entirely new kinds of relational soil well beyond the conventional fields of the family, workplace and our pair bonded tribes of two. They dream of a kind of collective blooming where everyone has the option to find themselves lovingly ensconced within a local network of tangible and transformational support.

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3. The Enlightened Developmentalist

• Ever inspired by the potential for developmentally informed maps to further afford us clearer insight into our personal and collective strengths, weaknesses and blindspots. They are able to see the essential and perhaps even unavoidable role these models can play in helping us to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the sometimes opaque motivating forces which shape our psychological, educational and socio-political landscapes.

• Artfully resists the ever present temptation to let these models turn them into either an asshole or a bore, revering one mantra above all others and regularly chanting it under their breath ‘The map is not territory’, ‘The map is not territory’…

• Keenly aware of the delicious irony that they are likely close to the top (or at least think they are) or end point of whatever particular model they prefer and that this can routinely cloud their objectivity as theorists and practitioners in the field.

• Beyond the more clear cut levels of childhood development they hold the concept of all encompassing ‘hierarchical adult developmental stages’ as lightly as possible. They remain open to the idea that perhaps over time (and after much more research is conducted in the field) reducing an individuals level of development to a single specific (or universal) hierarchical stage may seem outdated. Authors note: For what it’s worth currently my best guess is that a multifactorial combination of the more specific lines (or domains ie. ethical, cognitive) of development and a broader notion of non hierarchical orienting worldviews may end up being a more accurate and useful way of describing differences between individuals as opposed to simply assigning them to a single hierarchical stage in a preferred model.

• Courageous enough to speak to the existence of a number of developmental growth hierarchies but humble enough to avoid fetishising them. Managing to stay in close contact with their theories of choice without becoming wholly seduced and obsessed by a developmental lens. They remain ardent practitioners of a form of epistemic humility that recognises their model is very likely not the whole picture and probably contains significant blind spots or even yet to be discovered fatal flaws.

• Has come to peace with the fact that we’re clearly not all of equal ability in every domain and yet implicitly treats all living creatures as peers worthy of love, dignity, support and respect.

• Well versed in the dark history of these kinds of models being used to justify cruel and discriminatory social policy. Aware that sensitivities around this are still very much alive in the collective cultural unconscious and open to the idea that some of these unfortunate biases may continue to creep their way into current and future theories.

• Has perfected the practice of being able to interrupt the powerful tractor beam of their preferred developmental lens and periodically see every individual they encounter as completely original, stridently undefinable and endlessly surprising beings of infinite mystery.

• Recognises the human tendency to try and form universal 'all in one' models that may appear elegant but often sacrifice large swathes of truth in the name of simplicity, efficiency and digestability.

• Ever cognisant of the 21st Century phenomena of unhealthy sect or cult like dynamics arising around developmental theories and how a whole new kind of guru complex can arise in application of such models.

• Doesn’t suggest any stages are unequivocally ‘better or superior’ than others but rather that are healthy and unhealthy versions of each and that some are ‘more suited, preferable or conducive to peaceful flourishing’ in certain scenarios, epochs or contexts. But that said everyone is allowed their favourite, it’s just not necessarily wise to say so.

• Open to the idea and discussion that maybe, just maybe, the whole notion of developmental maps and models is a body of knowledge that we are not yet wise enough as a species to actively and publicly pursue. And willing to entertain the notion that in this moment in time perhaps any model or system that infers a kind of non task specific ranking of a persons inner world is more fraught with downsides than it is liberatory potential.

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4. The Sleeper Agent

• Operating much closer to the marketplace than the mountaintop they are intimately involved in the patient process of alchemising late stage capitalism into something ‘much more curious and kind’ (a line I often borrow from the Arch Wizard of Ambiguity Dr Jason Fox).

• These chameleonic world bridgers become maestros of translation as they steadfastly convert grand ideas into practical pathways forward. They serve as conduits for mainlining the realms of the regenerative, the mythic, the developmental and even the ineffable into the fluorescently lit worlds of prosaic productivity.

• Firm in the conviction that revivifying our institutions is an integral part of seeing us through this period of great societal transition, they ascend to positions of power both inside and out of the traditional corporate domain in order to apply hard won leverage and liberally sprinkle Integrative wisdom wherever possible during pivotal moments of cultural change. 

• Ever fluent in the lore and language of the status quo they become expert at meeting others exactly where they're are at. And yet amidst this constant harmonisation with the mainstream they maintain potent personal rituals and relationships that help to ensure they don't lose touch with their innermost selves along the way.

• Industrious initiators of the infinite game they look to consistently close the loop and steadily work to internalise our modern cultures long list of exploitative externalities.

• Having garnered the financial means to support those potent causes often at the peripheries of public consciousness they channel significant resources into projects that are thinking in terms of at least the next seven generations to come.

• These covert denizens of Game A often exhibit a humble willingness to sacrifice being seen as revolutionary or avant-garde in order to steadfastly shepherd as many people as possible along with them on the journey towards a more beautiful and harmonious future.

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Joe Lightfoot is a writer, coach and sometimes podcaster. He publishes articles at his blog, published a book in 2020 called a A Collective Blooming: The Rise Of The Mutual Aid Community and is the host of The Lightfoot Podcast. You can sign up to his substack newsletter The Lightfoot Letter and find him on Facebook.