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On one hand, we spend most of our day at work. Our entire lives revolve around it, and a person’s sense of self-realization is often measured by what they achieve in their job. On the other hand, there is a growing feeling of grey routine, fatigue, burnout, monotony, and boredom. Work no longer provides satisfaction, and the feeling of emptiness grows. Relationships with others are also deteriorating day by day. Is a fundamental change possible? The answer is yes, but only after developing an integral approach to life, a perception completely different from the one we have known until now.
The integral approach to education teaches us that we live in an integral system, the great system of nature, and absolute laws operate within it. The general law of development states that life advances when opposites connect. Today, as our world becomes increasingly interconnected and mutual dependence grows, the human species must also take on an integral form, one that is connected and complementary. The longer we delay this process, the more discomfort we will experience, and various crises will arise. But if we enter the process consciously, through inquiry and understanding, it will elevate us to a higher level of existence. New challenges, exciting discoveries, and deeper pleasures will appear. It can be truly wonderful.
So where do we begin? An organization that wants to develop the integral approach among its personnel must allocate dedicated time and enter a learning process. This is a complete method that needs to be studied and practiced under expert guidance. The benefits will be felt fairly quickly at every level: in relationships between employees, in cooperation, productivity, efficiency, creativity, willingness to contribute, and of course in the bottom line.
Coming to a Playground
Developing the integral approach in an organization gives each person a place to grow and flourish.
Today we go to work, do what is required of us with no enthusiasm, and try to get through the day. In an integral organization we do not come merely to “work,” but to our place of renewal. Why? It is because the integral approach gives us the feeling that as we develop personally, the environment around us develops as well. We experience a constant process of mutual renewal, much like children do.
Do you remember waking up on a day off as a child, jumping out of bed excitedly? The sun was shining and we wanted to run outside immediately. “Where are my games? Where are my friends?” This is how we could feel at work in an integral organization. We would feel no pressure if we were surrounded by people who help us experience every situation easily and pleasantly. Everything depends on the social environment around us.
Employees and managers alike should come to work as children come to a playground, to enjoy themselves with friends. What is special about a playground? It is a place of connection. Wherever there is a positive connection, human development takes place. Only there can we truly flourish.
Let us recall a childhood game we loved. The game itself might not have been physically easy. We climbed, jumped, ran, and “worked” hard. Yet we experienced it as a challenge and enjoyed it. Sometimes we played against each other, sometimes alongside each other, but we always shared something in common, we enjoyed playing together.
Why is such effort considered play? Why does it produce enjoyment instead of feeling like hard labor? It turns out that everything depends on attitude and on relationships between people. In an environment where constant tension exists and everyone pressures everyone else, we feel miserable. In a friendly society that helps and supports us, we feel safe, joy, and pleasure.
Full Self-Realization
Before developing an integral worldview, employees measure themselves according to their personal success, how much they advance or dominate others. After studying the integral approach, the value system changes. Members of the organization begin to measure how warm their environment is, how much it embraces them, and whether mutual consideration and support exist among everyone.
Even the definition of self-realization gradually changes. In the integral worldview people learn about a concept called “the center of the circle,” and they set a goal to move closer to it.
The “center of the circle” represents a gradual transition from a narrow, ego-centered perception to a broader feeling that we are all parts of one interconnected whole. There is a shift from the feeling of “I” to the collective feeling of “we.”
The closer people feel to the center of the circle, the more successful they consider themselves. Moving toward the center of the circle means strengthening the connection among everyone. According to the new definition, this becomes the highest form of self-realization. The beautiful aspect of it is that everyone can move toward this center without interfering with others. On the contrary, everyone is there together, and each person benefits from the success of others.
Not Keeping Things Inside
What happens in an integral organization when someone becomes angry with another person? First of all, it is important not to keep the resentment inside. This should be established as a rule of behavior. In advanced integral organizations where everyone has already internalized that the main goal is to preserve the feeling of connection, each person commits to avoiding hidden resentment.
Why? It is because we want to remain friends. If someone feels hatred toward a colleague, it harms each of us and all of us together. The overall connection between us is damaged, and therefore it must be addressed. Mutual responsibility requires internal honesty. We must promise one another that we will try to reveal what is in our hearts so that we can maintain connection without obstacles, like a family.
What should be done in practice when anger arises toward someone at work? It is preferable that the offended person does not confront the other person directly but resolves the issue together with the entire group. This is how everyone can learn from the situation and strengthen the peace between them.
The person who feels hurt or angry should approach the facilitator who leads the integral process within the organization and ask them to arrange a conversation. When everyone sits together in a circle, in a format called a connection workshop, the offended person describes the situation that took place. All participants then discuss it, reflect on the case, and search for a solution by strengthening their positive connection.
It is important to understand that among people who want to build genuine connection, no problem belongs to a single individual, it belongs to everyone. If such an atmosphere exists in the organization, no one will feel offended during the process. Even if the issue arose from misunderstanding, it becomes part of the past once it is resolved. From that moment onward, the relationship begins anew. No one looks backward.
Much more could be said about the integral method. Let us conclude with the hope that we will begin applying it sooner rather than later and move together toward a new positively connected reality.
Based on “New Life 122 – The Significance of Work in Our Life” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.