Integral Theory
Sri Aurobindo, Jean Gebser, and Ken Wilber, have all made significant theoretical contributions to integral theory.
In the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, integral yoga refers to the process of the union of all the parts of one's being with the Divine, and the transmutation of all of their jarring elements into a harmonious state of higher divine consciousness and existence.
In his book The Ever-Present Origin, Swiss phenomenologist Jean Gebser distinguished between five structures of consciousness:
- the archaic structure
- the magic structure
- the mythical structure
- the mental structure
- the integral structure
Gebser wrote that he was unaware of Sri Aurobindo's prior usage of the term 'integral', which coincides to some extent with his own.
Wilber, drawing on both Aurobindo's and Gebser's theories, as well as on the writings of many other authors, created a theory which he calls AQAL. AQAL stands for "All Quadrants All Levels."
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