My April 29th dialogue with Candice O’Denver was the second time we’ve dialoged as a part of the Beyond Awakening Series.  Her unique and original approach cuts always to the root, using fresh, direct, intuitive, universal language, like “open intelligence,” “clarity”, “life satisfaction”, “flourishing”, “bursting forth” and “being of benefit.”

Her vocabulary is a meta-communication, worth contemplating for the nuances it includes and declines to include. Whenever we talk, she transmits awakening, greatly deepening the field and always advancing my understanding of how radical, non-dual, non-problematic consciousness can liberate the frame even while it “rolls up its sleeves” and digs into practical engagement with the issues before us.

We began with Candice giving an overview of the anchoring tenets of the Balanced View teachings, including the core algorithm of “short moments of open intelligence repeated many times until it becomes obvious.” According to Candice, open intelligence gives rise to a life of flourishing, beauty and discernment.

When we live as the “singularity” of open intelligence (not separable from the “data” of all experience) our available intelligence is no longer confined to our personal point of view. If open intelligence becomes our primary reference, shining forth with all data and points of view, we experience the bursting forth of creative intelligence and the natural flourishing that is at the basis of our reality. Candice emphasized that this is what reality actually is. As our self-focused frames of reference are relaxed, everything arises with newness and freshness. We express an exquisite clarity and are able to create knowledge on the fly. This is what she means by “open ended-knowledge creation.”

I also found it extremely satisfying to delve with Candice into what I see as her radical claim about how knowledge itself arises. She responded deceptively directly to the most radical question that arises in the philosophy of information theory (“What is most fundamental — consciousness, matter, or information?”) essentially saying “yes!” (Since they cannot be radically separated.) This non-separability allows her to express a radical simplicity that joins equally with information theorists who see information as fundamental, scientific skeptics who see matter as fundamental, and awakened mystics who point to the consciousness as most fundamental.

In response to the evolutionary imperative, open intelligence is now bursting forth and empowering human nature from within. I told her I was reminded of what I see as a newly emerging, free, transpersonal clarity in which the directionality of inquiry is now accounting for “ the user illusion,” or our embedded anthropocentric point of view, and how a relaxation into raw, unprocessed experience is needed to truly liberate our capacities and potentials. I wondered if open intelligence was perhaps a convergence between an inquiry about coming alive as the core of what is most passionately uniquely personal (what Ken Wilber calls “Eros”) including our personal mission and purpose; and the transpersonal and impersonal process of raw recognition of the field of reality or what is.

Candice offered another resounding “Yes!” She sees open intelligence expressing the evolutionary imperative by changing everything from within. Open intelligence is becoming apparent to all, bursting through so that self-concern and anthropocentrism are no longer the defining point of view or orientation. All “data” are allowed in for a totally inclusive view.

Our dialogue was truly rich. It brought new insights into the ongoing koan of this series—of optimistically trusting evolution while facing (and not bypassing) the alarm and pessimism so often triggered by our global crises. A beautifully freeing implication of Candice’s insight is the “perpetual optimism” that is allowed by open intelligence.

During our final question and answer session, Candice reflected on some vulnerable personal questions from listeners. I was moved by both the transparency of the callers and by Candice’s responses.

I invite you to enjoy this download here so that you may also share in this rich dialogue!