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Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber

Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. (born January 31, 1949, Oklahoma City, USA) is an American philosopher and psychological theorist. His work focuses mainly on creating an "integral theory of consciousness" in which the insights of mysticism, postmodernism, science and systems theory come together to form a coherent picture of the Kosmos. In Kosmic Consciousness, Wilber states that he considers himself a storyteller and a mapmaker; his stories address universal questions and his maps integrate various perspectives of the cosmos. Although he is considered a founder of the transpersonal school of psychology, he has since disassociated himself from it [http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/interviews/interview1220.cfm]. In 1998 Wilber founded the Integral Institute, a think-tank for studying issues of science and society in an integral way. He has been a pioneer in the development of Integral psychology and Integral politics. In the 4 January 1997 issue of the German newspaper Die Welt, a reviewer called Wilber "the foremost thinker in the field of the evolution of consciousness."

Biography

Education

Ken Wilber was born on January 31, 1949 in Oklahoma City, OK. His father was in the Air Force and Oklahoma was just a temporary sojourn in a journey through Bermuda, El Paso, TX, Idaho, and Great Falls, MT where he began high school. For his senior year they moved to Lincoln, NE where he was valedictorian of his high school class. He remembers the frequent moves as traumatic, though he was successful in athletics and was several times elected student body or class president. "People think I am anti-social, but that is quite wrong. When at twenty-three I engaged my adult interests of writing and meditation, it was hard for me to stop being with people and spend my life in a corner." (p. 19, Visser) In 1968 he enrolled as a pre-med student at Duke University, but almost immediately experienced a crisis of disillusionment with what science had to offer. It was not the psychedelics then in vogue which inspired him. It was Eastern literature, particularly the Tao Te Ching, which catalyzed his conversion. Academically he lost that first year, but returned to Nebraska, enrolled in the University, and completed a bachelor's degree with double majors in chemistry and biology. This he managed to do while spending much of his time pursuing Eastern philosophy and Western psychology. He won a scholarship to do graduate study in biochemistry, but by this time he was thoroughly ensnared by the philosophical and contemplative life, and dropped out. He describes his academic accomplishments as "a Master's degree in biochemistry, and a Ph.D. minus thesis in biochemistry and biophysics, with specialization in the mechanism of the visual process." While tutoring he met Amy Wagner in 1972. They decided to live together and married a year later. The relationship was committed to shared responsibilities, and Wilber did odd jobs such as dishwashing for the next nine years to contribute his share to their support. The menial work provided balance while he continued to write. He never relished writing, but thought of himself more as a thinker. To hone his writing skills he copied all the books of Alan Watts verbatim, in longhand. His method for the next ten years was to study for ten months or so, conceive a book in its entirety, then to write obsessively to complete it in two or three months.

Early career

In 1973 he completed the manuscript for his first book, The Spectrum of Consciousness, the first fruit of his quest to integrate thought from disparate fields. After rejections by more than twenty publishers it was finally accepted by Quest Books, a theosophical organization in 1977. It was well received, with Wilber being compared to such luminaries as William James, Freud, and even Einstein. The success brought opportunities for many lectures and workshops, which he gave up after a year to provide more time for his writing. He also helped to launch the journal ReVision in 1978. No Boundary was a popularized summary of The Spectrum of Consciousness published in 1979. It was followed by the sociological works The Atman Project (1980) and Up from Eden (1981). The editorial demands of the journal on his time increased, and in 1981 he agreed to an amicable divorce from Amy and moved to Cambridge, MA to work on ReVision projects. In 1983 he moved to Marin County, CA, where he met and soon married Terry (Treya) Killam. At the same time she was diagnosed with breast cancer. From the fall of 1984 until 1987 Wilber gave up most of his writing to focus on caring for her. During this stressful time their relationship was tested when he temporarily ceased meditation and turned to alcohol. During their brief stay in a home they had built at Incline Village (Lake Tahoe, NV), Wilber contracted a chronic illness in 1985 which he still struggles with today. In 1987 they moved to Boulder, CO to be near the Naropa Institute, a Buddhist University founded by Chogyam Trungpa. Here they found the peace they had been seeking, even though Treya died in January, 1989. Their joint experience was recorded in the book Grace and Grit (1991).

Recent works

He worked for a time on a textbook of integral psychology (eventually published in 1999 as part of volume IV of his Collected Works), but left it to focus on the three year project Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (SES), (1995), the massive first volume of a proposed Kosmos Trilogy. During that period of isolation he experienced an extended, eleven day mystical enlightenment. A Brief History of Everything (1996) was the non-footnoted, popularized summary of SES in the form of an imagined, extended interview. The Eye of Spirit (1997) was a compilation of articles he had written for ReVision on the relationship between science and religion. A shorter revised edition was published by Random House in 1998 as The Marriage of Sense and Soul. In 1997 he met Marci Walters, a young student at the Naropa Institute. They lived together for five years, getting married in June 2001, but then separating in 2002. Wilber considers that time as the most productive thus far of his career, but had felt from the beginning of their relationship that Marci would eventually move on to raise a family. Throughout 1997 he had kept journals of his personal experiences, which were published in 1999 as One Taste, his term for cosmic, or unitary consciousness. Over the next two years his publisher Shambhala Publications, took the unusual step of releasing eight re-edited volumes of his Collected Works. The year 1999 was particularly productive as he finished his Integral Psychology and wrote A Theory of Everything (2000) which attempts to bridge business, politics, science and spirituality in a short introduction to his thought that also integrates Spiral Dynamics. In 1999 he also wrote the first draft of Boomeritis (2002), a novel that attempts to expose the egotism of his generation. Since 1987, Wilber has lived in Denver, Colorado, where he is working on his Kosmos trilogy and supervising the work of the Integral Institute.

Ideas

The neo-perennial philosophy

One of Wilber's major theoretical accomplishments has been to create what he calls the neo-perennial philosophy, an integration of traditional mysticism (typified by Aldous Huxley's perennial philosophy) with an account of cosmic evolution that is in many respects compatible with that of the great Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo. As a Buddhist, he believes that reality is ultimately a nondual union of Emptiness and Form, with Form being innately subject to development over time. Wilber's voluminous writings are ultimately attempts to describe how Form undergoes change, and how sentient beings in the world of Form participate in this change until they finally realise their true identity as Emptiness. The Croatian esoteric philosopher Arvan Harvat has alleged that attempting to integrate a thoroughly nondual approach like Zen with an evolutionary view is ultimately impossible: if your model includes absolutely everything, how can it change? Wilber's response is that it is only Form that evolves; Emptiness remains unchanged. Trans-conceptually, one can embrace one's own transrational (and hence ultimately ineffable) experience-awareness, and this is what constitutes true nondual enlightenment. Others, including Georg Feuerstein, argue that Wilber's view is a confusion between concepts of differentiated nondualist doctrines (such as Plotinus's Neo-Platonism and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) and truly unitary monism of Zen and Advaita Vedanta: the former philosophies distinguish between emanated or manifest reality and the unchangeable source, while for Zen or Advaita the Source and reality are essentially one and the same, as expressed in the famous Zen saying: "Nirvana is Samsara fully realized; Samsara is Nirvana rightly understood." Wilber's response to this would surely be that there is no true confusion here - differentiated non-dual doctrines and truly unitary monist doctrines are describing (or coming from) different levels of consciousness, the former from a causal perspective that differentiates between Emptiness and Form (and hence must see Form as emanationary), and the latter from a non-dual perspective that equates Emptiness and Form (and hence renders emanation a redundant concept).

Holons and the twenty tenets

A key idea in Wilber's philosophical approach is the holon. In considering what might be the basic building blocks of existence, he observed that it seems every entity and concept shares a dual nature: as a whole in itself, and as a part of some other thing. For example, although you are made of parts (your nervous system, your skeletal system, etc.), you are also a part of your society, and of your nation-state. A letter is a self-existing entity and simultaneously an integral part of a word. Everything from quarks to matter to energy to ideas can be looked at in this way — everything in creation except perhaps creation itself is a holon. In his book Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, Wilber outlines approximately twenty tenets [http://www.integralworld.net/20tenets.html] that characterize all holons. These tenets form the basis of Wilber's model of manifest reality. Beyond this, Wilber's view is that the totality of manifest reality itself is just a wave on the ocean of the unmanifest, of Emptiness itself, which is not a holon.

AQAL

AQAL (pronounced aqual or ah-qwul) represents the core of Wilber's recent work. AQAL stands for All Quadrants All Levels, but equally connotes 'all lines', 'all states' and 'all types'. These are the five irreducible categories of Wilber's model of manifest existence. In order for an account of the Kosmos to be complete (in the light of contemporary developmental studies), Wilber believes that it must include each of these five categories. For Wilber, only such an account can truly be called "integral." In the essay, "Excerpt C: The Ways We Are in This Together", Wilber descaribes AQAL as "one suggested architecture of the Kosmos". [http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/kosmos/excerptC/intro-1.cfm]

The two truths doctrine

Wilber accepts the two truths doctrine of Buddhism. It maintains that, to avoid philosophical confusion (or "category collapse"), we must clearly distinguish between the absolute truth of Emptiness and the relative truths of Form. All of Wilber's AQAL categories — quadrants, lines, levels, states, and types—relate to relative truth. None of them are true in an absolute sense. Only formless awareness, "the simple feeling of being," exists absolutely. Wilber follows Aurobindo (and Hegel) in calling this formless awareness "Spirit". Wilber's "Spirit" is conceptually equivalent to Plotinus' One, to Schelling's Absolute, to the Hindu Brahman, and to the Shunyata of Buddhism.

The pre/trans fallacy

The pre/trans fallacy is one of Wilber's more well-known ideas. Its basic tenet is that because the early, pre-rational stages of consciousness and the latter, transrational stages of consciousness are both non-rational, and can appear on the surface to be the same, they can easily be confused with each other. In perhaps the most well known example of the fallacy, Freud considered mystical realizations to be regressions to infantile oceanic states, a fallacy of reduction. Carl Jung committed the opposite mistake by considering pre-rational myths to reflect divine realizations, a fallacy of elevation. Likewise, many consider pre-rational states like tribalism or mythic religion to be post-rational. Thus the two-fold nature of the fallacy: one can reduce trans-rational spiritual realization to pre-rational regression, or one can elevate pre-rational states to the trans-rational domain. Interestingly, Wilber characterizes himself as falling victim to the pre/trans fallacy in his early work (see Wilber's five phases).

Wilber on science

In his book The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion, Wilber characterizes the current state of the "hard" sciences as "narrow science." He claims that the natural sciences currently allow evidence only from the lowest realm of consciousness, the sensorimotor (the five senses and their extensions). What he calls "broad science" would include evidence from logic, mathematics, and from the symbolic, hermeneutical, and other realms of consciousness. Ultimately and ideally, broad science would include the testimony of meditators and spiritual practitioners. Wilber's own conception of science includes both narrow science and broad science. His example is using Electrocardiogram machines and other technologies to test the experiences of meditators and other spiritual practitioners. This would be an example of what Wilber calls "integral science". According to Wilber's theory, narrow science trumps narrow religion, but broad science trumps narrow science. That is, the natural sciences provide a more inclusive, accurate account of reality than any of the particular exoteric religious traditions. But an integral approach that evaluates both religious claims and scientific claims based on intersubjectivity is preferable to narrow science.

Wilber on Darwinism

Wilber rejects creationism as the claims of narrow religion disingenuously disguised as science. However, he also doesn't subscribe to the philosophically naturalistic evolutionary theory of, for example, Richard Dawkins, who Wilber describes as a "religious preacher". Although Wilber sees natural selection as a valid – if limited – scientific theory, he sees Darwinism as describing the merely biological aspect of evolution. (Aurobindo, he believes, gave a more complete account the physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of evolution.) Additionally, Wilber sees Darwin as having had a largely negative net intellectual influence — due to the success of Darwinism, the holistic, ontologically evolutionary views of German Idealism were effectively replaced with physicalism among the intellectual and philosophical élite. Wilber agrees with Intelligent Design theorists that Neo-Darwinism fails to adequately explain the origin of life, sentience, and human self-awareness. But he rejects Intelligent Design theorists' embrace of a dualistic creator deity separate from the creation as the solution to these problems. (Wilber's conception of divinity is similar to that found in Zen and Advaita Vedanta.) In a posting on an internet forum run by his organization, he both confirmed his support of the scientific method and simultaneously charged hardcore Neo-Darwinists with bad faith of almost schizophrenic proportions (the ellipsis is Wilber's):
If physicalistic, materialistic, reductionistic forces turn out to give an adequate explanation to the extraordinary diversity of evolutionary unfolding, then fine, that is what we will include in integral theory. And if not, not. But so far, the "nots" have it by a staggeringly huge margin, and scientists when they are not bragging to the world, whisper this to themselves every single day of their lives. I know, I lived in that community for the better part of a decade. And it's truly fascinating, to say the least...
Recently, Wilber has been using the term "tetra-evolution" to refer to the four-dimensional development of holons. This refers to the four quadrants of integral theory (interior individual, exterior individual, interior plural, and exterior plural), which Wilber believes co-evolve.

New work

In 2005, at the launch of the Integral Spiritual Center, a branch of the Integral Institute, Wilber presented a 118-page rough draft summary of his two forthcoming books [http://integralspiritualcenter.org/Integral%20Spirituality.pdf (1.3 MB PDF file)]. The essay is entitled "What is Integral Spirituality?", and contains several new ideas: Integral methodological pluralism, Integral post-metaphysics, Integral math, and the Wilber-Combs lattice. Wilber connects his various frameworks in the following quotation:
That is our goal: to "reverse engineer" an explanatory framework that plausibly accounts for all of those major methodologies--from phenomenology to autopoiesis to systems theory to hermeneutics — by "transcendentally deducing" a structure of the Kosmos that would allow those methodologies to arise and exist in the first place, because already exist they do. The suggested explanatory framework is called AQAL; its orientation is an integral overview of indigenous perspectives; its social practice is an Integral methodological pluralism; its philosophy is Integral post-metaphysics; its signaling network is IOS (Integral Operating System) — all third-person words for a view of the Kosmos in which first persons and second persons are irreducible agents, bearers of sentience and intentionality and feeling, not merely matter and energy and information and causality. [http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/kosmos/excerptC/intro-1.cfm/]

The Wilber-Combs lattice

This is a conceptual model of consciousness developed by Wilber and Allan Combs. It is a grid with sequential states of consciousness on the x axis (from left to right) and with developmental structures, or levels, of consciousness on the y axis (from bottom to top). This lattice illustrates how each structure of consciousness interprets experiences of different states of consciousness, including mystical states, in different ways. For example, someone at the mythic level of awareness might interpret a subtle experience as a realm filled with gods and goddesses, whereas someone at the mental level might interpret it in a more rational way, such as a vision of the deep meaning of the cosmos.

Influences on Wilber

Wilber's conception of the perennial philosophy has been primarily influenced and underpinned by the nondual mysticism of Advaita Vedanta, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Plotinus, and Ramana Maharshi. He has been a dedicated practitioner of Buddhist meditation since his college years, and has studied under some of the foremost meditation masters of our time. These include Dainin Katagiri, Maezumi Roshi, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Penor Rinpoche and Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Wilber's conception of evolution or psychological development is consistent with that of Aurobindo, Jean Gebser, the Great chain of being, German idealism, Erich Jantsch, Jean Piaget, Abraham Maslow, Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg, Howard Gardner, Clare W. Graves, Robert Kegan and Spiral Dynamics. He considered existential psychologist Rollo May a personal friend. Wilber has stated on several occasions his admiration for the written works of the American-born guru Adi Da (also known as Da Free John) and his belief in Adi Da's ultimate realization, whilst also more recently being wary and even critical of some of Adi Da's behaviour and behavioural patterns. Interestingly, he now works closely with Saniel Bonder, an ex-devotee of Adi Da, and now a respected spiritual teacher in his own right, and one who seems to be in agreement with Wilber's critique of his old teacher. Wilber is also conversant with the philosophies of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alfred North Whitehead and Jürgen Habermas.

Wilber's influence

Wilber has a growing influence among scholars, business and organizational theorists, political analysts, and community change agents, and especially among religious scholars actively applying his insights to reframing conventional theology. His works have been read by several musicians, including Stuart Davis, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Saul Williams and Billy Corgan. A number of important spiritual teachers have embraced much of what Wilber has to say. These include David Deida, Andrew Cohen, Lama Surya Das, Father Thomas Keating and Brother David Steindl-Rast. Wilber's 2004 collaborative commentary on The Ultimate Matrix Collection DVD with Princeton professor Cornel West represents the most undeniable and enthusiastic acceptance of Wilber's importance by an academic philosopher. The reluctance of other academic philosophers to warm to Wilber's work is undoubtedly due to its embrace of mysticism. To put it in terms of Wilber's philosophy, much of modern philosophy remains within the analytical/rational phase of Wilber's model of the spectrum of consciousness, and is therefore not attuned to the transrational aspects of consciousness. Wilber draws attention to what he describes as "eight indigenous perspectives" and considers would be needed for a more comprehensive understanding of reality, offering significant support for integrating philosophical traditions of phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, behaviourism/empiricism, systems theory and cultural anthropology.

Wilber's five phases

Wilber himself identifies five phases [http://www.integralworld.net/phases.html] in the evolution of his ideas. According to Wilber, subsequent phases do not negate earlier phases, but transcend and include earlier phases, incorporating them into a deeper and more integrated whole.

Critiques

Mystical cultural historian William Irwin Thompson, who shares Wilber's admiration for Sri Aurobindo, Jean Gebser, and Eastern philosophy, has harshly criticized Wilber's theoretical approach and scholarly abilities. On page 12 of his 1996 book Coming into Being: Texts and Artifacts in the Evolution of Consciousness, Thompson characterizes Wilber's AQAL approach as excessively objectifying and "masculinist". Wilber never replied to the attack, but in a subsequent interview, he characterized his work as that of "a storyteller" and "a mapmaker" rather than that of a philosopher or a theoretician.

Quotations

:"In other words, all of my books are lies. They are simply maps of a territory, shadows of a reality, gray symbols dragging their bellies across the dead page, suffocated signs full of muffled sound and faded glory, signifying absolutely nothing. And it is the nothing, the Mystery, the Emptiness alone that needs to be realized: not known but felt, not thought but breathed, not an object but an atmosphere, not a lesson but a life." ::―"Foreword", to Frank Visser's Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion, 2003 :"I have one major rule: everybody is right. More specifically, everybody—including me—has some important pieces of the truth, and all of those pieces need to be honored, cherished, and included in a more gracious, spacious, and compassionate embrace." ::―"Introduction", to The Collected Works of Ken Wilber, vol. VIII, p. 49

See also


- Andrew Cohen
- Huston Smith

Bibliography

Note: an ISBN is a book serial number which identifies not the title, but a specific edition of a book. Wikipedia links the number to a page which allows you to locate it among a large selection of libraries or booksellers.

Works by Wilber


- The Spectrum of Consciousness, 1977, anniv. ed. 1993: ISBN 0835606953
- No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth, 1979, reprint ed. 2001: ISBN 1570627436
- The Atman Project: A Transpersonal View of Human Development, 1980, 2nd ed. ISBN 0835607305
- Up from Eden: A Transpersonal View of Human Evolution, 1981, new ed. 1996: ISBN 0835607313
- The Holographic Paradigm and Other Paradoxes: Exploring the Leading Edge of Science (editor), 1982, ISBN 0394712374
- A Sociable God: A Brief Introduction to a Transcendental Sociology, 1983, new ed. 2005 subtitled Toward a New Understanding of Religion, ISBN 1590302249
- Eye to Eye: The Quest for the New Paradigm, 1984, 3rd rev. ed. 2001: ISBN 157062741X
- Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists (editor), 1984, rev. ed. 2001: ISBN 1570627681
- Transformations of Consciousness: Conventional and Contemplative Perspectives on Development (co-authors: Jack Engler, Daniel Brown), 1986, ISBN 0394742028
- Spiritual Choices: The Problem of Recognizing Authentic Paths to Inner Transformation (co-authors: Dick Anthony, Bruce Ecker), 1987, ISBN 0913729191
- Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life of Treya Killam Wilber, 1991, 2nd ed. 2001: ISBN 1570627428
- Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, 1st ed. 1995, 2nd rev. ed. 2001: ISBN 1570627444
- A Brief History of Everything, 1st ed. 1996, 2nd ed. 2001: ISBN 1570627401
- The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad, 1997, 3rd ed. 2001: ISBN 1570628718
- The Essential Ken Wilber: An Introductory Reader, 1998, ISBN 1570623791
- The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion, 1998, reprint ed. 1999: ISBN 0767903439
- One Taste: The Journals of Ken Wilber, 1999, rev. ed. 2000: ISBN 1570625476
- Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy, 2000, ISBN 1570625549
- A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality, 2000, paperback ed.: ISBN 1570628556
- (forward by Ken Wilber), Putting on the Mind of Christ: The Inner Work of Christian Spirituality by Jim Marion, 2000, ISBN 1571741739
- The Mission of Art, (coauthor Alex Grey), 2001, ISBN 157062545X
- Speaking of Everything (2 hour audio interview on CD), 2001
- Boomeritis: A Novel That Will Set You Free, 2002, paperback ed. 2003: ISBN 1590300084
- Competitive Business, Caring Business: An Integral Business Perspective for the 21st Century, (coauthor Daryl S. Paulson), 2002, ISBN 1931044392
- Kosmic Consciousness (12 hour audio interview on ten CDs), 2003, ISBN 1591791243
- With Cornel West, commentary on The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions and appearance in Return To Source: Philosophy & The Matrix on The Roots Of The Matrix, both in The Ultimate Matrix Collection, 2004
- The Simple Feeling of Being: Visionary, Spiritual, and Poetic Writings, 2004, ISBN 159030151X (selected from earlier works)
- The Integral Operating System, (a 40 page primer on AQAL with 2 audio CDs) October 2005, ISBN 1591793475
- The Many Faces of Terrorism, (forthcoming)
- Kosmic Karma and Creativity: Volume Two of the Kosmos Trilogy, (forthcoming)

Books about Wilber


- Donald Jay Rothberg and Sean Kelly, Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations With Leading Transpersonal Thinkers, 1998, ISBN 0835607666
- Joseph Vrinte, Perennial Quest for a Psychology with a Soul: An inquiry into the relevance of Sri Aurobindo's metaphysical yoga psychology in the context of Ken Wilber's integral psychology, 2002
- Frank Visser, Ken Wilber: Thought As Passion, SUNY Press, 2003, ISBN 0-7914-5816-4, (first published in Dutch as Ken Wilber: Denken als passie, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2001)
- Brad Reynolds, Embracing Reality: The Integral Vision of Ken Wilber: A Historical Survey and Chapter-By-Chapter Review of Wilber's Major Works, 2004, ISBN 1585423173
- Lew Howard, Introducing Ken Wilber, May 2005, ISBN 1420829866

External links

Primary sources


- [http://www.kenwilber.com/ Ken Wilber's Official Website]
- [http://www.integralinstitute.org/ Ken Wilber's Integral Institute]
- [http://www.integralnaked.org/ Integral Naked]
- [http://wilber.shambhala.com/ Shambhala Publications' Ken Wilber site]
- Wilber is in the process of writing six articles for [http://www.beliefnet.com beliefnet.com] as part of a column called "[http://www.beliefnet.com/author/author_153.html Sense and Soul]".
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com./story/141/story_14148_1.html "An Integral Spirituality"]
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/147/story_14762_1.html "Why Do Religions Teach Love and Yet Cause So Much War?"]
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/153/story_15318_1.html "Which Level of God Do You Believe In?"]
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/159/story_15914_1.html "The Four Hands of God"]
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/167/story_16709_1.html "Integral Spirituality in Real Life"]
- [http://www.imprint.co.uk/Wilber.htm "An Integral Theory of Consciousness"], an essay by Wilber.
- [http://integralspiritualcenter.org/Integral%20Spirituality.pdf "What Is Integral Spirituality?"] (1.3 MB PDF file.) Wilber's 118 page rough draft summary of his two forthcoming books.

Sites of friends and fans of Wilber


- On [http://www.beliefnet.com/ beliefnet.com]:
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/141/story_14146_1.html Who Is Ken Wilber?], by Jack Crittenden
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/141/story_14160_1.html Reading Ken Wilber: A beginner's guide to his works]
  - [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/41/story_4165_1.html Mini-review of A Theory of Everything]
- [http://www.wie.org/ The website of What Is Enlightenment? print magazine], founded by guru Andrew Cohen, and heavily influenced by Wilber and his associates
- [http://www.integralworld.net/ Integral World], a website by Frank Visser. Known as "The World of Ken Wilber" prior to a particularly cantankerous dispatch from Wilber
- [http://integralwiki.net The Integral Encyclopedia Wiki] A separate Wiki based on the integral theory of Wilber and others
- [http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id175/pg1/ "Ken Wilber"] by Alex Burns on disinformation.com
- [http://www.enlightenment.com/wilberglossary.html "Extended Glossary"] for Speaking of Everything on enlightenment.com
- [http://www.chaosobral.org "A 4Quadrants analysis of the Portuguese mountain village Chão Sobral"]
- [http://homesweet.home.sapo.pt "HomeSweetHome"] "A personal site inspired in and about Integral Philosophy"

Critiques


- [http://www.kheper.net/topics/Wilber/ Kheper.net] contains a directory of essays by M. Alan Kazlev, Arvan Harvat, Michel Bauwens and others on Wilber and Sri Aurobindo
- [http://www.integralworld.net/readingroom.html The Reading Room] at Integral World - A collection of dozens of essays, many critical, responding to the work of Ken Wilber, at Frank Visser's website
  - [http://www.integralworld.net/criticism.html Critics of Ken Wilber] - a collection of critiques of the work of Ken Wilber, some online
- [http://www.spiraldynamics.org/learning/faq.htm#Wilber Wilber's misrepresentations of Spiral Dynamics®, Part I] - [http://www.spiraldynamics.org/reviews/boomeritis_or_bust.html Part II] - according to SD co-founder Chris Cowan
- [http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/i_es/i_es_hemse_wilber.htm "Ken Wilber and Sri Aurobindo: A Critical Perspective"] by Rod Hemsell
- [http://www.adidawilber.com "Adi Da and The Case of Ken Wilber"] contains a collection of Ken Wilber's writings on Adi Da, with critical commentary from Adi Da's devotees

Interviews


- [http://www.dialogonleadership.org/interviewWilber.htm Interview by Otto Scharner] (August ´03)
- [http://www.integralnaked.org/talk.aspx?id=205 Interview with Larry Wachowski]
- [http://www.andrewcohen.org/andrew/evolutionOfEnlightenment.asp Interview with Andrew Cohen]
- [http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/interviews/interview1220.cfm/ Shambhala Interview] conducted shortly before the release of Boomeritis Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken Wilber, Ken th:เคน วิลเบอร์

January 31

January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 334 days remaining, (335 in leap years). January 31 is also the last day of January.

Events


- 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon.
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England.
- 1747 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital.
- 1814 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
- 1849 - Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
- 1867 - Maronite nationalist leader Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
- 1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
- 1915 - World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
- 1917 - World War I: Germany announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.
- 1918 - A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
- 1929 - The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.
- 1930 - 3M markets Scotch Tape.
- 1936 - The Green Hornet radio show debuts.
- 1944 - World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
- 1945 - US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed, the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
- 1946 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
- 1950 - President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
- 1953 - A flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands.
- 1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1958 - The first successful American satellite, Explorer I, is launched into orbit.
- 1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
- 1961 - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
- 1968 - Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
- 1968 - Nauru declares independence from Australia.
- 1971 - Apollo program: Astronauts aboard Apollo 14 lift off for a mission to the moon.
- 1971 - The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begin in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1988 - Super Bowl XXII: The Washington Redskins win their second championship of the 1980s, 42-10.
- 1990 - The first McDonald's opens in Moscow, Russia.
- 1993 - Super Bowl XXVII: The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Buffalo Bills, 52-17.
- 1995 - President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
- 1996 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
  - Dragonball Z ends in Japan.
- 1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII: The Denver Broncos defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19. After the game, the TV show Family Guy airs its pilot episode.
- 2000 - An Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu, California killing all 88 aboard.
- 2001 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
- 2004 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 ends its run on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Births


- 1338 - King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1512 - King Henry of Portugal (d. 1580)
- 1550 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic leader (d. 1588)
- 1597 - John Regis, French saint (d. 1640)
- 1624 - Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher (d. 1669)
- 1686 - Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (d. 1758)
- 1752 - Gouverneur Morris, American lawmaker and diplomat (d. 1816)
- 1759 - François Devienne, French composer (d. 1803)
- 1797 - Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (d. 1828)
- 1866 - Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1868 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1872 - Zane Grey, American Western writer (d. 1939)
- 1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
- 1884 - Theodor Heuss, German politician and publicist (d. 1963)
- 1889 - Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
- 1892 - Eddie Cantor, American actor and singer (d. 1964)
- 1894 - Isham Jones, American musician (d. 1956)
- 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1902 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1986)
- 1905 - John O'Hara, American writer (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Sri Daya Mata, Hindu religious figure
- 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Alan Lomax, American singer and musicologist (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
- 1915 - Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
- 1919 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1921 - John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1921 - Carol Channing, American actress
- 1921 - E. Fay Jones, American architect
- 1921 - Mario Lanza, American singer and actor (d. 1959)
- 1922 - Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
- 1925 - Benjamin Hooks, American head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- 1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 - Jean Simmons, English actress
- 1931 - Ernie Banks, baseball player
- 1935 - Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Philip Glass, American composer
- 1937 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress
- 1938 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- 1938 - James G. Watt, American politician
- 1940 - Jessica Walter, American actress
- 1941 - Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, American politician
- 1942 - Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
- 1942 - Derek Jarman, American director and writer (d. 1994)
- 1944 - Charlie Musselwhite, American musician
- 1946 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Jonathan Banks, American actor
- 1947 - Nolan Ryan, baseball player
- 1948 - Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
- 1949 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
- 1951 - Dave Benton, Aruban-born singer
- 1952 - Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
- 1956 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
- 1959 - Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
- 1959 - Kelly Lynch, American actress
- 1961 - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
- 1964 - Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist (Slayer)
- 1964 - Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer and songwriter
- 1970 - Minnie Driver, British actress
- 1971 - Patrick Kielty, Irish comedian
- 1973 - Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
- 1976 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
- 1980 - Tiffany Limos, American actress
- 1981 - Justin Timberlake, American singer
- 1982 - Helena Paparizou, Swedish singer

Deaths


- 743 - Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia Imam (b. 676)
- 1398 - Emperor Suko of Japan (b. 1334)
- 1435 - Xuande, Emperor of China (b. 1398)
- 1561 - Menno Simons, Dutch Mennonite leader (b. 1496)
- 1580 - King Henry of Portugal (b. 1512)
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot conspirators executed:
  - Guy Fawkes (b. 1570)
  - Ambrose Rokewood
  - Thomas Wintour (b. 1571)
- 1615 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (b. 1543)
- 1632 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
- 1665 - Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philsopher (b. 1622)
- 1686 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (b. 1604)
- 1720 - Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English privy councilor
- 1729 - Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
- 1736 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
- 1788 - Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (b. 1720)
- 1790 - Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (b. 1718)
- 1794 - Marriott Arbuthnot, British admiral (b. 1711)
- 1851 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (b. 1813)
- 1892 - Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
- 1907 - Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
- 1933 - John Galsworthy, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Jean Giraudoux, French writer (b. 1882)
- 1945 - Eddie Slovik, American soldier (b. 1920)
- 1955 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- 1956 - A. A. Milne, English author (b. 1882)
- 1967 - Eddie Tolan, American athlete (b. 1908)
- 1970 - Slim Harpo, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1973 - Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, American film studio executive (b. 1882)
- 1976 - Ernesto Miranda, American litigant (b. 1941)
- 1990 - Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-born imam (stabbed) (b. 1935)
- 1992 - Willie Dixon, American musician (b. 1915)
- 1995 - George Abbott, American stage director and producer (b. 1887)
- 1997 - John Joseph Scanlan, Irish Catholic prelate (b. 1930)
- 1999 - Norm Zauchin, baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2000 - Gil Kane, Latvian-born comic book writer (b. 1926)
- 2001 - Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian writer (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (b. 1913)

Holidays and observances


- Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Bosco.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/31 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 30 - February 1 - December 31 - February 28 (February 29) — listing of all days ko:1월 31일 ja:1月31日 simple:January 31 th:31 มกราคม

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city of the state of Oklahoma in the United States of America. It is the county seat of Oklahoma County. The city's name is often abbreviated to 'OKC' and Okla City. Non-residents often refer to Oklahoma City as 'Oak City,' but locals never use this name. Residents of outlying suburbs and rural areas of the state often call Oklahoma City simply "The City." Oklahoma City was founded with one of the largest land runs on April 22, 1889. Oklahoma City is a large, diverse, and growing city; it is the civic, business, entertainment, and commercial center of the state. It is one of the largest cities in the Great Plains of the United States, and it is the largest city in population of the 5 "plains states" (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) as well as four of the six neighbouring states to Oklahoma (Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico). Oklahoma City is the 29th-largest city in the nation, according to a 2003 report from the U.S. Census Bureau. The city's population on July 1, 2003 totaled 528,042, with more than 1.3 million residents in the metropolitan area. Oklahoma City was the site of the Oklahoma City Bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah building in 1995, the largest act of terrorism on American soil prior to the September 11th attacks and the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history.

History

Main article: History of Oklahoma City

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1,608.8 km² (621.2 mi²). 1,572.1 km² (607.0 mi²) of it is land and 36.7 km² (14.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.28% water. Oklahoma City is the third largest city in the country in terms of geographic area, although its urbanized zone is 244 mi² - resulting in an urban population density more comparable to that found in other major cities. Oklahoma City is the second largest city in the nation still in compliance with the Clean Air Act (after Jacksonville, Florida)

Metropolitan Statistical Area

Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight county Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area, the state's largest urban area. The Oklahoma City MSA was the 46th largest in the nation as of 2000.
North: Guthrie
Edmond
West: Bethany
Yukon
Mustang
El Reno		 Oklahoma City East: Del City
Midwest City
Choctaw
Shawnee
South: Moore
Norman

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 506,132 people, 204,434 households, and 129,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 321.9/km² (833.8/mi²) for the entire city but was more than 2600/mi² in the urbanized areas. There were 228,149 housing units at an average density of 145.1/km² (375.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.41% White, 18.37% Black or African American, 3.51% Native American, 3.48% Asian American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 5.28% from other races, and 3.89% from two or more races. 16.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 204,434 households, 30.8% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $34,947, and the median income for a family was $42,689. These figures are among the lowest in the nation for a city of this size, but the cost of living is considerably below the national average. Males had a median income of $31,589 versus $24,420 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,098. 16.0% of the population and 12.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Oklahoma City has the nation's second lowest cost of living among major U.S. cities, about 25 percent below the national average. Unrestrained by natural boundaries such as mountains or oceans, Oklahoma City annexed huge swaths of land in the 1960s, leading to an abundance of housing and cheap land. While sprawl has stretched the infrastructure of the city government and, some have complained, diluted the character of the city, the average commute from the far flung outskirts of the city is quick and mostly gridlock-free because of the city's interstate system (Mayor Mick Cornett remarked in 2005's "State of the City" address that Oklahoma City was one of the few major cities in the nation where "police look for speeders at rush hour"). One exception being the "I-40 Crosstown Expressway", an elevated bridge which crosses the city just south of downtown heading east to west. The Crosstown Expressway is slated to be relocated to the south of its present location in the near future. ODOT states that the project should be complete by 2006, but many dismiss this as unrealistic, as the project is still in its planning stages as of August 2005, and actual construction has not begun. Edmond, an affluent northern suburb, was rated as Relocate America's 3rd best city in America, and is "the best small town in America" according to Universal Publications of New York. It must be noted, however, that the city of 80,000+ residents is by no means a 'small town'.

Neighborhoods

Downtown

Bricktown

Edmond The Bricktown Entertainment District in downtown Oklahoma City is the fastest growing entertainment district in the region, and is one of the city's most popular destinations. The former warehouse district on the southeast side of downtown has seen a major renaissance over the last 10 years, and is now bustling with restaurants, dance clubs, live music venues, classy retail shops, and offices. It is also home to the SBC Bricktown Ballpark and the navigable Bricktown Canal. The Bricktown Canal stretches one mile through the district and runs to a park past the [http://www.paulmooresculptor.com/land_run.htm Oklahoma Land Run Monument]. When completed, the Land Run Monument will be a series of 36 giant statues stretching over two football fields on the south canal, and will be one of the largest sculptural monuments in the world. Lower Bricktown boasts a brand new [http://harkinstheatres.moviefone.com/showtimes/theater.adp?theaterid=7627 movie complex] run by Harkins Theaters, Bass Pro Outdoor World, and upscale retail. Several hotels are planned as are additional retail venues and residential housing.

Automobile Alley

This neighborhood along Broadway Avenue in Northeast Downtown was a popular retail district in the 1920s and was home to most of Oklahoma City's car dealerships. The area declined with the rest of Downtown in the 1970s and 1980s. Recently an effort to redevelop the area has transformed the showrooms and storefronts of AAlley into upscale lofts, galleries, and offices. Also in the area are many of downtown's earliest churches along Robinson Ave. (known as "Church Row") in Midtown and the city's first high school, now the regional headquarters of SBC. Today there is a considerable effort to turn AAlley into Oklahoma City's newest upscale urban neighborhood. A new restaurant is being developed and is leading the charge of additional upscale retail and housing announcements.

Deep Deuce

Deep Deuce, a few blocks north of Bricktown, ignited the downtown Oklahoma City urban housing boom in the late 1990's. The area consists mostly of low rise apartment buildings and various formerly vacant mixed use buildings. Deep Deuce was the largest African American neighborhood downtown in the 1940s and 1950s, and was a regional center of jazz music and African American culture. Bands such as the Count Basie Orchestra, the Blue Devils, the Charlie Christian Band, and others resided in this OKC neighborhood. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was once rejected for a position at the Calvary Baptist Church in Deep Deuce for being "too young". Much of the neighborhood was bulldozed to make way for I-235 in the 1960s, but the Bricktown boom has made the area (with its prime location between Bricktown and the growing biotech center east of I-235) attractive to developers however precious little of the neighborhood's earlier character still exists.

The Arts District

The area now known as the arts district covers part of western downtown that includes the Civic Center Music Hall, the new Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Myriad Gardens, Stage Center for the Performing Arts, the new central library, several local theaters, and at its northern edge, the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Due to its close proximity to the principal cultural attractions in downtown the Arts District is also the location of many very upscale condos and apartments, with more planned in the near future.

InnerCity Northside

Asian District

Arts District]] Oklahoma City has the largest Asian population in the state and is home to a rapidly growing cultural district called simply, [http://www.asiandistrictokc.com/ Asian District] as many cultures from all over asia are represented in it's shops and restaurants as well as the neighboring residential area. Centered primarily along Classen Boulevard from 22nd Street to NW 30th, Asia District is a very culturally and visibly diverse Chinatown community, but the most obvious cultural influence in the area is Vietnamese. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees settled in the city during the 1970s after the fall of Saigon, leading the revival of what had been a neighborhood in decline due to the suburban exodus of the middle class. As the new Oklahomans built the community, more immigrants moved into the area, not only from Vietnam and Southeast Asia, but from all around the world. Today Asia District has a bustling cosmopolitan scene full of noodle cafés, college and high school students from nearby Oklahoma City University and Classen School of Advanced Studies, art galleries, quaint apartments, retail shops, bars and restaurants of every stripe (literally - in the span of a single block can be found a pizzeria, a diner, an Arby's, an Asian video arcade, a chinese and two pho restaurants).

Eastside and Adventure District

The Eastside district in the near North East quadrant of Oklahoma City is home to the state's largest African American community and is experiencing a renaissance of its own. Once a perfect example of urban blight and neglect, the Eastside has seen some significant development recently. An African American Heritage Museum is currently in the works along with efforts to revive the long neglected NE 23rd Business District. Other Eastside attractions include the newly domed and beautiful State Capitol of Oklahoma, the 45th Infantry Museum, the Oklahoma Historical Society Museum, and the OU Health Science Center. The Eastside is considered by many to be THE most economically diverse neighborhood in Oklahoma City, with land values ranging from astronomical in some parts of the Lincoln Terrace neighborhood, to poverty ghetto at the public housing districts of Walnut Avenue, both within a mile of each other. Northeast Oklahoma City is known locally as Adventure District and is home to many of the city's great museums and major attractions. The Adventure District includes the Omniplex Science Museum, the Oklahoma City Zoo, Remington Park Parimutual Racetrack and Racino, the National Softball Hall of Fame and Stadium, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Six Flags Frontier City, the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum, and Cinemark Tinseltown USA among many other attractions. The area has numerous tree-lined boulevards and is home to many upscale neighbourhoods (including neighborhoods such as Lincoln Terrace, Britton, North Highland, Walnut Avenue, and Spencer).

NW 39th Street Enclave

Oklahoma City has the state's largest gay community, known as the NW 39th Street Enclave. As with many of OKC's neighborhoods, the lack of established boundaries makes it hard to give an exact location, but generally speaking, this community is principally located along NW 39th Street between Pennsylvania and May Avenues, however there are related businesses and neighborhoods diffused throughout the surrounding area. The NW 39th Street Enclave rivals Bricktown in terms of sheer volume of clubs, bars, and nightlife ([http://www.habanainn.com/ The Habana Inn]) The Largest Gay Resort in the Southwest. The Enclave is also home to the annual gay pride celebration as well as many alternative lifestyle friendly businesses and organizations.

The Paseo and Midtown

Bricktown The [http://www.okclive.com/paseo/ Paseo Arts District] was built in 1929 as the first commercial shopping district North of downtown Oklahoma City. The fake Spanish village with its stucco buildings and clay tile roofs is the home of Oklahoma City's Artists' community, the only such district in the state. Located along Paseo Drive at roughly N. Walker Ave and NW 28th Street, the district is home to a number of bars and restaurants and hosts an annual arts festival in the spring. Although the Paseo Arts District is in the near north quadrant of the city, it is quite central to Oklahoma City's most diverse and cultural neighborhoods. In the immediate area are several historic neighborhoods including Mesta Park, Edgemere, Jefferson Heights, and Heritage Hills. To the west of the Paseo is the NW Business District and the NW 39th Enclave and the Eastside is due east. Immediately South West of the Paseo is the city's Chinatown neighbourhood known as Asia District as well as Oklahoma City University - home to college students and yuppies. Further south are Automobile Alley and Midtown as well as St. Anthony's Hospital (the city's oldest and largest hospital) at the northern edge of Downtown. Midtown, like much of the inner city, is experiencing a renaissance as the city cleans out the blight and decay and replaces it with upscale urban amenities like the 10th Street Main Street program and the Plaza District streetscape.

InnerCity Southside

Stockyards City

Located at the Agnew Exit South of I-40 to Exchange Ave, [http://www.stockyardscity.org/ Stockyards City] is home to the largest stocker/feeder cattle market in the world. Stockyards City recaptures the architectural flavor of the early part of the Twentieth Century, with gaslights and wooden storefronts. Many of the businesses in Stockyards City date back to the early 1900s when the area was home to several major meat packing companies. The district still has weekly cattle auctions as well as the venerable [http://www.cattlemensrestaurant.com/ Cattlemen's Steakhouse]. A number of special events have sprung up as well, including Longhorn Cattle Drive each December, sidewalk sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the Stockyards Stampede the first weekend each June.

Capitol Hill and Riverside

Midtown Oklahoma City has the largest Hispanic population in the State with the majority residing in the South and N.West Oklahoma City. The Capitol Hill and Riverside districts, due south of downtown, are the center of Hispanic oriented commerce in the city. Capitol Hill (located deceptively far from the actual capital) was founded as a separate city during the land run and was later annexed into Oklahoma City. Hence, it has its own impressively well preserved main street business district alongS.E.25TH Street, which has seen a revival in recent years. Capitol Hill was a popular middle class suburb early in the century, but as the population moved into the outer suburbs and the trolley lines that had connected it to downtown stopped running, the neighborhood went into decline. While Capitol Hill still has some serious problems with crime and gangs, it is also now one of the liveliest of OKC's neighborhoods. You can find almost anything in Capitol Hill, from recording studios to the oddly placed Oklahoma Opry to soccer supply shops and street side taquerias.

Suburban Northside

Mayfair and Belle Isle

Mayfair and Belle Isle are a pair of middle class, mid century neighborhoods surrounding Penn Square Mall and Baptist Hospital. Also nearby is Lake Hefner, a favorite spot for bikers and joggers, with a trail system around the entire municipal reservoir. Oklahoma Opry Northwest Expressway, the city's main artery to the northwestern suburbs, is a strip mall filled, restaurant bearing, continuously congested 6-lane boulevard with highway intersections, hotels, and office towers scattered along at various intervals. The Northwest Business District includes most of the large scale highrises office towers and hotels outside of downtown, (including the architecturally interesting United Founders Tower).

Nichols Hills and The Village

Nichols Hills, just north of Belle Isle, is an enclave of the rich and extremely rich. The streets are lined with mansions, the commerce is upscale, the restaurants are gourmet, and the country clubs are exclusive. There are other such enclaves throughout the city, but Nichols Hills is notable even among them for sheer extravagance. The Village, immediately north, is a middle class post-war neighborhood which looks somewhat out of place next to its neighbor to the south. The Village is the location of Casady School, one of the largest and poshest private high schools in the city.

Bethany and Warr Acres

Bethany and Warr Acres are located in the suburban inner western part of the city. These suburbs, which until recently were in decline, are home to the metro's most competitive tax rates, and have attracted numerous big box retailers. There are a large number of historic motels, restaurants, and bars along old Route 66 (now NW 39th St), Lake Overholser and growing Korean, East Indian, and Pakistani communities. Bethany is home to [http://www.snu.edu/home.asp Southern Nazarene University] and has a well preserved main street area along 39th Street. Lake Overholser, the city's oldest lake and originally its primary reservoir, has seen proposals for resort development.

Quail Springs/Memorial Corridor

At the far northern edge of the city along Memorial Road and the John Kirkpatrick Outer Loop Turnpike is a huge swath of suburban development rapidly creeping toward Edmond, the city's largely affluent northern suburb. Over the past 20 years this area has been transformed from grazing land and farm prairie into a broad ribbon of office parks, housing tracts, chain restaurants, a regional supermall - Quail Springs Mall, Mercy Health Center, and a great number of strip malls and box stores. This area is also infamous for one of the most congested and difficult intersections in the city, Memorial Road and N. Pennsylvania Avenue, a natural consequence of the city's sprawl and developer-controlled planning. The Memorial Corridor may not make it into tourist brochures any time soon, but the area is popular to locals nonetheless. In addition to the suburban sprawl, this area is also home to [http://www.okc.gov/query.html?parks/martin_park/index.html Martin Park Nature Center], a fairly large nature preserve with several hiking trails and lots of natural wildlife.

Suburban Southside

Meridian Avenue Hospitality Corridor/"Airport Heights"

The Meridian Avenue "Hospitality" Corridor is along one of the cities busiest arteries, S. Meridian Avenue, and extends from mid tier west Oklahoma City to suburban Southwest Oklahoma City. The busiest section of the corridor is just north of Will Rogers World Airport and survives primarily on traffic generated by it. There are numerous hotels, restaurants, and night clubs located in the district. In addition there are several corporations, including Hobby Lobby, headquartered within a mile of the corridor. The area also is home to most of the areas large furniture stores along W. Reno Avenue. The district is located in close proximity to the South Bank of the Oklahoma River, causing city leaders to envision regular water taxi service from hotels and restaurants of the district to Downtown via the newly navigable waterway.

Education

Higher education

Oklahoma City is home to many colleges and universities, including Oklahoma City University in midtown and Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City in Northwest OKC. The OU Health Sciences Center is located due east of downtown Oklahoma City while the University of Oklahoma (Sooners) is located just south of the city in the suburb of Norman. The third-largest university in Oklahoma, the University of Central Oklahoma is located just north of the city in the suburb of Edmond. Oklahoma City Community College in south OKC is the largest community college in the state. Oklahoma City also has several public vo-tech schools, the largest of which are Metro Technology Centers [http://www.metrotech.org] and Francis Tuttle. There are also a number of small private colleges and universities in the city, including Oklahoma Christian University, Southern Nazarene University [http://www.snu.edu], University of Phoenix - Oklahoma City Campus [http://www.phoenix.edu/ZipLocations.asp?Orga=34], Mid-America Christian University, American Christian College and Seminary, Metropolitan College, and the Downtown College Consortium [http://www.downtowncollege.com] in downtown Oklahoma City.

Primary and secondary

The [http://www.okcps.org/ Oklahoma City Public School] district is one of the few urban districts in the nation with a growing enrollment, due largely to the so-called MAPS for KIDs city-wide improvement plan. The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics is also in Oklahoma city and is home to the most gifted of the state's math and science pupils. Numerous other suburban districts circle the urban OCPS district, such as [http://www.putnamcityschools.org/ Putnam City Public Schools] in suburban northwest Oklahoma City, the largest suburban school district in the state. Also, the city has very well developed private and parochial schools, including Casady School near posh suburban Nichols Hills, Heritage Hall (a product of the white flight of the 1970s) and the schools of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

Culture

Major attractions

Nichols Hills Besides the skyscrapers that cluster in the city's central business district, one of the more prominent landmarks downtown is the Crystal Bridge at the [http://www.myriadgardens.com/ Myriad Botanical Gardens], a large downtown urban park. Designed by I. M. Pei after the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, the Crystal Bridge is a tropical conservatory that contains foliage more akin to the Amazon River basin than the Great Plains of North America. The park has several amphitheaters where live theater and concerts can be seen and heard in the summer. There is also a lake in the middle of the park inhabited by large goldfish. Waterfalls and fountains add life-giving oxygen to the lake as well as an added attraction for visitors. Copenhagen The park is also home to the free Twilight Concert Series (summer) and the city's top festivals, including the annual Festival of the Arts, ranked the second best arts festival in the nation, (April), the annual [http://www.downtownokc.com Downtown Salute] (a month-long festival in July complete with parades, free concert acts, and the three-day long Bricktown 4th of July Celebration and Fireworks), and Opening Night (December 31/January 1). The [http://www.okczoo.com/ Oklahoma City Zoological Park] is highly ranked nationally and is the oldest zoo in the Southwest US. It is home to numerous natural habitats, WPA era architecture and landscaping, and hosts major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. The [http://www.omniplex.org/ Omniplex] Museum in the Kirkpatrick Center is one of the largest Science Centers and General Interest Museums in the country. The Kirkpatrick Center houses many informative exhibits on science, photography, aviation, etc, as well as the Omnidome OMNIMAX theater. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has galleries full of priceless western art and treasures and is home to the Hall of Great Western Performers. The Oklahoma City National Memorial in the northern part of Oklahoma City's downtown was created, as the inscription on its eastern gate says, "to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995". The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, located in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the [http://www.mipt.org/ National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism], a non partisan, non profit thinktank devoted to the prevention of terrorism. thinktank The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is the new downtown home for the [http://www.okcmoa.com/ Oklahoma City Museum of Art]. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its own collection, a theater showing a wide variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a fine dining restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the largest and most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world including the three-story Chihuly tower in the Museum's atrium. The [http://www.oklahomadome.com/ capital building's dome] was recently finished as it was one of the few state capital buildings that did not have a dome atop the structure. Solomon Andrew Layton's original design for the capitol included a dome, but steel rationing during World War I prevented its completion. The effort to build a dome for the capitol was promoted by city and state leaders in the late nineties, and was completed in 2001. Also in downtown Oklahoma City, Ford Center was ranked by concert industry group [http://www.pollstar.com/ Pollstar] as one of the top ten live music venues in the world in ticket sales, and along with SBC Bricktown Ballpark is home to the city's professional sports teams. The [http://www.coxconventioncenter.com/ Cox Business Services Convention Center], formerly known as the Myriad, is across the street to Ford Center. The newly renovated art deco [http://www.okcciviccenter.org/ Civic Center Music Hall] showcases performances from ballet and opera to traveling Broadway shows and concerts. [http://www.stagecenter.com/ Stage Center for the Performing Arts] is home to many of the city's top theater companies. The building that houses Stage Center, designed by John Johansen is a modernist architectural landmark, with the original model displayed in MOMA in New York City. Other theaters include the [http://www.lyrictheatreokc.com/ Lyric Theatre] and the [http://www.jewelboxtheatre.org/ Jewel Box Theatre], both in Midtown and the new 1,200 seat [http://www.okcu.edu/music/musictheater.asp Kirkpatrick Auditorium] and 488-seat Petree Recital Hall, both at the Oklahoma City University campus. [http://www.sixflags.com/parks/frontiercity/ Six Flags Frontier City] is a western themed amusement park with numerous coasters, rides, and games for all ages. The park also hosts a national concert circuit at its amphitheater during the summer. White Water Bay is a Six Flags Water Park located north of Will Rogers World Airport. Of special note, Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. world headquarters is located in North Oklahoma City. Walking trails line Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest part of the city and downtown at the canal and the Oklahoma River. Part of the east shore of Lake Hefner has been developed into upscale offices and restaurants, but the majority of the area around the lake is taken up by parks and trails, including a new leashless dog park and the popular postwar era Stars and Stripes Park. Lake Stanley Draper, the city's largest and most remote, offers more of an escape from the big city and has a more natural feel. The city is implementing a new trail system that will be akin to a bicycle freeway system, allowing residents to access all of the natural beauty of the region and still be within stomping distance to city attractions.

Media

See also: Broadcast Media in Oklahoma City The Oklahoman is Oklahoma City's daily newspaper, and is the most widely circulated newspaper in the state. The Oklahomans internet edition is a collaboration with local CBS affiliate KWTV. [http://www.okgazette.com The Oklahoma Gazette] is Oklahoma City's free independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, classifieds, restaurant reviews and movie listings. [http://www.journalrecord.com The Journal Record] is Oklahoma City's daily business newspaper. Other publications include [http://www.gayly.com The Gayly Oklahoman], Oklahoma City's weekly newspaper catering to the gay community, and Vox, the upstart weekly competitor to The Oklahoma Gazette. In addition, there are various community and international papers in the city such as [http://www.blackchronicle.com The Black Chronicle], headquartered in the Eastside catoring to the city's African American community and the OK VIETIMES.

Sports

Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams including the Oklahoma RedHawks, a AAA farm team for the Texas Rangers. Others include the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz, the Oklahoma City Lightning, the Oklahoma Storm, and the Oklahoma City Blazers. In what may prove to be a turning point for professional sports in the city, on September 21, 2005, Mayor Mick Cornett announced an agreement with owner George Shinn of the New Orleans Hornets to adopt the city as its temporary home following the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans and the New Orleans Arena. The team will be known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and will play 35 home games for the 2005-06 season at Ford Center. This will mark the second major league franchise ever to locate in the city. Residents are already showing enthusiastic support for the team and there is already speculation about possibly making the relocation permanent, although Shinn has expressed that he intends to return the Hornets to New Orleans as soon as possible. The University of Oklahoma sport teams are always a large draw in the city as they host numerous sporting events and tournaments every year including the world famous OU Sooners football games, held at Owen Field in suburban Norman. In addition, the NAIA leading [http://www.okcu.edu/athletics/ OCU Stars] play at the new Abe Lemons Arena at Oklahoma City University. OCU also has a top-rated rowing program. The Ford Center, downtown, hosts many events each year including touring concerts, NHL exhibition games, college basketball games for the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, and other spectator events and conventions. Ford Center recently held the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball First & Second Round, and will host the Men's and Women's Big 12 Conference Basketball Tournaments in 2007. Nearby SBC Bricktown Ballpark hosted the Big 12 Baseball Tournament in 2005 and will be the site again in 2006, and 2007. Other notable sporting events in the city include the [http://www.asasoftball.com/complex/worldcup.asp World Cup of Softball] and the annual [http://www.asasoftball.com/complex/ncaa_wcws.asp NCAA Women's College World Series] played at the "Don E. Porter" Hall of Fame Stadium as well as horse races at Remington Park and the many horse shows and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. Additionally, Oklahoma City was home to several now defunct sports teams:
- Oklahoma Wranglers : Arena Football League
- Oklahoma City Cavalry : Continental Basketball Association
- Oklahoma City 89ers : American Association (20th century) minor league baseball - now Oklahoma RedHawks
- Oklahoma City Stars : CHL Hockey Team
- Oklahoma City Coyotes : RHI Roller Hockey Team
- Oklahoma City Dolls : All-woman American Football League franchise

Economy

Major Companies Headquartered in OKC


- Tinker Air Force Base,
- SBC Oklahoma - Fortune 500
- Sonic - Fortune 1000
- OGE Energy - Fortune 1000
- Hobby Lobby
- Kerr McGee - Fortune 500
- DEVON - Fortune 500 (largest public company in Oklahoma)
- Dobson Communications
- Chesapeake Energy - Fortune 500
- Six Flags (operates Frontier City and White Water Bay theme parks locally)
- Express Personnel Services
- Express Sports
- Oklahoma Publishing Company - Fortune 1000
- Gaylord Entertainment
- Globe Life and Accident Insurance
- BancFirst

Smaller Companies Headquartered in OKC


- Braum's
- Carlisle (maker of dishes and utensils found in most restaurants worldwide)
- Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores
- <