On May 2, 2012, Christopher Mandel delivered a talk that served as an introduction to integral theory and focused on its implications for the Occupy Movement and social activism in general.

Integral Movement and Occupy filmed by Tanner Spendley.Integral Theory is a broad, all encompassing philosophy developed by Colorado based thinker, Ken Wilber. It is a one of kind, system for putting divergent political, historical, religious, and scientific ideas within a framework which respects both their similarities and differences. It also provides an optimistic vision of the future based on concrete, cross-discipline evidence. Figures who have mentioned integral theory as a major influence on lives and work include Al Gore, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Larry Wachowski (The Matrix, V for Vendetta), and self-help author Deepac Chopra.

Chris is an organizer for Occupy Denver and in a formal life, was part of the “Integral Scene” of Denver/Boulder. He has studied integral theory for 15 years, and has worked with many of the central figures in the integral world.

On May 3, 2012, the Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition presented a teach-in panel called “Defend Our Homes… Protect Our Communities: A call to action from the front lines of the war on corporate corruption.”

Produced by Gary Crabtree for Occupy Now TV

In 2007 rampant fraud in the mortgage industry triggered a financial crisis throughout the world economy. Within two years 7.5 million American workers lost their jobs and an attempt to cover their original crimes, the Banksters have fraudulently forced 15.5 million homes into foreclosure. Thousands across the country have joined together in the fight to save our communities. If you want to havea direct impact now, please join us for a panel discussion on out how to get into the fight.

Panel of Activists:

Corrine Fowler – The Economic Justice Director at the Colorado Progressive Coalition.
Corrine has gained an extensive knowledge from experience of how to fight foreclosures through Legislative and DirectAction.

Chad Kautzer – A philosophy professor who specializes in Social and Political Philosophy.
Chad is active in Occupy Denver and has been giving teach-ins on the financial causes and Wall Street corruption that led to the foreclosure crisis.

Steven Bailey – The victim of a fraudulent foreclosure in which his family lost their home and livelihood.
Steve offers the perspective of how these crimes are impacting the lives of the victims and how the Occupy movement will empower us to fight back.

Produced by Gary Crabtree and Occupy Now TV

In a previous teach-in, we looked at class and class conflict. Now we turn to ideology, how it relates to our economic system, and how it functions in our daily lives. The politics of foreclosures and the proposed ordinance banning “urban camping” in Denver, which would criminalize homelessness, will serve as case studies. In general, we’ll find that the Occupy movement represents, in practice, a fundamental critique of dominant political and economic ideologies.

This teach-in, part IV of the Occupy Economics series, was led by Chad Kautzer on April 26, 2012. Chad is a member of Occupy Denver’s Education Committee and Foreclosure Resistance Coalition, as well as Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Directory of the Social Justice Minor at the University of Colorado Denver.

View the previous teach-ins in the Occupy Economics series:
Part I: Occupy Economics 101
Part II: Capitalism, Foreclosures and the Politics of Responsibility
Part III: Class Conflict and the Occupy Movement

For more information about Occupy Denver teach-ins, email educate@occupydenver.org.

Iraq Veterans Against the War invited Occupy Denver to a teach-in at the Mercury Cafe on April 11, 2012. Local chapter members Garett Reppenhagen, Kelly Doughtery, and Graham Clumpner opened with personal accounts of what led them to join IVAW and a discussion about what veterans and active duty service members are doing to resist war and militarism. We then heard from Matt Howard and Scott Olson, a vet wounded while peacefully protesting at Occupy Oakland, about a new IVAW project called Operation Recovery. Operation Recovery advocates for individuals suffering from trauma and for their right to remove themselves from the source of the trauma.

Scott Olsen served two tours in Iraq with the Marines. He was critically injured last October when the Oakland police shot him in the head with a projectile while he was peacefully protesting as part of Occupy Oakland. He is currently organizing with IVAW and Occupy in San Francisco and Oakland. Matt Howard also served in Iraq with the Marines. He is currently a resident organizer at Under the Hood Coffeehouse and GI Resource Center in Kileen, TX, the home of Ft. Hood Army base. Matt is organizing with active duty soldiers there around the Operation Recovery campaign which aims to stop the deployment of traumatized troops.

Graham Clumpner is a two-tour Afghanistan veteran and member of the Colorado IVAW chapter. Graham is an organizer with the Operation Recovery campaign and is currently organizing the Right to Heal tour which will bring soldiers and veterans to communities across the country to talk about issues of war and trauma.

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These videos, and many more, are produced by Gary Crabtree for OccupyNowTV. If you would like to support what he is doing, so we can continue to bring you videos of our teach-ins and events, please donate to his Occupy Now KickStarter Project.

Sarah Bexill, a PhD from the Institute for Human – Animal Connection of the University of Denver, delivers a teach-in to Occupy Denver on April 10, 2012.

Synopsis: In this teach-in, we discuss the myth of infinite economic growth upon which our current economy is founded. Then we will proceed to discuss how this mythical thinking necessarily leads to disparity between rich and poor countries as well as the destruction of Mother Earth, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystems, and the current mass extinction event. Lastly, we will discuss new economic models and strategies for economic sustainability, such as Bhutan’s “Gross National Happiness Index” and Bolivia’s granting equal rights to nature.

Produced by Gary Crabtree for OccupyNowTV

Chad Kautzer, philosophy professor and member of Occupy Denver’s Education Committee and Foreclosure Resistance Coalition, discusses the origin of the Occupy movement and the nature of its political praxis in light of Hannah Arendt’s notions of power and the spatial conditions of the polis. The talk was given at the Center for Values and Social Policy in Boulder, CO, on April 6, 2012.

Psychoanalyst Walker McDonald speaks to an Occupy Denver teach-in about the non-violent tactics of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John Lennon. Developing a state-of-ease and moving out of the state of survival. Produced by Gary Crabtree for OccupyNowTV.

Ric Urrutia, a labor expert, delivers a teach-in to Occupy Denver regarding the Labor movement’s strikes, how they have been effective and the purposes they have served. He discusses the rationale behind calling, or not calling, for a general strike on May 1, International Workers’ Day.