The Integrated Self Crosses Borders Daily: Inviting the Mystical Realism of the Integrated Scholar

This call to self reflection arising out of the keynote presentation invites readers to encounter and participate in the practice of the integrated scholar--a path across borders and boundaries often considered "outside" of formal learning. Propelled by a traumatic head injury that challenged cognitive abilities, this author's journey across physical, geographic, and cognitive borders has resonance for the study of integrative learning and practice--a dynamic process characterized by constant interaction and negotiation, recognition and surprise, and response to invited and uninvited callings from unexpected sources. At its core is mystical realism, an engagement with one's experience that involves suspending reliance on the surface boundaries for validation of what is possible and wise.