I'm interested in hearing your perspective on the ever-changing nature of the spiral. It seems that challenges or significant life events can sometimes cause us to regress in our personal growth, perhaps indicating that there are additional lessons to be learned. However, akin to the symbolism of the unalome, once we reach the stage that Ken Wilber referred to as turquoise or the transpersonal stage, the evolution of consciousness begins, and external factors that traditionally influence our development become less relevant. I'd love to hear more about your thoughts on this topic.
Wow. Fantastic question. Because this will be a series, I want to flag for those new to this a potential >Spoiler Alert< but I nevertheless want to offer a solid, thoughtful answer here.
First, I think that a lot of the really good stuff happens at SDi Yellow (Teal for Wilberites). That is, despite Yellow being more self-centered and agentic than Turquoise, there are still features of transpersonal thinking that arise in that stage, despite tremendous anchoring to the individual perspective. For example, the ability for second-tier practitioners to regard the environment and determine what prior value system language is appropriate for that context is transpersonal by its very nature. It is a gift to be sure, but it must be practiced. I have no idea whether Wilber or Beck would agree with me in emphasizing practice as much as I do, but I would submit all second-tier thoughts and actions must be exercised, like karate, meditation, or yoga. In that sense, I think mastery at second-tier will be elusive, and it will be too easy for people to retrogress in certain circumstances. In that sense, whether and to what extent practice is conscious and continuous will determine JUST HOW agentic it is when one applies red values, say, in the context of coaching a football team. I suppose it's possible for people to stumble into the second tier, but I gather matters are not so simple. They certainly aren't for me. Indeed, if I'm being candid, I have to work very hard indeed to think or act in a manner one might consider Turquoise, whereas I am more naturally inclined to think or act through the Yellow lens.
I also acknowledge that people can retrogress under stress or in competitive situations when they fail to practice. En masse, we can see this as the culture wars drag on. Those stuck in the Green (relativist/postmodern) swamp might have had moments of Yellow cognition and action, but the tribalism and team sports push them back into their first-tier boxes. I see Blue (traditionalists) and Orange (moderns) doubling down in unpleasant ways in the face of radical social justice value meme--Mean Green--ascendence. Neo-reactionaries are, to my mind, attempting to up and intellectualize unhealthy aspects of the Blue/Orange transitional phase. Because they turn their backs on Mean Green entirely, they are unable to engage in the kind of yes-and thinking that would allow them to embrace healthier aspects of Green. The latter stay stuck, but so do the Blues and Greens. Their wars keep them from integrating the beneficial aspects of all the prior stages, which is exactly what opens the door to the second tier. (Interestingly, for example, Don Beck voted for Donald Trump in 2020. Whether this was a Yellow move or a retrogression, I cannot say. But no doubt he was sick to death of Mean Green among the Democratic party. And elections are circumstances that push people to "pick a team." I have a hard time NOT getting pulled into the horrible first-tier system (electoral politics) and have dedicated my life to pushing Yellow v-memes, as you can probably tell. But these dynamics can be powerful forces. And I know I have a LOT of practicing and exploration to do if I am ever going to figure out how to pull more human souls into the second tier. For all I know, I might do better to practice Yellow 'spiral wizardry' and target first-tier folks where they are on the spiral, rather than trying to pull them up into Yellow, which requires pulling many through healthy Green first.
What remains is the question of whether you can help people 'skip' phases. Most integral practitioners argue that is impossible. I suspect they are right.
Now, I want to add a big caveat to all this: SDi is a heuristic in my mind, not an iron law of the human condition. Practicing integral communications and actions for the purposes of Spiral ascent might be a Fool's Errand to start with, therefore. Still, I reckon we have to try.
Finally, I want to interrogate this question further in my mind: "once we reach the stage that Ken Wilber referred to as turquoise or the transpersonal stage, the evolution of consciousness begins, and external factors that traditionally influence our development become less relevant." I'd ask Wilber: Less relevant to whom? Sure, the external factors become less relevant to the Turquoise practitioner, but not to those around him or her, who are very likely still going to be hanging out in the first tier. Indeed, I think there might even be natural cognitive limits for most people. So the relevance is relative, which might well be an important insight from Green. How we communicate from second tier to first tier in a constructive (and constructivist) way, will require a lot of us, most of whom are barely hanging on to tier 2.
Thanks for the great question, Sher. I hope this makes sense.
Indeed, it completely makes sense. I'm now intrigued by the concept of skipping phases. I believe it's possible that psychedelics could serve as the key to either accelerating progress or even bypassing certain stages. However, this could potentially lead to cognitive dissonance, as we would lack the experiential progression that typically accompanies personal growth.
Moreover, I believe this is where our cognitive limits can be pushed and challenged. I fully support the idea of practice since every aspect of life necessitates it. The crucial element, though, lies in the lived experience that enables us to help others truly comprehend. It's about the journey from "I was here" to "I'm here now" because I acquired knowledge and insights through specific experiences.
Thank you for your response, it's hard to find open minded practioners, as I am sure your aware.
I'm interested in hearing your perspective on the ever-changing nature of the spiral. It seems that challenges or significant life events can sometimes cause us to regress in our personal growth, perhaps indicating that there are additional lessons to be learned. However, akin to the symbolism of the unalome, once we reach the stage that Ken Wilber referred to as turquoise or the transpersonal stage, the evolution of consciousness begins, and external factors that traditionally influence our development become less relevant. I'd love to hear more about your thoughts on this topic.
Wow. Fantastic question. Because this will be a series, I want to flag for those new to this a potential >Spoiler Alert< but I nevertheless want to offer a solid, thoughtful answer here.
First, I think that a lot of the really good stuff happens at SDi Yellow (Teal for Wilberites). That is, despite Yellow being more self-centered and agentic than Turquoise, there are still features of transpersonal thinking that arise in that stage, despite tremendous anchoring to the individual perspective. For example, the ability for second-tier practitioners to regard the environment and determine what prior value system language is appropriate for that context is transpersonal by its very nature. It is a gift to be sure, but it must be practiced. I have no idea whether Wilber or Beck would agree with me in emphasizing practice as much as I do, but I would submit all second-tier thoughts and actions must be exercised, like karate, meditation, or yoga. In that sense, I think mastery at second-tier will be elusive, and it will be too easy for people to retrogress in certain circumstances. In that sense, whether and to what extent practice is conscious and continuous will determine JUST HOW agentic it is when one applies red values, say, in the context of coaching a football team. I suppose it's possible for people to stumble into the second tier, but I gather matters are not so simple. They certainly aren't for me. Indeed, if I'm being candid, I have to work very hard indeed to think or act in a manner one might consider Turquoise, whereas I am more naturally inclined to think or act through the Yellow lens.
I also acknowledge that people can retrogress under stress or in competitive situations when they fail to practice. En masse, we can see this as the culture wars drag on. Those stuck in the Green (relativist/postmodern) swamp might have had moments of Yellow cognition and action, but the tribalism and team sports push them back into their first-tier boxes. I see Blue (traditionalists) and Orange (moderns) doubling down in unpleasant ways in the face of radical social justice value meme--Mean Green--ascendence. Neo-reactionaries are, to my mind, attempting to up and intellectualize unhealthy aspects of the Blue/Orange transitional phase. Because they turn their backs on Mean Green entirely, they are unable to engage in the kind of yes-and thinking that would allow them to embrace healthier aspects of Green. The latter stay stuck, but so do the Blues and Greens. Their wars keep them from integrating the beneficial aspects of all the prior stages, which is exactly what opens the door to the second tier. (Interestingly, for example, Don Beck voted for Donald Trump in 2020. Whether this was a Yellow move or a retrogression, I cannot say. But no doubt he was sick to death of Mean Green among the Democratic party. And elections are circumstances that push people to "pick a team." I have a hard time NOT getting pulled into the horrible first-tier system (electoral politics) and have dedicated my life to pushing Yellow v-memes, as you can probably tell. But these dynamics can be powerful forces. And I know I have a LOT of practicing and exploration to do if I am ever going to figure out how to pull more human souls into the second tier. For all I know, I might do better to practice Yellow 'spiral wizardry' and target first-tier folks where they are on the spiral, rather than trying to pull them up into Yellow, which requires pulling many through healthy Green first.
What remains is the question of whether you can help people 'skip' phases. Most integral practitioners argue that is impossible. I suspect they are right.
Now, I want to add a big caveat to all this: SDi is a heuristic in my mind, not an iron law of the human condition. Practicing integral communications and actions for the purposes of Spiral ascent might be a Fool's Errand to start with, therefore. Still, I reckon we have to try.
Finally, I want to interrogate this question further in my mind: "once we reach the stage that Ken Wilber referred to as turquoise or the transpersonal stage, the evolution of consciousness begins, and external factors that traditionally influence our development become less relevant." I'd ask Wilber: Less relevant to whom? Sure, the external factors become less relevant to the Turquoise practitioner, but not to those around him or her, who are very likely still going to be hanging out in the first tier. Indeed, I think there might even be natural cognitive limits for most people. So the relevance is relative, which might well be an important insight from Green. How we communicate from second tier to first tier in a constructive (and constructivist) way, will require a lot of us, most of whom are barely hanging on to tier 2.
Thanks for the great question, Sher. I hope this makes sense.
Indeed, it completely makes sense. I'm now intrigued by the concept of skipping phases. I believe it's possible that psychedelics could serve as the key to either accelerating progress or even bypassing certain stages. However, this could potentially lead to cognitive dissonance, as we would lack the experiential progression that typically accompanies personal growth.
Moreover, I believe this is where our cognitive limits can be pushed and challenged. I fully support the idea of practice since every aspect of life necessitates it. The crucial element, though, lies in the lived experience that enables us to help others truly comprehend. It's about the journey from "I was here" to "I'm here now" because I acquired knowledge and insights through specific experiences.
Thank you for your response, it's hard to find open minded practioners, as I am sure your aware.