Levels Of Consciousness

                                                            Levels of Consciousness


                                  

The other day my friend facilitated an international conference Skype call with 14 people, all of whom, had fairly conflicted agendas, opinions, perspectives, and ego personalities. She was able, not without some blood, sweat, and tears to bring about a group consensus that was 'good enough.'

My friend has always demonstrated a high degree of empathy, compassion and tolerance for others that is indicative of the work of Dr. Clare Graves who formulated a model known as Spiral Dynamics. “The psychology of the mature human being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating, spiraling process marked by progressive subordination of older, lower-order behavior systems to newer, higher-order systems as man’s existential problems change,” according to Graves.

To be consciously tolerant is to understand that every person and group is exactly where they need to be depending on their life conditions and the evolution of their consciousness. The first 6 levels of human consciousness are subsistence levels. Spiral Dynamics is similar, but much more sophisticated than Maslow's hierarchy of needs which is a static closed system. Spiral Dynamics states that the levels of consciousness are always with us and are activated by life conditions. These levels of consciousness show up in individuals and groups, and there is a vast array of spectral colors that blend and overlap like a rainbow.

In our world today there is high degree of what Spiral Dynamics calls Beige/Purple/Red: homelessness, third world poverty, desperation, Power Gods, tribalism, blood oaths, magical ethnic beliefs, Kinship and lineage of established political/religious authority, good/bad/right/wrong/us/them beliefs. The “terrible twos” is an example of this in developmental psychology. (Terrible Twos, feudal kingdoms, soldiers of fortune, many rock stars, Power Rangers, rebellious youth, 20% of world population, 5% of power)

The Blue: Mythic Order maintains a belief in a righteous order with absolutist unvarying principles of “right” and “wrong.” This is concrete-literal fundamentalist thinking. (Boy and Girl Scouts, Billy Graham, Puritan American, Confucian China, Islamic fundamentalism, 40% of world population, 30% of power)

The Orange: Scientific/Achievement level is entrepreneurial, individualistic, materialistic, and success-driven (Think Donald Trump, The Enlightenment, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged , Wall Street, emerging middle classes around the world, cosmetics industry, trophy hunting, colonialism, the Cold War, fashion industry, materialism, secular humanism, liberal self-interest. 30% of the population, 50% of the power).. The Green: Sensitive Self is communal, socialistic, democratic, ecological, and post modern. The focus with green is community and personal growth, equality, attention to environmental concerns. Work is motivated by human contact and contribution, learning from others. Being liked is more important than competitive advantage, value openness and trust, fear rejection and disapproval. Leaders become facilitators, less autocratic. This is where most of my generation became stuck from the 60's ideology. The Green move towards egalitarianism with a resulting tendency towards inefficiency and stagnation, can become bogged down and ineffectual due to trying too hard to reach consensus and have everyone 'share.' This is where consensus can become toxic. (Facebook, Rogerian counseling, Esalen, GreenPeace, Jacques Costeau, Jimmy Carter, John Lennon's music, Doctors without Borders, ACLU, Ben & Jerry's, animal rights, deep ecology, 10% of population, 15% of power)

These first 6 stages Graves calls 'first-tier' consciousness, and it is where the vast majority of humanity is stuck. In order to solve world problems we must move to 'second-tier' thinking which is a quantum leap from first-tier. Second Tier is the capacity to take multiple perspectives in life. YELLOW is motivated by learning for its own sake and is oriented towards integration of complex systems. Change is a welcome part of the process in organizations and life; YELLOW likes the challenges. It is characterized by systems thinking, an orientation to how parts interact to create a greater whole. Unique talents and dispositions are honored as contributing something valuable to the whole. YELLOW likes engineering complex systems and dealing with ideas. It is also ecologically oriented, but in a more subdued, behind the scenes way. YELLOW thinkers often work on the periphery of organizations, quietly fine-tuning situations and procedures, much to the bafflement of the first tier memes. (Hawking's Brief History of Time, chaos theory, eco-industrial parks, Wired magazine, 1% of world population, 5% of power)