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@soos_mite_ah Very well said, and this feels on-point to my gut instincts. We should note that MLK wanted to dismantle capitalism as well, which further indicates Stage Green thinking.

@Opo I've heard Ken Wilbur praise him as a second tier thinker, which was confusing.

Wow this thread is confusing seems like everyone has a different answer haha. My gut tells me his center of gravity was Green but had some Blue in him and certainly in the culture he was based in. But frankly I'd probably need to read his biography and learn more about him before I truly know.

Leo's latest video speaks to this:

@Nahm I remember riding a public bus one day about six months ago and having this experiential realization, "Whoa, life is all one giant synchronicity, and it's just a matter of whether we 'tune' into it or not." It was wild and hard to explain with words. I don't understand what you're saying ^. Do you mind clarifying? What's slow, and what do you mean by "itself"?

@Mafortu Thanks, that makes sense. I understand the literal physical acts of pushing plate, plate breaks, etc. But what about synchronicities or premonitions like having a dream about something that actually happens the next day? Or the crazy stories people often call coincidences like someone who is on his way to commit murder when suddenly he gets a flat tire. He reads it as a sign from God and it becomes the turning point in his life. Is the flat tire just a result of having a shitty car, and the timing is indeed coincidental, or are there deeper layers behind the concept of "everything happens for a reason"?

This is partly why I resonate with Ken Wilbur's integral model of Wake Up, Grow Up, Clean Up, Show Up. Important to address our egos, insecurities, shadows, etc otherwise even the most awakened among us can turn toxic, according to Wilbur. http://www.integralworld.net/diperna06.html

"The Wisdom Pattern" is Brilliant example of stage Yellow thinking by Richard Rohr. He masterfully takes on the Green, Orange and Blue memes - especially the pitfalls of postmodernism - while also presenting a beautiful vision of Yellow religion, society and culture. The way he so poignantly speaks to Green, Orange and Blue in the very same paragraph is truly amazing. https://store.cac.org/products/the-wisdom-pattern-order-disorder-reorder

I couldn’t recommend Deborah Wilder enough. She’s more of an angel than a therapist. I started seeing her over two years ago, and since then my two best friends, both my sisters and even my mom who is super resistant to therapy have all had sessions with her. She’s really special and has helped me transform my life and embark on the spiritual path in ways I can’t begin to put into words. Her sessions are over FaceTime or Zoom, so doesn’t matter where you’re located. You can book a free consult on her website I believe. Good luck! http://www.deborahwilder.com/

This is the GREENEST documentary ever made. It's really, really, really Green. If you want to understand stage Green, this is the one.

@Danioover9000 Thanks! This is well said and very constructive advice.

How does one determine what is a universal basic human need vs an ego attachment? Or are they sometimes one and the same? For example, if someone is feeling loneliness and longs for community and intimacy, is this a "healthy" desire based on a true need, or an ego attachment that should be witnessed and "dropped" as some spiritual practices advise? Obviously food, shelter and clothing are likely necessary for physical survival, but is everything else simply an attachment? Or perhaps this "letting go of attachments" teaching is more specifically directed towards desires for things like material possessions, an attractive lover, high paying job, "becoming" enlightenment, etc?

Feeling out of control. Giving up control. Then finally realizing you were never truly in control in the first place - what freedom this realization brings! The birth of Faith. Ending past relationships, marriages, careers and feeling empty without all the "stuff" your ego used to fill itself with. Then experiencing something so much more abundant and life-affirming taking its place, filling in the "God-sized hole" with the grace of love and acceptance.

Great overview of Integral Spirituality. https://www.kosmosjournal.org/article/integral-spirituality-2/

Funny swipe at Green Meme.

Powerful and heartbreaking documentary about an American military family. The father is textbook stage Blue who potentially was beginning to move into Orange when tragedy struck and set him back.

@Recursoinominado I can relate to a lot of what you describe. I feel like I’m in “no man’s land” - not yet awakened on any sustaining level but also no longer living from the familiar ego patterns. One foot in both worlds and yet sometimes it paradoxically feels like not in either place at all. I relate to your frustrations on a social level, too. I can connect with others on the level they’re at, but it’s hard to find people who meet or push me beyond where I am, which can feel very lonely. I generally just feel grateful that the universe has brought me along for this crazy ride, and I think of it as an adventure I’m on that keeps bringing me to new and magical realms. And I remind myself that if I keep on keeping on, one day I might even realize that I’m not just the character in the dream but the Dreamer, too.

Sounds like a dumb question, but please hear me out. Over the past 2.5 years the amount of personal and spiritual transformation I’ve experienced has felt miraculous. It seems evident to me that this growth in part occurred at such a potent and accelerated pace because I was fortunate enough to have all my Maslow’s pyramid needs met, and I was able to let go of all past attachments: expensive house, marriage, money, successful career, material possessions, social commitments. I was fortunate to be in a position where I could release them all and survive off my savings, allowing me to commit nearly 90% of my time and energy over the past two years towards Self-actualization. This got me to a place where I’ve awakened to my Life/Soul Purpose (as I currently understand it). One part of me feels ready to materialize this purpose in the form of pursuing life coaching, creating a documentary about the “Wake Up, Grow Up, Show Up” model (I used to be a filmmaker), writing a book about my journey, etc. My fear (too harsh of a word….more like a “mental curiosity”) is that if I start materializing my Life Purpose and make this documentary and write this book and coach clients that it will effectively cement me at the stage that my center of gravity is at, Yellow/Construct-Aware, rather than continuing to live off my savings and putting the Life Purpose stuff aside for another couple years while I continue deep diving into the next stage of Turquoise/Unitive and the world of nondual awakening. Basically, if I start teaching/embodying Yellow concepts, will it become far more difficult to transcend these concepts and continue evolving up the spiral? And on a more practical level, if I start a new business, new career, new commitments, that would be a huge time and energy investment... At the same time, I’m cognizant that one can’t “skip” stages or speed through them, so perhaps the only way to evolve to Turquoise is to fully embody my Life Purpose work, experiencing all that offers to the fullest extent possible? This seems counter to some of the teachings I’ve come across that suggest putting ego pursuits aside and instead focusing that energy on awakening. Or, perhaps I can do both at the same time, and I shouldn’t worry too much about “cementing” myself at one stage especially given that I’m so aware of this pitfall from the outset? I recognize these are all just mental constructions and are absurd on one level. That said, hopefully some of you can relate and offer any thoughtful advice. Thanks!

@andyjohnsonman We all start at Beige from what I've read, but usually if our culture is, say, at stage Blue, we'd quickly evolve through the first few stages during childhood, assuming there were no major traumas, developmental disabilities, etc. To take your question a step further, I was in Portland, OR recently and was curious about all the young people demonstrating at BLM marches. It would seem at first glance that they're mainly Stage Green. But upon closer investigation it seems clear that many are solid Orange and simply conforming to the mainstream culture of that city. But then I was wondering if maybe their Stage Green from a values perspective but their ED is only Achiever or below. Perhaps their values have excelled faster than their ego development considering the community around them has progressed to mostly Green/Orange. Hope this makes sense. Would be curious if anyone has thoughts on this.

Seconding this recommend. Worth watching. Already was aware of most issues presented, but I thought it was a well made doc and glad it’s out there. Deleted all my social media accounts over a year ago and was one of the best personal decisions I’ve ever made.

Achiever feels like it could encompass both high Orange and low Green. Would be curious to hear Leo expand on the differences between SD and ED models. I think he touched on this in the first video but would love to learn more about the similarities and differences. Can one be in a high SD stage but have a low ED level, or vice versa?

The book 1,000 by Ramaji has many maps of awakening in it.

New essay from Eisenstein about "whiteness," cultural superiority, and integrating stage Purple Indigenous traditional medicine with stage Orange/Green modernity. Thoughts on his essay? https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-banquet-of-whiteness/ From my POV, America’s white-dominate culture has been in the steady process of integrating aspects of Indigenous wisdom over the past few decades. From the many types of Yoga now available in nearly every town in America, to meditation being taught in inner-city public schools, to acupuncture and herbal medicine practices popping up everywhere. I recently saw a Nigerian Healer/Shaman in LA. I just started RASA energy transmissions. Last summer I was seeing an Ayurvedic Indian doctor. I’ve been on vision quests and grief ceremonies that all have strong roots in Indigenous wisdom. Framing this in the Spiral Dynamics model, the issue I see is that most of the country is still in stages Blue and Orange, which means only a small (but ever increasing) population of the country is even ideologically open to these practices (stage Green and above). The gripe many Indigenous / people of color have with integrating "sacred wisdom" is that it gets easily sucked into our modern stage Orange economy, turning everything into a profits game. Which is why Eisenstein's call to restructure the entire economic/healthcare/educational systems seems inevitable and imperative. While this is a massive shift that will likely take generations of work (maybe?), perhaps one thing white people can do is to support the small but growing number of “alternative” approaches to medicine and normalize it amongst our friends and family, so that one day it’s no longer “alternative” rather “integrative.” This cultural shift seems equally as imperative as the systems shift and perhaps is even a prerequisite to the systems changes. How to prevent white-dominate culture from not whitewashing the rest of the planet seems harder to control to some degree as corporations seeking profit and church groups seeking converts are somewhat out of the hands of the average person. And there's the conundrum of what to do when those who have been left out of the march towards modernity reach stage Orange and seek a piece of the pie. Is there a way to reform stage Orange systems into a more Green-centric incentive structure so that the impacts of "progress" are less destructive on those coming up from Blue? Thoughts?

@Dany Balan I was referring to the US population, not globally. I agree with your point which is why I said I think it will take far longer to achieve Yellow on a global scale than 200 years.

Within minutes during meditation, my breath becomes extremely shallow to the point of being nearly imperceptible. I start by placing my attention on the breath, but when it becomes so subtle I tend to switch from the breath to outside ambient sounds or a mantra. Some meditation teachers have told me to "keep breathing" and not let my breath get so shallow while others have told me it's fine and to just witness it. Looking for guidance and advice on this front. When my breath becomes very subtle I tend to have an easier time witnessing and noting arising thoughts. On the other hand, I feel detached from my body and sometimes "stuck in my head" when breath is so shallow. Thanks for your suggestions.