Transcending Stage Green

[TimStr]

I lately thought about what stage in the Claire Graves model I am at. I came to the conclusion that I am mostly green or below and I wanted to make clear to myself, what I have to do to move up to higher stages.

I'll just share my notes on that topic, as I think that they may be valuable to others. Many of them are excerpts from a Talk of Ken Wilber about integral spirituality (https://youtu.be/H4jcxxJ_0ok?t=39m50s).

Feel free to share your own thoughts.

What is stage green:

• a stage of the spiral dynamics model
• post-modern, pluralistic, relativistic, cultural creative, diversity, participatory
• can take a 4th person perspective, can reflect on 3rd person perspectives (eg. science), can reach conclusions from a higher level of generality, like:
  • universal truths (like science) are to rigid and too excluding of other types of truths
  • all cultures have their own view and shouldn't be judged on
  • the is no absolute view, every view is relative and pluralistic
  • "You have whats true for you, I have whats true for me. Both views are right, even if they disagree with another."

Benefits of this stage:

• hypersensitivity to imposing values on anybody
• attention to oppression of anybody (esp. minority)
• civil rights movements, environmental movement, rights for minorities in religion

Problems with this stage (pathologies):

• postmodernists claim: "All truths are socially constructed. None has universal validity."
• but postmodern claims, that that is true for all cultures, places, times
• it claims, that it is universally true, that there are no universal truths (paradox)
• it believes, that there is no superior view, but that its view is superior to all the alternatives (ignorant)
• for level Green, THAT is an universal truth (ignorant)

What I have to do to transcend:

• re-accept absolute truths
• start to see the system of development, that individuals, groups, culture... goes through
• reshaping my life so that support growths on all lines (cognitive, ethical, aesthetic, spiritual, kinesthetic, logical...)
• start to see the big picture, meta-theory (like the integral theory)
• start to see, that stage green is overly idealistic
• begin to do actual work on consciousness and get direct experiences of truth

What is integral (https://youtu.be/H4jcxxJ_0ok?t=1h03m42s):

• entirely different type of stage (2nd tier), because (in contrast to the previous stages, that see each other as wrong) it sees all the other stages as important part of the process, one has to go through → inclusive, holistic level
• Spiral Dynamics (stage Yellow) integrated, systemic...
• individuals are no longer driven by deficiency drives, but abundance drives (Maslow)
• they are looking for all things integral
• looking for a spirituality, that deals with a transformation of their own consciousness (paths of waking up)

[Henri]

@TimStr Actually the spiritual work is the key, the most important one to grow out of green.

A lot of developmental lines will naturally develop, though not all of them. This is not necessary also.

Next to integral spirituality study integral psychology also. You`ll get a deeper understanding.