From Coral to Teal; A short tale about my personal journey

[Fearey]

Hi guys. I'm Fearey and I've been a long time lurker of the forum. I started watching Leo back in 2012, and transitioned from being interested in self-help work, to consciousness work back in 2014. I've been following most of Leo's content up until 2019. I still watch some of his content from time to time. Few seem as dedicated to providing quality content and explaining it in a thorough manner as Leo. I'll always be grateful for that.

With regards to the post title and SD stages in general, I consider the process of trying to find the true nature of self (the process of self-transcendence) to start at SD stage Coral / integral stage Indigo. What follows, having transcended the self, being the entering into SD stage Teal / integral stage Violet. 
 

Going through the later stages of Coral was a very depressive, painful experience for me personally. Dwelling into nihilism was commonplace. Not just simple depression, but an all-encompassing, existential dread. Feeling like you're slipping out of existence.

It was a weird thing to let go of assumptions and beliefs I had held about myself all throughout my life. Assumptions I had already accepted as fact long ago. What followed, however, was a powerful sensation of peace and belonging.

To explain my process of moving from Coral to Teal I'd tell you to imagine taking away all the parts of yourself that makes you you. Then witnessing the remaining emptiness/nothingness that's left as the self somehow becoming something more than what you had before.

Note: I'm entirely open to the possibility that my interpretation of SD/integral stages with regard to self transcendence could be flawed, or incorrect. I've been lurking the forums for some time and I'm well aware about the grudges held about people mentioning or claiming to be at stages past Turquoise, as there seems to be so little understanding of these stages, making such claims seem unfounded. I'm not coming from a place of bragging, I'm simply interested in sharing my own personal experience with like minded individuals.

Having experienced the completely altering shifts in being that comes from entering a state of obsessively trying to  solve the question of self, to the even bigger shift that comes as a result of actually being successful in it, finally transcending the self, leaves me quite certain that both of these represent stages of development past stage Turquoise on the spiral. I could be wrong, however.

To close, for any tier 2 individuals highly interested in consciousness work, I'd very much recommend The Book of Not Knowing and The Genius of Being. Both are books written by Peter Ralston and will take you on a journey down the deep end of self-realization. Both has helped me tremendously, and I consider them two of the most impactful books I've ever read.

[blackchair]

how old are you and how long did every stage (coral and teal) lasted?

[blackchair]

im "stuck" at turqoise last 4years, any advice how to advance to coral?

[Fearey]

@blackchair I can't recall exactly what did it for me, so I don't think I can give much useful advice on the matter. 

If I recall correctly, going from Turquoise to Coral was like moving into a sudden, almost obsessive need for self discovery. As if a huge piece of myself all of a sudden had gone missing, and had to be found, so as to not lose myself.

Generally speaking, always being truthful to yourself, about yourself, no matter how difficult and draining things become typically helps for me when the going gets tough. Riding out the storm, so to say. 

I think it varies greatly from person to person how best to progress up the spiral.

Edited June 30, 2021 by Fearey

[BipolarGrowth]

All I know is after tasting Nibbana without a tongue I’m really feeling pushed to live life to its fullest. The previous fears that kept me clinching to be small in life (I need this job, etc.) are evaporating to push me to live as if this is my last crescendo. 

[The Buddha]

Thanks 4 the book recommendations, I'll read them

[caspex]

What's your defination of stage turquoise, coral and teal? 

[Nahm]

@Fearey

Really nice! Well done. 

[SOUL]

Once one realizes pellucid then it's recognized all this staging and leveling of mystical experience can be a distraction from being present in awareness.

One may notice that pellucid isn't actually on the color spectrum of this system...exactly!

Edited July 1, 2021 by SOUL

[Gesundheit2]

Not to put you down or anything, but it sounds more like tier 1 thinking, to be honest.

Naturally, at tier 2 you start identifying less with models in general, including the SD model itself. And also, you start taking models less and less seriously, and you start treating them less and less literally. The map is not the territory is a tier 2 saying. At Turquoise, you realize that development is infinite (infinite Spiral levels), and you realize the infinite depth and complexity of reality.

And since it seems you're identified with the model and attached to the labels, I would say you're either at Blue (which I don't think is likely), or at Green (most probably). Green, especially when backed up by an enthusiastic Orange core, can treat the SD model as a video game where you win if you level up to the highest levels as quickly as possible, which gives the ego all its desired feelings of triumph and victory after finally conquering the video game (in this case SD).

I don't know about your spiritual progress, but I think it has very little to do with SD. SD mainly maps the different sets of values of different societies while taking into account their overall cognitive development, but it doesn't specify or focus very much on cognitive development as it was not mainly made for that purpose, although there are definitely certain intersections. If you want a better assessment of your cognitive development, try the 9 ego stages model. It's designed for individuals and it's more accurate, imo.

That's just my take, though.

Edited July 1, 2021 by Gesundheit2

[CultivateLove]

Perfect example of stage 1 over-estimating its spiral development. 

[caspex]

On 02/07/2021 at 9:56 PM, Fearey said:

@Swarnim I think for me to better explain my interpretation of the later stages, I would have to start at stage Yellow, as this in and of itself is a huge shift from what was before, so I'll shortly explain my interpretation of the stages Yellow, Turquoise, Coral and Teal.

When we move from Green into Yellow, our decision making starts to become a lot more affected by logic and reasoning, rather than feelings and belief systems. We no longer cling to one specific way of being, one religious belief, one political system, one form of government etc. Rather, we're now able to look past our personal biases and carefully inspect differing systems that would otherwise seem contradictory and harmful/destructive to ones personal point of view.

 

Going from Yellow into Turquoise, we want to give back. Community building is going to be of great importance, and you'll likely find yourself spending a great deal of time thinking about how you'd best be able to make the world a better place for yourself and everyone around you. You'll be even more detached from belief systems, and is now, even more so than yellow, able to see the pros and cons of everything around you.

You may start to integrate parts of several religious beliefs into your day to day life, not subscribing to either one. You'll see the world as a singular, global entity, no longer applying any biased preference to your own communities. Nationality and nation states start to lose their meaning, and you might feel like these should just be abolished all together, in order to better unite our world into one, global entity. 

There's a good chance you'll want to start sharing your Turquoise values with those around you, but as most people are not yet at a stage of awareness where they can consider Turquoise values. Your point of view will likely be seen as very extreme to most. In order to be able to meaningfully discuss these topics, you have to find or form groups of like-minded individuals.

 

Going from Turquoise into Coral, you start to place a lot more importance on the self, and most of your time and energy is likely to be spent introspecting. You'll be driven to get to the bottom of what you really are and why you're the way you are. You're likely to start experimenting with your own emotions and start pushing your boundaries to new levels, in order to learn more about yourself.

You're able to put yourself in a position of the observer, objectively observing yourself from a third person perspective. You may begin testing your physical and mental limits, and put yourself in extreme environments, only to observe your own bodily sensations and why they are the way they are. While doing this, you may find yourself becoming more and more detached to feelings and/or assumptions held about yourself.

Eventually, you'll start questioning everything about yourself. From the moment you were born up until now. Painful memories will surface and you'll have to face the possibility that none of it was ever you. That you're essentially an empty vessel, nothing at all. While, at the same time, being all there is. When we get to this point, self-transcendence becomes a possibility, and the nightmare that is late stage Coral can be left behind, as we realize the self for what it truly is, thus transcending the false self.

 

Going from Coral into Teal, we've now transcended the self, or more accurately, the false self. We're now in a constant flow state with existence. We exist at a permanent state of peace and harmony. Everything becomes very simple. There's no longer a sense of hurry with regards to anything. Our constant state of flow leads us to experience a new-found gratification and appreciation for the now and all that is. We're able to live life to the fullest in our own way, not being limited by beliefs about ourselves or about the world, being able to easily find meaning and happiness in even the smallest of things. 

@Fearey I see. That clears it up. According to my interpretation of the model, I'd put your interpretation of Yellow as early Yellow, and Turquoise as late Yellow. Coral as entering Turquoise and Teal as full fledged turquoise. 

I think this what most of us mean here by those stages. You have probably read the book so you might as well be more accurate. But this is the way I interpret the model cuz all I have done is watch the videos. Anyways, have a good moment!

[Fearey]

@Swarnim I suppose it could be. Turquoise is vast, and it could just be that this is all contained within that one stage. I still think the shifts I've experienced when entering what I perceive to be Coral is too different to be part of Turquoise, but I guess that's up for interpretation, as there's very little to go on regarding what comes after Turquoise.

Thank you @Swarnim and everyone else who's commented and read my post. I'm glad I got to share some of my experiences.

[asifarahim]

@Fearey how many hours a day did u do personal development not including the time u spent in spiritual work

[Fearey]

@asifarahim Not including the spiritual, around 3-4 hours per day on average. Used to be more.

[asifarahim]

@Fearey how many hours a day did u dedicate to spirituality

[Fearey]

@asifarahim I try to dedicate about 2 hours daily whenever possible, plus two 1-2 week long solo retreats annually. Been doing the retreats for the past 3 years. They're pretty basic and pretty much just consists of me living alone in my cabin in the mountains. I allow myself no distractions such as the use of phones, watching TV, using PCs etc, and spend a great deal of my time there just experiencing nature, as well as contemplating various topics.

[diamondpenguin]

That's gnarly, @Fearey . What are the traits of a Coral person, and what is the foundational mental characteristics that they have? Like, what is Coral about? 

[Consept]

I always doubt people when they claim to be turquoise or above, its like literally saying im the most developed human being that has ever existed. It could be true and maybe you are and im just projecting on you but i do find it hard to take seriously, no offence. 

[Sine]

On 2.7.2021 at 6:26 PM, Fearey said:

We exist at a permanent state of peace and harmony.

Also when you visit your parents?