what is your worldview?

History isn’t what happened. 

It’s who tells the story.

~ Sally Roesch Wagner, historian of women’s history and Native American history

Integral theory is a theory integrating over 100 ancient and contemporary evolutionary and developmental theories and thinkers into one single framework. Philosopher Ken Wilber calls it the "theory of everything" (matter, body, mind, soul, and spirit), synthesizing eastern religious traditions with western structural stage theories and psychological models of development.

Wilber’s Integral “AQAL” model stands for all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all states, and all types. These 5 elements represent all the aspects that can describe individual and group experiences. It enables the selection the most relevant and effective strategies for responding to particular life circumstances. 

Quadrants - 4 different perspectives of 'subjective and objective' and 'individual and collective'; info below

Levels - the evolution and development of higher levels of values and self-identity; info below

Lines - areas of intelligence including IQ, mathematical, spatial, linguistic, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, emotional, among others that can be found on the internet

States - states such as conscious wakefulness, unconsciousness, subconsciousness, dream state, among others that can be found on the internet

Types - includes M/F/LGBTQ+ paradigms and personality typologies including the Enneagram (see the Enneagram+Levels chart at bottom of this page and the Enneagram page here on Deep Intention). 

More information under Theories below.

Spiral Dynamics (SD) is a model of the evolutionary development of individuals, organizations, and societies. It was developed by Don Edward Beck and Christopher Cowan based on Clare W. Graves' emergent cyclical theory of adult human development. According to Robin Lincoln Wood, "It is the theory and practice of WHY people, including ourselves, do things, and how we make meaning. Is there an ultimate WHY? If so, how can we know?"

Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi) expands the understanding of the “values line” and how this can be understood in individuals and communities. 

Note, both Integral Theory and Spiral Dynamics use color themes for the levels, but they do not use the same color themes.

More information under Theories below.

Gebser's major thesis was that human consciousness is in transition, and that these transitions are "mutations" and that they are not continuous. These jumps or transformations involve structural changes in both mind and body. Both the past and the future - along with all the mutations (ie structures), are latently present in the present of all of us. Gebser held that previous consciousness structures continue to operate parallel to the emergent structure. Consciousness is "presence" itself. Gebser's major work is The Ever-Present Origin. 

See also Jeremy Johnson's Seeing Through the World - Jean Gebser and Integral Consciousness (great book, must read).

John Gray: Steven Pinker is wrong about violence and war

Ken Wilber's Integral Levels of Development

Notice the colors on the left side of the chart are configured like a rainbow. 

Don Beck's Spiral Dynamics Levels of Development

Notice the different color presentation on the right side of the chart. 

Spiral Dynamics is based on the work of Clare W. Graves. 

Human Brain

• Physical brain: 5 senses 
• Emotional brain: interpersonal info and pattern recognition 
• Intellectual brain: time and space, abstract concepts 

List of books written by Ken Wilber and others.

So exactly which level are we talking about?

Who is correct? Gramma, the 10 year old, or the toddler?

Start by asking a simple Yes/No question. For instance, "Do you believe in Santa Claus?" At the lower level of pre-conventional development, a 3 year old will shout, "Yes, and I've been a good boy, and Santa is going to bring me a train!" The little boy's 10 year old sister, who is at the conventional level of development, will say, "Nooo, there's no Santa Claus. It was just daddy dressed up like Santa Claus." Gramma at the higher trans-conventional level of development will say, "Of course I believe in Santa - he exemplifies the goodness and generosity of people's hearts, which we never should give up hope on."

So. There are 2 "Yes's." Are they the same though? In this Santa Claus example it's easy to see the difference in the toddler's Yes and the Gramma's Yes. The toddler cannot be mistaken for an enlightened being, and Gramma (hopefully) hasn't lost her marbles. 

In more serious examples, such as, "Do you support the draft?," the answers get more challenging to interpret. The pre-conventional love-in hippies of the 60s said, "No draft! I can do whatever I want with my own body. Make love, not war." The conventional people said, "Yes, the draft is the law, and we must follow the law." A few trans-conventional thinkers said, "No, I do not believe in the war or the draft, and here are my nuanced and well-thought-out reasons." 

There are 2 "No's," but they are definitely not the same. What happened in the 60s was the mixing up of the pre-con hippies who thought they were all enlightened and the trans-con nuanced thinkers who ended up being denigrated by the public as juvenile hippies. Being a youthful, passionate hippie at that time myself, I find this example useful. 

The bottom line is we humans need to be discerning listeners and thinkers. 

Note: some authors use the term post-conventional; some trans-conventional. 

In an Integral Relationship, couples bring 14 essential elements into a functional whole for the co-creation of a healthy, sustainable love relationship. Integral Love Relationships build on the insight that adults have the potential for ongoing learning, healing, growing, and awakening — “inter-becoming,” and they can share a purpose that is larger than either individual. 

I have taken Martin Ucik's course and highly recommend it. Sue