Saturday, February 11, 2006

The Limits of Integral Vision

When I talk of "Vision," I usually apply it to a sense of what might be, and how one sees the possibilities of the future, but it can also be applied to how one sees from a particular perspective, or level of consciousness. In the journals I kept during the Generating Transformative Change in Human Systems program, I became more aware of the evolutionary aspect of myself and how my vision at previous levels was held by the filters of that level.

The Integral Approach can be be applied to any level of development, but only from specific levels above green of the Spiral Dynamics model. Does that mean that an integral approach would be more integral at Turquoise than at yellow? Will I look at all of these ideas with different filters when I arrive at the new alpha of of Turquoise, as opposed to the old alpha of Yellow?

The answer seems obvious: Yes. A fixed place in evolutionary consciousness is both a paradox and a contradiction in terms. The filter I find myself peering through lately is the filter of "What would I do if I were truly second tier?"

At every stage of development, it is our fundamental need for meaning making that creates concepts and erects boundaries where there are none. Integral is no different, and even second tier is an aspect of a filter, or lens, through which we view the world. My task, and my practice, is to carry the awareness of these filters into the moment.

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