What is Spiral Dynamics? When to apply your own knowledge to everyday life

BY MICK QUINN AND DEBORA PRIETO (Read the first part of this two-part series) — The easiest way to understand the essential nature of Spiral Dynamics (SD) is to picture a ladder that twists into a never-ending spiral, the top end of which is constantly evolving.

The first six levels of consciousness comprise the “First Tier,” the top from which a revolutionary shift in consciousness occurs that allows for the emergence of the Second Tier. The vMemes (v – for values) that comprise these first two tiers are given a color, making the discussion of SD much easier.

See your true colors

First Tier:

Beige: Starting about 100,000 years ago.
Survival – Sensation: Sharpening the innate instincts and senses just to stay alive. Hunter/gatherer ways of living.

Purple: Started about 50,000 years ago.
Spirits – Kinship: Searches for harmony and security in a mysterious world. Shows obedience to chiefs and elders.

Red: Starting about 10,000 years ago.
Self – Force: Aggressively and impulsively expresses itself regardless of the cost. Enjoy pleasures to the fullest with no guilt or remorse. No respect for authority.

Blue: Started about 5,000 years ago.
Order – Truth: Enforces codes of conduct through domination and threat of predetermined outcomes. Laws and regulations used to build moral standards.

Orange: Starting about 300 years ago.
Achievement – Strategy: Self-interested individuals play to win. Use earth’s resources to create the abundant life. Risk-takers, optimists and successful.

Green: Started about 150 years ago.
Human Relationships – Community: Explores the inner I and places everybody at the same level. Freeing humanity from greed. Egalitarian and caring.

Second Tier:

Yellow: Starting about 50 years ago.
Fluid – Flexible: Integrates prior systems as natural hierarchies. Existence is valued over materialistic pursuits. Sees chaos as the genius of serenity.

Turquoise: Started about 30 years ago
Holistic – Collective Individualism: Self is seen as distinct individuality yet part of greater, ever-evolving whole. AQAL aware. Completely responsible action.

Practical Applications of Spiral Dynamics

Each of the eight worldviews (memes) communicates differently, hears things differently, and learns differently. Spiral Dynamics enables people to understand these differences — including core motivators, information-processing styles, learning approaches, and preferred management styles. This knowledge enables communication where both parties truly understand each other’s messages — spoken and unspoken.

By furthering your understanding of how people, organizations, and cultures function from the inside out, SD can empower you to work, learn, and live more successfully. SD allows for better understanding of the complexities of human existence and gives us a way to understand the order and chaos in human affairs. It explains the deep forces embedded in us which ultimately shape our values, and lays out a pattern and a path for transformation.

SD resolving today’s world conflicts

SD reveals the hidden codes that shape human nature, create global diversities, and drive evolutionary change. These dynamic spirals attract and repel individuals from the webs and meshes that connect people within groups, communities, and organizations — they  forge the rise and fall of nations and cultures.

Today, Spiral Dynamics is one of the methods experts apply in South Africa in order to abolish apartheid, achieve consensus, and generate the process of social integration. It is even being used as a negotiation tool in such geopolitical contexts as the Palestine/Israeli conflict.

Spiral Dynamics and you

SD combines the new science of memetics with Gravesian value systems to form vMemes to craft a model of transformational change. By exploring and describing the core intelligences and deep values that flow beneath what we believe and do, this model offers a profoundly incisive, dynamic answers to complex questions:

• HOW do people think about things (as opposed to “what” they think)?
• WHY do people make decisions in different ways?
• WHY do people respond to different motivators?
• WHY and HOW are values created and spread?
• WHAT is the nature of CHANGE?

Now that you have a basic understanding of SD you can think about these questions and whether or not this concept can be applied to you and to people you know.

Sources: Spiral Dynamics – Beck/Cowan: Blackwell Publishing 1996/2006.  The collected works of American Philosopher, Ken Wilber.  EnlightenNext Magazine – Fall/Winter 2002. For more information on Spiral Dynamics, please visit EnlightenNext Magazine and Spiral Dynamics Integral.

Mick Quinn is the Irish-born author of the recently released book, The Uncommon Path (O-Books UK/USA) and the founder of several multi-million dollar companies. Mick lives in Utah and teaches with his wife Debora Prieto who uses Genpo Roshi’s Big Mind Process.  For Integral Coaching and upcoming events please visit his site.

BY TONY SAMARA — Meditation is not just a repetition of your characteristics that you put into practice in everyday motion and life. Meditation is being a revolutionary. It is being a rebel and breaking free from what is holding the space in this negative little world that we believe to be the truth. To be different takes a little bit of courage.

It’s not courage by doing crazy things on the outside like some people do, ‘OK, let’s create havoc because the system doesn’t work.’ It’s actually being courageous within oneself so that you can work with what is creating the sense of fear, the sense of belittlement, and the sense of low self-esteem. This means to go down the path where that space is being created.

This is where control doesn’t want to go to because it’s afraid of this aspect. This meditation asks you to go deeper into that aspect where the part of you that feels vulnerable is and into the part of you that says, ‘Oh no, this is not the place I want to go to and explore any further. Let me just control it a bit better.’ That space is where this meditation goes to and that space is usually located in a physical part of your body.

Meditation needs to be practiced where the space is made clear. If the space is not clear, whether it be the space that you’re creating for yourself, for example, internal mechanisms such as fear, doubt, or external ones where other people begin to doubt you or to project their limitations onto you, it is the same.

Some people find it difficult because they work by always criticizing themselves, ‘Gosh, why am I so silly? Why do I do such stupid things? Why is it that this always happens to me?’ You see it in the breath, you see it in the way the person walks, you see it in the way the whole body expresses the fear of just stepping any further because that might create more disharmony. And this is a more introverted type of person and a more complex type of person because often when we do this to ourselves, it’s very vague, and it doesn’t have concrete aspects that we can work with.

You can see it with people who externalize this, such as politicians who say, ‘We have to stop people from understanding a problem because it may create more problems,’ and the politicians are usually extroverted.

Many other people who blame others do that. ‘It’s your fault. It has nothing to do with me. I’m OK, don’t you know. I’m OK. Of course I’m OK. It’s you who has the problem and you that has to be controlled. I am free.’ Those people are usually very clever because they are not people that deal only with themselves, they are usually people that deal with many other people.

They are usually people that could be termed as charismatic or dogmatic and in that sense, they attract hundreds or thousands of people, and because those thousands of people are internally so afraid—in the same way that the charismatic external person is also afraid but with the mechanisms working differently — the external person, or the politician, is able to touch the fears of a person and control their whole being by bringing more limitations into their space. These limitations usually have to do with manipulation and fear.

Unfortunately, this is happening a lot in the world. Politicians don’t mean to do this; they’re not bad people. They’re just doing what you’re doing, but they’re externalizing and blaming the externals rather than seeing that it’s a process that is something that they need to deal with and the thousands of people around are the ones who help the politicians to sustain that whole illusion.

This is why this meditation is so important. Imagine if we went up to the politician and said, ‘Look, don’t focus on the chaos, focus on the light inside of you and practice this meditation for five or ten minutes.’ Then the world would really go through a revolution. I’m speaking in a way that you may think is esoteric, but actually it’s very practical.

After living for several years in a Zen Buddhist monastery, Tony Samara ventured to the jungles of South America — to the Amazon and to the Andes — where he lived and studied among a community of Shamans.  Tony Samara is now visited by people from all parts of the world and from all walks of life, seeking spiritual guidance or simply the experience of being in his presence. He is a spiritual teacher who encourages all to lead their lives actively in a noble way in order to realize the evolution of human consciousness.

Hear Tony Samara’s Live Satsangs at www.TonySamara.TV. Deeper than Words is available on Amazon.com.

BY DAVID RICKEY – We’ve always gotten it wrong. The “religio” in religion means “to connect.” That’s what religion has always meant, but we’re connecting to the wrong things.

Early humans first came up with religion as a way of trying to understand the world and their place in it, and trying to control two things: survival and death. Humans had evolved enough to realize that existence was complex. We intuited meaning and systems such as cause and effect. The problem was that we had also developed an ego, and tended to interpret our intuitions in images that reflected that ego. So we developed the idea of a personal God, and attributed to it many of our own emerging attitudes: anger, jealousy, possessiveness and the need for power – all aspects of ego.

Another problem arose as civilizations evolved: man’s testosterone.

Already present in earlier forms of life, it started to influence the evolving Ego and subsequently, male dominance. So we not only attributed manly power to this God but interpreted “revelation” (intuiting wisdom) as supporting our own masculine tendencies. Religion ended up serving our need to conquer, acquire, dominate and exploit.

In man’s image

Although both Mohammed and Jesus had women followers who were apparently quite influential in their lives, later expressions of their teachings were very anti-woman. Just look at the Catholic attitude toward ordination of women, and the way conservative Islam’s treats women.

The masculine ego had other subtle but more disturbing effects on religion. Throughout the world, religion became entwined with the acquisition of wealth and power.

The early Israelites conquered the land of Canaan – occupied by Canaanites – claiming that God had given it to them. Christians had the Crusades, which were more motivated more by economic and territorial concern than by saving souls.

In more recent time, Colonialism went hand in hand with trying to spread the Gospel. More accurately, “spreading the Gospel” was an excuse to take control of land and resources throughout the world, in all continents except Antarctica.

From the beginning, the spread of Islam seems more motivated by commercial and territorial interests than the desire to advance the egalitarian community, Ummah. Even Buddhists have a long history of warfare for territorial expansion and political power.

I would submit that the real conflict between Islam and Christianity as well as Judaism is an expression of this “religionizing” of the masculine ego’s need for power and possessions. In so-called religious wars, the rhetoric is rarely about the value of a particular faith tradition. Instead the religion serves as an excuse or justification for fighting and dominating.

Soul savers

One particularly interesting aspect of “religious” conflict is the apparent concern for the salvation of a person’s soul. In the present world, the Abrahamic faiths are the primary combatants. And what distinguishes them from many other faith traditions is their emphasis on heaven and hell (less so in Judaism). Christians have marched across continents, claiming heaven and hell for themselves and preaching “Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior” as the entrance fee to a pleasant afterlife. Muslims have used the reward of salvation to motivate Jihadists to commit suicidal bombings.

Whereas religion began as an attempt to learn to live together in a seemingly hostile world, it has become the foundation of hostility and division. Our ego sense of separation resulted in great difficulty learning how to live in harmony. Every one of us has become addicted to self-preservation.

In my own religion, Christianity, the “good news” seems to be that Jesus died for us, and we can avoid punishment and ultimate damnation by accepting that fact. Clearly, the appeal of this good news is its being the antidote to our fear of death, which is really the ego’s fear of annihilation. As I work on my Ego I fear death less because, as Stephen Levine has pointed out, “Who Dies?”

If only we could advance human consciousness to recognize that the ego is of little significance, except to define this particular temporal incarnation of Spirit. We would go a long way to solving many of the world’s conflicts. Meanwhile, perhaps we need to find a way to tone down human male testosterone. Women do seem to be, on average, less aggressive, acquisitive (except perhaps at Macy’s) and certainly less domineering than men.

I am cautiously hopeful that emerging spiritual teachings are inching us forward. I believe that acknowledging the effects ego and testosterone have had on religion might help us develop a better religion – one that truly reconnects us to the Spirit that is our source, and one that actively, through practice, disconnects us from the power of these rampant (and manly) forces. Personally I am thankful that religion is in severe decline and hope that spirituality is on the rise. As a civilization, this is our only hope.

David Rickey is an Episcopal priest, Soul’s Code co-founder and counselor in San Francisco who does a weekly ministry at a residence for the elderly in northern California. Follow David on Twitter.

BY DAVID RICKEY — Back in 1963, Bob Dylan wrote “The Times They Are A Changin’,” and they were. The 60s were a time of chaos for those holding onto the old ways, and a time of hope for those seeking the new. Buddhists say that change is the nature of things, but change as we now see it (much like in the 60s) can be pretty disquieting.

As I write this, the so-called Middle East is in unprecedented turmoil with rebellion spreading like a contagion with no clear sense of where it will take us. Beyond that, the world’s economic structure is precarious at best. Every clarion of hope is countered by new reports of dire predictions. Even the weather has become cause for global concern with rampant flooding and extensive long-term drought.

One of my favorite hymns is “If Thou But Trust In God To Guide Thee,” but what does that mean in the context of 21^st-Century confusion? If change is the nature of things, can we find God by embracing change? I believe we can if we alter our understanding of God and of ourselves.

Change leads the flock

First, we must abandon the idea of a distant God who is judgmental, looks down upon us with a disapproving scowl and demands us to “Repent!” Instead, if we embrace a divine essence that is woven into the very fabric of creation, into the laws that guide and nurture the evolution of life and possibility – and if we understand our very Self to be a physical expression of this divine essence – we can find a basis for real hope.

This relatively new understanding, promoted by spiritual teachers like Eckhart Tolle, and physicists like Bernard Haisch and John Polkinghorne, tells us that rather than being separate from God, we are indeed God, expressed in physical substance. Our purpose is to advance the evolution of consciousness by our actions. From this perspective, any change is part and parcel of why we are here.

Right this minute, divine essence is hard at work in two major ways:

The upheaval in the Middle East, for one, is an amazing confluence of human and technological evolution. People are rising up and claiming freedom in dramatic ways and, at the same time, the evolution of mass communication, via cell-phone, Internet, social media and television, has radically changed the environment in which this upheaval happens. Witness how the actions of dictators are both circumvented (young people circumventing attempts to stifle communication) and broadcast to a watching world. Truth is getting out despite attempted oppression.

On the other hand, the consequences of our past choices – personal and corporate greed and the disregard of our interdependence with nature – are coming back to us in karmic lessons. We are forced to think differently about who we are and what we do with and to each other and the planet.

On the surface, current events can seem bewildering and hopeless. But if we look beneath the surface, we’ll see the workings of divine intelligence nudging and nurturing us along in ways that can give us great hope, if only we embrace the process. In my own experience, this divine presence can look something like a sheepdog, bumping and circling, guiding, chastising and protecting me as I stumble through changes in my own life. This is the basis of my trust.

Feel the nudge, take the guidance

When all seems chaotic, I try to step back and realize there is an unseen process going on that is infinitely trustable: It is the reason behind the universe and me as a part of it. But I cannot be passive. In whatever situation I find myself, I am learning to ask the question, “What would Evolution do?”

Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see.” Evolution directs us to envision a better future, then to be that future. By remembering that my purpose is to contribute to conscious evolution, I can move forward without concern about what happens to “me,” since I am only a part of this amazing process. I have the whole of divine wisdom backing me up, not to save me but to work through me.

That kind of courage is exactly what propels the protesters in Egypt and Libya, who know they are serving a larger and higher purpose. They are risking their own lives, not to be labeled Martyrs and receive some reward, but to witness (in the true, Greek sense of the word) a higher truth. Along the way, each of them will undoubtedly also find his or her own reason for being.

Times are again a changin,’ and we are being called upon to be that change. But we are not alone. We carry the wisdom and potential of the whole universe with us.

David Rickey is an Episcopal priest, Soul’s Code co-founder and counselor in San Francisco who does a weekly ministry at a residence for the elderly in northern California. Follow David on Twitter.

BY MICHELLE MORRA-CARLISLE — I am not tough. If a gang of men with sticks repeatedly pelted me with a rock-hard projectile you might find me on the ground in the fetal position, pleading with them to stop.

What I actually mean by that is that, unlike Sarah Palin, I am a real hockey mom. I live in Canada. And when I first saw my husband play goal and assume the iconic, fearless “bring it on” stance, I was in awe. As well-rounded as I consider myself to be, in that moment I saw that in my non-athletic development I had missed out on something important.

The fittest of the fit are sublimely aware that for the mind to be in optimal shape, so must the body, and vice versa. Our souls, too, are connected to flesh-and-blood bodies, which is why the Dalai Lama follows his morning yoga routine with a jog on the treadmill and why many Olympic athletes meditate.

Does a sluggish body yield a sluggish spirit? Does strength of body create strength of spirit? I suspect enlightenment does not happen when you’re going brain-dead on the couch watching any of the Real Housewives. Being both out of shape and enlightened seems possible for Buddha but, for most of us, scientists have established strong links between a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and depression.

Higher heart rate, higher plane

In yoga we learn to slow everything down and, eventually, reach a more peaceful and finely attuned state. If paying attention to our breathing is grounding, what about the physically purging experience of breathing to the max? Exercise can push a lazy heart back into some healthy exertion and pump much-needed oxygen through the blood. So it stands to reason that physical exhaustion from activities such as mountain biking, salsa dancing and rowing can transport us in spiritual ways—think breathless, sweaty sex (NOTE: Though vigorous exercise can be almost orgasmic, I’m not knocking the deeper, more yoga-like effects of the slow, patient approach).

Studies show that exercise can be as effective as certain prescription antidepressants. It improves the short-term memory of people with schizophrenia. It helps for various forms of depression, anxiety, seasonal affective disorder and, unlike medication, starts to work right away. Vigorous exercise offers an immediate mood boost and is often followed by longer-term relief in the form of an altogether brighter outlook on life.

Why aren’t we all doing it? Perhaps because it’s not always easy to convince Zerona-converts that running a marathon is more rapturous than lying on a fat-melting machine (who ever heard of a zerona high?). Or because it’s easier to watch someone claim to have an epiphany on Oprah than to work toward one’s own epiphany.

For a workout to be spiritual, the mind must be committed and willing. I’ve seen reality shows that feature recovering couch potatoes jogging on treadmills, bitching the whole time, with the sole purpose of shedding pounds. That’s like grunting and cursing at the vacuum cleaner while doing housework. Where’s the love? Workouts we love and take pride in work best.

Finding the perfect exercise match

My inexperience with team sports doesn’t mean I don’t work out. Over the years I have dabbled in aerobics, aquafit and lots of hiking and cross-country skiing. The pinnacle came during my brief, two-year stint as a runner. I went from being unable to run for five minutes to running for an hour (about 10-12k) and, yes, it was every bit as empowering, liberating, toning, and mood-boosting as people say.  Unfortunately, as a runner I was forever at the chiropractor’s for a wonky lower back, pelvis and hip. So I no longer run. And I currently live in a city where I am uninspired by the scenery, and where there are no woods or snow in sight to hike or ski. Almost daily I walk the dog and spend 30 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike at the gym, but these workouts are rarely “spiritual” unless an enlightening song pops up on my iPod.

As you try new ways to get breathless, keep the following in mind:

10 Things that Make a Workout Spiritual

1.  Safe and healthy — Unlike bear-wrestling at a stampede, which burns calories but can get you eaten.

2.  Clears the mind — It’s hard to focus on problems of any kind when you’re consumed with catching your breath.

3.  Promotes a sense of achievement — Initial aches and pains aside, just doing it makes other things seem possible.

4.  Cheers you up — If the darkness doesn’t lift, try another form of exercise. It really should eventually lift.

5. Connection with nature — Besides the obvious connection with our own bodies, exercising near or in water, in the woods or on a mountain can be downright epiphanic.

6.  Connection with other people — If you’re inclined to exercise in a group.

7.  Connection with self — If you prefer a solitary workout.

8.  Creates emotional balance — With a regular and enjoyable fitness routine, extreme highs and lows are tempered.

9.  Makes you feel stronger physically — A strong body is an ideal host for the soul.

10. Makes you feel stronger spiritually — Like you can tackle and conquer anything.