On this thread, I would like to explore some of the implications of the interfacings between Spiral Dynamics and Christianity. I will begin by sharing in somewhat random fashion notes I made to myself during the 3-day training with Don Beck in November, and insights that have come to me since. Additional notes and elaborations will be forthcoming.

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1. Christianity began 2,000 years ago in the context of the Blue systems of Judaism and the Roman empire. Both groups emphasized the rule of law and attempted to govern their communities according to principles of law. Both had also grown through earlier systems of Purple and Red and continued to honor these with attention to special days, special rituals, story-telling, rites of passage, heroism, and so forth.

2. The first Christians were Jews who simply believed that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. They saw no need to break from Judaism, worshipped in synagogues, and many thought that Christians ought to follow the Jewish Law.

3. Eventually, non-Christian Jews found the Christian message incompatible with their beliefs and practices. Christians were expelled from the synagogues, persecuted, and reported to the Romans. Since the Jews were allowed to practice their own religion by the Romans (a special dispensation), this left the Christians hung out to dry. Since they were not considered Jews, they were obligated to follow Roman religious beliefs, a practice that these Jewish Christians found unconscienable. Some emperors insisted on this more than others. Christians could be persecuted by the whim of an emperor simply because they were Christians.

4. Severed from its Jewish roots, Christians of Jewish origin were initially left with difficulties connecting their Christian faith with any color level. Same went for the Gentile converts, who had to sever ties with their Roman/pagan religious beliefs and practices. Christians had to develop these levels in the context of their faith, and this took time.

5. Paul's letter to the Galatians is a good example of the problems Gentile Christians had in finding their bearings. Paul castigates them for returning to their "special days and feasts." They were longing for some contact with Purple; so were the early Jewish Christians, who longed for their own feasts and ritual practices. Christianity had nothing to offer them, at that time.

6. Early Christianity quickly developed a Blue layer for purposes of organizing the communities and passing on the faith. Its theological legs were provided mostly by St. Paul, who also began to work out new ways of understanding the relationship between the old and new covenants. This helped to preserve for the Jewish Christians a respectful connection with their Purple and even Blue roots.

7. It was much more difficult to bring the Gentile Purple into the Christian movement, but the Church eventually did so by assimilating ancient feast days into its calendar and giving them a new, Christian meaning. E.g., feast of all hallows, the date of Christmas, etc. This might seem manipulative and disrespectful of ancient practices, but it was very helpful to Gentile Christians, enabling them (and us today) to develop a Purple system within the framework of the Blue level of Christian tradition that had become stable by the second century.
(Go get that Christmas tree; use that Advent wreath; sing the hymns, etc. -- all good, Purples stuff, adding a richness to the fabric of Christian life.)

8. Most of the hard work was in the beginning. Once established, however, Christianity began to spread throughout the Roman empire and indeed throughout the world to the present day. It developed as a robust Blue system with healthy Purple and Red underpinnings. Its Blue sometimes became overly rigid and narrow, but was often open to exploring other systems of philosophy and using them to help formulate the Christian message. It spoke to Red yearnings by encouraging a heroism for the sake of the Gospel (yes, I know the Crusades and other violent movements tapped into this, but so did the desire for Sainthood).

9. Seeds of Orange, Green, Yellow, Purple and beyond can also be found in the Gospels. Although propagated as a Blue system and mostly known as such, there are teachings in the Gospel that encourage further development.
a. Orange - e.g. the parable of the talents, parable of the enterprising steward, and others. Also, teachings on letting your light shine to give glory to God; you are the salt of the earth.
b. Green - an early community moved into Green, sharing all things in common. This form of Christian communism didn't last, but it has long been regarded as an ideal. Helping the poor, the oppressed, etc. has been a strong dynamic in Christianity from the beginning. Much of current Green development in the secular world is ultimately rooted in Gospel principles.
c. Yellow - emphasis on the truth; the truth will set you free; not just one way to formulate Christian teaching; God as mystery beyond all our concepts; high regard for the power of reason; ability to interact with other cultures.
d. Turquoise - all things connected/related in the Word; cosmic Christ; creation in one great act of giving birth; human beings as stewards of the earth.

10. The local Christian parish/congregation usually operates at a certain level. Here are a few stereotypical examples.
a. Evangelicals and Fudamentalists - primarily inviting Red into Blue encouraging movement into Orange.
b. Liberal Protestantism - heavy Green emphasis, straining toward Yellow, having a hard time staying connected with its roots in Purple and Blue.
c. Roman Catholicism - strong Purple to Blue; encouraging of Orange; supportive, but wary of Green.
d. Orthodox Churches - very strong Purple, through which it propagates, using liturgy as its primary vehicle. Good development of Blue; supportive of Orange.
Gross generalizations, all; acknowledged.

11. A community's level of development requires a corresponding color/flavor of Christianity. That's appropriate. Individuals coming from Purple/Red really need Blue to be properly formed.

12. It's possible that many Christians will go through their entire lives relatively happy at a certain level . . . Blue - Orange, for example; some Catholics even seem to be happy in a strong Purple emphasis. Higher is not necessarily better, here; God is present in and through all these systems. If life conditions do not necessitate change, people will pretty much stay where they are.

13. As more people do grow into Green, Yellow and even Purple systems of consciousness, Christianity will have to provide more means of connection for them. Theologies for these levels already exist, for the most part; you don't need to leave Christianity to develop Turquoise, for example. You will probably have a hard time finding a community of kindred souls, however. The challenge for the Church in the future is to provide for such a wide array of development.

14. It follows that one of the reasons Christianity lost its force in Europe is that it failed to accommodate the vast emergence of Green that has taken place there during the past century. Blue Christianity cannot meet the needs of people living in a Green worldview.


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More to come . . . Questions, observations, comments welcomed.

(Edit on 11-10-12: Replaced "Purple" with "Turquoise" in a sentence where I had used the wrong color)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Phil,

Thomas Merton once observed than he felt more spiritual kinship with Buddhist monks that he did with most churchgoing Christians. This often happens! One can feel more connected with people of similar development in other religions and cultures than with people from within one's like groupings. A few examples.

Green Americans feel more connection with European and Canadian socialists than they do with fellow Blue/Orange Americans (hence, the desire among many Democrats today to move to Canada).

Green Christians often feel more connection with Green athiests than they do with, say, Fundamentalist (Red/Blue/Orange) Christians.

Purple level development Christians are often judgmental and flare into Red when confronted with Blue/Orange Christians (who flare back and are often just as judgmental).

It is not until one develops the Yellow system and appreciates the gifts that the previous levels made available that a less judgmental view can be taken of people in different levels. Yellow also gives us more access to those levels within ourselves. With St. Paul, we can begin to "be all things to all people" -- i.e., to relate to them where they are out of our own similar inner resources.

Phil,

You're on to something. I wonder if the editors at
Christianity Today might be looking for some ideas?
I wonder if some publishers that may read about something like this in a Christian magazine would desire 200+ pages that the somewhat average Joe could understand? Of course, there are many more readers who would like their current ideas reinforced than are truly interested in growth,
but there must be a way to find out if there is a market for something along these lines. There is a need for it whether people percieve this or not.

Just a thought...

caritas,

mm <*)))))><

In my personal experience, An Invitation to Love by Father Thomas Keating was the right book at the right time. I was looking for answers and he had them. The book spoke of "mythic membership" and other levels. There was a "why to" answer for the everyday problem of suffering. Why take a spiritual path? Why learn about something like Spiral Dynamics? How would this help?

Keating is kind of funny, as the truly wise can be. He says that if you are lucky, the corporation
folds or your business goes under, you go to jail,
develop an addiction or life-threatening illness,
illness, divorce or other tragedy strikes you or the family, etc. You find out that chasing security, power and pleasure does not work.

If you are really wise, like Solomon, you ask for wisdom when you are young and before life beats you up, but alas, this is the exception rather than the rule.

Everyone, it seems, knows some psychology these days. They see something like Spiral Dynamics and say, "Oh great, more psychology, I already saw Doctor Phil on Oprah!" Why Spiral Dynamics?
The average person on the street will tell you that the world and the nation are in big trouble, but what do you do about it, and what good is Spiral Dynamics, anyway? Sounds like communism or something. Are you sure this is Christian, and not a cult or something?

So the "why to" makes up the first chapter, and the "how to" apply Spiral Dynamics is the 200 pages.

caritas,

mm <*)))))><

MM, there might indeed be a book here one of these days, but I'm still very much just learning this sytem and making applications. I'm not sure yet just how much I want to get into it. It fits in some areas; others I'm not sure of yet.

Seeing how Keating used Wilber as his primary resource in Inivitation to Love and the Spiritual Journey video series; and seeing how Wilber relied heavily on Graves and the SD people to organize his levels, it's not surprising that we find similarities between Keating and SD. What Keating is calling "Mythic Membership" corresponds to the Purple level in SD; the Mental Ego corresponds to the Blue level and so forth.

As for the "why" part . . . I think it's like personality types and other kinds of systems -- to facilitate understanding of human differences. SD has an added advantage of providing means for bridging between different levels.

What I'm dearly hoping with all my heart is that some scientific realization can show Christendom that we are practicing at a much lower level than we are capable of. Jesus would not have given the Sermon on the Mount if we were not capable of it's realization.

I'm glad Eastern Thought is rubbing our nose in the fact that there are other levels of consciousness. I'm great-full for any discussion of levels, since it gets the message across that we are operating at a fraction of our potential.

You mentioned Galaxy Quest, which I noticed I had two copies of in the VHS library- funny movie. I guess you must be a Trekker. This is the 20th century's dream- Humanism at it's peak level. Roddenberry and others enamored with and intoxicated by our scientific age imagine that to be the ideal.

What meme would that be, if we were to reach it, and how much further would the "Invitation to Love" take us if our reach exceeded our present grasp? I wonder...

dreamer.com

I have been kicking around Spiral Dynamics forums for a few years now and have saved all the good stuff.

This may help with a broadening understanding of the Spiral � A list of the healthy and unhealthy aspects of each meme.


Beige:

Healthy
� Organization has adequate cash flow to support its production processes and the factor costs for its products at its current size.
� Everyone compensated adequately for their basic needs.
� Employees a feeling of job security so that they are not preoccupied with this issue.
� Members add value to the organization.

Unhealthy
� People in constant fear of losing their jobs.
� People are exploited.
� Organization does not have adequate resources--financial, physical, or people--to survive.

Purple:

Healthy
� People feel connected with each other; they feel that they belong.
� People trust each other.
� People have confidence that the "fates" are with the organization in its endeavors.
� People are warm and friendly with each other.
� There are rites, rituals, and ceremonies which mark valued events and milestones in the organization�s past and present in which the members participate.
� There is respect for founders, pioneers, creators of the organization.
� There are welcoming and orientation sessions for new members and rites of passage for people leaving.
� Person-company loyalty and vice-versa.
� People have mentors who guide their development.
� Members meet in "community" configurations.
� Belonging is a bottom line.

Unhealthy
� Cliques, "core" groups, insiders vs. outsiders, members vs. �we just work here.�
� Stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination based on ascribed characteristics.
� Departmental �tribes� working to maximize their group.
� Organizational "politics" drives behavior.

Red:

Healthy
� People take initiative.
� People engage in �creative destruction,� to improve by changing.
� People are acknowledged, recognized and respected.
� People speak their truth without fear.
� People behave heroically when they see the need to do so.
� The organization is free from fear.
� People have fun, enjoy their work and relationships.
� Conflict is welcomed and dealt with openly.

Unhealthy
�
Overt and convert aggression.
� Decisions made to benefit a few �powerful� people.
� Intimidation, manipulation.
� Passivity, victim attitude.
� Selfish motivation.
� Covert and overt abusive power expression.
� Political maneuvering impedes output.
� Power struggles.

Blue:

Healthy
� Ethical behavior (honesty, integrity)
� Order and discipline in structures and processes.
� Roles and responsibilities are clear.
� Fairness, justice.
� Compensation same for same jobs.
� Effective specialization.
� Hierarchy with defined value-added performance for all levels.
� Accountability, evaluation, judgment.
� Adequate financial controls.
� Delayed gratification for the long-term good of the organization.
� Sense of noble purpose.

Unhealthy
� Witch hunts.
� Rigidity.
� Dogmatism.
� Rely on personal opinions or �truth� rather than the facts.
� Bureaucracy and �red tape.�
� Inward focus.
� Self-less motivation.
� Arbitrary, unpredictable.
� Fix the blame rather than fix the problem.
� Sacrifice people for cause.

Orange:

Healthy
� Decisions made on �the facts.�
� Winners recognized and rewarded for their contribution.
� Scientific methods and processes used.
� Process flow analysis and improvement from inputs across departments to customer.
� Problem-solving, i.e. �fix the problem not the blame.�
� Users of processes responsible for changing them.
� In-process measures to control processes.
� Individual empowerment.
� Data drives decisions.
� Decisions made by those who have the information.
� Customer-supplier type relationships inside and outside.
� Competition to be the best or the first.

Unhealthy
� Process dominates over people.
� Ignore subjective aspects of people.
� Treat people as resources.
� Pure numbers driven.
� Money driven.
� Short term perspective.
� Competition which leads to withholding/hoarding resources.

Green:

Healthy
� Relationships and networks are important.
� Teamwork, collaboration, cooperation.
� Participation in decisions.
� Attention to building the internal community.
� Seek partnership relationships with suppliers.
� Decisions by consensus when appropriate.
� Cross functional teams and task forces to solve problems.
� Hierarchy of knowledge and ability.
� Positive culture.
� Inclusion and valuing of diversity of all kinds.
� Team empowerment.

Unhealthy
� Use consensus for everything.
� Ignore value of hierarchy for decisions and accountability.
� Feelings alone guide decisions.
� Keep people who do not add value.
� Ally with unhealthy Red to undermine Blue.

Yellow:

Healthy
� Considers and balances the interests of all stakeholders in decisions.
� Plan for the long-term.
� Understand and integrates interactions among all suprasystems, systems, and subsystems.
� Value healthy aspects of all lower levels of the spiral in the organization; can speak their language; respects their values.
� Allows for people to grow, develop, transform, and emerge.
� Environmentally sensitive and recognizes opportunities to benefit from �natural capital.�
� Constantly learning from experience and applying it in continuous improvement.
� Uses communities of practice to counterbalance department structures.
� Guided by vision.
� Uses dynamic systems (whole scale) methodologies where appropriate.
� Encourages self-organizing and emergence especially in novel situations and challenges.
� Functions consistent with principles and values rather than prescriptions and orders.

Unhealthy
� Paralysis by analysis.
� Those who see big picture are seen as arrogant, backlash.
� Inability to communicate complexity of integrated systems.
� Overly complex structures (e.g. multi-matrix).

Turquoise:

Healthy
� Consideration of global implications of outputs.
� Closed loop energy and byproducts.
� Inclusion of all national constituencies in decision processes.
� Driven by principles which benefit all people (e.g. Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
� Precautionary principle.
� Whole global system benefit test for decisions.
� Lateral connection across societies.
� Transparency.
� R&D sharing for generic processes and common scientific challenges.

Unhealthy
� Global constituencies organize and lobby to block improvements and impede development of international law and order.
� Responsibility diffused.
� Suppression of entrepreneurship and creativity.
� Global monopolies.

That's good stuff, Michael. Might fit better on our other thread on SD, but I think the connections with Christianity can be made easily enough. Thanks.

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MM: What I'm dearly hoping with all my heart is that some scientific realization can show Christendom that we are practicing at a much lower level than we are capable of. Jesus would not have given the Sermon on the Mount if we were not capable of it's realization.

Righto. Looking over Michael's list, you can see how much of Christianity is coming out of Blue, and how the negative aspects can be so limiting. As JB noted many times, it's not dogma that's the problem, but dogmatism and moralism. Problem is, without a healthy Blue, Green devolves into Red, as Michael's list insightfully notes.

Thanks for the list Michael . . . now I can do my holiday shopping properly.

Article on - Looking Below the Surface: Church Leadership for the 21st Century

By - Dr. Caleb Rosado

http://rosado.net/articles-surface.html