The Spiral vs. The Spectrum

This is an interesting post from Bren Hudson at Integral Life -- a very cogent defense of Spiral Dynamics against the linearity of Ken Wilber's model. I'm not so sure about the rest of her ideas, bringing in the chakras and all, but she presents an interesting series of ideas that could be much more fleshed out.

The Spiral vs. The Spectrum

Posted November 22nd, 2008 by Bren Hudson in The Second Journey to Second Tier

There are no Straight lines in Nature.

I have never been comfortable with Ken Wilber changing the colors of Spiral Dynamics to the visible part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. It always seemed too sterile to me. And its use is separated from its relationship to human beings. From the perspective of the human eye Green has the highest luminosity[1]. Yet Ken Wilber’s use of the color spectrum suggests ultraviolet as the highest luminosity i.e. a linear move into the transpersonal realms. Because rather than spiraling through the colors his model moves from infrared to ultraviolet in a linear fashion. As such Ken Wilber’s model is a reflection of a disembodied spiritual[2] ascension. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 Levels of Consciousness In (Wilber, 2006) Integral Spirituality

While Don Beck has been quick to suggest the colors of the Spiral have no relationship to the chakra colors which follow the color spectrum Ken Wilber now uses to depict levels of consciousness, I have found a connection suggesting both Don Beck and Ken Wilber are partly right in their use of the colors.

Carl Jung was one of the first Westerners to investigate the Eastern spiritual traditions. As early as the 1930’s Carl Jung warned Europeans about the hazards of adopting Eastern spirituality saying -- you can’t slap Eastern spirituality on top of Western psychology. Yet knowing the Easterners were presenting a deep inner truth he continued to allow their work to penetrate his theories. Along this path he eventually found the Western equivalent of these Eastern ideas in the practices and writings of the great alchemists, and in particular the Hermetic alchemists who were interested in the marriage of spirit and matter.

So when I put these great ideas together I see a spiraling through the chakras that aligns with the Don Beck’s colors in Spiral Dynamics with a monumental dimensional shift at the Green center, or heart chakra. See Figure 2.

Figure 2 Spiral Dynamics and the Chakras

Go read the rest of the post.

Tags: The Spiral vs. The Spectrum, Integral Life, Bren Hudson, Ken Wilber, Integral, Spiral Dynamics, personal growth, Second Tier, Don Beck, Carl Jung, chakras