Reference:【Ken Wilber - Wikipedia】 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber
参考:【Amazon.co.jp: インテグラル理論を体感する 統合的成長のためのマインドフルネス論 eBook : ケン・ウィルバー, 門林 奨: Kindle Store】
Introduction
If I were to succinctly describe my spiritual interests and domain, Ken Wilber's "Integral Theory" would come closest. Reading it, I felt as though I was encountering a reflection of my own journey and actions. While I have an affinity for science, I've found myself discontented with the weight and time lag of finding evidence in the realm of sociology. Instead, I have a preference for the path of trial and error with hypotheses. I derive pleasure from integrating experiences from various perspectives. It feels natural for me to find joy in universality and to organize abstract concepts.
The facets he emphasized, the aspects that piqued my interest, and the insights I gained from his work all deeply resonated with me. I believe his theory provides a framework that organizes points I deem important within my experiences.
When I first read it, there were hardly any points that I felt were contradictory. However, several impressions remained:
- At times, the structure of the theory seemed slightly rigid, making me question if there might be nuances or information that could be overlooked.
- Just as when I read the Heart Sutra, I felt I must seek the practical methodology on my own.
- Levels beyond "Turquoise" represent realms I have yet to personally experience.
Four Quadrants
Related Articles:【The Four Quadrants of Integral Theory: Experiences and Insights】
Levels of Development
I have used Maslow, Erikson, developmental psycholog, personality disorders, and the Enneagram as references for stages of development.
Reference:【Maslow's hierarchy of needs - Wikipedia】 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
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One of the significant insights I gained from reading Wilber was the idea of evolution akin to "Aufheben." It suggests a future where the mind evolves progressively. This allowed me to consider developmental psychology stages from a perspective that implies intention and meaning.
Reference:【自我の発達：包容力を増してゆく９つの段階／スザンヌ・クック＝グロイター】 https://integraljapan.net/articles/JTA2018EgoDevelopment.htm
Reference:【Aufheben - Wikipedia】 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufheben
States
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Types
I often contemplate "types," drawing insights from the 81 states of the Enneagram. Specifically, I utilize the Enneagram, personality disorders, and Erikson's developmental model as clues to developmental "wounds" such as "fears" and "sorrows"— traces of profound distress. I hold the perspective that personality is shaped by these wounds and experiences.
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Developmental Lines:Multiple Intelligences
Related articles on development are as follows
CognitiveIntelligence
Ken Wilber's notion of cognitive functions posits that:
- There are multiple domains or axes to intelligence.
- Cognitive intelligence refers to the ability to take on perspectives.
- It's imperative to be aware of the existence of other types of intelligence.
A groundbreaking revelation for me was the acquisition of 'others' perspectives' through 'deep empathy'. This involved strong emotional contagion, an excavation of my deepest layers which I might refer to as countertransference, and experiencing a stark difference between my conscious thoughts and bodily reactions. It felt as though thoughts and emotions were flowing into me from somewhere else. This dissonance led to a differentiation between 'the me that I assume I am', 'the me that I am not', 'the you I assume you are', and 'the you that you are not'. My first-person perspective was attained through a crisis of blurry boundaries. Additionally, I was prompted to ponder the subtle nuances between 'you' and 'us' arising from the 'field' around these boundaries. Wilber discusses the acquisition of 'us' as a second-person perspective, distinguishing it from the third-person perspective.
I found this distinction intriguing, perhaps because it struck a chord with my own experiences. My focus has been on the risks and potentials inherent in the 'me and you' dyadic relationship, which is distinctively different from other types of relationships. I'm exploring the value of one-on-one interactions. While face-to-face relationships might seem omnipresent, they are quite unique. I've observed an increasing trend of individuals avoiding such relationships, perhaps due to perceived risks.
In my endeavor to delve deeper into this, I studied the concept of 'boundaries'. The acts of 'separating me from everything else' and 'sharing between me and everything else' provided valuable insights.
Related Articles:【About Personal Boundaries: Discussion & Guide】
EmotionalIntelligence
- The ability to recognize one's own and others' emotions.
- Understanding the interplay of emotions.
- At the Green (Pluralistic) stage, 'feeling' is emphasized over 'thinking', especially with a deep skepticism directed towards rationality and logic.
- Connecting intelligence with emotion.
While the attainment of a scientific attitude and rationality paves the way to the Pluralistic stage, they can also act as hindrances, making it challenging to refrain from 'thinking'. Truly 'feeling as it is' was also a difficult task. Influences of defense mechanisms, being bound by rules and roles, and beliefs labeled as 'common sense' evoked feelings of shame and guilt, complicating the transition to the next developmental stage.
Comparing the period when I believed narcissistic and egocentric emotions were the true 'me' to the present, there are notable differences. These include dynamic changes detected through meditation, increased opportunities for analytical thinking, the accumulation of an experiential database, acceptance of the phenomenon of emotional contagion, recognizing interactions on boundary peripheries, handling automatic behavioral tendencies like defense regulations, and the paradox of acquiring value judgments by letting go of them. These insights have taken eight years to form and integrate.
Related Articles:【About EI and Emotional Competence: Discussion & Guide】
Intra-personal Intelligence
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Somatic Intelligence
Moral Intelligence
- Concerned not with what is 'good', but what is 'right'.
- Separate from the demands of validity. Meta-ethical.
- Civil disobedience is a noble and courageous morality.
"Value" depends on an individual's judgment of what is "good" or "bad". Values originate from within. What is seen as "good" by a group can sometimes be immoral. In business, the absence of dilemmas might indicate a lack of profitability, undisclosed organizational issues, or the sacrifice of long-term value. Frighteningly, these challenges might just be going unnoticed. There's a need for both the ability to recognize challenges and the strength to continuously grapple with them.
Related Articles:【About Dilemmas: Discussion & Guide】
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Spiritual Interlligence
- Intellectual understanding of spiritual experiences and narratives.
- A major issue with contemporary religions is their overt literalism and lack of awakening.
In my younger years, I was driven by a longing for freedom, materialistic desires like wealth and power, and the external pressures that validated such pursuits, which led me to aspire to be an expert in new business ventures. I was intrigued by the concepts of "conflict resolution" and "value judgments", and was confident in my ability to provide services. I delved deeply into business studies, particularly tuning my values to resonate with corporate finance and shareholder capitalism.
Interestingly, my given name contains the Chinese character for "path" (tao), reflecting my intrinsic love for ethics and philosophies akin to Taoism. I always believed I had an innate ability to understand human emotions and the psyche. Yet, I never imagined a time in my life where meditation would be indispensable.
The catalyst was the aftermath of a natural disaster, which brought intense stress upon my entire community. Unfamiliar emotions spread contagiously, creating interactions that enveloped me and introduced a distant inner world. It felt as if everyone, myself included, regressed in their developmental stages. Our emotional journey seemed to mirror the fluctuations of Maslow's hierarchy, reminiscent of an elevator's ups and downs. The incomprehensible behaviors of others and unpredictable phenomena became constant sources of frustration, confusion, anxiety, and impatience. It was then that I recognized the need for meditation to identify and comprehend these emotions.
Related Articles:【About Meditation: Discussion & Guide】
Reference:【Maslow's hierarchy of needs - Wikipedia】 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
Willpower
- The ability to focus on something: The strength of awareness and attention.
- By avoiding identification with this power and by practicing metacognition and objectification, we can prevent its negative aspects and promote growth.
Often, the force that drives us passionately is something we might not recognize in ourselves. The pursuit of fleeting pleasures, reminiscent of Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper, can sometimes lead to severe long-term value loss.
Furthermore, I'm still grappling with the concept of "flow." It could be described as an astonishing concentration, or, like the Japanese tale of "Urashima Tarō," it might suggest the passage of time in idleness. Of course, there's long-term value even in what might seem idle situations. It's not something that can be judged simply as good or bad. Multiple perspectives for analysis and value judgments are essential for such phenomena.
Self Line
- The ever-present witness (the true self) perceives and interprets the world through one of six to eight relative and finite selves (and their underlying maps).
- There are two focal points: the Structure-Self (interpreting through stages of Growing-Up, using hidden maps) and the State-Self (Waking-Up through direct experiences).
The growth stages used for interpretation are not far from those posited by Maslow and other commonly accepted models. Moreover, they offer explanations aligned with concepts from Eastern philosophies and cultures like Zen and Taoism. While I haven't yet reached the description of higher, unexperienced levels, there isn't a gap between what I speculate and the images presented.
During times when I struggled with the gap between the "Rational stage (Orange)" and the "Pluralistic stage (Green)," I often questioned, "What is self-actualization?" and "What does it mean for the true self to emerge?" During those moments, I relied on psychoanalytical knowledge and thought for emotional analysis. Major barriers for me were an aversion to non-scientific entities and a personality trait that made it hard to feel vulnerability, which was tied down by a sense of duty and ideals. I believed that my approval-seeking self was morally steadfast, making it challenging to let go.
