Pondering Open Space and Spiral Dynamics

[kenoli Oleari]

Peggy -- I can't figure out if I understand anything about Spiral
Dynamics or not.  I have read about it and followed discussions on
the listserv and jumped in some.

My thoughts on your question are this.  As things move up the spiral,
they become more inclusive.  At each stage, other memes are reflected
as well as the dominant meme (I'm probably already violating some
understanding of SD in this statement).  In the yellow stage, just
above green and just before moving into the second tier, systems
perspectives become dominant.  The second stage starts to truly
integrate the other levels.

My thinking is that OS (and other large group interventions)
certainly reflects the yellow, or systems, perspective and has the
potential for manifesting second stage integrations as the various
memes act as part of a whole.  I don't know if Spiral Dynamic folks
have looked at how groups manifest the various memes, but my
experience is that effective focused group interaction can manifest a
much higher consciousness than that of the individual members of the
group themselves and can even provide personally transforming
experiences.

My sense is that much of the SD community is less oriented towards
group transformational work and more toward individual work and
intellectual analysis.  This is certainly true of Wilbur who says
that he passed through the green experience through an individual
process rather than the group process which usually characterizes
green experience.

Us groupies (OS and otherwise) are groupies for a reason, and I think
that is because of the transformational and elevating potential we
have observed can occur as part of good group experience.

--Kenoli



>I just finished reading Ken Wilbur's Boomeritis.  The book talks
>extensively about Spiral Dynamics.  One aspect he discusses
>is how the memes through Greens are intolerant of each other.  I
>started thinking about Open Space's capacity to bring people
>together and actually interact productively.  Makes me think that
>the power of OST is that it operates, to use Wilbur-ese, in all
>quadrants and at all levels.
>
>My apologies to those who don't speak this Spiral Dynamics/Ken
>Wilbur jargon.  For those more familiar with this work than I, what
>are your thoughts?
>
>Peggy
>
>
>_______________________________
>Peggy Holman
>The Open Circle Company
>15347 SE 49th Place
>Bellevue, WA  98006
>425.746.6274
><http://www.opencirclecompany.com>www.opencirclecompany.com


--
Kenoli Oleari, Horizons of Change, http://www.horizonsofchange.com
1801 Fairview Street, Berkeley, CA  94703   Voice Phone: 510-601-8217,
Fax: 510-595-8369, Email: kenoli at igc.org (or click on: mailto://kenoli@igc.org)

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