An OS "critique" and response

[Karen Sella]

Hi Tree,

I'm just wondering how you define an SD/Wilberite?  Are you
characterizing anyone who values the Spiral Dynamics and Integral theory
bases as an SD/Wilberite, or is there some sub-culture within that to
which you are referring, or something else entirely?

I know many people who have studied and value Beck and Cowan's work, as
well as Wilber's work, who understand the subtleties and complexities of
the Spiral Dynamics model, as well as the positive and negative aspects
of each meme, who upon reading your message could perhaps mistakenly
conclude that you are "judging and tagging" them as "SD/Wilberites" with
all of your associated misgivings about this bunch.  

Please note that I am not concluding this, only observing the potential
and asking the question.

Warm regards,
Karen




Karen Sella
www.luminacoaching.com
206l.780.2998





-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Tree
Fitzpatrick
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2005 4:32 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: An OS "critique" and response

As an addendum to Chris' summary of Spiral Dynamics (SD), the green
meme has been labeled 'boomeritis' by Ken Wilber, who has taken the
original SD model, which was a model for human psychological
development and projected it into systems/organizational thinking.  I
do believe that systems develop in a parallel to human development so
it is a good use of the SD model, IMHO.  But somewhere along the line,
Wilber has mushed human, system and consciousness together and his
followers often, at least IMHO, jumble the model to suit their
individual beliefs/memes/consciousness.

As Chris wrote, the green meme is the 'highest' level of first-tier
human development.  It can be roughly illustrated by thinking of the
many social movements that emerged in the sixties.  Green meme folks
embrace concensus, collaboration, civil rights, egalitarianism but
they have not quite grasped that there are higher levels of
consciousness that might allow them to see solutions in completely
different lenses.  Wilber coined the phrase 'boomeritis', which is
actually the name of Wilber's only novel, to suggest that many
liberals get stuck in the green meme, thinking that their level of
'enlightenment' is just fine. As Chris pointed out, most 'first tier'
people think their meme is the only meme.  According to Wilber's view
of the green meme, many well-intentioned liberals get 'stuck', they
develop 'boomeritis'.  Wilber has backed off from using the phrase
boomeritis and you don't hear Integral/Wilber acolytes using the
phrase 'boomeritis' but most Integral/Wilber followers get the
derision behind Wilber's denigrating choice of labeling the green
memes as stuck/ill-with-an-itis.

I am not a serious student of either SD or Wilber's work.  I've
subscribed to IntegralNaked.org from time to time.  I've read lots of
SD and Wilber books.  But I have never read that Integral/Wilberites
acknowledge that the SD model is a model, an educated guess.  They
seem to think it is an accurate description of reality itself. 
Neither have I heard Wilberites acknowledge that all human beings move
in and out of levels of development, levels of consciousness and
levels of understanding.  I might be green about social issues, orange
about art (orange is second tier, above green) and red about
homophobia in the same moment.  Few human beings live frozen, stuck in
just one way of being for all issues in life.  As a workplace meeting
takes place, for example, participants might move in and out of memes
like shifting sands.

Most folks, once they become familiar with SD, seem to readily
conclude that they are second tier, ABOVE the green meme. It is
self-serving to place oneself in the second tier but I have rarely
seen SD/Wilberites that acknowledge that seeing themselves as more
evolved than other people is not exactly second tier thinking. When
they start judging and tagging other people, as Steve Bell did in the
article Peggy shared with us, these putative second tier people are
not acting like second tier people.

We're all beings in process.  Even Ken Wilber.

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