We all know we are living in a time of great conflicts and divisions that play out in the areas of religion, politics, and culture. In this newsletter I will briefly introduce the Integral Framework, that has been so helpful to me and many others. The Integral Framework provides a developmental outline and a language to help us define and understand the different world views and religious perspectives that are playing out in the conflicts we are experiencing. This framework is meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive, to be used for self-reflection, not judgement of yourself or others. This is a rich and comprehensive framework, so I will provide only a high-level overview of it. In this article, I will focus on the colors of what is called the first tier, and then focus on the second tier, or integral level in the next article.
As noted on the Grow it Forward website, integral psychology has roots in spiral dynamics and integral philosophy. They each use a different color scheme, but the concepts of the spiral are essentially the same. I have chosen to use the colors from spiral dynamics because I learned that framework first, and it is focused specifically on values, or what they call “value memes”. Please note, these colors are not political but are used as a shorthand way to talk about the levels of development. I will also be speaking to only five of the eight or more levels in the frameworks, because, as I see it, those five are most operational in the western world today.
Below you will see the colors of the spiral in the first tier, a description of the key features, a summary of the religious characteristics of each level, and the experiences of shame you are likely to encounter at each level. There can be more and less healthy versions of each level of the spiral as you will notice. Please take some time to reflect on each level and compare them to your own experiences, especially your religious experiences.
Red Level: Power and Control
Key features, mindset, and vales:
- Egocentric
- Grandiose
- Impulsive self-expression
- Life is a jungle. Haves versus have-nots
- Domination and power over others are primary motivators.
- Lack of guilt or concern for others.
- Outsiders are not to be trusted.
- Conspiracy theories thrive.
Religious characteristics:
- Magic/mythic beliefs are important. Love stories like Moses parting the Red Sea and Jesus turning water into wine and see them as literal facts
- Faith is experienced in these stories and rituals of religion.
- Believe the cause of difficulties and failures are outside of self. Blame Satan or evil people.
- What’s in it for me mentality in the here and now.
- Religious leaders are authoritarian. The law and commandments must be obeyed.
- Fire and brimstone preaching – fear of Hell.
- God punishes and destroys the unrighteous people and nations.
- Concrete and literal thinking and interpretations of scripture.
- Healthy red can be energizing, fun-loving, creative, and free to explore and enjoy life.
Experiences of religious shame:
- While adults frozen at this level do not feel much guilt because they believe the faults are outside of themselves and their cause is just, this stage is nonetheless dripping with shame.
- Must submit to God and those in authority or be condemned to Hell.
- Churches are patriarchal and women are seen as lower than men.
- Children and those without power may feel frightened or bullied into obedience.
- May be publicly shamed if you disagree with those in positions of power and authority.
Blue Level: Salvation and Belonging
Key Features, mindset, and values:
- Ethnocentric – our way is the way.
- Driven to find meaning and purpose in life.
- Sacrifice self to the way or the cause for a deferred reward, like Heaven.
- Control one’s impulsivity and respond to guilt.
- Authoritarianism is strong.
- Law, structure, and order within institutions and society
- Doing your duty and acts of service are highly valued.
Blue is an important stage for being a law abiding, productive, and constructive member of society. We find our place to belong and have strong loyalty to our group and their doctrines, whether it is our friends in high school, our church, the military, or even our country. We may still have some Red features but Blue softens and socializes us.
Religious characteristics:
- Traditional, mythic beliefs
- Fundamentalism is common moving from Red into Blue, and at peak Blue. We know the one and the only way.
- God is watching over and is in control.
- The divine plan assigns people to their places and roles.
- Salvation, conversion, and purging of evil are essential.
- Inner circle of friends, keepers of the faith. Belonging brings a sense of security.
- As Blue begins to move into Orange, people question the fundamentals and begin to define their own faith. Begin to see women in leadership roles.
- When blue is healthy, life is neat and orderly and the people have peace of mind, a clear hope for the future, and faith that there is meaning and purpose in living.
Experiences of shame:
- Acceptance and inclusion depend on confessing and following the correct beliefs and behaviors.
- Messages that I am broken and bad at my core and must be saved.
- Guilt and fear of condemnation/Hell. It is my fault that Jesus had to suffer and die.
- Am I good enough, saved enough, obedient enough?
- Judgement of others outside the way as bad, lost, condemned.
- Personal worth depends on the judgement of outside authority, e.g. God, parents, church leaders.
Orange Level: Prosperity and Science
Key Features, mindset, and values:
- World centric – open to multiple beliefs and cultural perspectives.
- Rational and pragmatic.
- Modern science will enhance life.
- Strive for autonomy and independence.
- Work hard to have “the good life” and material abundance.
- Strive to achieve. Money is life’s report card.
- Focus on self-help, empowerment, and realizing potential.
Orange moves away from loyalty to the one way and embraces individuality, openness to science and other belief systems. Focuses on social and individual advancement through education and hard work.
Religious characteristics:
- Many at this level reject religion completely because of contradictions, rigid hierarchies, and rules.
- Faith in the natural world more than supernatural. Question their own assumptions about faith.
- Question authority structures of their faith.
- Some let go of myths, traditions, and beliefs to explore new ideas like spirit as the Great Designer or the Ground of Being
- Prosperity gospel and mega churches show up. They include some Red magic and Blue mythic beliefs. God will bless me with abundance and perfect health because I have faith in specific biblical promises. God wants mankind to succeed, not just obey. I am meant to prosper and achieve abundance. Emphasizes positive thinking.
- What’s right is situational and based on what works best.
- As Orange moves toward Green, multiple faith perspectives are accepted.
- Healthy orange may build on the strengths of Blue, traditional religion and go deeper. Scripture is read with the understanding of history, culture, and context. The myths/stories are interpreted as lessons, morals, and principles, rather than literal meaning. Take greater ownership of their own faith journey.
Experiences of shame:
- Individualism of this stage says don’t get too close, trust too much, or be vulnerable. May lead to lack of real connections.
- Each person is expected to stand on his/her own feet. What if I can’t for one reason or another? Am I not enough?
- Arrogance that I can control God through my faith because of promises found in scripture.
- Sense of being superior to others or less than others.
- If I’m not successful, healthy, and wealthy, then I must not have enough faith.
- I am letting God and others down.
Green Level: Pluralism and Acceptance
Key Features, mindset, and values:
- Pluralistic and multicultural
- Postmodern – emphasizes knowledge as conditional and relative.
- Life is for experiencing each moment.
- We are all equal and important.
- Share societies resources among all.
- Liberate humans from greed and dogma.
- Collective and community oriented. Make decisions through consensus.
Religious characteristics:
- We are interdependent beings in search of love and involvement.
- Practice inclusiveness and acceptance and harmony.
- Replaces the certainties of Blue truth and Orange tried and true experience with relativism.
- More open to other people’s faith perspectives which might inform and deepen their own. May seek enlightenment from various gurus.
- Churches tend to be nondenominational.
- Accept gay and lesbian church leaders.
- Community service oriented.
- Take care of the environment.
- Healthy green is inclusive, service oriented, respectful, and tolerant of individual differences, even those who have beliefs in absolute truth and authority. They are interested in the well-being and enhancement of the quality of life for all of us.
Experiences of shame:
- Judgementalism is harshly judged and green can be rigid in its demands for open-mindedness.
- Can be dismissive of the rest of the spiral, believing its way is the way. At the extremes, politically correct Green can be just as judgmental and self-righteous as the rigid discrimination of Blue.
- Can also have a collective arrogance: We all have unlimited potential. Denies that people have different capacities, reach their own limits, and that life conditions influence the range of possibilities available to us.
- Strong need to fit in and feel accepted. Need to go along to get along. Implies there is something wrong with me if I haven’t awakened to or arrived at the same beliefs and values and need to get fixed. Individuality may be stifled in favor of collective harmony.
- Feel collective guilt for failures of the group – a church, nation, race, or economic class.
Therapy Tip:
It is important to note that all of us are born at ground zero and throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood we advance through the different levels. Some people stay at the level of red, blue, or orange and never grow beyond it for various reasons. We all have the right to stay at the level of our choice, but when it comes to resolving shame, it is always important to see things for what they are.
As noted, we can have healthy and unhealthy versions of each level. In theory, as we develop along the path forward, we transcend and include the levels we pass through. If we experience more of the shame-based elements of each level, we may prefer to transcend and reject. From the perspective of a therapist, when this happens, we have parts of ourselves that are repressed and stuck in bitterness, anger, and shame that have not been resolved. However, if we experience or appreciate the healthier versions of each stage, we can transcend and include. For example, find someone with healthy Blue and healthy Green and you have a genuinely caring person who is firmly anchored in strong beliefs, but may grant you the full and free expression of yours.
As you reflect on each level, at what level or stage do you see yourself? Have you felt some of the shame that leaves you feeling bad about yourself? Do you see some assumptions or beliefs that have contributed to your pain and feelings of shame? Recovery and healing begins with being honest with yourself and being present to your pain instead of just denying it or coping with it. Being present allows you to change your thinking and show yourself the compassion you deserve.