A pop culture lesson on colors.  Just so you know, language is crude. 

Well, it looks like I'm really going to have to start learning a lot more about Spiral Dynamics! 

I now have an account at Integral Institute's website, and I'm playing a lot of the talks that I find there.  But what's funny, for me, is the near constant reference to the various colors, as referring to stages of evolution, and various memes. 


I need to keep a handy color chart in my head.   One for the Terror Alert level (on second thought, I suppose I can ignore that), one for the political landscape (Blue, Red, Purple), and now one for the level of consciousness!  (Purple, Red, Blue, Orange, Green, Yellow, Turqoise). 

For what it's worth, since I know it's a burning question for those who read this blog, Karl Rove is a turqoise thinker, according to Ken Wilber.  (UPDATE:  So that it isn't misunderstood, as I understood this passing statement by KW, the "turqoise" mind of Karl Rove is NOT in service to turqoise values - not at all.)

It's humorous to see this "shorthand" so to speak, that develops, in every community.  I'm assuming that this particular shorthand has been adopted because it so powerfully captures the integral theory view, but nevertheless, to keep hearing the constant reference to "blue", "red", etc can be disorienting.  I was very interested in this past election, and I keep getting the colors mixed up!

For over a decade now, my main practices tend to be pretty peaceful in content.  Sitting meditation, heart visualizations, advaita teachings, etc.

However, a couple of times in the last 10 years, I've experimented with "active" type of meditation/psychological release formats.

By this I'm talking about psychological workshops such as gestalt, "shout it out" workshops, beating a pillow, fast breathing, etc.

Or, energized meditations such as Osho (Rajneesh) Dynamic Meditation, or "Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation", a book by Christopher Hyatt, who is one of the rebellious psychedelic crowd of the 60's. 

As I mentioned a couple of days ago when commenting on submitting the will towards God, this adds a certain different "flavor" to meditation. 

These type of meditations can be incredibly enlivening, incredibly powerful, and very opening.  Also, in these type of practices, it is also quite easy to shine a light on all the unconscious and negative elements of the personality.  Sort of like shining a light up your own psychological rear-end, as it were.  I did a style of this type of meditation for over two years.

But for myself , long-term, they tended towards being a distraction from the primary joy (for me) of clear seeing, and a peaceful loving heart, as the "drama" of the psychological release and discovery, seemed to harm clear seeing as much as it helped.  There are aspects of both.  As well, these dramatic and embodies practices are, well, LOUD for the psyche, I would say - at least for me, the truths revealed oftentimes contradicted, or spoke to other levels, of insights that are revealed when I sit.   (What am I in denial of now?  How about now?  And now?)

So I'm left with the quandary of how to integrate these VERY different type of psychological or meditation practices, and the very different, but valuable openings these practices create. 

As I've said before, a single individual can't do everything.  But  I hope at one point to take up an embodiesd practice that is an ally with sitting, heart visualizations/prayers, and advaita.

Lastly, for my mind, the "variety of religious experiences" aspect is simply so fascinating - that so many different experiences can reveal so many diferent insights - somatic, psychological, emotional, energetic, and mental.