Going High and Going Deep

It is my sense that we all have an innate wish to be the best we can be. Most folks, as they become aware of various developmental sequences, want to see themselves at the highest possible stage. This is both natural and healthy.

But there are some healthy cautions in how we think about our own development.

• We are all in some sense at all of the levels all of the time. We all have access to all eight States of Mind. Even if I don't have a 5° [Intrapersonal-internal: perception] awareness of the aspects of my self which are constructing my choices at any given moment, I still have the aspects and they are still shaping my choices. Even if I don't know myself at 7° [Transpersonal-spiritual: perception] to be a unique and precious manifestation of the divine just like everyone else, that doesn't mean I am not. We are all at all of the levels all of the time and may, from time to time, get a glimpse at a higher level than we can routinely construct in our awareness.
• While each successive level is more complex and allows for a fuller appreciation of the territory than a lower order map and can, thus, be said to be better, this does not make the person holding the map better. From a 2° [Personal-material: choice] perspective, people like me are good and others are bad or dangerous. But that is a limitation of the maps of 2°. Just because Jack's map allows him to get more juice than Jesse doesn't mean that Jack is better than Jesse.
• Higher levels are built upon the abilities of the lower orders. They transcend the lower orders but they also include them. You can't think in three dimensions without first thinking in two dimensions. When we move more and more to using 4° maps we don't quit using First, Second, and 3° maps. Further, even as we can move to higher order maps we don't stop needing good maps at lower orders. We may just want to program a DVR.

So while, in one sense, we may see ourselves as developing up the developmental ladder we also want to go more deeply into our abilities at each level or stage.

1° How fully can I be aware of my own immediate experience? Can I take in more and more of what is happening without it becoming overwhelming to me?

2° Can I make sense of what is happening and apply appropriate meaning? Can I understand what it is that I need and act in ways which meet my needs?

3° Can I notice how my choices affect others and be sensitive to their expectations of me? Can I respond in ways which meet those demands?

4° When others' expectations are not consistent with my own welfare, can I respond in ways which meet my needs but still preserve the relationship and not harm the other?

5° When my behavior is not consistent with how I want to be in my relationships with others, can I become ever more aware of my various aspects and how they are constructing my behavior?

6° Can I be present to all of these aspects in ways which honor them and what they are trying to do for me and help them do their appointed job better, while finding a way of being which has authenticity and integrity for all the parts?

7° Can I treat myself with humility and honor all others while I act from an awareness of my place in the grand scheme of the cosmos?

8° Can I know that what I experience as my separate self is ultimately as separate from God as a wave is from the ocean?

Each of these stages allow for us to go to great depth as we seek to more fully experience our experience. But at each step we risk being overwhelmed by the intensity of life.