Originally posted July 25, 2007.

The Christian spiritual journey unfolds along paths of development (and overall consciousness) that we variously call levels, stages, altitude, or stations of life. Levels and stages are markers of development along a mode of individual development studied by psychologists or cultural/social development studied by anthropologists, philosophers, and other social scientists. An example of one such developmental theory is Spiral Dynamics Integral, a useful model for students of the culture and worldviews mode of collective development.

Ken Wilber’s use of the spectrum of light to characterize the levels of altitude in consciousness is another important contribution to our understanding of the ways that human nature evolves. Wilber speaks of stations of life (which sounds less hierarchical than a stage). Speaking about stations emphasizes that we all develop along our own distinctive journeys and many people spend much of their adult life at a particular station. And they have every right to do so as full participants in the Reign of Heaven.

In a very tangible sense, one level of development is not “better” or “worse” than any other; they are all authentic expressions of the Holy Spirit in our midst. However, generally the higher levels exhibit greater and wider levels of concern. Early levels are more personal (egocentric); later waves are concerned about values in an entire community (ethnocentric) to all the contents of space, time, and thought (Kosmocentric). As we progress in our spiritual journeys, we are able to take an increasingly wide number of perspectives on reality (i.e., Spirit raises us higher from very egocentric concerns to a sense of identity with the entire Body of Christ).

I do not endorse any one model of spiritual development exclusively. However, it is safe to say that generally the best guide to the spiritual journey is one that is most comprehensive, complete, and contains rich portraits of the widest number of perspectives. Integral Institute’s model is such an approach, and there are other integral maps with qualities to recommend. Whenever necessary, the contributors to this Weblog will try to make clear which model they are using so that interested readers can learn more about the underlying theoretical perspective.

Stations or stages of life

Here are some representative ways of talking about different waves of development. It uses the spectrum of light to identify the various altitudes of consciousness or their corresponding stages on the faith line of development…

Infrared (preconventional): archaic, symbiotic, survival-oriented. E.g., Archaic Consciousness. Primordial, prehistory, stone age. Christ, the Light of the World. Fowler’s Undifferentiated stage of faith.

Magenta (preconventional): magical orientation; clan or tribe-oriented. E.g., Magical Consciousness. Natural religion. Christ, the magician. Fowler’s magical stage of faith.

Red (conventional): power, self-expression, pleasure-seeking, authoritarian. E.g., Mythic Consciousness. Holy wars, the Crusades. Christ, the King. Fowler’s mythic-literal stage of faith.

Amber (conventional): Mythic-membership, conformist, moralistic. E.g., Mythic Consciousness. Traditional (Augustine, Luther, Calvin) to mythic-rational (Aquinas). Contemporary traditionalists. Christ, the Judge. Fowler’s conventional stage of faith.

Orange (conventional): Individualistic, rational, achievement-oriented. E.g., Rational Consciousness. Deism, natural law theology. The rational mind of Christ. Fowler’s individual-reflexive stage of faith.

Green (post-conventional): Pluralism, diversity, relativistic, inclusion-oriented. E.g., E.g., Fowler’s conjunctive stage of faith. E.g., Early Vision-Logic Consciousness. Liberation theology. Progressive churches. Postmodern. Relativistic. Christ, the liberator.

Teal (post-post conventional): Existential, beginning integral, systematic thinking, healthy hierarchy. E.g., E.g., Fowler’s Universalizing-Commonwealth stage of faith. E.g., Middle Vision-Logic Consciousness. Christ, the integrated bodymind. Fowler’s universal/commonwealth stage of faith.

Turquoise (post-post conventional): Mature integral, concerned not only with healthy hierarchy but with spiritual growth across all four quadrants of human nature. E.g., Later Vision-Logic Consciousness. Christ, the higher mind.

Indigo (post-post conventional): Communal expressions of integral, synergistic, health selves in community. E.g., Psychic Consciousness (Psychic). Christ, the psyche.

Violet (post-post conventional): Visionary, prophetic, inspired, subtle consciousness. E.g., Dark Night of the Soul (Subtle). Christ, the transpersonal soul.

Ultraviolet (post-post conventional): The presence of Christ, Kingdom of God in process. E.g., Christ Consciousness (Causal). Christ, the transpersonal Self or spirit.

Clear Light (nondual): “I and the Father are One”, presence of God unfolding in the world. E.g., Kingdom of Heaven (Nondual). Unity with Christ, Creator, and all Creation.

For more information, see “What is Altitude?”

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In recent posts we’ve looked at the the 4 core types (masculine, feminine, introvert, and extravert) and the 3 core strategies (cardinal, fixed, and mutable). These are some of the most basic patterns that organize the human personality and therefore our experience of ourselves, our worldspaces, and worldviews.

When put together, the 4 types and 3 strategies may be arranged into 12 distinct combinations. It is no coincidence that these 12 combinations are the same as the 12 stations of life used by Whole Writing. Each station depicts a particular orientation to reality, a set of competencies that must be faced (and hopefully successfully navigated), a set of concerns and strategies for advancement, and a set of developmental potentials.

Perhaps the clearest way of introducing the 12 stations is to identify briefly how each of the stations reflect the core types and strategies. At the most fundamental levels, these are the building blocks of who we are, what we do, and how we change.

If you are familiar with astrology, then it will be helpful for you to think of the core types, core strategies, and stations as analogoue to elements, qualities, and signs. However, knowledge of astrology is not required. A mythopoetic expression of how the stations appear (based on evolutionary astrology) is offered as an aid in visualizing the progression from 0 to B.

(In Kronology, the 12 stations of life are identified in base-12 with the tags S130 to S13B. Non-visible stations comprise S0 to S12B and S140 to S15B. If it gets a bit confusion, don’t worry about the details just now.)

The 12 stations of life

S130—Masculine, extravert, cardinal. 0 represents an active, energetic, outward-directed, penetrating orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is initiatory, dynamic, creative. “The self is pure life energy of the Creator, exploding out of the void of non-Being to create.”S131—Feminine, extravert, fixed. 1 represents a passive, receptive, inner-directed, and deepening orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is integrative, expansive, and unchanging in its essence. “The self pauses in its glory as Creation and rests in its fullness of form.” S132—Masculine, introvert, mutable. 2 represents an active, energetic, outward-directed, penetrating orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is flexible, flowing, and dissolving of boundaries. “The self, recognizing an intriguing difference between Creator and Creation, playfully explores the boundaries of its domain.”

S133—Feminine, introvert, cardinal. 3 represents a passive, receptive, inner-directed, and deepening orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is initiatory, dynamic, creative. “Through its playful discoveries of form and matter, the self experiences its own interiority; it creates its own inner life.”

S134—Masculine, extravert, fixed. 4 represents an active, energetic, outward-directed, penetrating orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is integrative, expansive, and unchanging in its essence. “Having plumbed the depths of its inner world, the self jubilantly explodes in enthusiastic embrace of its own grandiosity.”

S135—Feminine, extravert, mutable. 5 represents a passive, receptive, inner-directed, and deepening orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is flexible, flowing, and dissolving of boundaries. “Having expanded the self to the highest degree, the self transforms by discovering its own humility and dependence on others.” S136—Masculine, introvert, cardinal. 6 represents an active, energetic, outward-directed, penetrating orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is initiatory, dynamic, creative. “Having emptied itself of its former fullness, the self discovers the potential for love in an equal partnership with an other.”

S137—Feminine, introvert, fixed. 7 represents a passive, receptive, inner-directed, and deepening orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is integrative, expansive, and unchanging in its essence. “Having initiated an I-Thou relationship, the self seeks to deepen and fulfill its newfound experience of intimacy.”

S138—Masculine, extravert, mutable. 8 represents an active, energetic, outward-directed, penetrating orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is flexible, flowing, and dissolving of boundaries. “Having sought intimacy and discovered its own mortality, the self seeks a sense of purpose and meaning in which to understand its relationship to the other.”

S139—Feminine, extravert, cardinal. 9 represents a passive, receptive, inner-directed, and deepening orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is initiatory, dynamic, creative. “Having achieved a worldview capable of situating the self in its relationships, the self seeks to embody and evangelize its worldview by initiating social, economic, and political relationships.”

S13A—Masculine, introvert, fixed. A represents an active, energetic, outward-directed, penetrating orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is integrative, expansive, and unchanging in its essence. “Having become fully integrated in the objective social order, the self seeks itself within the collective consciousness (and collective unconscious).”

S13B—Feminine, introvert, mutable. B represents a passive, receptive, inner-directed, and deepening orientation of the self to other. The activity of the self is flexible, flowing, and dissolving of boundaries. “Having embrace its nature in individual and collective dimensions, the self realizes its own identity with the Creative principle of the universe.”

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