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The Essence of Transformation: Spiral Dynamics and ATP
by Ted P. Attreides

(continued from Article 2, page 1)

Here's a brief description of this Eight-Stage Spiral of Development. (Remember that the word 'meme' here means value system' that acts as an 'organizing principle').

FIRST-TIER 'SUBSISTENCE' LEVELS:

1. Beige meme-represents "instincts". Currently only 0.1% of the adult population. This meme started about 100,000 years ago. Its basic worldview is: a place where humans rely on instincts to stay alive (i.e. basic survival)

2. Purple meme-represents "animism". Currently about 10% of the population. This meme started about 50,000 years ago. Its basic worldview is: a magical place alive with the spirit beings and mystical signs.

3. Red meme-represents "ego-centric". Currently about 10% of the population. This meme started about 10,000 years ago. Its basic worldview is: a jungle where the strongest and most cunning survive.

4. Blue meme-represents "conformity". Currently about 30% of the population. This meme started about 5000 years ago. Its basic worldview is: an ordered existence under the control of the ultimate truth.

5. Orange meme-represents "individualism". Currently about 40% of the population. This meme started about 300 years ago. Its basic worldview is: a marketplace full of possibilities and opportunities.

6. Green meme-represents "egalitarianism". Currently about 10% of the population. This meme started about 150 years ago. Its basic worldview is: a human habitat and which we share life's experiences in.

With the completion of the Green meme, human consciousness is poised for a quantum jump. This jump from survival type levels to 'Being' levels is in Graves' words a "momentous leap" where a "chasm of unbelievable depth of meaning is crossed."

SECOND-TIER 'BEING' LEVELS:

7. Yellow meme-represents "integrative". Currently about 1.5% of the population. It started about 50 years ago. Its basic worldview is: live life fully and responsibly. Chaos and change are natural and can be integrated into interdependent natural flows.

8. Turquoise meme-represents "wholistic". Currently about 0.3% of the population. This meme started about 30 years ago. Its basic worldview is: an elegantly balanced system of interlocking forces; Experience the wholeness of existence through mind and spirit.

Beck says that although Graves identified eight levels of existence with a ninth on the horizon, it is important to understand that the spiral is expansive, continuous and open ended. In other words, there is no final state, but rather a dynamic upward quest, with each stage but a prelude to the next.

Naturally, an important question at this point is "What does the Spiral reveal to us about ourselves?"

First of all, all of these 'memes' (value systems) have something important to contribute. Each wave can be activated or reactivated as life circumstances warrant. For example, in emergency situations, we can activate red survival drives; in response to chaos we might need to temporarily activate blue order; in friendly relationships green bonding.

The downside of first tier memes is that each one thinks that their worldview is the only correct perspective. Each reacts negatively if threatened or challenged. For example, blue order is very uncomfortable with both red impulsiveness and orange individualism. Orange in turn thinks blue order is for suckers and green egalitarianism is weak and "out there". Finally, green egalitarianism reacts strongly to anything that appears authoritarian or hierarchical. So none of the first tier memes can fully appreciate the existence of the other memes.

All of that dramatically changes with second tier thinking. Second tier awareness is much more integrated. It thinks in terms of the overall spiral of existence, because it appreciates the necessary role that all of the various meme's play.

Second tier thinking takes all the separate systems and levels and begins to include and integrate them into wholistic flows and networks; into dynamic spirals!

Even though these descriptions are very brief, nevertheless it would seem that second tier thinking could solve a lot of our current world problems, couldn't it?

Unfortunately the research of many developmentalists agrees with Dr. Beck's substantial research which shows that less than 2% of the population is at second tier thinking at the present moment.

How would you like to try a brief exercise to see if your part of that 2%? A very quick but unscientific way to discover if you're at first or second tier levels is this. All of the first tier meme's, regardless of how sophisticated they may look, are fundamentally about survival. So whether you drive a BMW, have a cell phone or own a Palm pilot, if you rarely or never sat down to seriously consider your Worldview, and the complexity and diversity of our human legacy, that in itself is probably a sign that 'making it through the day' (survival) is indeed absorbing most of your attention.

But regardless of whether we are at first or second tier thinking, the real question becomes: is there a way to genuinely make progress towards more integrated levels?

The simple answer is: yes! As you'll notice by reading the material on this web site (i.e. articles, free first week preview, etc.) the main intention of the ATP self-discovery program is to powerfully assist with this jump to second tier thinking; this revolutionary shift in consciousness. The ATP program was specifically developed with that goal in mind.

As noted earlier, research shows that only about 2% of Americans are at 2nd tier thinking. However, the good news is that an astonishing 24% of the adult American population is currently capable, poised and ready to make that jump to second-tier consciousness.

That represents about 42 million people-whom sociologist Paul Ray calls the "Cultural Creatives", to distinguish them from the previous cultural movements of traditionalism and modernism-and who are at the right time in their life when a further transformation of consciousness into second-tier can most easily occur.

According to recent research from a number of developmentalists, including Ken Wilber, individuals who are already poised for this momentous leap-who already feel some sort of the dissonance with their present state (green meme), and who are already looking for something deeper, wider and more meaningful-can facilitate this jump in their own case by exploring two critical elements: an integral vision and an integral practice.

Wilber suggests that an integral vision helps provide us with insight, helping us move past dissonance and face toward our own deeper, wider opening. Simultaneously, an integral practice anchors all of these factors in a real-world manner, so that they don't remain merely abstract ideas and vague motions.

To fulfill these two critical elements, we offer the dynamic ATP program, as a representative of the second-tier integrated approach. We strongly believe that both an integral (or complete) vision and practice have been provided in this leading-edge ATP Self-Discovery Program, making it most likely the most advanced program of its kind in the world.

Naturally we ask you to judge; to confirm or deny this fact by experiencing the discoveries exclusively presented in this program; by experimenting with the easy to do practices, and by forming your own opinion and point of view. After all, isn't that what's most important in life: freedom of choice.

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