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An Introduction to Spiral Dynamics

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The pathfinder

‘Briefly, what I am proposing is that the psychology of the mature human being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating spiralling process marked by progressive subordination of older, lower-order behaviour systems to newer, high-order systems as man’s existential problems change’

Dr. Clare W. Graves(1914 – 1986)

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The implementers

Don Beck

Christopher Cowan

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Many models of staged development, many domains of application

Certainty Variety Significance Connection Personal

growth Contribution

Forming Storming Norming Performin

g Adjournin

g

Egocentric Ethnocentri

c Worldcentri

c

Survivalist/Instinctive Magical/Animistic Egocentric/Impulsive Purposeful/

Authoritarian Achievist/Strategic Humanistic/

Egalitarian Integral/Ecological Holistic/Global

Pre-conventional

Conventional Post-

conventional

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The oscillating Spiral

Egalitarian order

Absolute order

Global order

Tribalorder

Survival sense

Powerful self

Enterprising self

Integrated self

First T

ier

Seco

nd

Tier

AN

CP

ER

GT

BO

DQ

FS

HU

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The VMeme attractor

Philosophies

Icons

Fads

Architecture

Motorcar

Language

Lifestyles

PsychologiesSport

Archetypes

Politics

Literature

Music

Fashion

Religion Philosophies

Icons

Fads

Architecture

Motorcar

Language

Lifestyles

PsychologiesSport

Archetypes

Politics

Literature

Music

Fashion

Religion

Each VMEME is an organising principle, centre of gravity, self-replicating force and magnetic field that attracts content-rich little memes

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Beige Vmeme

Survivalist/Instinctive Meme - starting 100,000 years ago

Worldwide:A natural milieu where humans rely on instincts to survive

Mindset:Do what you must to stay alive. Food warmth, sex, and safety have priority

Manifestations:First human societies, starving masses, African Bushmen, street people

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Purple VMeme

Magical/Animistic Meme - starting 50,000 years ago

Worldwide:A magical place alive with spirit beings and mystical signs

Mindset:Keep the tribe’s nest safe and warm; observe tribal customs and seasonal cycles

Manifestations:Family rituals, shamans, blood oaths, magical New Age beliefs

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Red VMeme

Egocentric/Impulsive Meme - starting 10,000 years ago

Worldwide:A jungle where the strongest and most cunning survive

Mindset:Avoid shame, get respect, and do what you want

Manifestations:Feudal kingdoms, rebellious youth, epic heroes, “terrible twos”

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Blue VMeme

Purposeful/Authoritarian Meme – starting 5,000 years ago

Worldwide:An ordered existence under the control of the ultimate truth

Mindset:Life has meaning, direction, and purpose; enforcing principles of rightful living

Manifestations:Puritan America, codes of honour

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Orange VMeme

Achievist/Strategic Meme – starting 300 years ago

Worldwide:A marketplace full of possibilities and opportunities

Mindset:Play the game to win; cultivate optimistic and risk-taking self-reliance

Manifestations:The Enlightenment, Silicon Valley, Fortune magazine, corporate states

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Green VMeme

Humanistic/Egalitarian Meme – starting 150 years ago

Worldwide:A human habitat in which we share life’s experiences, freed from dogma

Mindset:Seek peace in the inner self and explore the caring dimensions of community

Manifestations:Human rights movements, communes, Woodstock, multiculturalism

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New Life Conditions cause new Adaptive Capabilities to emerge

“The problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them”Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)

“We are shaping the world faster than we can change ourselves and we are applying to the present the habits of the past”Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)

“Any challenge as complex and multifaceted as climate change is not susceptible to simple solutions. It requires a holistic approach and the combined efforts of the global community to both mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change”Roger Ferguson – Vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System till 2006

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Yellow VMeme

Integral/Ecological Meme – starting 50 years ago Worldwide:

The world is a chaotic organism forged by differences and change

Mindset:Flexibility, functionality, self-responsibility and spontaneity have highest priority

Manifestations:Integrative structures, systems thinking, “Third Way” politics

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Turquoise VMeme

Holistic/Global Meme – starting 30 years ago Worldwide:

An elegantly balanced system of interlocking forces

Mindset:Experience the wholeness of existence through mind and spirit

Manifestations:Holonic, intuitive thinking; global networks for global results

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Enters minds of prophets & visionaries

Becomes “cutting edge”

Attacked by antibodies of earlier VMEMEs

Residue remains

Codified by truth-keepers

Starts to become calcified & rigidised

Becomes symbols & rituals

Modus operandi no longer handles problem

Spreads widely

FIRST AWAKENING

ENTERING

DOMINANTTHINKING

PEAKEXITING

A VMEME’s life cycle

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Descending VMEME

Ascending VMEME

Wave-like development of VMEME’s

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Individual potential for change Open Arrested Closed

Relief from immediate problems Create some relief from current problems to allow some freedom and excess

energy to explore the next more complex systems Discomfort with the status quo

Awareness of the growing gap between the life conditions and the current means for handling these problems.

Enough turbulence to create a sense that ‘something is wrong’ without so much chaos that the whole world seems to be coming apart.

Insights into alternatives What went wrong with the previous system and why What resources are available for handling the problems better

Barriers identified and resolved Eliminate By-passed Neutralised Reframed

Endurance Overcoming the confusion, false starts, long learning curves and awkward

assimilation Moving from high energy awakenings to mature expressions Moving from the individual to the collective shift

The six conditions for change

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The seven variations of change

Quantum Movement in a number of vMemes

simultaneously Seen in era-shifts like the Industrial Revolution

or Information Age

Shift Up Evolution of critical mass to the next vMeme

Break Out Assault on barriers Risks regressions

Stretch Up Dominant thinking remains in current vMeme

but incorporates some elements of more complex vMeme

Stretch Down Temporary reawakening of earlier vMeme

Expand Out Richer content Enhanced thinking

Fine Tune Same thinking Improve techniques

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Historical worldviews

Cognition Behavioural

Cultural Social

Turquoise holarchical integralmature

worldcentricinformational

Yellow holistic systemicmature

worldcentricinformational

Green pluralistic postmodern worldcentric informational

Orange rational modern worldcentric industrial

Blue traditional conformist ethnocentric agrarian

Red power predatory egocentric horticultural

Purple magical animistic egocentric foraging

Beige instinctual archaic pre-egocentric foraging

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Some Dr. Clare W. Graves quotes

“I am not saying in this conception of adult behaviour that one style of being, one form of human existence is inevitably and in all circumstances superior to or better than another form of human existence, another style of being.

What I am saying is that when one form of being is more congruent with the realities of existence, then it is the better form of living for those realities.

And what I am saying is that when one form of existence ceases to be functional for the realities of existence then some other form, either higher or lower in the hierarchy, is the better style of living.

I do suggest, however, and this I deeply believe is so, that for the overall welfare of total man’s existence in this world, over the long run of time, higher levels are better than lower levels and that the prime good of any society’s governing figures should be to promote human movement up the levels of human existence.”

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Principle I: Humans possess the capacity to create new VMEMEs

Principle II: Life conditions awaken VMEMEs which may emerge, surge, regress, or fade in response

Principle III: VMEMEs zigzag between Express-self and Sacrifice-self themes

Principle IV: VMEMEs emerge along the Spiral in a wave-like fashion

Principle V: VMEMEs spiral up and down through levels of complexity

Principle VI: VMEMEs coexist within our onion-like profiles

Principle VII: VMEMEs cluster in Tiers of Six along the Spiral

Principles

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vMeme qualities

VMEMEs manifest the core intelligences that form systems and impact human behaviour

VMEMEs impact all of life’s choices VMEMEs express both healthy (for-better) and

unhealthy (for-worse) qualities VMEMEs are structures of thinking VMEMEs can brighten and dim as Life

Conditions change

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VMEMEs express both healthy

(for-better) and unhealthy (for-worse)

qualities

VMEMEs express both healthy

(for-better) and unhealthy (for-worse)

qualities

VMEMEs can brighten and dim as Life Conditions

change

VMEMEs can brighten and dim as Life Conditions

change

VMEMEs are structures

of thinking

VMEMEs are structures

of thinking

VMEMEs impact all of life’s choices

VMEMEs impact all of life’s choices

VMEMEs manifest the core

intelligences that form systems

and impact human behaviour.

VMEMEs manifest the core

intelligences that form systems

and impact human behaviour.

VMEME

QUALITIES

VMEME

QUALITIES

A VMEMEs transposes itself into a world view, a value system, a level of psychological existence, a belief structure, organising principles, a way of thinking, and a mode of living.

vMeme qualities

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VMEME Detection: A Check-List of Recognition Principles

Step outside your own VMEME profile Identify the prevailing Life Conditions Ask the ‘why?’ question Different VMEMEs may brighten in different

situations Realise that an organisation is also a mixture of

VMEMEs, not a simple type Remember that VMEMEs ebb and flow as

conditions get better or worse.