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A Modified Wilber-Combs Lattice?
Posted October 9th, 2008 by David Marshall
I have always been a huge fan of the Wilber-Combs Lattice. It illustrates so beautifully the distinctions Ken Wilber made in Integral Spirituality between states and stages:
The Wilber-Combs Lattice
However, from the beginning I also had a question: What about third tier? The Wilber-Combs Lattice didn’t go as high as third tier, not past Turquoise, so did it just continue the same all the way up to Clear Light, or would it be different?
It seemed to me that things would have to change with the lattice as we moved up into the third-tier stages, and eventually I heard Wilber say as much in a guru-and-pandit discussion with Andrew Cohen:
“Wilber: Another definition of third tier is that it’s the level at which you start to permanently realize the major states of consciousness, and it just so happens that the three major stages in third tier are ones that, of necessity, objectify the subtle, then causal, then nondual states. Second-tier stages are about the highest stage structures you can get to without necessarily having some sort of state realization. And you see this a lot—people who are at an integral stage of development but don’t have a state awakening. And so one of the things that becomes really important is that in order to move into third tier and true transpersonal structures, you have to have some sort of state training and state realization to allow wakefulness, which starts out confined to the waking state, to be able to move into subtle states of consciousness and not lose track of its own I AM-ness, or its own ground. Sometimes that actually includes lucid dreaming, or it may not. But it always includes being able to objectify the subtle, to transcend and include it, to make that subject and object.
“Cohen: Right.
“Wilber: And then also to move into causal where there’s just a permanent, ever-present witnessing. And so we have to make careful distinctions here, because you can have people who are just at green who have done a lot of state training and have a certain Big Mind awakening whereas you can have people at turquoise who don’t. But when you get into third tier, it comes with the territory. I use Aurobindo’s term “Supermind” to describe the highest structure in third tier, the end limit of vertical growth. And the end limit of horizontal or state growth I call Big Mind. Supermind includes Big Mind, but Big Mind does not include Supermind. That’s an important point. So third tier is where you really do have to start consciously making the ground of all being part of your being.”
So third tier, as Wilber said, is where a person starts to “permanently realize the major states of consciousness.” But the Wilber-Combs Lattice, if it simply continued on up to the third-tier stages in the same way, would not reflect this permanent realization.
So how would we extend the Wilber-Combs Lattice into the third-tier stages in such a way to reflect this permanent realization of the subtle, causal, or nondual states? This troubled me for quite a while, but finally something came up that makes sense to me.
Wilber, in Integral Spirituality, says that he has other versions of the lattice, some of which Combs may not agree with, so perhaps he has already come up with what I am about to present or something like it. At any rate, in my own “painfully transparent bid for history” (see Integral Spirituality, p. 89) I have named it, quite presumptuously I’m sure, the Wilber-Combs-Marshall Lattice. 
Perhaps it is more of a table than a lattice. At any rate, here is the black-and-white version:
Perhaps it is more of a table than a lattice. At any rate, here is the black-and-white version:Clear Light (Supermind) | Nondual | Causal | Subtle | Gross |
Ultraviolet (Overmind) | Causal | Nondual | Subtle | Gross |
Violet | Subtle (high) | Causal | Nondual | Gross |
Indigo | Subtle (low) | Gross | Causal | Nondual |
Turquoise | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Teal | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Green | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Orange | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Amber | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Red | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Magenta | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Infrared | Gross | Subtle | Causal | Nondual |
Stages ^ States > Big Mind ^
(until Violet)
So, up until Turquoise it is exactly the same as the Wilber-Combs Lattice, but beginning with Indigo the states are listed in a different order to reflect the permanent state realization Wilber talks about in these third-tier stages (Infrared through Green is referred to as first tier, Teal and Turquoise second tier, and Indigo through Clear Light third tier).
We might call the first column of states, the one directly to the right of the colored stages, one’s operating state or operating space. So while someone up to Turquoise could have a peak experience of a deeper state and even a plateau experience of a deeper state, their operating state or operating space would still be the gross. But then with Indigo there would be a “flip,” as Wilber and Cohen discuss in this video (see the “Top-Down View” in the right-hand margin), and the operating space would then become the subtle. A few more flips and the operating space would become the high subtle, the causal, and finally the nondual. With each flip there is greater ego awareness as a permanent adaptation or stage realization.
I think it might be helpful to differentiate between a peak experience of deeper states, a plateau experience, and the kind of permanent adaptation or stage realization Wilber and Cohen talk about in the guru-and-pandit discussion I have linked above. I haven't heard Wilber differentiate between these terms in Wilber-V language (not since One Taste: December 30) other than a hint here and there in guru-and-pandit discussions, but I will give you my understanding.
A peak experience, first of all, is simply a short-lived taste of the deeper state. A person can have a peak experience at any of the vertical stages, and it may not change his or her interpretation (worldview, stage) or behavior at all. One could be, for example, at an Amber/mythic altitude before, during, and after a peak experience of a deeper state. It is also possible for a person to have a deeper-state experience without any formal state training, though of course state training increases the likelihood of having a peak experience.
A plateau experience, however, which is essentially an extended peak experience, could perhaps last for months or years and would most likely require considerable state training as well as very favorable conditions around the four quadrants. Wilber has said that a plateau experience will require a particular kind of lifestyle, and I think it’s safe to say that environment would be particularly important as well, as Chogyam Trungpa says in this video. Many people in this community have probably had the experience of “attaining” a plateau experience of some kind for several days or even weeks on retreat or vacation and then watching it disappear, slowly or quickly, when they returned to a less conducive environment at home. At any rate, the conditions that produced the plateau experience in each of the four quadrants would need to stay reasonably constant for the plateau experience to continue. A significant-enough dip in any of the quadrants could mean the end of a plateau experience, leaving the person confused, disappointed, and quite likely feeling victimized by one thing or another.
Even if the plateau experience were to last for years, however, it would not necessarily mean the person were “embodying” that state or responding from that deeper state or would have that state as an operating space, though that is often the claim. Often teachers with plateau experiences will offer Amber, Orange, or Green interpretations and claim that their interpretation and behavior are “nondual.” This can make it awfully confusing for spiritual aspirants (hearing several worldviews, interpretations, and lifestyles all presented as “nondual”), but fortunately for us we have Wilber V, which clears up this confusing mess in a huge way. With an understanding of the differences between states and stages, how to recognize the different stages, as well as an understanding of lines, types, and quadrants, spiritual practitioners are in a much better position to take responsibility for themselves and make sense of all the dharmas and teachers found in the spiritual marketplace.
With an understanding of the differences between states and stages, how to recognize the different stages, as well as an understanding of lines, types, and quadrants, spiritual practitioners are in a much better position to take responsibility for themselves and make sense of all the dharmas and teachers found in the spiritual marketplace.In any case, a permanent adaptation or stage realization of a deeper state would be distinguished from a plateau experience by additional perspectives seen, a higher ethic, and a shift in motivation from the personal self (egocentric to ethnocentric to worldcentric) to the increasingly transpersonal self (kosmocentric), among other things. Perhaps most importantly, stage realizations of deeper states result in greater and greater ego awareness, a wider operating space, a view of the creative impulse or evolutionary impulse in addition to the fears and desires of the ego, which enables the person to choose between them. Here is another excerpt from the same guru-and-pandit discussion:
“Wilber: So the easiest way to talk about third tier is to say that it’s transpersonal. People don’t just think that the planet is a single organism with one consciousness; they start to say, “I am that.” At second tier, that’s still a conceptual identity. They think of themselves as part of all sentient beings and not just part of all humans, but it’s still not a felt identity; it’s a thought identity. Even if second tier has a cognitive understanding of a Kosmocentric perspective, and can indeed embody it to some degree, the actual sense of identity in second tier is still personal. Another way to put it is that second tier, turquoise, is the highest of the personal levels. And then, once you step into third tier, kaboom—you’re stepping into the transpersonal. And at that level, as you said, there is an assumed responsibility for this evolutionary impulse. It’s as if people live Eros.
“Cohen: Exactly.
“Wilber: It becomes the core of their being. It’s why they get up. When people get into second tier or higher, they feel already full, and they act out of superabundance. So there’s a sense of overflowing to it, in addition to a necessity to create out of an almost ethical or moral view. And then I think the description you gave is one very good version of some of the stuff that goes on there. And of course, a lot of what goes on there is still being laid down. . . .
"Cohen: One of the ways that I look for the evidence for what you were just describing is that the individual would begin to respond in a way that showed that their egoic or narcissistic conditioned responses were being contained within this higher perspective to such a degree that they are obviously a transformed man or woman. To put it in the simplest terms, it would mean that they had authentically transcended our highly developed postmodern narcissistic ego to a profound degree. They are not necessarily a perfectly liberated self, and I don’t even know if such a thing actually exists. But they have crossed what I call the fifty-one-percent threshold, which means that the evolutionary impulse—the authentic self and its Kosmocentric orientation—has become the dominant part of the self, which makes all the difference.
"Wilber: I think that’s a good definition of what happens when you shift from turquoise into indigo, when you shift from second to third tier. That fifty-one percent just comes with the territory. And if it’s forty-nine percent, you’re still turquoise, even though there may be other things happening that are important as well."
So realizing Big Mind (the nondual state) as a plateau experience does not necessarily require a change in motivation, improved ethics, or more perspectives seen, but realizing Supermind (Clear Light) with nondual as a permanent operating space or as a permanent stage does.
I am sure we will learn a lot more with the release of Wilber's Overmind, Supermind and other books. In the meantime, I would love to hear your ideas about this.
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My Modified Wilber-Combs Lattice vs. David's
Posted February 16th, 2009 by barbi hammondDavid,
I was so excited after reading your post that I had to show you mine that I just so happened to create moments before discovering your post! I actually have two modified Wilber-Combs Lattices, one for archaic to integral non-meditators (untrained states) and the other for archaic to integral meditators and/or contemplatives (trained states). I felt that these distinctions were necessary to account for stages and states under the normal sleep-wake cycles and to allow for the possibility of increased potentiality and intensification of consciousness by up to two stage levels with advanced meditative training or contemplation, hence the two different tables.
Modification 1. Degrees of Consciousness + Wilber-Combs Lattice w/EEG Brainwave Patterns for archaic to advanced non-meditators (Non-trained states and stages)
Modification 2. Degrees of Consciousness + Wilber-Combs Lattice & EEG Brainwave Patterns for archaic to advanced meditators (trained states).
I apologize for the poor image quality. I took a snapshot of my images that I drew from my cell phone, which doesn't take good pictures.
The concentric circles on my lattices vary in size to account for degree of consciousness, depending on the state and structure of the consciousness. Whereas the larger circles refer to the higher structures, the smaller and point-like circles refer to previous structures. Areas with a dash (--) or point (.) refer to non-conscious states or to point-like consciousness instead.
As shown above, these circles also diminish in size or degrees of consciousness as one moves horizontally across states of consciousness from "wakefulness" to "deep dreamless sleep." However, to account for the considerably higher degree of consciousness of highly advanced super-integral meditators, a separate lattice was created to illustrate the possible differences with training between trained and untrained states. This is all highly speculative, of course.
Key:
Giant concentric circle w/6 loops: "Super-integral"
concentric circle w/5 loops: Integral
concentric circle w/4 loops: Pluralistic
concentric circle w/3 loops: Rational
concentric circle w/2 loops: Mythical
circle w/1 dot: Magical
dot: Archaic
dash: unconscious.
As I mentioned above, this is all highly speculative for me as I am not quite sure that I quite "get" the concept of "Nondual" as being a distinct state of consciousness that exists independently of other states, as the Wilber-Combs Matrix seems to suggest; yet not what I gather based on other readings. Oddly, however, I do notice upon glancing at my second table, "Modification 2" for advanced meditators and what not, that my very highest structure ("Super-Integral," which I assumed to be in reference to "Indigo" or the first structure of third tier at the time) happens to conform "accidentally" and very nicely with your quote of Wilber in his discussion with Andrew Cohen:
“Wilber: Another definition of third tier is that it’s the level at which you start to permanently realize the major states of consciousness, and it just so happens that the three major stages in third tier are ones that, of necessity, objectify the subtle, then causal, then nondual states. Second-tier stages are about the highest stage structures you can get to without necessarily having some sort of state realization. And you see this a lot—people who are at an integral stage of development but don’t have a state awakening. And so one of the things that becomes really important is that in order to move into third tier and true transpersonal structures, you have to have some sort of state training and state realization to allow wakefulness, which starts out confined to the waking state, to be able to move into subtle states of consciousness and not lose track of its own I AM-ness, or its own ground. Sometimes that actually includes lucid dreaming, or it may not. But it always includes being able to objectify the subtle, to transcend and include it, to make that subject and object.
Let's assume for now that the highest stage that I have listed on my modified versions is in reference to the first stage of third tier consciousness (which is what I had in mind at any rate), the stage at which one first begins to objectify the subtle, the causal, and the nondual states. Should this be the case, "Modification 2" would be actually correct insofar as horizontal "degree of consciousness" because the uppermost stage, as you can see, is the very first stage that is represented by a rational or higher structure for all states listed horizontally. For unlike the other stages or structures, the nondual state at the uppermost stage or structure is represented by a concentric circle with three inner circles or loops, which according to my key above refers to the mental-rational structure, that is, the first structure that is capable of maintaining a sense of I AM-ness and objectivity without losing its own "ground." No prior structure, not even "Integral" directly beneath it (representing teal or turquoise), is capable of objectifying this state of consciousness. This, of course, applies only to "trained" states in Modification 2. Therefore, someone at an equalivant stage or level of development with no state-training would be at a considerable disadvantage by comparison (see Modification 1) as he or she moves horizontally along the states to the right--and would only very dimly aware with only a "point-like" awareness at the nondual state by comparison. This point-like awareness is in reference to the magic structure, which is not yet capable of "I-AM-ness" or objectifying nonordinary states, let alone come back out of it to normal consciousness and remember what he or she went through.
Of course, upon creating this, I realized that I should have placed the "point" or "dot" at the magic structure instead for its point-like consciousness and should have left archaic pre-conscious primordiality at "unconscious" with a "dash" (--) mark all the way through. Yet, not a bad approximation considering.
My modified lattices differ from yours in that the stages in my lattices are identical to the Wilber-Combs Lattice and do not go up to "ultraviolet" or "clear light," but assumes that "super-integral" refers to the first structure of the third tier, which I thought to be "indigo," or is possibly a catch-all term for "third tier." However, based on your post, the Wilber-Combs Lattice only goes up to "turquoise." I was not aware of that distinction when I made these lattices.
Another difference I have noticed is that whereas your lattice reverses the order of "states" from "gross" to "nondual" at second tier to "nondual" to "gross" at third tier, my lattices maintain the parameters of all of the states throughout every structure. Thus, mine are essentially identical to the Wilber-Combs lattice in both stages and states with the exception that I have added additional details to the states of consciousness by listing these states by brainwave frequencies and have associated these states of consciousness with Gebser's "Degrees of Consciousness" as well, which were intended to refer to structures. In my view, however, Gebser's "Degrees of Consciousness," (see bottom images below), which are listed as "wakefulness" (in the mental-rational structure), "dream" (the mythic structure), "sleep" (magic structure) and "deep sleep" (archaic structure) may indeed have certain correlations to degrees of consciousness during the normal sleep/wake cycles (in non-trained states) and to also degrees of consciousness experienced in meditative training (hence, the two different lattices). In addition, Gebser's "Degrees of Consciousness" appear to have correspondences with the four major brainwave states on the UR quadrant as described on p. 166 of Integral Spirituality:
| Deep Sleep | Delta waves (1-4 Hz) |
| Dreaming | Theta waves (4-7 Hz) |
| Hypnogogic | Alpha waves (8-13 Hz) |
| Typical waking | Beta waves (13-30 Hz) |
| Meditation | Slow alpha/theta |
| Contemplation | Slow alpha/theta plus beta and delta |
My approach is therefore a three-pronged approach that attempts to integrate the following three methodologies:
 |
|  |
In addition, in the Wilber-Combs Lattice, these states of consciousness are associated with four kinds of mystical experiences beginning with Nature (Gross) mysticism on the left and ending in Nondual (Nondual) mysticism on the right. As I understand it, these mystical states refer more specifically to altered states of consciousness or to trained states rather than to stages of consciousness or to stages of sleep, yet I do see a strong correlation nonetheless when we compare, say, Geber's description of "space-time freedom" in the integral four dimensional structure ("Conscious Spirit") and his description of pre-spatial pre-temporality of the archaic zero dimensional structure ("Unconscious Spirit") with the concept of "Eros," since "space-time freedom" refers to that wholeness and integration with all prior structures and a conscious return to "origin," that is, to archaic pre-spatial, pre-temporal primordiality, which is the source of creativity. Except now in conscious form so no longer "Unconscious Spirit."
This is why I have a slight theoretical problem with the model you set up: by reversing the order of "states" of consciousness beginning at third tier, the parameters of states are changed such that the lattice can no longer be used as a cross-reference to compare various states of consciousness listed horizontally with various stages of consciousness listed vertically. In addition, none of these lattices, whether modified or unmodified (including mine, I might add) account for the Gamma brainwave frequency, which is a newly-discovered very high frequency brainwave pattern that is associated with "insight" and enhanced cognition. This frequency is not associated with any of the states above because it is in reference to very rapid frequencies during the normal "waking" state and range anywhere from 24 Hz to 40 Hz to as high as 100 Hz, depending on the source. It is also my contention that these very rapid frequency states, reflecting enhanced cognition, have correlates with higher stages of consciousness but that its complimentary value, creativity, comes from the lowest structure of archaic zero-dimensional structure. Thus, to be fully integrated, one must have access to both higher cognition as well as to creativity and therefore to the whole.
These are just my initial impressions but let me know what you think. I'm going to copy this comment to a new post so that I can elaborate on it.
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WC fields, resown
Posted February 16th, 2009 by Kerry DuganWith thanks to Barbi Hammond for bumping this post to my attention...
David, your modified W/C Lattice is the first representation I've seen that suggests alternate orders of the state progression (gross, subtle, causal, non-dual).
Reflecting on experience as a meditator I've found that the Lattice would feel more accurate if a 'mirror' were placed at the right edge, if the order of states were extended, flipped, to the right. There seems to be, for example, a pre and post non-dual gross.
I find that The Ox Herding Sequence, long used to describe "stages" of horizontal enlightenment, lends itself to such an interpretation.
As Ken's & Alan's lattice stands I don't see a designation of a dynamic interplay between states, or acknowledgement that, or how, states are changed by shifts in centers-of-gravity.
What you've done with the scheme above turquoise seems to recognize something, somewhere, even if supporting data is still years away.
K
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The Kosmic Globe - what do you think?
Posted May 7th, 2009 by anders
Hi,
I really like these discussions on the Wilber-Combs Lattice and related stuff! Thanks David and Dora and Barbi! It seems we are all groping for a way to include a bit more into the graphics, to account for more of what we - and Wilber - talk about. Some years ago "I" came up with a three dimensional thing, that would make room for mapping more relations within Integral Theory. Since you seem to belong to the rare species that like to play with these things, I include a description of the latest version of the utterly tentative Kosmic Globe here. And I would love reactions of all kinds!
Anders
----------------------------------------------------------
There are more aspects to Wilber´s theories than what is easily illustrated with the four quadrants AQAL map. There are concepts as the prior involution, the turning point of second tier and the highly integrated spiritual stages. None of these phenomena are explicitly graphically pictured in the 4 quadrants. And of course, we have the Wilber-Combs Lattice, which is presented as a separate graphic model, and the recently added 8 zones, whose graphical inclusion in the quadrants could be more intuitive.
There are also concepts that you may think should be included, that so far are missing. To these we have the concept of returning, that appears in various perspectives. At a stage in his theory building, Wilber introduced the “Up from Eden” concept as an opposite to the romantic stance about “returning to the source”. The latter was seen as a promotion of regression, that had to be abandoned, and after that we could see his main models changing from circles to the four quadrants, with arrows pointing out into eternity in all four directions in the AQAL map.
However, there are some very obvious “circles” in Kosmos, that can hardly be denied, for example the returning of the matter of the body to soil after death and Spirit’s urge to return to itself after having lost (abandoned) itself in the world, as the world. And isn’t there something very archetypally attractive in the concept of homecoming, at the culmination of an evolutional process? Wilber says lately on involution: “Profound mystical experience always carries the sense of ’coming home’"
This text is an attempt to picture all of the above mentioned aspects in a single, very simple symbol. In the process, we can integrate the homecoming concept with the concept of the ever rising Eros. In Wilber’s language, we consider them both partially true. What we have to do is introduce another dimension into the picture, a trick that actually is rather “wilberian” in essence.
So, let us look at the Kosmic Globe! For a start, let´s just look at what can be written on the surface of a sphere.
The Four Quadrants then become the surfaces of four segments, where the streams/lines rise along the surface of the globe as “longitudes”, passing the levels, that represent different “latitudes” In this model, it would of course be better to exchange the “upper” and “lower” metaphors from the two dimensional scheme with something else, for example “front” for the individual aspect and “back” for the collective aspect, in which case we would have the four segments FL (front left) FR (front right) BL (back left) BR (back right). The up and down metaphor will then be reserved for the movement along the axis direction (as in “Up from Eden”, “higher” levels etc). As a help you might even project the whole thing on your body with the creative left corresponding to the inner, the linear productive right to the outer and the collective working from behind , in relation to the individual front. See picture 1.
For example – in Picture 1 we see a green line, representing a developmental stream in the AQAL Lower Left quadrant (here Back Left segment). To the left, we see only the two lower quadrants (Back segments), because the others are on the other side (Front side). To the right, in a view from above, we see the same line coming up onto the upper half of the sphere, representing the upper half of the stream.
So, on one hand, the line is constantly rising, moving upwards, away from Eden in the lowest point of the sphere (the S (south) pole). On the other hand, it has somewhere to go. It is performing a curve, departing from and then returning closer to the central axis. This axis of the globe will symbolize an aspect of the Ground of being, literally existing behind/beneath the streams/lines. In the picture, the Ground can maybe be called an infinite limited line (a concept inspired by relativity theory), and as such a potential establishment of a direction, which is evolution. Now we can think of a number of developmental lines in all of the quadrants/segments making their way up the globe’s surface, as a representation of the overall development of a person or other holons. Since we know that it takes a tetra-evolution to reach enduring progress, we can picture the furthest reaches of the different developmental lines performing a concerted, related growth on all sides of the centerline, the necessary precondition for overall growth according to the AQAL theory. We can even picture an ideal spiraling upwards through the quadrants (here segment surfaces) of these line endings.
So in this way, we can discuss what is right in Wilber I and the Romantics picture. We can preserve the idea that the mind/rational level is in a way furthest away from the Ground, and in that way is an important node in creation. Maybe the maximal differentiation takes place here, or at least the greatest urge for differentiation, for a material and conceptual multitude. Maybe we can pose that in some way there is more integration than differentiation on the upper half of the globe. (Cook-Greuter actually poses that in her ego stages graphics). On the way home and at the same time further away, aiming at a “final” integration of the Beyond and the World? Is the equator where 2nd tier starts, with the ability to overlook all 1st tier waves? Is this a useful illustration of this 2nd tier novelty, meaning that we in our normal state are getting closer to the Ground again?
There seems to be a lot more to this. For one thing, we can discuss the strange resemblances between aspects of lower and higher levels/waves in terms of equal distances from the Ground axis - resemblances that among other things bewilder psychiatrists and their patients, such as those between magic and psychic, between lower and higher archetypes etc. The root of the “pre-trans fallacy”, a fallacy that can be illustrated in this perspective.
As the central axis point out the direction of evolution, it therefore also points out the direction of involution as the opposite direction. And involution is then a movement along the axis from north to south, beneath manifestation.
Can the introduction of the new dimension be brought further in a useful way? Let us go beyond the surface of the globe and discuss what a filling of the internal volume of the globe could represent. What comes to mind is of course the Wilber-Combs matrix. This matrix can be projected onto a cross section of the front left segment, corresponding to the UL in AQAL (at least). The analogy of depth for the more “spiritual states” can be applied as the actual depth below the surface of the Kosmic Globe, reaching down to the center line representing the perception of ground of being, the casual mystic state. The gross state will be represented by the surface and the subtle in between, a bit down into the globe. I think we can insert the psychic also, as the flow state, where synchronicities occur. (The W-C matrix seems to mix gross with psychic) Then you can map a state with the corresponding experiencing level/stage/wave onto a point within the globe. See picture 2.
Picture 2..
There are a couple of ways to do this projection. To make a choice, let's look at what we find very near the south pole. Do we have a “normal” gross perception here, or maybe the natural state of a baby is more of a dreamlike subtle state, “interpreted” at the very first sensimotor level. This would suggest that the states would be illustrated as cylinders around the Ground axis, rather than forms projected as banana like slices when you cut the globe in half, which (the latter) would be a more corresponding way to project the matrix.
And the more advanced levels, not so much analyzed but nowadays freed from being defined by states, still may have easier admission to subtle and causal states. This could also point to the cylinder picture.
And the Non-dual? The very sphere itself is good classical analogy for the always already present fullness, (the AQAL plane fails here) resting in the emptiness of the surrounding space, with its creative power (Eros) penetrating the central axis. I find a kind of theoretical beauty here. Here the non-dual would be illustrated by the whole sphere and the surrounding space together. Since we seem to get two causal perspectives here, what would be the relation between the surrounding space and the central axis? Something to play with. Maybe the Big Mind / Big Heart differentiation can be used?
A final reflection can be made around the more recent version of the four quadrants that include an outside and an inside view of each quadrant, and in that way contain eight perspectives, the eight zones. That distinction can possibly also be represented in the Kosmic Globe. The inside view would be a view in the direction from the central axis and outwards and the outside view would be a view in the opposite direction. Interestingly you would get two extreme spiritual views, the Pure Witness looking from the inner axis (resembling for example the “inner channel/s” of tantric Buddhism) and the detached outer view, maybe the extreme scientific perspective. The usefulness of a Kosmic globe as a model here remains to be figured out further.
Enough here, there are of course other ways of using the gained third dimension for various kinds of modeling. I just want to point out that the three dimensional Kosmic Globe variation of AQAL gives room to include more of the complex integral theory into one single picture, and maybe help to reveal not yet considered aspects. Or at least breed interesting discussions on the relations between the different aspects of integral theory.
Anders Erkéus,
Stockholm, Sweden
anders@soundwell.com
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Wilbur-Combs Lattice
Posted October 10th, 2008 by Susan CreminThank you so much David, was really wondering for the last week "where will I look for this particular map". Know the 'Spiral Dynamics' by Don Beck, but was desperately wanting to know about the Wilber-Combs lattice. Not going to give you any 'ideas' right now but only a heartfelt thankyou for the education. Have spent the last two hours with my friend studying and understanding and 'cognizing' the wonderful colour version you posted.