Changes

 

 

Twenty-two years ago I stumbled upon a life changing book.  It was “Stages of Faith” by James Fowler.  Fowler taught a form of developmental psychology to seminary students at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.  His vision was to train future pastors to recognize that any given congregation will include a variety of people with differing faith-structures.  The idea was to equip the church to accommodate as well as challenge each type of faith.  Fowler’s academic work is based on meticulously categorized interviews with thousands of people, each describing his or her own spiritual journey, and answering specific survey questions.  The result is that Fowler identifies six distinct stages of faith that are universally applicable, as it turns out, to any faith tradition.   

Twenty-two years ago I stumbled upon a life changing book.  It was “Stages of Faith” by James Fowler.  Fowler taught a form of developmental psychology to seminary students at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.  His vision was to train future pastors to recognize that any given congregation will include a variety of people with differing faith-structures.  The idea was to equip the church to accommodate as well as challenge each type of faith.  Fowler’s academic work is based on meticulously categorized interviews with thousands of people, each describing his or her own spiritual journey, and answering specific survey questions.  The result is that Fowler identifies six distinct stages of faith that are universally applicable, as it turns out, to any faith tradition.   

I.  QUADRANTS

I.  ==QUADRANTS==

From the beginning Wilber collected hundreds of bits of truth, wisdom, and theory from every imaginable source and struggled to make sense of it all.  Many of the concepts in his collection were mutually contradictory.  Then one day he was struck with a sudden flash of insight.  The result was a map of reality he calls “AQAL“ (all quadrants, all levels) which I will attempt to illustrate below.  Basically, the idea is that all existential reality lies in four coterminous dimensions even though we typically remain unconscious of those dimensions in the same way that a fish remains unaware of water.  For present purposes I will limit this discussion to the quadrants as they relate to human consciousness-events.  These are the quadrants:

From the beginning Wilber collected hundreds of bits of truth, wisdom, and theory from every imaginable source and struggled to make sense of it all.  Many of the concepts in his collection were mutually contradictory.  Then one day he was struck with a sudden flash of insight.  The result was a map of reality he calls “AQAL“ (all quadrants, all levels) which I will attempt to illustrate below.  Basically, the idea is that all existential reality lies in four coterminous dimensions even though we typically remain unconscious of those dimensions in the same way that a fish remains unaware of water.  For present purposes I will limit this discussion to the quadrants as they relate to human consciousness-events.  These are the quadrants:

(your subjective awareness) | (your body, its actions, location,  

(your subjective awareness) | (your body, its actions, location,  

(you, as experienced only by you) | biochemistry & physiology)

(you, as experienced only by you) | biochemistry & physiology)

________________________________ | __________________________________

________________________________________|__________________________________________

|

|

Collective Interior | Collective Exterior

Collective Interior | Collective Exterior

(society's shared values) | (society & social organizations)

(society's shared values) | (society & social organizations)

(collective consciousness) | (expression of social ideas; art,  

(collective consciousness) | (expression of social ideas; art,  

(cultural ideas) | architecture, artifacts)

(cultural ideas) | architecture, artifacts)

   

   

II.  STAGES

II.  ==STAGES==

The second key concept is stages.  A stage is essentially a paradigm.  It is a well established mode of being through which we interpret reality.  The time we spend in a given stage is typically measured in years.  Over time stages eventually collapse into a new stage.  This collapse is a slow process but may appear sudden when the final shift occurs, or it may not be consciously noticed at all.  Two (or more) stages will often overlap for a period of time before the new stage becomes fully established.   

The second key concept is stages.  A stage is essentially a paradigm.  It is a well established mode of being through which we interpret reality.  The time we spend in a given stage is typically measured in years.  Over time stages eventually collapse into a new stage.  This collapse is a slow process but may appear sudden when the final shift occurs, or it may not be consciously noticed at all.  Two (or more) stages will often overlap for a period of time before the new stage becomes fully established.   

III.  STATES  

III.  ==STATES==

State means “state of consciousness.”  There are ordinary everyday states of consciousness, and special states of consciousness that Wilber calls "transpersonal."  In spite of the mystical sound of the word, there is nothing magical about a transpersonal state.  It simply refers to a temporary suspension of your normal mode of experiencing everything exclusively through the lens of your individual self.  We all have such moments.  For example, a transpersonal state could arise while interacting with an animal, say your cat, and you have a transforming experience in which you realize that you and the cat are co-participants in an identical existence—a common quest for food, sex, companionship, shelter—and suddenly you are sharing consciousness and your normal sense of separate identity seems to dissolve as you are absorbed into the other for a brief moment.  In this case you have transcended the merely personal which is all that “transpersonal” means.   

State means “state of consciousness.”  There are ordinary everyday states of consciousness, and special states of consciousness that Wilber calls "transpersonal."  In spite of the mystical sound of the word, there is nothing magical about a transpersonal state.  It simply refers to a temporary suspension of your normal mode of experiencing everything exclusively through the lens of your individual self.  We all have such moments.  For example, a transpersonal state could arise while interacting with an animal, say your cat, and you have a transforming experience in which you realize that you and the cat are co-participants in an identical existence—a common quest for food, sex, companionship, shelter—and suddenly you are sharing consciousness and your normal sense of separate identity seems to dissolve as you are absorbed into the other for a brief moment.  In this case you have transcended the merely personal which is all that “transpersonal” means.   

CONCLUSION

==CONCLUSION==

If we could distill this whole discussion into a single principle it would be:  The value of states increases in direct proportion to advancement through the stages.  A lot of American Buddhism has the cart before the horse—it is seeking the instant gratification of states instead of the long-term investment of stages.  It has often consisted of little more than the idea that meditation leads to mystical experiences that will result in "enlightenment."  But mystical states can be just another yuppie achievement in this context.  Transpersonal states of mind are to be thought of as neither an achievement nor an attainment.  They are a tool that, when combined with right thinking, will help us dump achievement, dump attainment, and dump ego.  The idea that "meditation causes enlightenment" is a classic example of prerational magical thinking.  While Wilber promotes Buddhism, seemingly because of its advantage of having a more straightforward spiritual language than other religious options, he also clearly argues that the mystical states of mind often popularly associated with Buddhism have little value unless they occur in an advanced stage of faith and that is something that can occur within (or without) any religion.  His message to us is simple:  "Grow up!" meaning grow though the stages of faith.  That's where our spirituality should be focused—right thinking; right interpretation; right paradigm.  If "enlightenment" itself has any meaning, then we saw it in the seventh stage:  the right paradigm combined with the right [sustainable] state of mind.

If we could distill this whole discussion into a single principle it would be:  The value of states increases in direct proportion to advancement through the stages.  A lot of American Buddhism has the cart before the horse—it is seeking the instant gratification of states instead of the long-term investment of stages.  It has often consisted of little more than the idea that meditation leads to mystical experiences that will result in "enlightenment."  But mystical states can be just another yuppie achievement in this context.  Transpersonal states of mind are to be thought of as neither an achievement nor an attainment.  They are a tool that, when combined with right thinking, will help us dump achievement, dump attainment, and dump ego.  The idea that "meditation causes enlightenment" is a classic example of prerational magical thinking.  While Wilber promotes Buddhism, seemingly because of its advantage of having a more straightforward spiritual language than other religious options, he also clearly argues that the mystical states of mind often popularly associated with Buddhism have little value unless they occur in an advanced stage of faith and that is something that can occur within (or without) any religion.  His message to us is simple:  "Grow up!" meaning grow though the stages of faith.  That's where our spirituality should be focused—right thinking; right interpretation; right paradigm.  If "enlightenment" itself has any meaning, then we saw it in the seventh stage:  the right paradigm combined with the right [sustainable] state of mind.

Wilber’s tendency to place cultures and ideas in a hierarchy of importance and value is rooted not so much in pure elitism as in his strong connection to German Idealism as represented by philosophers such as Hegel, and especially Schelling, who hold that evolution is driving history toward a cosmic goal .  This idealism sees history as an upward evolutionary spiral in which Spirit, as the underpinning of nature, is animating all of Being toward the goal of complete Self-Consciousness.  Assuming the correctness of the metaphysics of idealism, it logically follows that the further along in history we are the more advanced we are in consciousness growth, collectively speaking, and thus we have greater potential overall for spiritual enlightenment than those from past centuries.  If this philosophy constitutes “elitism” then Wilber is guilty as charged.

Wilber’s tendency to place cultures and ideas in a hierarchy of importance and value is rooted not so much in pure elitism as in his strong connection to German Idealism as represented by philosophers such as Hegel, and especially Schelling, who hold that evolution is driving history toward a cosmic goal .  This idealism sees history as an upward evolutionary spiral in which Spirit, as the underpinning of nature, is animating all of Being toward the goal of complete Self-Consciousness.  Assuming the correctness of the metaphysics of idealism, it logically follows that the further along in history we are the more advanced we are in consciousness growth, collectively speaking, and thus we have greater potential overall for spiritual enlightenment than those from past centuries.  If this philosophy constitutes “elitism” then Wilber is guilty as charged.

 

For additional reading I refer the interested reader to Ken Wilber, Integral Spirituality: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

For additional reading I refer the interested reader to Ken Wilber, Integral Spirituality: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Religion]]