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Blinkers fell from my eyes in 2003 when I discovered Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi). For the first time I could understand why people think and act as they do, and why they disagree with each other so often! Also, I can now observe what is happening in the world with greater clarity and compassion.
The complexity of human behaviour often baffles us, but SDi – based on fifty years research – reveals the hidden codes that shape human nature and underlie the rise and fall of nations and cultures. Human thinking develops like the growth rings on a tree, reflecting the conditions we live in at the time. SDi calls these rings vMemes – value Memes – each producing a world view or belief structure that permeates every aspect of our lives. When conditions change we have the capacity to transcend and include earlier experience in our new thinking. The evolution of societies and whole civilisations follow the same pattern, developing increasing levels of complexity and connecting the entire human race in a beautiful evolutionary spiral.
On the lower levels of the spiral people cannot – they really cannot! – understand why those on other levels think the way they do, and as a result dismiss their ideas as foolish. This explains the failure of so many well-meaning international and other negotiations.
Read about the vMemes in my article in Resurgence
SDi has been successfully employed around the globe for conceiving and implementing real-world integral solutions to social conflicts. It assisted as South Africa moved out of apartheid, helped the Dutch rewrite the law to deal with threats from radical fundamentalists, and is behind innovative programmes to defuse conflict in the Middle East. It has also been used extensively to help businesses reorganise themselves and prosper.
Read more in ‘Life’s Dynamic Spiral’ Mensa Magazine
Read about the ‘Evolution of Consciousness’ in The Beacon
Also see AGELESS WISDOM & SDi in Developmental Innovation
Underpinning the application of SDi is 5 Deep Vital Signs, which provides expert help: a Values test showing the influence of these core intelligences in all your activities, a Change State Indicator, showing where you are on the flow of change in your life, and a Culture Scan profile to help remove barriers to change. There is a mentoring system too.
