Review of Our Spiritual DNA by Carmel Niland

I  just recently finished this fascinating book:

Spiritual DNA Book Review by Lalia Wilson

Carmel Niland’s book, Our Spiritual DNA: Twelve Ascended Masters and the Evidence for Our Divine Ancestry, stands by itself. Niland spent 25 years researching this book and it incorporates spiritual lore from Western sources, as well as some from the East. Niland’s thesis is that every human alive has a spiritual lineage that leads back to one of the twelve Ascended Masters, and to God. This spiritual DNA is not transmitted parent to child like our physical DNA, but instead assigned pre-birth through spiritual means to serve a specific purpose according to our life plan.

While many may take this book to mean a literal spiritual DNA, it is equally valid to consider these connections as threads of personalities, thus not requiring any particular spiritual approach nor violating anyone’s religion.

The book focuses mostly on western thought and western history, particularly through the lives of St. Germain and Mary’s three aspects as Mary the Mother, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the High Priestess. The focus on Western thought and history is for two reasons, one is the amount of material as we have 272 pages for an introduction and information on two Ascended Masters. The second reason, as Niland states, is that exploring some of the spiritual DNA lineages will require writers who are familiar with and likely speak the languages and know the cultures of other parts of the world.

Just as we as individuals might reincarnate as different genders over many lifetimes, so too will do the Ascended Masters. Both we and the Masters may have a preferred gender. Since there are 12 Ascended Masters and over 7 billion people on this earth, needless to say each Master is simultaneously embodied in many people. Mention is made of all twelve Ascended Masters and their psycho-spiritual traits and embodiments in human history.

The short spiritual biographies of various historical figures are fascinating. The name of the Ascended Master St. Germain, comes from his incarnation as Claude-Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain. As Saint Germain he was a linguist, violinist, raconteur, philosopher, mystic and alchemist. He was a bright light in pre-Revolutionary France and across Europe, given rooms near Versailles by King Louis XV. But the Ascended Master St. Germain has many leading roles in history following three sub-types as Pan, Loki, and Eros. He is mischievous, lucky and lustful. His Pan persona is connected to nature and manifested as the biblical Noah, Johnny Appleseed, and Robin Hood. He lived as famous dancers such as Rudolph Nureyev. He is also famous as a seducer in his lives as Casanova, Julius Caesar, and as Krishna with his 14,000 wives. As a debaucher he lived as King Charles II and Lord Byron. Ultimately St. Germain’s goals were to bring light to the world which he did as Thomas Edison, Homer, Plato, Lao Tzu, St. Patrick, and Columbus. These are just a few of the manifestations of St. Germain in history and in contemporary life. The energy of St. Germain is innovative, starting and establishing language, poetry, art, science, dance, music, entertainment, philosophy, engineering, navigation…

Mary has a quieter style. She displays grace and style as prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn, designer Coco Chanel and Empress Josephine. Mary is restless and questing as Robin Hood’s partner Maid Marian, poet Emily Dickinson, and novelist Virginia Woolf. Mary is a guardian of nature and creation as biologist Rachel Carson, and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Mary is the co-founder, partner, and colleague in the founding of spiritual movements.

In discussions of these threads through history there are some explanations of what seems to be evil. For example Queen Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, had to fail in her duty to keep Egypt safe and independent so that power across the Mediterranean could be consolidated in Rome. Stalin’s purpose was to preserve Russia as an independent country.

The book concludes with ways to identify your particular spiritual energy, the result of which will assist you in aligning with your current life path. Methods to identify your particular Ascended Master include your first name and middle name, your aura color(s), and how you see particular threads repeating in your own life. To digress, even if you cannot see your aura color, and don’t have anyone to read it for you, most likely you will have a preference in color in your life—clothing, décor, your automobile—that is quite likely your aura color.

This writer received a free review copy from the publisher.

 

Why “Sanctions” are not the Answer, by Lalia Wilson

The United States has applied sanctions to many governments with the aim to change that government’s laws and actions. For the most part these sanctions have not been effective in changing the countries against which the sanctions are aimed, and instead cause real suffering to the people.

Since the countries involved are not modern democracies, and may not have much of a consumer economy, the people, who have very little if any power to make the changes, are the ones who suffer. Among places where people are suffering now, and their suffering would be eased if sanctions were lifted (or redesigned), are North Korea, Venezuela, and Iran. In each of those countries the people suffer and the rulers continue with their actions that cause hardship to their people.

Now there are calls to “sanction” Saudi Arabia for the horrific crime of murdering a Saudi national in the Saudi embassy in Turkey. Intelligence services in Turkey and the United States are convinced that the Saudi national, journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was tortured, murdered and dismembered at the embassy itself, by a team from Saudi Arabia directed by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

In Saudi Arabia the common people have little to no say in policy matters. Any sanctions that will negatively affect the common people will cause their suffering for no good purpose. The Saudi Royal family, is an immensely wealthy (estimated at $1.4 trillion) group of 15,000 members. However foreign policy experts say that the majority of the power and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Those 2,000 people are the only ones who determine domestic and foreign policy in the Kingdom. Any sanctions needs to be targeted to those 2,000 people.

Here are my suggestions. Announce that any Saudi journalists who wish to immigrate to the U.S.A. will get green cards as well as their immediate family members who accompany them. This will bring transparency to the maneuvers of the royal family and circulate that information to all the people of the Kingdom (via the internet). There would be so many journalists now in America that any moves against them individually would not stop the exposés. Also, any moves against them would immediately fall under American law with all the remedies available therein.

Secondly I would target economic sanctions to the royal family of Saudi Arabia. I would freeze their financial accounts in all banks doing business in the United States. I would tax their profits on any US sales at 100%, and audit the books of all companies with which they earn those profits no matter which country the business calls home, so as to make sure the taxes are paid. A further action, which I’m not sure the US would do because of the precedent, is to make those financial records publicly available. Then the people of Saudi Arabia would know more about their leaders’ actions, as would the world.

I would maintain the green card policy for Saudi journalists for at least one year, but have an expiration date. For the economic sanctions I would require some official action by Saudi Arabia that assumes responsibility for the death of Khashoggi, provides reparations to his family, and penalizes the Crown Prince. (I have my doubts about the death penalty for the team sent under orders from the Crown Prince. Is it right to execute them for following orders?)

In summary, I am suggesting several ways to open up the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to scrutiny and sanctions targeted to the people who are the decision-makers.  

A Response in the Right Direction: North Korea

North Korea appears to have hacked the Sony computer network, capturing many private business communications and some of their soon-to-be-released movies.  This has hugely damaged the Sony Company.  Apparently the motivation was Sony’s expected new film, The Interview, in which a team is recruited to assassinate North Korea’s President, Kim Jong-un.  Clearly, Mr. Kim was not pleased.  North Korea threatened a terrorist attack on theaters playing this movie, the movie theater chains elected not to screen the film, and Sony “withdrew” the film from release on Christmas Day 2014.

A big picture look at this contretemps shows two sides: a young man in North Korea with little ability, personal or experiential, to deal with the modern world, and the modern world, or the developed world, or the first world, that has little regard to any forces that stop free speech.

But let’s look more deeply.  Mr. Kim is clearly a sensitive man.  He is the absolute ruler of his country and does not have to accommodate any disagreement with his authority or any lack of extreme politeness on the part of people interacting with him.  Briefly, having a movie being released that is about assassinating oneself is not a situation that most people, including westerners, would respond to with aplomb.  

But, let’s look further.  Mr. Kim is quite young, 31, to be the head of a modern country.  In the U.S., for example, a person is not eligible for the highest office until age 35.  In addition to being young, Mr. Kim spent his childhood isolated from the problems of his people, and from the problems of the world.  He represents the things that are wrong with hereditary political systems—isolation from the concerns of the governed and knowledge of the greater world.  Secondly, Asian cultures have the concept of “face.”  In Asia, one does not deliberately put a powerful person in a bad light unless he wants undying hatred and retribution.  Mr. Kim has responded exactly as expected to this threat to his face.

Now for the other side.  The Western world has unfortunately had many encounters with repressive regimes that stifle free speech in their own countries, and attempt to stifle free speech in the world.  Most notably this has been with regard to the Muslims in the Arab world and in Iran, who allow no criticism of their religion, yet prominently satirize and criticize Judaism and Christianity.  After years of this affront to western eyes from the Middle East, North Korea steps into the controversy, in effect inheriting the quarrel.  So North Korea is not only being preyed upon because of its own failures, but is also, in some ways, a proxy for the Middle Eastern states.

What are some effective ways to resolve this situation? 

Here are some responses that North Korea could have made.  One is to call up Sony Pictures and to ask about their upcoming film.  To have responded with a suggestion to host a blow-out world premiere for the film in North Korea, on the order of a modern Olympics Opening Session.  This would have put the spotlight on North Korea in a good way, allowing NK to highlight the positives in their country.  Another response would be to make a film of similar or superior quality with the assassination of some western icon: the Koch brothers, Sony’s President, Johnny Appleseed, Alfred E. Newman…  And to release that film to great fanfare.  Showing one’s sensitivity and vulnerability is not the answer.  Showing humor and irony is better!

Now, what could the west do better?  One way is to make sure this dubious film is now released in some way.  However, what the North Korean leadership most abhors is allowing their citizens to know about, and interact with the world, especially with their cousins in South Korea who speak the same language, share the same heritage until 1953, and are now highly prosperous and modernized.  Connecting North Koreans with uncensored internet and telecommunications would end the isolation and would sooner or later make the leadership have to amend their policies so that North Koreans can be as successful as their South Korean Cousins.  Could we set up uncensored WiFi just across North Korea’s borders?  That would be a good start.  We could also make sure that North Koreans had the means to access the net and the telecommunications…

Another approach would be to sponsor a film contest showing a future vision of a perfected North Korea.  This could be a contest at film schools, or a contest open to all filmmakers with a substantial incentive to participate and to make a winning film.  These films could be publicly screened, again with some access made so that North Korean citizens could view them.  Perhaps the North Korean citizens could vote regarding their choice of winner?

Another film approach would be a contest depicting a resolution of the suffering of the North Korean people.  Unlike the documentary approach likely in the future vision scenario, this might encourage more dramatic fiction, and possibly engage people’s hearts more.

These are just starting ideas about peaceful ways to resolve the mess that now exists in North Korean-American relations.  May we together find a peaceful solution and a way to end the suffering of all!

How the Memes View Global Warming

I’ve been musing for some time about how the different levels of consciousness, or memes, deal with societal issues. Quickly, each meme or level is a step towards greater consciousness and encapsulates a distinct world-view. While you can find extensive discussion of these memes in the work of Ken Wilber and Steve McIntosh, here is just an excerpt. The predominate memes among adults in the US today are the Traditionalist (Blue/Amber), the Rationalist (Orange) and the Pluralist (Green).

The Traditionalist meme believes in God and Country, and believes that behavior should be regulated by the Laws of God. American Traditionalists are big proponents of The 10 Commandments, because of the super-majority of Christians in our society, but Traditionalists are found in all societies and hew to a strict view of God’s Law as is appropriate for their culture—think Sharia Law, or The Taliban. Traditionalists are the largest block of US adults, but are less than 40%. They are less prevalent in Western European nations.

The next level, Rationalists, are about the evidence. They have broken with God, in many instances, unable to reconcile religious tenants with modern science, and wish to have a society in which economic and scientific facts determine public laws. For the most part, Rationalists want government to step back from most regulation, as Rationalists do not want to be imposed upon, nor do they especially want to impose on others. (Except perhaps for education, which to them must include modern science.)

The third major meme in today’s American society is the Pluralists. Pluralists are big believers in the equality of all, the story of all, the fair process, and “political correctness.” At their worst, Pluralists want a society in which individuals are coerced into environmentally friendly behavior, some form of Gaian worship (which may be incorporated into Christianity), and making sure not to offend anyone.  The Pluralist world is idealized in Starhawk's novel, The Fifth Sacred Thing, and in the film Avatar, and the Jean Auel's Earth's Children sextet.

How do these three memes, the overwhelming majority of today’s adult citizens, see global warming?

The Traditionalists see the effects of Global Warming as God’s Judgment. New Orleans was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina because it was a town of sinners. They got what they deserved. The solution, to Traditionalists, is to behave better, to join a church, to live right. Then God won’t send any more hurricanes or other disasters. When Traditionalists think about environmental legislation, they want to be aligned with God. What would Jesus do? They will search through a Bible for some appropriate verse that might apply. Any laws that are secular ought to be obeyed, though, because good Godly people OBEY the law.

Rationalists are entirely different. They see global warming as the consequence of changes that can be scientifically demonstrated. The remedies ought to be scientific and economic in nature. Examples of these are treaties to clean the air, clean the oceans, have “trade credits” to swap, so as to avoid consequences of applying all laws evenly to all entities. Environmental regulations on the books mostly follow the precepts of the Rationalists.

Pluralists make the Earth a Goddess, Gaia. They have emotional and spiritual attachments to Gaia, even if they do not specifically recognize the name. They want everyone to tread lightly on earth, have a low carbon footprint, otherwise we are disrespecting Gaia. They feel Gaia’s pain. They want laws to make everyone respect Gaia.

Fortunately there are at least two higher memes, even though few are operating at those levels: Integral and Holistic. The Integral meme is the first to recognize the entire developmental sequence. The Integral meme is not sentimental, but acknowledges the importance of each step along the way. Integralists want laws and policies that work with the natural urges of each meme. Thus successful laws and policies would uphold Traditionalists’ beliefs in God, Law and Order. They would uphold the scientific and economic strategies of the Rationalists. And they would uplift the love of Gaia of the Pluralists. But Integral policies and laws would not allow the lower memes to be in charge of the process.

Integral policies about global warming would acknowledge the unlikely reversibility of the global warming trend—even the most astringent adherence to new laws would only turn the corner on global warming 20 years down the road. Integral policies would start dealing with the realities of the situation. More hurricanes, more severe hurricanes, more tornados, more rising sea levels, all those are in our future. Integralists would start demanding that low-lying towns be moved inland, to higher elevations, or put on stilts, instead of being rebuilt as before—especially when the public is paying for it. Integralists know that another flood will be coming. This is how Integralists see the environmental situation: without sentiment, with practical suggestions.

What about that higher meme? The Holistic meme, which is almost unpopulated, is more about allowing human beings of less evolved memes to make the mistakes they must make in order to learn. Holists have compassionate hearts, but do not see needs to get overly excited. Their interventions would be directed to systems, especially education. Holists are not public forces in society at this time.



Lalia Wilson

A fan of Integral Theory

For more on the actual process of dealing with Global Climate Changes, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation_to_global_warming#Necessity_for_adaptation

How the USA’s Enneagram Type Assists or Thwarts You!

The Enneagram is a system of understanding yourself and others. Basically it lists nine types of personalities, identified by number so as to insure neutrality. This system is further complicated by the relationships numbers have with one another and the three universal sub-types or variants—self-preservation, sexual and social.

It turns out that countries have dominant enneagram types, and sub-types. France is a Four culture, Canada is a Social Nine, and the USA is a Social Three.

Let us look at what the role of the dominant culture means to the spectrum of individuals within that culture, who naturally represent all the possible types. We will limit our discussion to the United States of America, with an easily recognizable Social Three type, but the method is equally applicable to other cultures and subcultures within the dominate culture.

What does a Social Three dominant culture mean? The Social variant means that the expected way of being in the US is for people to be social, not the intensity of the sexual type (also called one-to-one ), or the hermit-like style of the self-preservation style. This Social variant is most easily recognized in the Presidential election season where every candidate needs a full “social” calendar and is expected to spend most of the day interacting with groups of people!

What does the Three mean? Three culture is one of personal achievement, picking oneself up by one’s bootstraps, salesmanship , self-promotion. An example of an individual with this style is the actor Tom Cruise, who is always a Three, but especially his role in Jerry Maguire.

Each type has a natural connection with some other types and two types with no connection. Since type Three is our dominant culture in the USA, the way Three interacts with other types plays out in individual’s roles in the larger society. Let us go through the nine types to see which are advantaged and which are not.

As a type Three culture, type Three is in the privileged position. Type Threes are living the national myth of self promotion and achievement. If you are a type Three in this culture, you are directly and positively connected to the national story and myth.

Type Three as two possible wings—the adjoining types. Type Two, the Helper, is advantaged as part of the community spirit of volunteering and helping others, as the wife and helpmate, as the one who makes the whole work. The other wing, Type Four, is the artist. Here we have entertainment, especially music, television and film, as major national economic systems and major exports. We value our type Fours.

Three’s direction of integration is the type Six, the Skeptic or Loyalist. The positive side of Six is the patriot, who sacrifices for the common good. But there is a downside to Six in our culture, the Tea Party, Arian Nation, Gun Rights combination of extreme isolation from the mainstream and from the world community.  Timothy McVeigh would be an example of this version of Six.

The direction of disintegration is type Nine, the peacemaker or mediator. At its best, we have the Marshall Plan, international diplomacy, peaceful multi-cultural neighborhoods. But there is again a downside. The Nine can manifest as the lazy, the welfare nation, those who are expecting (rightly or wrongly) to be supported by others.

We have now explored type Three’s connection to four other types: Two, Four, Six and Nine. Together they are five of the nine types. Each type has a fascination with its two opposite types. For Three these are Seven and Eight. Type Seven is the adventurer, the explorer, the bon vivant. The US culture admires type Sevens, holding them up in literature, television and movies. Think of Lewis and Clark and their expedition to explore the Northwestern part of what is now the United States.  The downside of type Seven is the addict, and we have plenty of people who are addicted to fame, sugar, alcohol and drugs.

Type Eight is also an object of fascination for the Three. Eight is the Boss, the Director, the Master. We need our strong heroes. Consider the adoration of winning Generals in times past: MacArthur and Patton and Eisenhower, Grant and Robert E. Lee! The downside of the powerful Eight is the crime lord: Al Capone would be an example.

We now have two types that are not directly connected to type Three: One and Five. These two types are less at home in American culture. They are almost always seen as their negative stereotypes, not their positive expressions. Type One is the Perfectionist, the Purist, the Saint. Ones are seen as their negatives in the religious extremists of American history, who have lives of simplicity, purity and little commerce. Consider the Salem Witch Trials as an example. Type Five is the Theoretician, the Scholar, the Scientist. Fives are not highly regarded in our culture, as seen in much popular culture with the Mad Scientist as a stock character. They are nerds, and crazy or evil scientists.

How does understanding the USA’s Social Three type help us understand the world? The downside of the Three is the Self-Aggrandizer who has little or nothing to promote. We are seen as loudmouthed people who lack much depth, but expect to always have the leadership position. Countries of other types will each seen us differently, with some more inclined to our favor than others. The innate connection between Three and Nine, for example, explains the natural alliance of the USA with Canada. Countries with strong One or Five cultures would be less swayed by our press releases.

For individuals knowing the dominant culture tells us how we can make our way. The dominant culture is Three. How does our type connect with Three? Two types are particularly disadvantaged in a Three culture: One and Five. These types are best isolating themselves in a subculture that honors their type, with links to the main culture through appropriate types that can bridge the difference.

Other types will find themselves cast in particular roles, as their type is seen by Threes. It is helpful to understanding that assignment, if not necessarily to limit themselves by it.

Understanding a country’s enneagram type is very helpful to individuals immersed in that culture and to other countries and their understanding. 

I hope this has assisted you in understanding yourself and your culture.

Lalia

How a system of understanding impacts culture: BaZi

The ancient Chinese system of telling time, understanding nature, and divination known as BaZi or Four Pillars astrology is important in understanding the culture of China. This influence impacts China and other Asian cultures today; it is not an historical artifact.  Immediately below is the BaZi for the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan this year.

What is BaZi? It is a system of telling time, and understanding the physical, psychological and spiritual environment, by using 60 combinations of element and animal. The Chinese system uses five elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. Each can exist in yin or yang form. There are twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Six of these are yang: Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey and Dog. The other six are yin: Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Sheep, Rooster and Pig. Each animal pairs with each of the elements to form a cycle of 60. These cycles are 60 years, 60 months, 60 days and 60 hours (Chinese hours are two western hours).

Each moment in time can be pinpointed (within two hours, and within a 60 year cycle) by a combination of the four pillars. I am writing this on 03 Oct 2011 at 9:48 am EDT in East Tennessee. In BaZi this is the Yin Water Snake hour, the Yin Metal Rabbit day, the Yin Fire Rooster month and the Yin Metal Rabbit year.

Each person is thus described by the combination of pillars for the day and time he was born. But more specifically, he is described by the Day Master, the element of the day of his birth. In the illustration above it is Yin Metal. Knowing one’s Day Master, and whether it is weak or strong, lets you know what times and seasons are favorable for you and which are ones where you need to attend to personal business only and not stick your head up. A strong Day Master has three elements which are favorable; a weak Day Master has only two. In the cycle of 60, a strong Day Master will have 24 days of everything going in his favor, about 16 when all forces are against him, and the remaining 20 days are mixed. A weak Day Master will have about 16 favorable days, 24 days with all forces against him, and 20 days of mixed luck. Although the illustration above is for a strong Day Master, most people and most BaZi are for weak Day Masters.

Knowing your favorable elements, which depends upon whether your Day Master is weak or strong and which element it is, allows you to know when to step out, and when to hunker down. It is the “hunker down” part that is more pronounced with Asian cultures, and I propose that it comes directly from understanding and using BaZi over centuries. It has become part of the culture.

In contrast, Western cultures uplift individuals who step forward and act without regard to their individual fortune. One might say in ignorance of their BaZi. However if one did a BaZi analysis of prominent individuals, most would be shown to manifest their success as their element is rewarded by the changing cycles.

May you grow in understanding, and have the elements in your favor!

Lalia

More Thoughts on Integral Compatibility

I want to highlight one of the implications of the model I suggested for Integral Compatibility. It suggests that relationships gain when both parties grow in levels of psycho-spiritual development.

Let us consider two people with average compatibility in type, state, lines and quadrants. Thus, their score on these would be 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 5. If they are both at the Traditional level of development, their total compatibility is 5. If they are both at the Modern level of development, their total compatibility is 7.5. If Pluralist, 10. If Integral 12.5. Both parties gain from the relationship when each advances in psycho-spiritual development.

Now consider how an excellent relationship benefits from psycho-spiritual development. Here the base score of type, state, lines and quadrants is much higher: 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 = 10. If they are both at Traditional, their overall score is 10. If Modern, 15. If Pluralist, 20. If Integral, 25!

Thus, in addition to having basic compatibility, psycho-spiritual growth adds dimensions to already good relationships that parties may never have realized were possible!

The moral here is that psycho-spiritual development makes all things better. It makes average relationships good, and it makes good relationships great.

Lalia

Thoughts on Integral Compatibility

I have pondered the mysteries of compatibility, whether in friendships, business relationships or sexual relationships. My long-time bias has been towards understanding types and their compatibility. But finally I have arrived at viewing compatibility in a much more complex way. Below is a provisional model of Integral Compatibility.

Let’s start with the understanding that this is a model, which I’ve expressed mathematically. Think of compatibility as an overlap in space. The greater the volume of overlap, the more compatible individuals are with one another.

My favorite measure of compatibility is Type . Using the enneagram as your typology, and knowing your specific type, we would indicate compatibility as follows: 3 points for types that are on either side of your type. That would be, if you are a Type 3, a +3 points for the other person being either a Type 2 or a Type 4. Add +2 if the other person is across the enneagram from you, that is (for a Type 3) Types 7 or 8. Add +1 point if the other person is your same type, or your stress or flow type—that is, Type 3 with Types 3, 6 and 9. Add +½ point if the other person is one of the two remaining types; for Type 3 this is Types 1 and 5.

Moving on to States, add one point for each state that both parties consciously, deliberately share. For most people, this will only be the gross, physical state. For those not used to the concept of state experience, we each exist and perceive gross, subtle, causal and non-dual states. However, most of us only have voluntary competence in the gross state. I suspect that many couples add on a second shared state (most likely subtle) by the use of drugs or alcohol. This is only a temporary asset to compatibility, and not recommended.

Lines of development add more compatibility. Add one point, with a maximum of three possible, for each significant personal line of development common to the other party. Lines of development could include items such as the following: same college degrees, same profession, same religion and religious commitment, and other items of personal mastery that are important to both parties. If both are masters of the same line, but one does not value this line, it is not part of the compatibility equation.

Quadrant bias: add one point for each shared quadrant perspective. Thus, if both parties share a focus on the interior-individual quadrant, valuing dreams, meditation, spiritual experiences, than this is +1. If both parties value the physical self, through extensive personal fitness, nutrition, exercise, athleticism, and so forth, +1. If both value infrastructure and systems of group interaction, add +1. If both value a shared cultural bias, add +1.

At this point, you have a compatibility score for any two people which is the sum of scores for Type, State, Line and Quadrant compatibilities. Now we will look at the levels of development.

Consider the normal level of development for adults in the country where parties live. For the United States this would be the Traditional level of development. (Also known as the Blue meme, or Amber meme.) If both parties share this, add +1. Add + 0.5 for each additional level they share above Traditional. Thus, if one party is at Modern, and the other at Pluralist, add +1 for their shared Traditional, and +0.5 for their shared Modern, or +1.5. Only add additional points if both parties share that meme. If one or both parties are not up to Traditional, then only allot them +½ point.

Now, multiply the Level score times the combined scores for type, state, line and quadrant.

Several examples to illustrate this compatibility:

Person A, who is an enneagram type 9, gross state, many lines of development, functions in all four quadrants and is at integral development, with:

Person B, who is an enneagram type 3, gross and subtle states, many lines of development, functions in two quadrants and is at pluralist development.

A and B compatibility: 1 + 1 + 3 + 2 = 7 multiplied by 2 to get a compatibility score of 14. (We got the first 1 from type, the second 1 from state, the 3 from shared lines, and the 2 from shared quadrant perspectives.)

Person C is an enneagram type 5, with gross and subtle states, multiple lines of development (2 shared with A), integral development and two quadrants.

Person A with person C: 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 7 multiplied by 2.5 (shared traditional, modern, pluralist and integral development) to get a score of 17.5.

Person D is an enneagram type 6, with gross state, fewer lines of development (1 shared with A, two quadrant bias, and Traditional development.

Person A with person D: 1+ 1 + 1 + 2 = 5, multiplied by 1 gives a score of 5.

Person E is an enneagram type 1, gross state, several lines of development (2 shared with person D), and one quadrant bias. This person is at the Warrior stage of development.

Person D with Person E: 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 6 multiplied by ½ as one person, E, is not up to the cultural norm, gives a score of 3.

This may seem too mathematical to some readers, but it indicates the importance of personal levels of development, and how they can hugely affect the perceived compatibility of any two people. It also explains the relatively shallow nature of most relationships as viewed by people who are at integral development, or higher. Fairly minimal compatibility becomes important when both parties are highly developed. And conversely, large compatibility (of type, states, lines and quadrants) does not mean much if the developmental levels of the parties are below the norms for their social matrix.

Lalia Wilson

Integral Sexual Ethics: Notes on Baratta's Thesis

Emily Ann Baratta posted her MA Thesis, dated December 2010, online. I have reviewed the 179 page document. Here are some thoughts about this groundbreaking work.

I begin by applauding Baratta’s courage to pioneer this controversial topic with new insights. Her work may serve to reduce suffering in the world. I particularly lift up her courage in the amount of first person accounting she gave to indicate her personal expertise and bias regarding the topic. The book is about ethics and Baratta indicates that she is an Enneagram Type One, the enneagram type that focuses on ethics!

Baratta primarily focuses on three levels of development, pre-Conventional, Conventional and post-Conventional. These broadly indicate Tribal & Warrior, Traditional, and Modernist & Pluralist memes. Someone new to the integral worldview would probably write a whole thesis just on the levels of development as they apply to sexuality, but Baratta continues to other topics. First, though, a brief summary of why the distinctions of pre-C, Conventional and post-C are important. Pre-Conventional people are likely to be younger as well as more impulsive in their sexual behavior. That is, more impulsive because of youth in addition to more impulsive because they lack the Conventional morality that would likely restrain some of their sexual impulses. Conventional people have very strict ideas of sexual behavior and attempt to follow them. Post-conventional people are familiar with social conventions, are able to restrain themselves, and are free to choose their individual sexual mores. Baratta refers several times to Ken Wilber’s pre-post fallacy, in which the sexual freedom of both groups can be wrongly seen as the same phenomenon. (Wilber’s pre-post fallacy includes many ways the two are mistaken for each other, not just in matters of sexual behavior.)

Much of Baratta’s thesis speaks in terms of first person versus second person versus third person sex. First person sex is sexuality only from the perspective of one view: masturbation or using another’s body as a form of masturbation. There are things one can learn from these practices, and altered states attainable, but first person sex is not ideal for most people. Second person sex means that both (all) parties having sex are aware of and considerate of the interiority of the other person (s) as well as themselves. Third person sex looks at some of the social implications of sexuality. Baratta discusses pregnancy, abortion and STDs at some length. To me, more needs to be said about the social implications, but I will address that later.

One new perspective was Baratta indicating that those practicing BDSM (and likely other kinks) are seeking an altered state experience, many instead of orgasm. This makes sense in some ways. Baratta mentions Jenny Wade’s groundbreaking book Transcendent Sex, which lifted up the powerful, frequently unspoken, altered state experiences that many have spontaneously had while engaging in sex. I have read Wade’s book, and discussed it with several Integral groups. I also have had altered state experiences while engaged in sex. However, my bias is clearly in favor of orgasm as the expected outcome of sex, with any altered state as a bonus.

In Baratta’s discussion of third person sex she indicates directions for public policies. I would like to see this conversation carried much further, either by Baratta or by other pioneers who will bring an Integral view to this vexing social problem. To me, much suffering happens in Conventional America due to so few legitimate outlets for the creative and pleasurable forces of sexuality. As a society do we wish to perpetuate this suffering? Make it a requirement that all public figures be conventional or non-sexual in order to hold high offices?

I would like to see a lessening of public condemnation of sexual behaviors of public figures, which is not to say all sexual behaviors are honorable or suitable for public consumption. However to forever disqualify individuals who have active sex lives, in which their partner(s) are treated as individuals of worth and dignity, from all public life is unreasonable. Is not the public also caught in the morality play of a conventional bias and confusing pre-conventional sexual misbehavior with post-conventional sexual ethics?

Lalia Wilson

Are US Voters a Group of Brats?

I was struck by a Eugene Robinson commentary in today's Washington Post about the electorate as a group of spoiled brats.  He says, "In the punditry business, it's considered bad form to question the essential wisdom of the American people. But at this point, it's impossible to ignore the obvious: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats."

He then goes on to explain that politicians must promise easy and quick fixes to problems, yet once elected they will not be able to provide the same.  Our problems (local, national, international) are complex and interlinked.  I want to point out that what Robinson is saying means he is either already an integral thinker, or rapidly becoming one.

To the integralist, fixing one "problem," like illegal immigration for example, with the desire "simple solution" only produces problems elsewhere.  Real solutions depend upon looking at problems from all sides, taking incremental actions over time, and changing course when we discover that our unintended consequences are worse than the problem.

Historical examples of this would include the "eradication" of malaria in the US through DDT spraying of mosquito breeding areas.  The unintended consequences were devastation to the bird population.  The resulting change was to use smaller amounts of less toxic (to avians) pesticides.  Similarly, proposals to "get tough" with illegal immigration do not realize the negative results to the US as well as to the home countries of the immigrants.  Returning large numbers of unemployed people to countries with no jobs for them is a recipe for violent change. 

May we grow in integral understanding as individuals and as a society!

See Eugene Robinson's entire article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090203992.html?nav%3Dhcmoduletmv

Lalia

How Important is Type?

The Integral Model of Ken Wilber postulates five independent variables: state, stage, line, quadrant and type. Type is frequently overlooked by Integralists as being “obvious,” yet it is overlooked by Pluralists, Rationalists and Traditionalists for other reasons.

Pluralists tend to disown any hierarchy, any difference of ability, in the big illusion that we are all “equal.” Ken Wilber speaks a lot about that fallacy, so I’ll only mention here that being equal means having human DNA and deserving respect and dignity in treatment by society. It says nothing about a person’s ability to contribute to society, or whether he is so blocked by lack of intelligence, health, or training, that his ability to contribute is limited.



Rationalists, when they ignore type, see people as needing only good educations to bring them all to the same level. Certainly a good education is useful for all, but it will not make an individual with a proclivity for logic and spatial awareness into a superior linguist, nor his verbally gifted sister a good mathematician.



Traditionalists see individuals as needing to follow a common moral path. If only… everyone followed the One True Way, they would all turn out to be good.



Type, that way of differentiating humans (types apply in all systems , but I’m focused on humans today), explains differences left when you have individuals at the same state, stage, line development, quadrant perspective… They are still not the same. Among type systems, male-female is one that continues to be useful. The Myers-Briggs system also explains differences. Astrology would be another system, in use from ancient times. But the enneagram is a system that Ken Wilber upholds, so it is what I will use here.



I recently offered an Enneagram training to a local organization with which I’ve been associated for fifteen years. My offer was declined for two reasons. One was expressed by several people who had had Myers-Briggs trainings at work and felt that the system was used to pigeon-hole individuals and to justify holding them back in their advancement. Another reason came down to this: that classifying individuals made some into worker bees and others into queen bees, and thus got people out of their fair share of chores!



To ignore type is to fail to optimize any human system! Type is vitally important. If you have an organization (and families are organizations) that has varied enneagram types, why would you not recognize and capitalize on that? Each type brings strengths to the table. No type has everything, although any type at the highest level of consciousness and health will be highly functional in most situations.



Let us examine some types and how they can optimize or destabilize an organization.



Type One, the Perfectionist, is assertive and constantly looking to make things better. Perfectionists never seem to think things are at their best, and are always ready to offer suggestions or criticism, whether solicited or not. Perfectionists do make systems better. They can make themselves unpopular in the process.



Type Two, the Helper, is warm, friendly and wants to help you. Helpers jump right in and take some of your load. They follow directions and follow other’s leadership. Helpers can lose their own selves in the process of submerging themselves in a family or organization. They also may blind themselves to the big picture.



Type Three, the Achiever, is dynamic and focused on performing. Whatever the field, the Achiever is working to succeed. Dynamic goal-seekers, Achievers are many times the leaders of families and organizations. Yet they are not known for stopping to think or to smell the flowers along the way.



Type Four, the Artist, lives in a world of creative impulse. Highly emotional, Artists need to be faithful to their muse. This impulse is rewarded by society at large, and frequently misunderstood and deprecated by personal contacts.



Type Five, the Scientist, lives in a world of reason. Logical, constantly examining the world of objects and ideas, Observers can lose touch with the human community entirely. Yet Scientists’ abilities to focus on things and abstractions make modern life possible through technological developments we all use.



Type Six, the Skeptic, lives in a world of suspicion. They make good reporters and advocates, wanting to personally verify the facts before making commitments. Skeptics, also known as Loyalists, are good allies to those who have earned their trust. Once a Skeptic has made a judgment regarding a person, place, thing or idea, though, changing his/her mind is unlikely to happen.



Type Seven, the Adventurer, lives in a world of excitement and optimism. Adventurers are naturally drawn to the new and exciting, and tend to ignore the tried and true. Adventurers bring fresh air to any gathering, as they are out-going, optimistic, and always have new adventures to share. On the downside, Adventurers dislike the same old routine.



Type Eight, the Boss, takes charge. Driven to control all that surrounds him/her, Bosses have one way, their way, of having the organization run. Human feelings take last place in the world of tasks. In any survival situation, Bosses are the people who can act quickly and see the big picture.



Type Nine, the Peacemaker, sees all perspectives. Peacemakers are slowly absorbing the vibrations of all the individuals and the facts, too. They will take into account contributing factors that include heart, mind and body. Yet their dislike for confrontation will make them hang back and fail to contribute or follow-through.



Clearly there is an organizational niche for each type. Some types have more flexibility in their ability to contribute. Some organizations preferentially seek and need certain types.



What is your type? How are you best able to help the planet evolve?



Lalia

Thinking Integrally about Immigration

The US public arena has been in an uproar about "illegal aliens" entering the country.  This is a political hot potato that has been tossed around with great anger during the last 18 months, coinciding with economic depression, job losses and reduced wages for citizens and immigrants.

The standard responses are to enforce immigration laws, to stop "illegals" at the border, and so forth.

What if we did something completely different?

To begin, allow anyone in who arrives at the door.  (We may choose to exclude known terrorists and those few categories of felons and disease carriers who are presently excluded, even if otherwise qualified.)

So, a person arrives at the border crossing.  All he needs to do is to identify himself, without needing documentation, and have his photograph, fingerprints, and DNA taken.  In return he gets a smartcard ID, and his photo and information are encoded on that card.  Unless he is one of the excluded categories above, he gets his ID card within minutes and can go on with his visit. 

All people entering the country would go through this process (though we may want to allow American citizens with documentation to bypass the process).  If he already has a card, it just goes through a card reader and his thumbprint is scanned for a match with the information on the card.

Should he not have a card, he simply goes through the process again.  It does not matter if he even gives the same name as before.  Once his information--photo, fingerprints and DNA--are in the system, they will be flagged when he comes through again.

What does this give us?  First, we will know exactly who is entering the country.  We will have fingerprints and DNA to match any crime scenes.  Further, with the DNA, we can now determine biological relatives, and thus highlight many criminal associations which are predominately formed from related individuals.  Having that information, we can trace activities of groups of individuals from their countries of origin, through their paths of migration, to their communities within the US.

This immediately substantially reduces the costs of border guarding.  Most money will just be for welcome centers where individuals will go through the ID process.  Remaining money can be used for projects to improve economic opportunities in the countries sending us many migrants.  These would include improved education, infrastructure, legal changes to encourage economic development and creativity, and so forth.

All of the information collected from the migrants will be available to US Federal, State and Local law enforcement, as well as for various medical and academic research programs.  Among the DNA possibilities, would be establishment and routine use of "near miss" DNA matching, now done in the UK, to allow law enforcement to see if crime scene DNA came from a relative of anyone in the immigrant database.  (Which would likely provide ways to track and apprehend the guilty party.)

While on the surface this shift to easier entry into the USA will seem to open the door to unpleasant rises in criminal activity, or other negative consequences of free immigration, its longer term consequences will be greater understanding of and control over criminal behavior.  This especially applies to criminal gangs, who will no longer be "under the radar."  Their associations will be highlighted through these new tools.

Lalia

Viewing the Law as Expressions of the Memes

Hi Again,

The Meme, in the sense used by Beck and Cowan, is a whole conglomerate of ideas and values that self-perpetuate and cling to each other in a somewhat consistent worldview.  Individuals begin life in a primitive or Archaic meme, and grow through the Tribal and Warrior memes as they mature in developed nations.  Adults are mostly at the Traditional meme, the Rational/Modern meme, or the Pluralist/Post-Modern meme.  Some have advanced to the Integral meme or higher. 

When a group of people is at a given meme level, they tend to associate with each other and create institutions that perpetuate their meme.  This is true in the area of law as it is in other systems of life.

The Traditional meme sees the world as pretty black and white and wants everyone to live by the rules.  They tend to favor religious institutions of law.  It is easy to observe in other cultures, where we can point to Sharia (Islamic) law for example.  However the remnants of this religious worldview are present in most American courtrooms today.  (And courtrooms elsewhere that I've seen depicted.)  Just sit in a courtroom, or look at a picture.  Erase the people.  Then look at the room.  You have the altar, the chancel, the altar rail, the pews...  Yes, in all but name, it is a traditional Christian church!  And after seeing the architecture, it should be no surprise to recall the fervor over posting the 10 Commandments in Courthouses, and other inclusions of Christianity.

(While looking for an image to accompany this blog, I came across this interesting syllabus which focuses on the transition from the Traditionalist to the Modernist meme, http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://academic.shu.edu/honors/James%2520I.jpg&imgrefurl=http://academic.shu.edu/honors/2103.html&usg=__8fAkSqviDTbGJaiDF01d_GAIYTs=&h=450&w=330&sz=25&hl=en&start=97&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=hs7U_I3axYIbaM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlaw%2Bimages%2Bfree%26start%3D80%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26rlz%3D1I7GPEA_en%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1 )

The Modernist/Rational meme sees all the downside of allowing religion to be in charge of civil affairs--including law.  Here the emphasis is on having rules that are independent of religion and stand on their own.  The US Constitution was created by Modernists.  However, there are also downsides to the Rational view.  Among them is the adversarial nature of the law.  Having Capitalism as their economic model, with an implied economic darwinism, it was natural to again favor competition as a model for legal disputes.

Enter the Pluralists.  While Traditionalists are satisfied with God having predetermined rules and judgments, and Modernists want the parties to compete, Post-Modernists want the parties to be satisfied with the outcomes of legal processes.  This is a driving force behind mediation, but the Pluralists do not limit themselves to mediation.  Basically Pluralists maintain that everyone deserves respect and input into their outcomes, even if they are the admitted guilty party. 

As a reader, I hope you can see how one worldview/meme grows into the next.  The Traditionalist view--putting God in charge--really is superseded by the Modernist view, allowing impartial judges and juries to determine the outcome of the legal fight.  Both are smaller than the Pluralist ideal of having all parties grow and gain from the dispute.

Today there are so few people operating above the Pluralist/Post-Modernist level that I cannot say what social systems, including legal systems, will be coming in our future.

Lalia

Critical Thinking Exposed

I've always been a bit taken aback by the term "critical thinking."  After seeing yet another piece bemoaning the internet generation's lack of critical thinking, I have arrived at why I abhor the term.

Critical thinking is an educational term used to describe a methodical, logical, rational approach to the world which consults known authorities in the respective fields of knowledge.  Thus, a critical thinker, wanting to know more about sinus problems, would consult the National Institutes of Health website--a source of respected information that comes from accepted scientific studies.

While that is not a wrong way to look at the world, it is a meme-specific way to look at the world.  Since it is closely tied to the Rational/Modernist/Orange meme, it is something we grow in to and subsequently grow out of!  And we have (among adults in the developed world) high populations of Traditionalists/Amber/Blue meme, Pluralists/Postmodernists/Green meme, and a developing group of Integralists/Yellow/Teal meme.  The Pluralists and Integralists both hold "higher" ways of assessing the world than the critical thinking espoused by the educators.

I am taken aback by anyone who sees "critical thinking" as the highest way of assessing the world and see the complainers as lacking in meme development themselves.

What do you think?

Lalia

Link to Barnett's recent comments on globalization

Greetings,

Thomas Barnett, one of my heroes, is an enthusiastic proponent of globalization.  Here he explains why...

http://thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/2010/05/enlightennext_interview_text_n.html

Lalia

The Integral Response to a Big Quake

How does an integralist respond to news of a major earthquake with loss of life? With compassion and with concern to avoid future losses.

Many earthquake deaths are avoidable. Consider these numbers. US quakes in the last century were of greater magnitude but far smaller loss of life. This is because of taking care in city planning and construction to make buildings safer. Consider these facts:

The Big San Francisco Quake of 1906, occurring on 18 April 1906, with a magnitude of 7.9 had about 3,000 fatalities. The number of dead includes those dying of subsequent fires and those in the entire Bay Area.

The Great Alaska Quake of 27 March 1964 was a magnitude 9.2 (more than a hundred times more powerful than the recent Haitian quake). There were 131 deaths, most from tsunamis, and the damage was over $2 billion in today’s dollars.

The Loma Prieta or World Series Quake, which had a magnitude of 7.1 and occurred on 17 Oct 1989, had 67 fatalities and caused $2 billion in damages.

The 26 Dec 2003 quake in Bam, Iran, was a 6.6 magnitude and had 26,271 fatalities.

The 12 January 2010 Quake in Port-au-Prince Haiti was a magnitude 7.0. Current bodies counted are 170,000. Damage totals are not yet available.

The loss of life in Haiti, as in Bam, Iran, was due to cement-slab construction methods. Engineers know how to make construction safe. To avoid future tragedies, several pieces need to be in place. One, construction standards need to be set to avoid earthquake damages and other foreseeable risks. Two, construction practices need to be upgraded so that buildings are actually made safe. Three, engineers, architects, builders and construction workers need to have the education required so that they can build safe buildings. Four, countries and peoples need to learn from each other.

It has been painful for the US to acknowledge the superiority of Japan in earthquake damage avoidance, yet US architects and engineers studied what the Japanese had learned from painful experience and used that knowledge to avoid preventable deaths here. Similarly, those in Haiti could have seen that quakes were possible in their country. They could have avoided many of the deaths that have recently occurred. Yet it would seem that (as is true in many places) Haitians felt it could not happen there.

The press emphasizes what a poor country Haiti is. Yet what the press is not saying is that the middle class was the primary victim of the quake. The poorest Haitians, living in shanties, did not have tons of construction raining down upon them. It was the middle class that suffered. They could have had better construction.

Engineers have analyzed which buildings failed and which survived the 1906 San Francisco Quake. It turns out that almost all one-to-three storey wood frame buildings survived. (Because they can flex a bit in a quake.) Many of those buildings are still standing and in use.

Knowledge of how to do construction is not state secrets. There is information available to architects and engineers if they only look for it. It is time for building standards everywhere to be set for the safety of the occupants.

Moving away from building standards and building practices to culture, keeping people safe is a universal human value. No one “deserves” unsafe buildings.

Since there has been a large demolition project in Haiti, courtesy of Mother Nature, there is an opportunity for urban planning and thoughtful new endeavors which will serve all Haitians. May it be so!

Lalia

Fischer's Four Seeds of Albion and Today's America

Historian David Hackett Fischer wrote an excellent book: Albion’s Seed, in which he traces four distinct—but fairly contemporaneous—migrations from the British Isles to what is now the United States. The book is well worth a read, and for those who labor over the printed page, you will have 946 pages to labor over! Each of these four groups originated from a distinct region of the British Isles, three uniquely from England, and each carried a distinct culture to the New World.

Fischer details the distinctions of these cultures, and then shows how these cultures have impacted America to this day. Even though only 20 percent of contemporary Americans have British Isles heritage, everyone has British Isles culture, or faces it daily in their neighborhood, workplace, television and so forth.

It would take pages of material to begin to synopsize Fischer’s book. However I can let you know some of my personal reflections. First, three of the cultures: Puritans, Quakers, and Borderers, all correspond to one of the Enneagram Centers! The Puritans correspond to the Head Center. They founded New England, New York, and worked their way across the northern US. The Quakers correspond to the Heart Center. They settled in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and rapidly became the most assimilated of the cultures. Finally the Borderers (sometimes called the Scotts-Irish) represent the Gut Center. The Borderers entered through Delaware and Pennsylvania and then migrated down the Appalachian Mountains to Western Virginia, Western North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

The Cavaliers don’t fit the Enneagram model as easily. I see their most basic characteristic as pride. This group, who settled in Virginia and spread to Maryland, and south on the coast to South Carolina, and Georgia, were the most like their English forbears. They practiced the same religion, shared the same foods, lifestyles and so on. Their reason for leaving England was primarily economic opportunity, unlike the other groups who fled because of religious persecution or border-war.

Putting aside the Cavaliers for the moment, the other three groups fall prey to the downside of their respective centers as well. I want to point out the Borderers, especially, since the Gut Center has anger as an issue. This is playing itself out in American politics right now. All the current media jocks, like Glenn Beck, are stirring the Borderers’ pot of anger. It is always at a simmer anyway, and now it is boiling rapidly.

Looking closer at the North and South, notice that the North as defined by the Civil War, and in popular culture to this day, is composed of two groups—the Puritans and the Quakers. The South is the other two groups, the Cavaliers and the Borderers. And for the South, this makes strange bedfellows. The Cavaliers are the genteel South of fine mansions, fine cuisine, fine clothes and elaborate social networks. The Borderers are the raw South of football, rednecks, country music and barbecue.

Knowing these four cultures, you can see them play out in public life. Fischer goes through the politics of this election-by-election from our beginning. But it applies to television today. Entire networks appeal to specific groups. One could say that Fox News is targeted to Borderers. HGTV pointed at Cavaliers. Public Broadcasting aimed at Puritans, with some Quaker programming. Other popular networks and television shows creatively appeal to more than one group, such as the popular CSI series which appeals to the Borderers’ love of violence and the Puritans’ love of science.

How have these cultural types effected you?

The Left-Right Divide on Health Care

Many are currently shaking their heads at the political divide in the United States. Various media outlets, on both sides, are fanning the flames of divisiveness, working against political solutions to the real problems that are in front of us.

I am wondering why some public person isn't standing up in the Health Care debate and asking why both sides have not already enacted a law that includes the 80% areas of agreement--so the people will have something--before going on to work on areas of disagreement. I can only conclude that they all--Both Sides--desire to be obstreperous as opposed to solve problems. Is not solving problems the reason we elected them?

Another matter, again in the health care arena, is the conspiracy theory of vaccinations. Presumably this was originated by people deep into their own paranoia, and circulated by people with little understanding of statistics or risk assessment.

Let's look at both those issues. Realistically, despite some rare books, television shows and movies, the United States government is not knowingly developing vaccines to harm its people.

Now, the risk assessment. You always look at the alternative or alternatives.

What happens if a major flu outbreak occurs and we do not have the populace immune to it? Massive fatalities, even more missed work days, family tragedies, economic and social losses. If we vaccinate the people, we avoid an estimated 60 million deaths.

Now, look at one alternative, the rare incidence of negative response to any vaccine. Yes, we have rare negative responses to existing vaccines. Most likely there will be a similar rate of negative responses. These responses are less than one event per thousand vaccine doses given. The negative consequences of widespread infection with this H1N1 virus is likely to be hundreds of major incidences of sickness and death for the same group. Thus the consequences without the vaccine will likely be hundreds or thousands of times worse than using the vaccine.

Now, look at many people in the target high risk groups opting out of taking the vaccine. If just a couple opt out, fine. If many opt out, we end up having a reservoir of people who are susceptible to the virus, and they dwell among us much like storing cans of gasoline next to a furnace--once they contract the disease there will be no stopping point. The entire nation will be hit.

I hope that more reasoned and responsible voices are heard on these matters.

Lalia

More Than One Way to Exert Influence in North Korea

In March of this year American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were detained on the Chinese-North Korean border and subsequently imprisoned in North Korea where they remained until the international press and a personal visit by US former president Bill Clinton freed them on August 4th. Euna Lee was born in South Korea and lived there until college age when she attended school in the USA. She became a US citizen. Having lived in South Korea for all of her childhood, one presumes Ling speaks and reads the Korean language. Her colleague, Laura Ling, was born in the US of a Chinese father. Whether she speaks Korean or Mandarin (the official language of China, one of several Chinese languages) is unknown.

The story of the incarceration of these two journalists has been presented as an international outrage, with Lee and Ling as victims of a retrograde government. What kind of questions might an integrally informed person ask about this situation?

• Was this event a deliberate attempt to provoke the North Korean government?
  
• Was the motive for this event more freedom for the people of North Korea? Or was it publicity to aid the careers of two fairly unknown journalists?

But, leaving aside those questions, how might an integrally informed person create greater openness in North Korea? Be more effective about it?

Here is a radical suggestion. If North Korea intends to capture and incarcerate anyone found illegally crossing their borders—or appearing to do so—then how about using that information to impact the North Korean system? How? One could find individuals who speak Korean and have some familiarity with Korean customs who would be willing to be captured and held in North Korea for a time. Their mission while there would be to teach their fellow prisoners and any guards or other officials they encounter about the greater openness of other cultures, including that of South Korea. They could also teach western languages, English being my personal preference since it would open the most doors to international culture.

How would this impact the system? The fellow prisoners would eventually return to their homes and jobs in North Korean society. When they did so, they would take personal knowledge of what an open society might be like. They would perhaps have some language skills that would allow them to access materials on the internet and to join world conversation. Inevitably, they would be forces for greater freedoms in North Korea. The same would be true for the guards and other officials who spent time with these infiltrators.

This is a long-term strategy, but would eventually open the North Korean system of government. It might be that other strategies, especially interventions at the upcoming death of Kim Jong-Il, would be faster strategies. However, having multiple strategies at play would be smart.

What Does Integrally Informed Mean?

Hi,

Welcome to my new blog. It is Integrally Informed. This means that views expressed here are based on insights derived from the Integral Theory of Ken Wilber, and the teachings of others, most notably Steve McIntosh.

I direct you to Ken Wilber's many books, suggesting you begin with The Integral Vision (2007) which is an introduction to his theory. Also, as background, read Steve McIntosh's Integral Consciousness, and look to Wikipedia for relevant articles.

The Integral Model postulates five factors that determine all phenomena: lines of development, states of consciousness, quadrants, types, and levels (also called stages and sometimes memes) of development. With those five factors one can understand much more about the world, including how two people can simultaneously be "right" while holding seemingly opposite views.

I lead a monthly Integral Salon as well as regular workshops using the Integral model. The purpose of this blog is to publish some of my insights where they may be able to assist others in their work, understanding, and world-view.

May it be so!

Lalia