Lack of Beautiful Green Appreciation and Green Repression

Something Wilber said has really got the gear works churning. His comment was basically that the only Green we see in the media is broken Green, therefore people below Green can’t see it properly, and are developmentally hopping over it.

I would actually extend this lack of healthy Green to the Integral media, and say that a large portion of the Integral media is any variation on repress/criticise/kick Broken Green, hence we are actually worsening the lack of healthy Green embodiment by simply focusing on its dysfunctions, perpetuating it in the media. I think we could and should improve our relationship to Green as a collective with a fairer, balanced, bigger picture view that really aims to integrate Green, we do like to consider ourselves integralists after all.

I’ll give an example. There was one Ken Show episode on Social Justice where much of it was dedicated to kicking dysfunctional Green and criticising unhealthy Green. While that is necessary, and while we ideally don’t embody regressive, foaming-at-the-mouth, modern social justice Green, there was not much said about embodying the beauties of centre-of-gravity-Green, nor identifying beautiful Green both in culture and in our interiors, something that one could dedicate many years, or a lifetime to, and of course, something that we’ve all hopefully done in then being able to reflect upon and make an object.

Not knowing much about the feminism movement, I was left with quite a biased view after the Social Justice episode, but after doing my own research, it’s clear that unhealthy feminism is really just a recent phenomenon, and that the large bulk of feminism (WW1- 90s) was a remarkably liberating phenomenon. Surely, surely, we want to promote that, given that a huge percentage of the world population is nowhere near that level of development?

In the worst case, I think sometimes it’s not really a conscious choice: I fear that in much of the integral content, a lot of green shadows are coming out, all while we’re trying to influence and grow the next batch of integral thinkers. These are then collectively reinforced, given the pervasiveness of anti-Green in such circles. Clearly this is a disastrous situation, one that we’d be quite quick to call out Green on while it reflects on Orange, for example.

The positive qualities of Green are simply incredible, and the fact it is just a recent developmental stage, still quite limited on the global scale, only appearing in a major way in the great democracies, is evidence in and of itself of its uniqueness.
It is the first true “Ecocentric” stage, without a serious enactment of which I don’t believe our species will be able to survive. We only need to look at all the political and scientific movement on this for evidence of that.
It is the first stage which cares about animal welfare in a true way, where one’s identity can actually expand to the point where they recognise the striking similarities between themselves and even basic animals. (in my own experience, I remember that before Green came online, animals were a big Other, lesser, dead, insentient; now I can imagine getting in their skin, truly taking on their view, and seeing their own characteristics in my interiors). Again, I think if humanity doesn’t enact this on a wide scale, we are going to remain stuck in a type of living hell, carelessly harming literally billions of other sentient beings. I’d say 90% of the centre-of-gravity Postmodernists I’ve met are either veggies or vegan. It’s our duty to really promote and full embody this element of Green.
It is the first stage, that in my opinion, genuinely cares about the welfare of other human beings. You can see this in non-profits etc., and you can see it in your own interiors.
It is the first stage that really goes beyond the scientific method in looking for truth, and the first to genuinely call science as an entire paradigm into question, allowing us to move on and ultimately incorporate and be open to all of the ancient traditions, which an enormous percentage of the population are completely allergic to.

That’s just a few examples of healthy, beautiful, vital Green. Shouldn’t we, as Integral thinkers, be doing our damnedest to help Orange grow to and embody Green, help Green itself to fully realise these selves, and help Integral and beyond to fully chew all of the Green meat (what a terrible metaphor), identifying, cleansing, recapitulating, and integrating their Green selves? Shouldn’t we also be really looking at our Green shadows personally and being really honest with ourselves about why we reject Green? Shouldn’t we ultimately be looking to fully incorporate Green as the interior-exterior cosmic evolution continues relentlessly?

If so, I think we need to step up our game and enact what we so often preach to those centred at other stages of development.

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First of all - beautifully written, thanks for that.
I don’t have any understanding how should ‘integrated, deeper Green’ (perhaps I am quoting impression of mine, not exact words - I will work on that) be incorporated or comprehended? Integral thinking, in my understanding, is letting the levels be, let theory be a theory. What should I do to grasp Green better and share it? What should anyone do?

I did a re-read. I like your temper. Step up into the game is always a path. I remember one video of Wilber, now it’s deeply saddening, - a woman was furious that she meditated for 10 years and she wants to do more for the World. ‘You are already doing a great job’ more or less. She continues. Wilber stares a bit, waits, animal eyes, strange expectation. I guess this was obvious for him, but he knew everyone has ‘own game’. So the real question, not asked, was: so what exactly do you want to do? OK, nice answer. So do it. Mine responses. That’s harsh fact of such question always.

I would widely express to someone, to anyone, the beauty of each aspect of Integrality. For now, I have mostly mine disfunctions. Share me ideas or your context. We can discuss how to act and ‘show up’ the more comprehensive and the Green you really admire. Maybe all the beauties of Green are your potentials. If so, you need more courage or a person, who would get burnt a bit in the social media for such person, if you know what I mean.

:walking_man:

Why the word temper?

Integral theory is not inert, dead, simply descriptive theory. It’s a map of our human OS that we access and live through every single moment of our lives. And in my view, in our Integral OS, we need to fully SEE and fully BE each previous structure “update” that has come before, or at least be able to step into that rung when necessary.
So, an Integral enactment of Green is just that: we see our green selves, we love them, we use them when necessary. We do not, and cannot, live solely through Green, nor do we reject and repress Green. They are my potentials, yes, and I have to love them.
If you look inside you can see unchewed developmental meat, particularly within your shadows. They point you to things you either haven’t fully understood about life (or chewed) or things you’ve just abandoned on the road. Such shadows from Peak Green are Green shadows. My point is that reowning these shadows is vital for truly integrating 1st tier, all of which will have a knock on effect in how we enact and communicate.
My basic argument is that there’s evidence that Green is not being integrally enacted in integral circles. Integral is a hugging embrace of all the beauty of previous ways of being, not a dismissal and judgement of them (although that could be necessary at times).
I won’t tell anyone how they need to show up in their particular way. For some it may be taking their Integral consciousness into their political role, a role in psychology, etc. For others it may be just communicating a healthier Integral on the net so that we show the territory to others in a healthier way, which itself is valuable.

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And in my view, in our Integral OS, we need to fully SEE and fully BE each previous structure “update” that has come before, or at least be able to step into that rung when necessary.

That sentence is true to the maximum meaning of the word ‘truth’. However, I don’t really know how to boost or give more attention to each level. Meditation with chakras (from below to up, 7 points maybe, by chakra with color) could be it, but that’s only spiritual development, not cognitive embrace.

They are my potentials, yes, and I have to love them.

Heavy sentence. Green potential or any potential is obligation and burden as well. Chapeau bas, my friend.

If you look inside you can see unchewed developmental meat, particularly within your shadows.

True as truth can be. Sometimes I think that shadow is my main potential.

Integral is a hugging embrace of all the beauty of previous ways of being, not a dismissal and judgement of them (although that could be necessary at times).

Trancend, but include. Perfect, practical comment on wisdom put in short way.

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Looking back on this conversation, I didn’t participate very skillfully in it.
Yes, it may be strange to talk about seeing the levels in 1st person. There’s conflicting thought on this in the IW. Ken often says stages are like rules of grammar, they themselves can’t be seen but they act as a guiding framework. But then Jeff said once “I can see all the previous Jeffs behind me”.
Jeff’s report is really what I’m talking about in terms of awareness of the stages. In 1st person we can be aware of our body, our thoughts, our feelings, our visual, auditory and other sense fields. There is little doubt in my mind that every 1st person experience has its developmental history. There was a time when such a capacity, or such a thought, emotion etc, simply couldn’t arise, even if we have to go back to birth to find that moment.
Take for example the ability to eat. That’s something you can experience in 1st person, and it’s a skill most people master by the age of 4/5 I imagine. I am not an expert on this by any means but I bet the cognitive map, the muscles required, the hand-eye coordination, the body functions required, etc. all have developmental correlates that would nicely fall into our structure stage maps, even if these maps don’t exist yet.
Besides, I am not a fan of defining integral solely with reference to theory. There will be plenty of people out there who are CoG integral and have absolutely no idea what that means, having never studied integral, nor that there’s an entire community dedicated to it, but will be deeply enacting integral thoughts, feelings, values etc.

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Thank you so much for this post. It has long bothered me that ‘worldcentric’, in Integral discussions, so often seems to have a purely anthropocentric focus rather than an all-inclusive, ecocentric one. In other words, ‘the world’ is shorthand for ‘all the people’. And once again, as they have been all through human history, ‘All Our Relations’ are sidelined. Human exceptionalism is never referred to but so often it seems to be implicit. What has evolved on our planet is a holarchy of life forms, with Homo sapiens being the most recent and complex holon. But it is not a hierarchy of value in the way that the concept of the ‘Anthropocene era’ seems to suggest. (As we all know, the value to the planet goes the other way, with earthworms and bees being essential and humans not at all.) And it is not a hierarchy of power. Viruses have more of that than we do, as our current situation attests!! Even distinguishing between ‘humans’ and ‘animals’ fails to honour the fact that we are animals ourselves. Just by remembering to change that comparison to ‘humans’and ‘other animals’ we are reminding others of our own membership of the animal kingdom.

As you say, I suspect that the majority of people at the Green altitude and beyond do in fact have a greater sensitivity to animal welfare than the population-at-large and have evolved beyond the stage of seeing other animals as commodities. But I believe that one of our tasks, as we evolve, is to deepen our personal shade of green by making a point of changing our language in regard to the more-than-human world. We did it to counter racism, we did it to counter sexism, we are starting to do it to counter ageism. So we also need to do it to counter speciesism. I like the fact that Buddhism, rather than referring to ‘everyone’, refers to ‘all sentient beings.’ And I would really love to see more explicit recognition, in Integral circles, of the fact that we are the Earth and the Earth is us. We are all cells in the body of a living planet. And cells need to know their place vis-à-vis the whole. We all know the name for cells that don’t: cancer.

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There must be somewhere the exact quote of famous writer that said “I don’t remember the people I have been” and it is real often reminded among people who read a lot.

Those words are quotable, plain, kinda soft, but also quietly offensive. Defining or finding the cancerous element in life or human beings or some organisations or anything and putting it that way would be a tough task. I do not really get it, but I felt like cancer after reading this. :black_joker: :mage:

I like the term speciesism. I wrote some poem about the -isms a while back. It is not very clear, rather chaotic, but I think there is some skill in it.

Im darwinism
Im positivism
Im wifeism
Im theism
Im chauvinism
Im deathism
Im ludacrism
I share believism

I know the thought of me
I started to belove just me
There’s way out that exels
Body human cells
Look within and suffocate with curiosity
That your animity is superiority
Walk the path of ways so dumb
Ur soul is covered dark numb
Dont speed up just be in time
We live we die we die we die
I know the facts the facts surreal
We are the living things
embodied spirit dreams
I am you, you are me, souls of personal dreams
Just the glitch which makes you itch
Too many people sleep just sleep
Im gonna be whats not supposed to be
Believe and do ur things
Never accept mortality
We kiss and sleep
Just kiss and sleep
Just kiss and sleep

The idea kills me u gotta know
Bring forth ur face bring forth the soul

Im cryism
Im deathism
Im walkism
Im eatism
Im racism
Im painism
Im chauvinism
Im beism
Im feminisim
Im ragism
A woman called me out-tism

Some feedback appreciated. Good day and evening to you all.

I used to always reflexively resist unhealthy green and attempt to argue with it and put it in it’s place. Over the last 5 years or so I’ve been able to move beyond that stance and be more empathetic towards it. I think it’s because I started seeing it in myself instead of repressing or projecting it. When I’m conversing with someone that is expressing unhealthy green I allow myself to listen without the need to correct them. I often say things like “I understand” or “I know how you feel.” Sometimes I’ll say “I used to FEEL the same way.”
What I’ve noticed is that people begin to feel that I’m acknowledging their humanity and are more trusting and open towards me which allows their minds to be more receptive to new ideas. All I can do is honor their being and possibly plants seeds of thought that may someday blossom.

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