Chapter 3 --  Spiral Dynamics:  Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change
The Mind of the Spiral

Living Systems-Within

Each major societal upheaval has spawned a different view of life itself.

A living intelligence is at work, carried in both our genetic DNA and our Memetic DNA.

Seven principles describe this core intelligence of the spiral:

1. Humans possess the capacity to create new memes
   • Humans possess within themselves the capacity to exist at different levels of psychological development and even add a new level.
   • The variability in levels of existence underlines our capacity to escape the tyranny of lethargic genes.
   • For the process of an open systems, awakening brain to function within us, three conditions must be met:
     1. A set of instructions, probably encoded in our DNA, that equip us to awaken new systems which add to or even replace old ones
     2. Dynamic forces generated in both nature and nurture that trigger specific systems
     3. The capacity of the human brain to house a number of subsystems, all at the same time, with some active and others relatively passive
2. Life Conditions awaken Memes which may emerge, surge, regress, or fade in response
   • Memes are a product of the interaction of the equipment in our nervous system with the Life Conditions we face
   • There are four important aspects of these Life Conditions:
     1. Times-  Location along the overall line of human development
     2. Place- The physical conditions, both natural and man-made ecology, within the perception of the individual or group
     3. Problems- Priorities, needs, concerns, and requirements for existence facing a particular individual or group
     4. Circumstance- Individual, group, and cultural placement within hierarchies of power, status, and influence
3. Memes zig-zag between Express-self and Sacrifice-self themes
   • The overall spiral is forged by the pendulum-like shift between a focus on "me" and concerns with "we".
   • Individuals and societies tend to tilt from one magnet-like pole to the other.
4. Memes emerge along the Spiral in a wave-like fashion
   • Awakenings along the spiral occur after pressure builds up leading to a spurt to the next system.
   • although the shift may appear to be sudden and chaotic, undetected movement is occurring beneath the surface all along.
   • The active life of a meme has three phases:
     1. Entering
     2. Peak
     3. Exiting
5. Memes spiral up an down through levels of complexity
   • The emergence along the spiral is from lesser to greater complexity.
   • Appropriateness of meme is a mater of perspective.
   • In terms of Spiral Dynamics, the overall flow has four characteristics:
     1. Expansion of psychological space-  toward more multifaceted personalities
     2. Expansion of conceptual space-  toward bigger picture views, wider span of influence, and extended time frames
     3. A progressive increase of alternatives-  toward more choices to make from a broader menu of ways to do a thing
     4. A progressive increase in degrees of behavioral freedom-  toward more possibilities in terms of how to be, ways to display emotions, acceptable kinds of human interrelationships
6. Memes coexist within our "onion"-like profiles
   • If we were to slice a transparent human spiral from the top of the funnel down to the tip, we would see an asymmetrical, onion-like profile of memes.
   • This form would display the relative strength of each colored layer regarding specific issues.
7. Memes cluster in Tiers of Six along the Spiral
   • Memes live most happily in groups of six.
   • Graves' theory is the only framework which puts both the entire developing flow and the impetus behind the process into perspective.
   • It is open-ended because the human Spiral is only beginning.
   • Significant differences between the First and Second Tiers include a marked increase in conceptual space, dropping away of compulsion, and ability to learn a great deal from many sources, and a trend toward getting much more done with much less energy or resources.

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Beck, D.E. & Cowan, C.C.  Spiral Dynamics:  Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change.