Moving from Spiral Dynamics Stage Green to Yellow

[Pure Imagination]

Hello all! I hope you are having a fantastic start to your week.

If you asked me a month ago where I fell on Spiral Dynamics, I would say my spread was like this: 50% Green, 30% Yellow, 20% Turquoise. Now however, I feel like I want to be so much more productive in my human life, rather than taking my life less seriously (kind of like a typical hippie). I feel like I was using spirituality more as an escape in a crude manner before. I feel like I'm shedding that "immature" approach to spirituality now. Right now I feel so motivated to accomplish great things in my human life, and I feel so much less lazy than I did even a month ago. I want to learn about things, engage in creative endeavors (I'm a musician, and I love it to death), and just enjoy human life much more in general. My mind has been also been super noisy lately, trying to figure things out. It's like my mind always needs something to chew on. My creativity has skyrocketed as a result.

So to all you (mostly) solid Yellow folks out there, what was your transition from Green to Yellow like? Did you get this massive increase in productivity like I'm experiencing? How about the racing mind? Did you feel more motivated about life? I'm curious, because I feel like I'm much more Yellow now than I was before.

Let me know what you think!

[bejapuskas]

@Pure Imagination I cannot really help you man, but keep it up, I resonate with you! I am working on the same thing, figuring out, where I belong on the spiral, building a self actualizing community at the moment, I am also very very motivated!

 

[Forestluv]

3 minutes ago, Pure Imagination said:

If you asked me a month ago where I fell on Spiral Dynamics, I would say my spread was like this: 50% Green, 30% Yellow, 20% Turquoise. Now however, I feel like I want to be so much more productive in my human life, rather than taking my life less seriously (kind of like a typical hippie). I feel like I was using spirituality more as an escape in a crude manner before. I feel like I'm shedding that "immature" approach to spirituality now. Right now I feel so motivated to accomplish great things in my human life, and I feel so much less lazy than I did even a month ago. I want to learn about things, engage in creative endeavors (I'm a musician, and I love it to death), and just enjoy human life much more in general. My mind has been also been super noisy lately, trying to figure things out. It's like my mind always needs something to chew on. My creativity has skyrocketed as a result.

So to all you (mostly) solid Yellow folks out there, what was your transition from Green to Yellow like? Did you get this massive increase in productivity like I'm experiencing? How about the racing mind? Did you feel more motivated about life? I'm curious, because I feel like I'm much more Yellow now than I was before.

Based on the bits you shared, it seems like predominantly tier1 energy to tier2. I sense a lot of Orange energy. I'd recommend watching Leo's video on Yellow. He describes the tier1 to tier2 transition as well as distinctions between Orange and Yellow.

Evolving from tier1 to tier2 is enormous. It is a bigger jump than all the tier1 stages combined. One key feature is deconstruction and dissociation from the self. Another key feature is evolving from a rational to post-rational state of being. My sense is there is still a strong 1st-person identification going on here.  

I think music can be a tool toward transitioning to tier2 (as well as yoga, mediation, psychedelics etc.). You have likely experienced "micro flow" with your music - where you lose sense of your self and time. An experience of just being. Where you dissolve and become one with your instrument, the sounds, improvisation and other band members. It's not something one "figures out" - it is nonverbal, post-rational experience. I would be mindful of those states and let go / enter such flow with music, meditation, nature etc. 

As well, tier2 has a clearly defined "observer" position in which it can observe thoughts / feelings without attachment or identification. Those at entry level tier1 can play the observer, yet aren't aware they are doing it. In more advanced levels, there is awareness that the observer is observing. I would get space from thoughts/feelings during meditation by continually labeling thoughts / feelings and thought / feelings and returning to the observer (or simply back to what is actually happening). With time, the attachment / identification to thoughts / feelings will be weakened and there will be mature awareness that this "character" is just impulses appearing and disappearing in emptiness.

For me, the hardest part of the Green-to-Yellow transition was letting go of the desire for inclusion and equality for oppressed and ostracized groups. It felt so heartless to me.

[bejapuskas]

@Serotoninluv You seem to understand the Spiral very well, do you think you can tell me, how can I actually know, what stage am I in? I was thinking about myself as a yellow individual as well, but many people say that I am just transitioning from orange to green. I am definitely not blue, even though I have things to transcend there, just as most people do. My main problem is that I dont understand, how can for example a blue person have orange values or orange person have green values, it seems so contradictory... I know that reality is very contradictory, but how does the model actually work then? I am very compassionate and I have a desire to grow, but its not some kind of dogmatic kind of desire, like Tai Lopez kind of stuff. Orange just seems like a flexible and healthier blue to me... How can this statement trick me? What are the things to develop in green and orange, mabe even blue? How do I know if I am yellow? It is getting soooo complex... Leo's videos stopped making sense, at least his SD series...

[Forestluv]

16 minutes ago, bejapuskas said:

@Serotoninluv You seem to understand the Spiral very well, do you think you can tell me, how can I actually know, what stage am I in? I was thinking about myself as a yellow individual as well, but many people say that I am just transitioning from orange to green. I am definitely not blue, even though I have things to transcend there, just as most people do. My main problem is that I dont understand, how can for example a blue person have orange values or orange person have green values, it seems so contradictory... I know that reality is very contradictory, but how does the model actually work then? I am very compassionate and I have a desire to grow, but its not some kind of dogmatic kind of desire, like Tai Lopez kind of stuff. Orange just seems like a flexible and healthier blue to me... How can this statement trick me? What are the things to develop in green and orange, maybe even blue? How do I know if I am yellow? It is getting soooo complex... Leo's videos stopped making sense, at least his SD series...

I would be mindful that SD is just one model - it can be a useful tool. Yet, I would not put all my eggs into the SD basket. I would complement SD with a few spiritual teachers outside of SD that resonates with you.

In tier1, people can be a mixture of tier1 stages. Like a painting that has blue, orange and green colors. I like to think of it as being "centered" in one stage. As well, someone could be centered in stage green intellectually and stage orange emotionally. Rather than trying to evolve to reach a "higher" stage. I would be mindful of which stage characteristics I resonate with. As well, which patterns exist that no longer resonates? Which are conditioned patterns? For example, one of my patterns was logical / rational thinking. I took this to the end of the line and it no longer became satisfying or fulfilling. I noticed that I was a walking analytical brain and it was interfering with my ability to form human connections. My relationships lacked emotional depth and intimacy. I started craving that. Yet, it was still difficult to let go of logical patterns. That part of me wanted evidence to show that all this "whoo whoo" stuff green and above is true. . . 

One of the difficulties from evolving from tier1 to tier2 is that there are few tier2 teachers. One of the biggest traps of tier1 is attachment to personal needs. There is strong identification with a sense of self in tier1. In tier2 there is an awareness that the whole personality is just a conditioned construct - built over a lifetime of programming. This realization process can be uncomfortable and unpalatable to the self. Think about it. . . the Gig Is Up for the self. It will no longer be the main act. It just appears and disappears like dreams, bird chirps and thunder. That's a tough sell to a self. Yet, the liberation from the illusory self is indescribable. 

In tier1 - the self is the main act - even in stage Green. The energy of seeking is to meet personal needs. The view of life is through this lens. Everything and everyone is perceived through a lens of personal needs. That is "how will this situation or person affect me and my personal needs?". In tier2 there is an energetic shift from self seeking to meet needs, security and comfort to an energy that seeks being the human experience, truth. That is attracted to the magnificence of life. Much of this is nonverbal and post-rational. Through direct experience, there is a "knowing".

[Pure Imagination]

@bejapuskas Your response helps, thank you!

 

35 minutes ago, Serotoninluv said:

Based on the bits you shared, it seems like predominantly tier1 energy to tier2. I sense a lot of Orange energy. I'd recommend watching Leo's video on Yellow. He describes the tier1 to tier2 transition as well as distinctions between Orange and Yellow.

Evolving from tier1 to tier2 is enormous. It is a bigger jump than all the tier1 stages combined. One key feature is deconstruction and dissociation from the self. Another key feature is evolving from a rational to post-rational state of being. My sense is there is still a strong 1st-person identification going on here.  

I think music can be a tool toward transitioning to tier2 (as well as yoga, mediation, psychedelics etc.). You have likely experienced "micro flow" with your music - where you lose sense of your self and time. An experience of just being. Where you dissolve and become one with your instrument, the sounds, improvisation and other band members. It's not something one "figures out" - it is nonverbal, post-rational experience. I would be mindful of those states and let go / enter such flow with music, meditation, nature etc. 

As well, tier2 has a clearly defined "observer" position in which it can observe thoughts / feelings without attachment or identification. Those at entry level tier1 can play the observer, yet aren't aware they are doing it. In more advanced levels, there is awareness that the observer is observing. I would get space from thoughts/feelings during meditation by continually labeling thoughts / feelings and thought / feelings and returning to the observer (or simply back to what is actually happening). With time, the attachment / identification to thoughts / feelings will be weakened and there will be mature awareness that this "character" is just impulses appearing and disappearing in emptiness.

For me, the hardest part of the Green-to-Yellow transition was letting go of the desire for inclusion and equality for oppressed and ostracized groups. It felt so heartless to me.

Thank you for your insight! I honestly don't feel like I'm Orange. I am a huge critic of capitalism; I'm to the left politically of most people in the US. I used to resonate with Green a lot over the past few years. My productivity tanked, but I was so much more accepting and loving of others and myself. And I started to fall in love with yoga and meditation. I have watched Leo's Spiral Dynamics series multiple times and I'm fairly familiar with the values of each stage. Yellow deeply resonates with me; I am very non-judgmental (if I do say so myself), I am aware that everyone has their perspective rather than one "absolute truth" being true, and I feel like I'm much less emotionally triggered than the average person.

Also, I feel like I am at least a little bit Turquoise. I have done extensive consciousness work with psychedelics, including 5-meo-DMT; because of this I have a palpable sense of non-duality in my life. If I take the time to slow down and be present, I can start to feel the mind-made boundaries dissolve. Although I feel like the majority of myself is in the lower stages; psychedelics are good for giving one a taste of non-duality but I know I still have much integration and shadow work to do to move up the spiral.

I love your point about music and the flow state. When performing, my goal is always to get in the flow and lose my sense of self. I have been able to achieve that before (to varying degrees), but the ego will sometimes show up and manifest as nervousness and anxiety. But when I cultivate the flow, it is so obvious. Everything clicks into place, the nerves disappear, and whatever sounds come out of my instrument are perfect to me.

Like I said above, I feel like I can cultivate that "observer" perspective. It takes effort though; my "default" state at the moment is usually mind identification. It is a constant practice for me to take actions in my life with mindfulness. Thank you again for your post

 

38 minutes ago, bejapuskas said:

@Serotoninluv You seem to understand the Spiral very well, do you think you can tell me, how can I actually know, what stage am I in? I was thinking about myself as a yellow individual as well, but many people say that I am just transitioning from orange to green. I am definitely not blue, even though I have things to transcend there, just as most people do. My main problem is that I dont understand, how can for example a blue person have orange values or orange person have green values, it seems so contradictory... I know that reality is very contradictory, but how does the model actually work then? I am very compassionate and I have a desire to grow, but its not some kind of dogmatic kind of desire, like Tai Lopez kind of stuff. Orange just seems like a flexible and healthier blue to me... How can this statement trick me? What are the things to develop in green and orange, mabe even blue? How do I know if I am yellow? It is getting soooo complex... Leo's videos stopped making sense, at least his SD series...

At the end of the day, only you can know what stage you are at. It all depends on what your values are, as well as how you see reality. I have noticed that an individuals values evolve as they move up the spiral. It's not that a blue person suddenly picks up orange values; its more like a transcendence. You take the best of each stage, but then also become conscious of its limitations, and thus you develop more mature values. What values do you hold currently? Where do you fall politically? Is personal success your number one value at this point?

[Forestluv]

@Pure Imagination I never been attracted to capitalism, material things, nice clothes, looking good, titles, recognition etc. I never experienced any of those forms. For me, my Orange anchor was rational thinking.

A couple Orange key terms you used are "productive" and "accomplish". There is a major energy shift from tier1 to tier2 in this area. Yet, you could be using the terms in a different context than typical for a tier1 mindset.

It sounds like you have entered tier2 and are maturing. What helped me mature was listening to nondual speakers and exploring post-rational tier2 areas such as hyper-empathy and hyper-intuition. As well, meta views, integration of concepts and the dissolution of distinctions is mind blowing

What instrument(s) do you play?

[bejapuskas]

@Shiva@Pure Imagination @Serotoninluv Thanks man, I have started to see that myself, but still, its a part of getting out of biases and ego traps. I deeply resonate with yellow values and I have had experiences of being consciousness and unconditional love. I understand many different systems, I am very open and compassionate, I love contributing the world by motivating other people to self-actualize as well. But still... people say that its almost impossible for me to be this high in the spiral, even though I am very smart and talented... I can also say what were my deep blue, deep orange and deep green periods like... But still...

[Forestluv]

4 minutes ago, bejapuskas said:

@Shiva@Pure Imagination @Serotoninluv Thanks man, I have started to see that myself, but still, its a part of getting out of biases and ego traps. I deeply resonate with yellow values and I have had experiences of being consciousness and unconditional love. I understand many different systems, I am very open and compassionate, I love contributing the world by motivating other people to self-actualize as well. But still... people say that its almost impossible for me to be this high in the spiral, even though I am very smart and talented... I can also say what were my deep blue, deep orange and deep green periods like... But still...

Rather than trying to figure out where you are, perhaps you could focus on becoming more conscious with a variety of methods. Trust you intuition to follow what resonates with you. Perhaps months from now you will look back and realize "Holy smokes! Looks like I'm centered in Yellow now!".

As well, perhaps listen to yellow- and turquoise-level teachings. There are lots of turquoise teachers that teach to green-centered audiences. 

[bejapuskas]

@Serotoninluv I actually thought that the transition is very logical, its obvious that true emotional mastery is impossible in the other stages... We basically do everything in order to be happy, even if we dont do anything, we do it to be happy. If Enlightenment meant endless suffering, why would we puruse it? (it cannot really be pursued, but... you know what I mean)

Its just quite hard to distinguish very smart orange and yellow. If I am genuinely open and understand the systems and complexity of the world, how is that orange/green? I always saw these colours like self-biased and ideologostic... I am super lost now...

I listen to many turquoise and yellow level teachings...  

Edited November 5, 2018 by bejapuskas

[Forestluv]

7 minutes ago, bejapuskas said:

@Serotoninluv I actually thought that the transition is very logical, its obvious that true emotional mastery is impossible in the other stages... We basically do everything in order to be happy, even if we dont do anything, we do it to be happy. If Enlightenment meant endless suffering, why would we puruse it? (it cannot really be pursued, but... you know what I mean)

Its just quite hard to distinguish very smart orange and yellow. If I am genuinely open and understand the systems and complexity of the world, how is that orange/green? I always saw these colours like self-biased and ideologostic... I am super lost now...

I listen to many turquoise and yellow level teachings...  

High level Orange thinkers can be *extremely* intelligent (based on logical and reasoning intelligence).  Richard Dawkins has a very high level of rational intelligence - yet a low level of tier2 post-rational intelligence.

In a way, awakening is now. We are always zero steps from enlightenment. Paradoxically, awakening is also a process. 

I wouldn't be so concerned about how to color specific beliefs. Perhaps ask "What does reality want to express through me?". Get curious about the discovery and direct experience.  Not to meet needs. Not to improve oneself. Not to be happy. Rather, to learn and experience the magnificence of life.

[bejapuskas]

@Serotoninluv I see... Thanks man, much appreciate that! The direct experience and self-experimentation is still crucial, even when I know this all at this young age... I am probably failing to understand that.

[Forestluv]

7 minutes ago, bejapuskas said:

@Serotoninluv I see... Thanks man, much appreciate that! The direct experience and self-experimentation is still crucial, even when I know this all at this young age... I am probably failing to understand that.

You are light years ahead of where I was at your age as well as 99% of people your age. . . Nice work.

[Elysian]

27 minutes ago, Serotoninluv said:

Get curious about the discovery and direct experience.  Not to meet needs. Not to improve oneself. Not to be happy. Rather, to learn and experience the magnificence of life.

One of the last LSD experiences I had was very focused around this. Everything showed it's true colors. Light beams passing through my window we're blowing my mind, how these particles were moving through space and time. I remembered a girl who grew from a very rough experience the day before, and I saw the perfection in the smile she had when she came out of it. It was so beautiful streams of tears were coming down my face. 

When I caught sight of one of the streams that moved to one of my arms, I watched it magically moving "downwards", the light bouncing off it reflecting the room from it's exterior, the complexity of the innate beauty of all of existence was like waves of mind blowing complexity crashing into my awareness. I looked out at the sky and it felt like Source was just giving me a glimpse of the true nature of creation, because if I got shown anymore it would've destroyed me.

I think the most curious of humans probably saw this more clearly than others naturally, like Da Vinci. Anyone who barely felt that way wouldn't be able to stop themselves from exploring existence.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Elysian
Grammar

[Forestluv]

6 minutes ago, Elysian said:

One of the last LSD experiences I had was very focused around this. Everything showed it's true colors. Light beams passing through my window we're blowing my mind, how these particles were moving through space and time. I remembered a girl who grew from a very rough experience the day before, and I saw the perfection in the smile she had when she came out of it. It was so beautiful streams of tears were coming down my face. 

When I caught sight of one of the streams that moved to one of my arms, I watched it magically moving "downwards", the light bouncing off it reflecting the room from it's exterior, the complexity of the innate beauty of all of existence was like waves of mind blowing complexity crashing into my awareness. I looked out at the sky and it felt like Source was just giving me a glimpse of the true nature of creation, because if I got shown anymore it would've destroyed me.

I think the most curious of humans probably saw this more clearly than others naturally, like Da Vinci. Anyone who barely felt that way wouldn't be able to stop themselves from exploring existence.

Yes!   

[Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj]