Radiance of Being Section 3 Emergence

Emergence
Combs says personal growth is a natural implication of the perspective that views consciousness as a system near the edge of chaos.
How do higher levels of consciousness emerge?
Wilbur believes that structures of consciousness tap into already existing states of consciousness. All people experience states of consciousness, waking,dreaming, and dreamless sleep. People interpret their peak experiences in terms of their dominate structure of consciousness This may be why spiritual encounters seem different for different people.
The Wilber-Combs Matrix represents states of consciousness in terms of the developmental structures through which they are experienced and the realms of being that lend them content.
How far can a person penetrate above their root structure?
Perhaps all states of consciousness are available but as we develop we gain stability in the higher states.
The developmental process is one of becoming objective about aspects of self, which were previously identified as self. This process allows our essential nature more freedom. At the mental level we gain a sense of autonomy, at the integral level we experience a growing sense of identity with others. At the transpersonal level our emotions, thoughts, and sense of self become objective.
In her extensive interviews, Cook-Greuter found the most advanced individuals struggling to free themselves of perceptions, emotions, and thoughts. At this level the advance in complexity characteristic of the former stages turns toward greater simplicity, as well as greater complexity. Perhaps greater objectivity allows for the greater purity and simplicity experienced at the higher levels.
Sri Aurobindo says we look down at the buzzing mechanistic mind from a position of objective non-attachment. He says we must separate the active mind (a factory of thoughts) from the quiet Witness which observes, eliminates, accepts and/or corrects the thoughts.
Combs says complexity brings objectivity. Our conscious self becomes integrated into a single fabric made up of thoughts, emotions, and motivations that otherwise drift as disconnected attractors that control us without our knowledge. Objectivity brings wholeness and freedom from fragmentation.
Many people can read the behavior and emotions of others better than their own. Objectivity towards one's own inner process brings understanding and self-mastery. This requires allowing thoughts, memories, and beliefs to become conscious.
Psychological growth is the natural progression to high levels of development.

Next: While the Mind is Utterly Indivisible - unconscious thoughts

The Radiance of Being

Recently, I started re-reading The Radiance Of Being by Allan Combs. In the foreword Herbert Guenther points out the dangers of model building and story telling. We tend to forget that the model or story is a human invention, the model or story then becomes a narcissistic trap and holds us captive. We believe that the story IS the reality. Guenther quotes Erich Jantsch:

"So desperate is our dependence on viable models and myths that we subconsciously try to elevate them from the muddy world of human emotions and interests to the crisp, clear heights of absolute truth. Physical models are set absolute and the myth of science is created. Social models are set absolute and their corresponding myths, or ideologies, subsequently imposed by social habits and taboos, or also by intimidation and force. Spiritual or cultural models are set absolute and their imperialism is defended on the grounds of belief in the form of religion or other evolutionary or pseudoevolutionary myths."

Nevertheless, Combs endeavors to find a thread of truth about what is real and follow it. He states that this book presents a radically revised understanding of what it is to be human.

The book is in three parts: The first is a discussion of the nature of consciousness and the mind. The second reviews the theories of the evolution of consciousness. The third presents an integral vision of consciousness and what it means to live a truly integral life.

The first section is entitled Complexity. The first chapter is entitled Minding Consciousness.

That section is for next time.