How Do You Like You Now?

A version of the postmodern Green Wave (a human awareness development stage) with its pluralism and relativism has actively fought the emergence of more integrative and holistic thinking. (expanded awareness)

Psychologists Beck and Cowan point out that second tier-thinking (expanded awareness) has to emerge in the face of much resistance from first-tier thinking. (The first six stages of awareness)

In his book A Theory of Everything, Psychologist Ken Wilbur continues to open the door of awareness a little wider in the physical and psychological evolutionary stages of human development. According to Wilbur and a growing number of other psychologists, humans evolve through eight major awareness Waves. And all Waves have an intimate psychological connection.

Each color Wave contains a plethora of beliefs that create the physical experiences of the ego. In Wilbur’s version of Spiral Dynamics, each color displays the ego’s awareness stages in this physical reality.

Some egos decide to stay in one level of awareness, even though other Waves are there to experience. The beliefs developed in each Wave continue to fuel the ego. And the ego stays there until some event alters a belief structure. That change opens the door for another stage in the ego’s perception of the reality experienced.

Even though egos usually flow from one Wave of awareness to another, they can always move to another Wave or several Waves because of the characteristics and beliefs in other Waves.

All Waves of awareness tend to turn on each other physically to establish a feeling of supremacy of some kind. There is a genetic element of aggression in humans. It’s a survival emotion that some egos take to extremes.

Objective thinking trumps subjective knowledge in this physical world. A war of wits and sometimes brawn takes precedence between egos with different beliefs. Egos create an individual reality around those beliefs.

Within those beliefs, influences cast a net of impulses around ego awareness from external and internal thoughts and perceptions. The ego makes choices that complement associations and the suggestions attached to beliefs. Those choices are the doors to a pool of perceptions. We call the experience from our perception our reality.

Our beliefs control what we create and how we create it. We protect the reality we create even though we know other Waves exist around us. So, preconceived debates about different beliefs rarely resolve anything.

For example: We see the actions of the Green Wave’s bonding beliefs and the Orange Wave's aggressive beliefs play out around the world. We watch arguments heat up as the Orange Wave tries to convince the Blue Mythic Wave it has more rational value in this reality.

Orange believes the laws of science rule human behavior and the economy. To them, the world is a chessboard. Winners gain perks and prominence over the losers.

The Blue or Mythic Wave believes life has purpose and meaning. The outcome of their beliefs comes from the action of a powerful order or higher being.

Green pluralism constantly smothers Turquoise holism. Turquoise or the Holistic Wave believes multiple levels of consciousness mesh into one conscious waking system.

Red Wave’s egocentrism ignores the Purple Wave. And Purple’s belief in magic puts a hex on the Green Wave.

The Red Wave believes in powerful beings like archetypal gods, goddesses, spirits, dragons, and feudal lords. They display characteristics of impulsiveness, ego-centric behavior, and heroic actions.

The Purple Wave still focuses on magical spirits. Purple continues to form ethnic tribes, and it incorporates curses, blessings, and spells to determine events and future experiences.

The Green Wave accuses the Yellow Wave of being authoritarian, sexist, racist, and hierarchical.

Yellow Wave egos believe knowledge and competency supersede status, power, and group sensitivity. The current world order results from different levels of reality, which contain unending probabilities and choices.

The Green Wave focuses on human bonding, ecological sensitivity, networking, and open communication. Green believes the human spirit must free itself from greed, divisiveness, and dogmas.

The Green Wave pluralism been in charge of cultural studies for the last thirty years and wants to keep it that way. That mindset makes it difficult for Green to move into more holistic stages of awareness.

The fact is unity exists within the ego's eight Waves of awareness. But individual ego beliefs, influences, and associations within core and satellite beliefs— and the perceptions created — are objective challenges on the road to creating a form of conforming discernment.

Egos tend to discount beliefs that are not part of a particular perception of awareness. Egos travel on the vehicle of time to experience an assortment of challenges. The lessons and emotions egos physically experience become personal road signs.

Road signs show the diversity that egos can handle. And they show the need to create value fulfillment regardless of the Wave of awareness. The ego's endless Waves of development never stop.