The Cycle of Personal Growth - Integral & Hero's Journey
This article goes in depth about Integral Theory. If you don't know a lot about it, you may want to check out this summary first.
Integral Theory states that when a holon (in this case a human) wants to transcend its present self into a higher stage of growth (for example a human goes from the blue to the orange consciousness stage), it has to transcend and include the preceding stage in the following process:
1. Fusion and identification with the current level
2. Differentiation or dis-identification from the current level and getting into the new level
3. Integration of the new level with the previous level
By that the holon gains new characteristics that were never found in its predecessors.
This process is something we all have gone through at some point of our life. Haven't you ever had it that you took a certain aspect of life for granted and then, suddenly, you got a new insight and you believe that that was the one and only truth from now on and you just have been wrong before. And then, after some time, when you have become familiar with the new level, you realize that the old one also had its value and you start combining both. This is now where your range of possibilities expands, because now you can draw from both perspectives. This is also the stage in which you learn to use the right perspective at the right time. You figure out how to switch between them, based on what you need right now.
The Stages Explained
The first stage is associated with a feeling of comfort and certainty, because there is only one level present and that is seen as truth. There is no insecurity in beliefs.
The second level is associated with struggle and with change. Suddenly, there are two conflicting levels and if you want to grow to the next one, you have to give up your old beliefs that gave you so much comfort. This step is usually marked by a sense of rejection of the old worldview, like a teenager would do it.
The third level is the level where you can feel powerful when you manage to integrate both levels into yourself. Suddenly, you expand and hold two worldviews inside you, not conflicting, but each one supporting you in its way, so that they make a whole together. You learn to control them and use them as tools whenever needed. You start transcending both of them.
That is an experience that can feel very powerful in itself. It gives you a feeling of new capabilities, of new skills, and it's true, you have become more capable of dealing with the world and with yourself.
But there is also a possible obstacle at the third level. When you begin the third stage, you start to see that both levels, the one you discarded and the new one you accepted, are both true in their own way. Now you have to admit that you have been wrong twice. You have been wrong when you thought the old level was the only one. And you have been wrong when you said the new level was the only valid one. Admitting that you need both of them is hard sometimes, especially if you bought into the new level very strongly and have tasted all its new surprising benefits, it's hard to integrate it into the old one. It's scary to admit this, because it can let you doubt the validity of your beliefs.
But now that you know the whole process, this will be easy to overcome. Actually, every time you go through it consciously, you become calmer and calmer, because you are already familiar with it.
Now you know the three stages and whenever you find yourself settling for your current worldview, you know that you are on stage one and you know what comes with it. You can enjoy your reward for a bit while you are excitedly waiting for the next level of growth.
From now on, when a new perspective opens up to you and you begin stage two, you can pay attention to that voice in your head that tells you that the previous level was garbage. And there is nothing wrong with letting go of the precious level immersing yourself in the new one in order to learn about it. That's a great action for that stage. But if you are aware at this stage that the old level also holds benefits, which at this stage you might not be able to see, it will be way easier to combine them in the next stage.
And when you reach step three, you can celebrate the two levels coming together and lifting you up to new spheres of consciousness.
Also, be aware that this new level that was made by the fusion of the two levels, isn't the ultimate level either. After you have become comfortable in this stage, a new perspective will appear and the process will begin again to lift you up to an even higher level.
But don't worry. That process doesn't get boring easily. It looks so vastly different every time that it's hard to even recognize that the same basic principle lies behind it.
It's like going on holiday. Even if you go on a holiday every year, it still doesn't become boring, because you choose different locations, different activities, different types of holiday every time.
One more note on this. Forcing any of these processes is not necessary. The new stage will appear as soon as you learned to handle the current stage and spent some time there. The more stress and need to level up you express, the harder it gets for things to settle in at where you are. If you can trust that your evolution proceeds at the perfect pace for you and you can accept the present surprise when something new crosses your way, the process will be able to unfold smoothly.
The Cycle of the Hero's Journey
Now, let's tie all of this to together. There is a process describing the same thing in the Hero's Journey (Joseph Campbell).
If you haven't heard of the Hero's Journey before, you might want to check out this summary.
The best know process in the Hero's Journey is this:
The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell, picture source: Skift, by Luke Bujarski
This graph shows the process a person goes through when they attempt a new challenge that forces them to grow. In its essence, it's the same process as the one form Integral Theory.
In this picture, the stages one to five take place in the ordinary world. The first stage represents the current worldview. Then, suddenly, at stage two, you get shaken by a new insight, which "calls you to your next adventure". After that, the first internal struggle begins, caused by the two levels that are now on the forefront of your consciousness. This is where you might debate with yourself, about what you should do and which path to follow. Here you have both options. You can refuse the call, which leads to a metaphorical death of the hero in the Hero's Journey, or you can accept the call. Accepting the call, you have reached step 5, the crossing of the threshold.
Now follows the special world, as it is called in the picture above. Everything that takes place in the special world is you, exploring the new level. This is the real adventure. This is you, travelling a whole new world, meeting its challenges and abysses and finally mastering it, and by that, mastering a deeper part of yourself.
I won't go deeper into every single step of the journey. If you want to read about that, check out the Hero's Journey summary.
The last time you switch worlds is at step ten. This is where Integral's third stage starts, the integration of both worldviews. You return to your old world, but you are a different person, and by that, you are now able to influence this old world of yours. Now you can use and enjoy your new-found inner strength, until it becomes normal for you, ordinary. Then you are ready for a new adventure and the cycle begins again at one.
Get Some Practical Insights
Getting an idea of theories like this is always best done by observing examples.
If you want to get a better practical idea about this, pick a movie that strongly emphasizes the Hero's Journey and watch out for the three stages of growth.
A few popular examples of movies with a strong Hero's Journey are:
- The Lord of the Rings
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
- The Matrix
- The Hunger Games
You can also watch out for those three stages in your own personal development. That is sometimes harder than watching a movie character do it, but it also gives you more insight about how it works in your life particularly. Because even if we all follow this pattern, it looks vastly different for each of us.
Links
Check out these links from different sources to learn more about the Hero's Journey and Integral Theory:
Articles and videos:
The Hero's Journey - a Summary
Video about the Hero's Journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A0oCA
Integral Theory and the Hero's Journey: https://integrallife.com/belly-whale-joseph-campbell-and-heros-journey/
Books:
A Brief History of Everything, by Ken Wilber (this book was used for this article): https://amzn.to/2Qe8JAM
The Human Odyssey Series (Ken Wilber & Joseph Campbell): https://amzn.to/2Dl7fOk
FREE pdf about the Hero's Journey for Higher Development: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272742085_The_Hero's_Journey_of_Self-transformation_Models_of_Higher_Development_from_Mythology
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