Indigo

I'll be traveling shortly so I'm posting my contribution to Blogopolooza early "Saturday morning. I may not be around to answer comments on Saturday, but I'll drop by as soon as I'm able to.

Beyond the familiar sights and sounds of teal (existential, evolutionary, systemic) and turquoise (intellectual, meta-systemic, integrative), there is another worldspace that is associated with the Integral consciousness. The findings of developmental psychology begin to become more exceptional and less sturdy, because fewer individuals have progressed to these terrains and so detailed studies are rarer and theoretical orientations more clumsy). At the same time, personal experience and the reports of other individuals becomes more relevant to refining the maps and exploring the territories.

Indigo is the altitude immediately beyond turquoise in Ken Wilber's Integral Theory, alternately known as the psychic or astral level in other developmental theories of mind. In these remarks, I'll briefly describe the descriptions of the indigo level as it appears in the work of three writers: (1) Susan Cook-Greuter ("A Detailed Description of the Development of Nine Action Logics in the Leadership Development Framework...", 2002); Ken Wilber IV ("The Psychic Level," Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: 1995); and Jim Marion's ("Chapter 9 of Putting on the Mind of Christ. Psychic Consciousness" 2000). After describing the indigo level, I'll weave together some of the common threads and describe a few practices known for heightening awareness of the indigo consciousness.

First, in the leadership developmental theory of Susan Cook-Greuter, the transition from the turquoise to the indigo and violet levels of consciousness is depicted as the arrival of a "Magician" or ego-aware level of consciousness. Cook-Greuter: "As the process of self-awareness deepens and reasoning becomes further differentiated for Magicians, access to intuition, bodily states, feelings, dreams, archetypal and other transpersonal material increases. More than that, these sources of knowledge can become as important as rational deliberation for making sense of experience and for finding meaning in life." Thus, the post-turquoise developmental styles increasingly draw from non-rational sources, leading even to temporary states in which the personal self-sense disappears. The result is increasing witnessing with detachment to non-rational states without the ego's efforts to control and affirm itself.

At Indigo level, people more often than at earlier stages say that they are watching or witnessing the parades of thoughts and feelings come and go without trying to direct them. Thus, they experience moments of freedom from the ego's constant striving. Cook-Greuter describes the indigo paradox thusly: "The more one is conscious and proud of one's psychic powers and ego-transcending quest, the more clearly one's ego is still enthroned."
 
The consequence of such paradox may mean a feeling of increasing complexity, hubris, the need for ever larger theories to account for the self, and a sense of envy at the simplicity of others' self-sense. Indigo is less self-important than turquoise and less fervent in the desire to help others to achieve their potential. Indigo becomes more self-tolerant, using mature defenses to grapple with their own flaws, and sometimes choose less mature behavior styles and tolerate their own raw impulses. Persons at indigo are intrigued by the need for human meaning-making, fascinated by the limits of rational thought, and absorbed by the need to live within the paradox of language.

Ken Wilber introduces the psychic (indigo) level in Sex, Ecology, Spirituality as the first of the genuinely transpersonal levels of consciousness. Wilber goes to great length to equate the notion of the World Soul with Emerson's notion of the Over-Soul, an anchor of the higher Self that knows no defined personal roles such as male or female. It is the ever-present observer within the self, or the Witness, that emerges at this stage. In Emerson's thought: "The Soul is tied to no individual, no culture, no tradition, but rises fresh in every person, beyond every person, and grounds itself in a truth and glory that grows to nothing in the world of time and place and memory.... all things are made sacred by relationship to it--one as much as another. All things are dissolved to their center by their cause.'

Emerson finds in direct experience of the Nature the fullest expression of Spirit. It is not Spirit itself, but an expression of symbol of Spirit that saves Emerson's naturalism from regressing to "undifferentiated biospheric immersion." Emerson's mysticism of the Over-Soul embraces Nature, but transcends it. Wilber defines three distinct worldviews on the relationship between nature and spirit:

1. Magical indissociation, spirit equated with nature.

2. Mythic disassociation, nature and spirit ontologically separate.

3. Psychic mysticism, nature a perfect expression of spirit, united and conjoined.

Wilber links this third worldview to the psychic domain (soon to be called the indigo level). In a footnote, Wilber continues: "The psychic level, which is the realm of initial transpersonal or mystical awareness, often involves a great number of seemingly unrelated phenomena, from various types of actual paranormal cognitions and events (e.g., 'astral travel,' out-of-the-body experiences) to numerous preliminary meditative states; kundalini awakenings (especially of the first five chakras); reliving of birth and pre-birth states; temporary identification with plants, animals, humans, aspects of nature, or even all of nature (nature mysticism, cosmic consciousness)--to name a very few. What all of those have in common is that the mystical experience moves beyond ordinary or conventional reality (the gross/waking realm), but still takes a part of its referent the gross/waking realm."

Jim Marion summarizes the nature of the psychic consciousness: "At the psychic level of consciousness we no longer identify the self with the rational mind. Instead, we identify the self with the inner witness that observes body, emotions, and mind. This inner witness is the permanent self, the part of the self beyond spacetime. The permanent self has senses such as clairaudience and clairvoyance that roughly parallel the physical senses, and which are referred to in the New Testament. Persons with psychic consciousness may make use of abilities such as healing by the laying on of hands, prophecy, and speaking in tongues."

Marion describes prophecy as a spiritual gift residing at the psychic level of consciousness. Prophecy is distinct from speaking in tongues, the utterances spoken in trance by members of mythic religion and translated in kind by other mythic religionists. Instead, Marion says, the major spiritual traditions have advised against the development of prophetic powers until one is grounded in the psychic level itself. Prophecy includes foretelling the future; but moreover, it means "opening our inner psychic faculties to hear the words, or see the images, sent down from the spiritual planes (including our own 'higher selves' or souls) for our guidance." Such prophetic messages were an important part of early Christian spirituality, and today it is practiced primarily among Christian new agers and spiritual and metaphysical churches (because there's no longer support for it in mainstream Christianity).

Basic competence at the psychic level is necessary for spiritual development; however, developing the gifts of prophecy is not. Basic competence in psychic experiences involves becoming interested in the events of our own psyche and the ability to see and feel what is going on within us. For Marion, it marks the arrival of a truly contemplative mode of consciousness.

Perhaps the greatest distinguishing characteristic between the turquoise and indigo levels of consciousness is the ability to hold the integrated self's identity, even the structures of our own shadows and conscious awareness, as an object to the witness.

The ego-aware mind hears its own voice and is aware of its modulations of volume.

The ego-aware mind is the first level of consciousness to sense the falseness of conventional understandings of causality.

The ego-aware mind speaks its own voice and is capable of raising and lowering its tone.

The ego-aware mind feels its own sensations and is attune to the inner hum and stirrings of its own body.

The ego-aware mind sees itself and all the contents of its consciousness and is aware of its separation from the mind.

Indigo is less concerned than turquoise with developing comprehensive worldviews or integrating partial conceptions of reality into flexible and flowing holistic syntheses. Indigo "takes for granted" that the psyche, culture, nation, and world are inseparable at the root. Its growing awareness of connectedness and unity is without effort; it is simply becoming more attuned to the sights, sounds, and dynamics of one's own psyche.

Conventional awareness perceives events and causes. Indeed, the entire architecture of the Newtonian worldview is based on the notion that events cause other events to unfold in a linear continuity of time. Detectable cause precedes observable effect.

Take prayer, for example. A prayer that something beneficial will happen in the future AND IT DOESN'T is an example of magical thinking. A prayer that something beneficial will happen in the future AND IT DOES is an example of thinking that may be magical or may be participating in transrational structures of knowing. Actually, whether or not the event happens in the future is irrelevant. A genuinely transrational structure of knowing is able to understand the prayer as an opening of the Soul to Nature, regardless or whether Nature pays heed to the Soul within any specific time frame.

The ego-aware mind begins to perceive the unity of causation and observation. Past, present, and future no longer appear as strictly linear points along a line, but as segments of a loop that can mutually interact. Suddenly, the contents of the future appear as repeating patterns of connecting symbolism extending forward into the future based on past trends and present contours.

Indigo is more fascinated by the need for transrational structures of meaning-making and solution-seeking. Art, story, symbol, image, and metaphor may become more intriguing than concept, idea, theory, and framework.

Indigo tends to derive greater satisfaction from communal and relational expressions of meaning-making. Whereas turquoise may be content with a perfectly ordered meta-systematic philosophy, indigo allows for flexibility, fuzziness, and vagueness of concept in order to allow for new bonds of community to arise within a more generous and fluid orthodoxy.

Indigo tends to become more tolerant with flaws, character defects, and shadows. Rather than strive to incorporate and overcome every failing and disowned portion of consciousness, indigo may become satisfied with giving expression to lower impulses with an attitude of playful acceptance, or letting others have their shadows. "So I am selfish with my love of ice cream. Then I shall permit myself an indulgence, and be morally tolerant of those who are also occasionally self-indulgent."

Indigo steers clear of magical indissociation, which equates spirit with nature. Also avoided are mythic disassociation, which separates nature and spirit, and rational disassociation, which separates reason and spirit. At the psychic level, nature, reason, and spirit are united.

Putting in into Practice

I find myself drawn to avenues of a contemplative mode where I can simply observe the contents of my psyche, without judgment or analysis. I develop kindness and humility and good nature at my own failings simply by being present to all that arises within my awareness. Generally, this happens without a devoted spiritual practice. It happens by contemplative awareness on everyday life.

Dramatic shadow work is a particular exciting way to practice mindful awareness, attune to the psychodnymaics of a moment, the complex interactions between participants and observers in a shadow work healing process. Guiding him step-by-step through the process of becoming an impartial observer or witness of his own inner dramas of the mind. That turns me on; that helps me to feel that I am on the cutting edge of my awareness in the indigo faculties.

Writing is also of special beneift, particularly when I allow myself the indulgence of writing in a stream of consciousness mode. Whole Wrting is a technique I often use to hear, feel, relate to, envision, symbolize, and tell stories about the working of my inner life. The truth is it's not a very turquoise practice. Its very chaotic and unstructured fashion deconstruct the analytic rigoeour and rationalistic precision demanded by turquoise systematizing. It is more of an indigo-responsive practice: it permits unfettered awareness of the egoic mind in its most expansive and embodied position of knowledge. From there, the AQAL tools of analysis are not really necessary after the fact, except as an impression or style or decoration. Turquoise says: "When I speak about my achievement-oriented value, I tag such phrase with an orange color in order to communicate the value that inheres within the word at a turquoise worldspace." Indigo says: "When I speak about the need I feel to make money, I sense an orange impression and it seems right to me to dabble the phrase with a bit of orange paint to say, 'See here's what I feel like. I see orange."

Prophecy is another fascination of mine at indigo because I am simply struck, over and over again, by the seeming coincidence of the events in the life of my psyche and the world around me and the world of nature. I see prophecy in an absolutely knock-your-socks-off astrology reading (ever had one of those by someone you take seriously? It's a trip.) I see prophecy in the connections between my dreams, visualizations, and the happenings of my life. I've learned tremendous respect for the power of the unknown and the veneration for events and visitations that seem best interpreted at the psychic level rather than the rationalistic level. I have had numerous friends share with me stories of "entity possession" that are deeply troubling and disturbing (entites being psychic pheneoma at lower levels of the astral realm of being). I have been blown away by the power of the mind to create unexpected and disturbing realities, or at least to raise the possibilities of mind/body connections in ways that command respect. There was a a time a few years ago when I was struggling writing a few scenes for a screenplay. I thought of my friend J in Boston and thought about an event in our friendship. I wrote about it, even though I hadn't seem J in many years. I also thought of my friend M and was troubled by seeing a character molded after him in the screenplay taking a knife and contemplating an act of violence. I got an email that very week from J. He had a dream in which I had died that upset him greatly. He contacted me from out of the blue to see if I was okay. I got a a call from M and learned, much to my surprise and horror, that he had been troubled by obsessions of cutting himself to the point of suicidal ideation.After some similar events unfolded, I stopped work on the screenplay. Too much weird shit was happening in my life.

I don't understand all the events I've encountered from the psychic relam of being, nor do I claim to have proof that these events are beyond a shadow of a doubt not explainable by mere coincidence and synchronicity. But I have earned reverence and humility before the powers of consciousness over which I have little control and in which I am, seemingly, an explorer, not an experienced guide. At its best, the pre/trans fallacy tells people at orange to wisen up and stop listening to the regressive voices of magenta and amber that are holding them back. It's a powerful idea. But as consciousness ascends the ladder, even the pre/trans fallacy appears relatively true. Where bodymind, soul, spirit, culture, and nature intersect ... where cause and effect reveal themselves as two associations in mind, neither to be absolutely privileged over the other ... then the pre/trans fallacy can hold us back to a fuller embrace of the highest dimensions of spirit. At indigo, we move beyond "weird shit happens" into the role of the ego-aware observer of mind, opening ourselves to al the discoveries ahead, whether they be mundane and ordinary, or of the "weird shit happens" variety.
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Joe Perez is a Seattle-based writer. His new book, Soulfully Gay: How Harvard, Sex, Drugs, and Integral Philosophy Drove Me Crazy and Brought Me Back to God, is now released from Integral Books.