Making Better Decisions – Part 2

Our model of the world is like the operating system for our mind. It directs what we focus on, what we believe and the decisions we make. As Tony Robbins says, “Decisions shape our destiny”. By upgrading our model of the world, we can, without question, improve the quality of our decisions, and ultimately our life.

A few years ago, I borrowed an audio program from a friend. It was Ken Wilber’s Kosmic Consciousness. The first time I listened to it, I was un-impressed. It seemed like a huge amount of talking without much substance. To be entirely honest, I didn’t get it. Now, it’s not that often that I don’t get something. This is because I have a habit of needing to understand what someone is saying before I can dismiss what they are saying. When I didn’t get Wilber’s program, I had this nagging frustration in the back of my mind that didn’t go away. Over the next month, the concepts kept popping back into my thoughts. I kept trying to figure out what the heck he was going on about. Finally, I decided to give it another listen. About one third of the way in it hit me. It all made sense, and I knew right there that it was going to radically change how I would see the world from then on.

Ken Wilber’s integral model was a new way of seeing for me. It’s not that I had to throw away my old way of seeing things, though. Everything I had learned up till then still applied, but from then on all the content from my old model fit into a larger context, a more embracing worldview. With that more embracing worldview came more room for truth.

I was so excited about the integral perspective that I wanted to share it with everyone I could. Unfortunately, the same barriers that kept me from understanding it stop a lot of other people as well. This article is meant to describe Wilber’s model as accessibly as possible in the hope that more people can use it in their lives.

So, what is integral? A person operating from the integral impulse desires to consciously collect and integrate all the perspectives of the world into a cohesive and all together more embracing perspective. They know that a point of view is partial. It will always leave something out. Therefore, an integrally informed person doesn’t take any one perspective in their model as absolute truth. Each perspective serves to fill in and reveal larger meta-truths beyond the details of any one view. The integral mind seeks, above all else, higher truth.

In the pursuit of higher truth, we need a model to support that truth. We can’t just run around with a billion facts and figures in our mind with no system for storing all that information. The model serves as a structural framework with sections and subsections to store all that information. It is essentially a framework of meaning. Most of us let this process of model creation go on autopilot, and we end up with a pretty crappy model. The integral impulse is to bring that process of model creation into conscious awareness. Only then do we have the perspective necessary to create a better map.

In Integral Operating System, Ken Wilber says, “If you look at a simple summary of the integral map that we use, and there are dozens of variables, but we time and time again have found that there are five that we have found are really important. We call them quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types”. Basically, Wilber is saying that based on the multitude of research throughout human history, there are five subjects that come up time and again as important dimensions of human consciousness. There are obviously way more than five, but we want a useful model that doesn’t get bogged down and become just as overwhelming as the territory of reality itself. The model must be a careful and balanced representation, not too simple but not too complex.

Quadrants

The first of these five variables is called Quadrants. Quadrants refers to our use of pro-nouns to describe the perspectives we can take at any one time. The four pro-nouns that the model uses are I, We, It and Its. Again, it comes down to settling on a useful number, and four is right on the edge of that usefulness boundary.

So, what’s the use of having four pronouns in our model? If we look at these four pronouns, we see that they describe more than just perspectives that we can take on a personal level. One place they are echoed in is truth, good and beauty. If you think about it, truth is a description of information gleaned from the “it” dimension of reality. We call something true if it resonates with objective, “it” language. Science is an example of an “it” discipline. Another way to put it is that “it” describes objective reality. We say, “It is raining”. We don’t say, “I feel raining”. Rain coming down or not is an objective statement. Good is derivative of the “we” domain. Morality and social agreements are formed from taking the “we” perspective. We call this domain Intersubjective. It is based on collective agreement between at least two individuals. Beauty comes from the “I” domain. Some people think the Mona Lisa is ugly. I happen to think it is beautiful. Neither are objectively true nor a statement of what to do. They are statements of beauty, statements of the subjective. Finally, “its” describes Interobjective systems. These can be networks, governments and environments. Think of this quadrant as objective social systems.

These four dimensions of reality should never be mistaken for, or reduced to, one another. They are separate co-arising domains, and by including them in our map we have a greater chance of honouring what each brings to the table.

A while back I was faced with the decision of whether to quit my job or not. The company I was at was exploiting its employees and it was a toxic environment to be in for any length of time. I also wasn’t happy with the work itself. For those two reasons I sent in my letter of resignation. Later I was thinking about my decision and realized what I had done. I had made an “I” (personal, emotional) and a “we” (moral) check but hadn’t considered the “it” domain enough. I tend to be idealistic and this is definitely one of the shortcomings of that trait. I realized that if I had put more emphasis on the “it” domain as a factor I may have found a better job first before walking out. It was objectively a bad decision to leave when I did. This kind of quadrant check can be a fantastic way to make sure all dimensions of a situation are being given consideration in a decision.

Lines

The next variable in Ken Wilber’s integral model is Lines. Lines refers to what Howard Gardner calls multiple intelligences. We all know that people can be smart in one area and not so smart elsewhere. Look at me, for example. My artistic line is quite high because I have spent over 10 years developing it. Now if you throw me in a swimming pool with Michael Phelps, I might not do so well. My kinesthetic line is pretty sad, to say the least. This is quite common, though. Most people spend their time focusing on one or two areas and neglect the other areas. It’s not bad at all. But what we need to do is be aware of where we are developed and where we aren’t.

There are dozens of potential lines that we could include in our integral model. Wilber’s model emphasizes seven lines that really should be taken into account to encourage healthy growth. They are: cognitive, interpersonal, moral, musical, worldview, kinesthetic and values. Again, these are just some of the more important ones, and you can include more or less if you want.

A good example of where this kind of awareness can be beneficial is in leadership. The company that I recently left had a CEO who was cognitively quite highly developed, and he knew it. Unfortunately, he is a moral slug. He has made the mistake of generalizing his intelligence over all his lines, and it negatively affects everyone around him. With lines in one’s model, these kinds of blind-spots can be largely avoided. When a leader is lacking in an area, he can work on developing that area or hire someone who is developed there to fill in the gap.

Levels

Another variable in Wilber’s model is Levels. There is a huge amount of evidence from multiple researchers gathered during the last century about levels of consciousness. The evidence points to the fact that we all start out at square one and over the course of our lives develop through identifiable stages, or structures of awareness. The basic labels for these levels vary depending on the researcher but they all point to the same thing. These levels describe the stages that our lines develop through.

Spiral dynamics is a model of values development by Don Beck and Chris Cowan. In this model, the levels are labeled from lowest to highest as follows: Instinctive /Survivalistic, Magical/Animistic, Impulsive/Egocentric, Purposeful/Authoritarian, Achievist/Strategic, Communitarian/Egalitarian, Integrative, and Holistic.

The higher the level, the wider and more embracing the perspective. For instance, the Purposeful/Authoritarian level tends to identify with family and at most country whereas the next level, Achievist/Strategic has the capacity to identify with all human beings. It continues this way all the way up.

Levels are an important variable in the integral map. Awareness of this dimension of ourselves gives us the ability to know where a decision is coming from. We can always act from the highest, most embracing and holistic perspective we know. This helps promote a stronger sense of integrity. The gap between what we believe and what we do closes.

States

The forth variable is States of Consciousness. There are three main states that all of us experience on a regular basis; the gross waking state, the dream state and the formless deep sleep state. In addition, we are capable of experiencing many other altered or peak states at any given time. This is really important to keep in mind because we have to be aware that the state we are in influences how we see the world and what we do.

Another important thing to mention is that states should never be confused with levels and lines. If one has a mystical state experience, it doesn’t mean they are all of a sudden at a higher level of consciousness. In fact, most of the masters in the world’s spiritual disciplines are of any and all levels of consciousness.

Types

The final variable in Ken Wilber’s integral model is Types. The Myers-Briggs Typology model and the enneagram are two maps of this dimension of our being. They essentially refer to the qualities and structure of a person’s personality. By being aware of this dimension of ourselves, it promotes sensitivity to the various ways humans have for getting their needs met. When we know why we do what we do, we can have self acceptance for our uniqueness and also less attachment to excuses for why we can’t do something. When we know the self, we can embrace and move beyond the self.

There are many resources online where you can take tests to identify your type. I recommend the Myers-Briggs typology test. It can be a great way to get to know why you do what you do.

Quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types are the variables that Wilber’s integral model emphasizes. It’s a good place to start. Invest the time to get familiar with Wilber’s model and a variety of other models and find what fits your experience best. Our understanding is always developing and so is our model. The more conscious we are in our development, the healthier the whole process will be.

When we are faced with any decision in our lives, it really boils down to a question about what to do. Before answering that question, we try to take as many perspectives into account as possible to make sure our decision is a good one. But not all perspectives are equal. In effect, we need a system for adding appropriate weight to the various perspectives so they correctly influence our decision. A comprehensive worldview is absolutely essential in this, and Ken Wilber’s integral model is, quite frankly, as good as it gets.