Reconstructing Faith
About Lesson

Spiral Dynamics is a model of human development or Levels of consciousness originating from Don Beck and picked up by many thinkers since then such as Ken Wilber. Spiral dynamics was formed from sociological observation and data compiled into a framework that explains how humans have developed over time. Spiral dynamics could also be considered a model of worldviews as well as individual psychological development.

Spiral dynamics has helped me understand the Bible and how beliefs within it changed over time. It has helped me understand history and the pattern of cultural growth. I believe that this model will be very beneficial for others in understanding and growing their faith. 

There are a few points that are important in understanding Spiral Dynamics.

  1. Every stage is important. People need to work through everything within their stage of understanding before moving onto a new stage. Transcend and include rather than advance and reject previous stages.
  2. All stages are within us as individuals. It’s more about discovering and understanding them within us than something external that we pick up, though learning about it externally can be hugely helpful at the right time.
  3. Everyone is in multiple stages at once, however, there is a majority stage where everyone is mostly in. 
  4. Every stage has healthy and unhealthy parts of it.
  5. Each stage changes between individual and communally focused. The last stage incorporates everyone/everything.
  6. The majority of the world is in stage 4 (traditional). Stages below and above have less and less people within them. 
  7. Different thinkers have slightly different takes in Spiral Dynamics. Stages have differing colors and names depending on who is teaching it.