Soul to Spirit: The New Spiritual Psychology

As we continue to compare the Alice Bailey/Wisdom levels with those of Integral/Wilber, we move on to Group Six in the Bailey model and the Orange level in Integral.

Group Six and the Orange levels have been around for sometime, most notably as the ruling elite. (Note: I choose the picture for this post not only because you see Wall St. and symbols of the corporate media in the picture, but because it shows those above looking down on those below, giving the “elitist” feel).  The “elitists” can be found at the top of big corporations, banks, in the media, as rulers of countries, and also in the guise of the intelligentsia.

Integral Levels of Development

As always in these posts I start with the Integral Map and its seven to ten levels.

And, here is another chart zooming in on what is emphasized above.

And, here is the Ageless Wisdom map, with its 61 levels, 12 of which are found within the Egoic Lotus..

10 Soul Groups of Alice Bailey & Integral Connections. 

Again, a reminder that in Esoteric Psychology II, (EP II) pp. 203 – 207, 10 groups of evolving humanity are presented.  We will now examine Group Six. As a reminder EP II was written nearly 80 years ago.

Group 6 & Orange.

In Esoteric Psychology, Vol II, p. 206, it starts by letting us know that those in Group Six are those who “think and have minds.”  Note, the minds they have relate to the concrete, logical, factual mind, but also entering into the levels of abstract mind.

Michael Robbins says in his Egoic Lotus Webinar Commentaries 3 Series starting at around 1:52:00 writes that they have “less kama in their manas.” That means they are less driven by their emotions and more by their mental processes.  (This might also make them seem more cold-hearted since they do not have an emotional feeling tone as the masses do, and have not yet developed real love, Robbins indicates as well).  In the Bailey map, they are related to the Love petals, and more specifically the Love/Knowledge petal, meaning they can start to access what love really is, but have yet to do so except in a minuscule way, and mostly along the lines of “love” of oneself. The Love petals also brings them out of the Hall of Ignorance (which dominates the three Knowledge petals), into the Hall of Learning, where they are beginning to learn about the existence of the soul and the higher realms (though they may tend to objectify these realms still).

Because this group is capable of accessing more mind (lower/concrete/factual and a bit of the higher abstract mind), they tend to be found in higher education (colleges and universities).  Since they are more prone to mastering logic, they gravitate to scientific and technological fields.  (Those who know the Bailey type system will understand that they are related to the 5th type, or “ray” type, which has a scientific orientation).  Because they are also accessing the higher abstract mind, they will have more facility with abstract ideas.  These abstractions are found in mathematics, physics (including quantum physics and metaphysics), philosophy, attempting to understand social and political systems (for the purposes of manipulating them to one’s own advantage), and the various theoretical processes needed to manipulate symbols (such as in the stock exchange).

Robbins also indicates that this group is moving towards being what the Bailey model calls the integrated personality. An integrated personality (to overly summarize it as a lot is said about it in the Bailey model and I have no time to elaborate here) is a person who has basic mastery over his/her thoughts, feelings, body and physical existence.  Being an integrated personality does not entail being receptive to the spiritual realms.  In fact, most people in Group Six are still shut off to these realms and tend to be materialists. They are focused more on objective facts and the external world, than they are on subjective realities. They also tend to be more highly individualistic and even secular.  They become Gods and Goddesses in their own minds and have little use for any other “deity” out there.  Robbins says for this reason they frequently see themselves as “beyond the law” and can become the “predator elite who have strong minds and who think for themselves, but who have limited heart and morality.”

EP II states that those in Group Six represent the “cream of humanity” (at least at the time this book was written 80 years ago) and are the leading “writers, artists, thinkers in various fields of knowledge and aspiration.” They are also “politicians, religious leaders, scientists” and those who are in the “front ranks.” If they can move beyond being the predator elite, the growing sense of aspiration can lead them into taking their “ideas and propositions and working with them for the ultimate benefit of the human family.” They can become humanitarians working for various charitable causes, or setting up foundations so that their money can support causes they believe in. EP II suggests at these higher levels they become “world aspirants and those who are beginning to get the ideal of world service into their consciousness.” When they reach this stage it might be said that the Love/Love petal is also opening as they begin to genuinely respond to loving impulses beyond their own self-interest.

Integral and Orange

I will again start this section by typing what the chart below says about the Achiever – Conscientious (4) Orange type found in the Integral model.  “System effectiveness rules craft logic. Formal operations. 3rd person perspective expanded in linear time. Focus on scientific method, objective, measurable reality, laws, control, results, goals, plans. Self as self-chosen belief system “ideology.”

And, here again are quotes directly from An Overview of Developmental Stages of Consciousness compiled by Barrett C. Brown, Integral Institute April 3, 2006.

Values: Bottom line: Success and autonomy. Basic theme: Act in your own self interest by playing the game to win What’s important: Progress, prosperity, optimism, and self-reliance; strategy, risk-taking, and competitiveness; goals, leverage, professional development, and mastery; rationality, objectivism, demonstrated results, technology, and the power of science; use of the earth’s resources to spread the abundant “good life”; advance by learning nature’s secrets and seeking the best solutions Where seen: The Enlightenment; Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged; Wall Street; emerging middle classes around the world; colonialism, political gamesmanship; sales and marketing field; fashion and cosmetics industries; Chambers of Commerce; the Cold War; materialism; The Riviera, Rodeo Drive.

Self-Identity: Main focus: Delivery of results, effectiveness, goals; success within the system Qualities: Primary elements of adult “conscience” are present, including long-term goals, ability for self-criticism, and a deeper sense of responsibility. Interested in causes, reasons, consequences, and the effective use of time; future-oriented and proactive; initiator rather than pawn of system; blind to subjectivity behind objectivity; feel guilt when not meeting own standards or goals; behavioral feedback accepted. How influences others: Provides logical argument, data, experience; makes task/goal-oriented contractual agreements

The Two Models Compared.

Again the parallels are uncanny, and I continue to find it hard to believe that the in the past 80 years the ideas put forward by the Bailey model had no impact on the emerging theories of Integral.  Either it did and the role of the Ageless Wisdom teachings continues to be down played because the intelligentsia that tend to follow Integral theorists more closely want to avoid having to give credence to the Alice Bailey works, or they have simply picked up on the ideas etherically, or in their own research they are simply discovering what are fundamental truths.

Just before writing this post I saw a movie called The Big Short, which illustrated the extreme fraud and corruption that existed in the banking and mortgage industries that ended up permeating all of society causing the huge financial crisis of 2008.  It was a real life story that illustrated the problems with the Orange/Group Six level perfectly.  Later, I watched the hugely popular show, Downtown Abbey, about the Crawley family that lives in the equivalency of a castle surrounded by their many servants between the years of 1900 to 1925.  Unlike in The Big Short movie the Crawley family lean a little more into the philanthropic side with more of a spirit of “goodwill” talked about as emerging in the later stages of Group Six and activating what is known as the Love/Love petal.

What I like about the Bailey model in this case is that it shows how at the tail end of the Group 6 the aspirational  ideals emerge causing this person to be known as an “aspirant” in the Bailey model.  This fact reminded me of my Ph.D. dissertation work on Wealth and Spirituality, where I was researching the dynamics of this group more in depth (including taking an historical and religious overview).  I also looked at the notion of philanthropy. What stood out is how much of the “goodwill” was still oriented towards ensuring that those at this level maintained their position, power, and sense of dominance over others. Frequently, when charitable acts did occur, they were limited to a relatively small portion of the person’s wealth.  And, it was more common than not for the person making the charitable act to let others know all about it.  Often their names went on buildings to mark their good works. Or, when they were involved in charity, they made sure it helped leverage them into political and social circles of high or equal rank. Efforts were often made to inform others of how through their charitable acts they were part of an elite circle. All of this is symptomatic of aspiration because so much of the goodwill and charity still involves them in what Robbins calls the “see me” game.

There is mention of these components somewhat in the Orange description in the Integral model.  It is just seen much more as two separate stages in the Bailey model as someone shifts from Egoic Lotus Petal 4 (Love/Knowledge) to Petal 5 the Love/Love petal.

Again below is a map of terms that we use throughout the rest of this blog.

Have comments, questions, suggestions?  They will be posted so long as they are civil and expand the discussion.

Namaste,

Lisa

Copyright ©2016 by Lisa Love. All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, computer, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.