A topic continued from the previous post:

The aqal model is often presented as only of interest to second tier folks, or maybe even only understandable by second tier folks.

That does not seem to fit my experience. To me, the aqal model is mainly just a practical tool, a way to make sure the four quadrants and the various lines and levels of development is taken into consideration.

If the person is strongly attached to an ideology which excludes either of the quadrants or any acknowledgment of human development, they may reject it. But this seems unusual.

Otherwise, if the four quadrants and development is not a foreign idea or experience, there is an opening there. It can fit into their existing framework.

And if there is also some curiosity about the world, or just an interest in practical tools, then there is more than an opening: there may be an active and alive interest in it.

So is an integral framework such as the aqal model only of interest to the supposedly very few at the second tier? Not likely. It seems that anybody with a somewhat open mind, a curiosity about the world, or an interest in maps and tools that work, would at least be receptive and maybe even actively interested in learning about and applying it.

I suspect that the strong passion for it may come more typically at second tier, but that does not mean that there is not a much wider audience for it than this.

What do other people think? Based on your experience, not extracted from any models.

A footnote

This is written from the perspective of the aqal model as quadrants and lines/levels, and otherwise relatively content-free.

For those at orange who feel that "spiritual" levels are too far fetched and not supported by personal experience or science, they can of course leave that out. For those at green who do not like the language of levels, they can use words such as widening circles or turns around the spiral to refer to the same. For those at amber (previously blue) who see the bible as an authority, they can keep that - and just be sure to include all four quadrants and the lines and levels, either interpreting the spiritual levels/lines within their Christian context or choosing to leave them out.

The opportunities are endless. Does it mean that the aqal model is watered down? Not necessarily. It just means that the basic framework of quadrants and levels is made available to more people, wherever they are at otherwise.

Those who see themselves at second tier can still use it that way of course, and refine it according to where they are at.

Nothing is lost, much is gained.

And this seems to be a more genuinely second tier approach. To me, any attempt to preserve the "purity" of the model by excluding folks from it - through using a particular language or insisting on the one right content, smacks of absolutism. While a more pragmatic approach, making the basic model available to as many as possible, seems more second tier. And, as mentioned, those at second tier can still refine the model to their liking.

It may be messy, yes. And people may use it in ways you don't like. But that's life. And it will happen anyway.

The aqal framework is in many ways as basic a tool as language, and holding it back or trying to preserve its purity is as futile as trying to preserve the purity of language. It evolves, lives its own life, is used by people for their own purposes different from yours, is mangled and goes in directions you don't like. That's how it is.

And this is of course from the green gifts: egalitarian, wanting to share, make something available to as many as possible. With the understanding that people will make it their own, reflecting exactly where they are at in terms of the quadrants and levels.

Labels: aqal, integral