When the world stops making sense, we instinctively look for the simple solutions. Someone to blame, an easy way out or a strong leader who will "fix it". But what is the price for the quick fix?
Alis, I have been following and appreciating your work for a while. I am native Chinese living in the US. I too grew up in communist regime and was impacted in a big way by Tiananmen event in 1989 in China. I am a teacher of the Tao and a guide for people's self-discovery.
I have also been dipping into adult development theory. While I appreciate many aspects of this intricate and brilliant map, I also see its limitation and blind spots specific to left-leaning-progressive-hyper-intellectual perspective. Nothing wrong with it. We have our own diverse perspectives. Differences makes life rich. However, when we don't own our limitation and cast this specific lens to the world as "universal", we will run into a gap between the reality and our mental maps.
I'd like to propose that your analysis of Trump and the energy behind it is incomplete, imprinted by the current understanding of adult development. Although I completely agree with you the potential catastrophic danger Trump's election poses, I am also seeing an invisible energy that is potentially life-affirming behind all this, if we say yes to it. However, it's not something easily spelled out in words, especially not in modern English. So much of our perception of the world is determined by language. As long as we are restricting ourselves to the grammar, semantic sense-making, and logic of modern language, especially modern English, it's very hard to "see" the positive energy behind the chaos that's unfolding right now.
I am leaving this comments in hope to connect, to co-explore and to inquire together, if there is interest, space and if our life tracks align.
I am both intrigued and humbled by your comment, Spring, and thank you for the challenge delivered in such a gentle way! I am aware that the particular lens I used in my article is limited (and also more generally aware of the shadows of the left-leaning perspective - shadows that have become so visible in this particular historical moment). I do find myself holding adult development ever more lightly in my own work and also am noticing the limits of intellectualisation and the many gifts that lie beyond that. Hence the piano metaphor that I felt the need to create to help remind myself and others of the fluidity and complexity of this process - as I was feeling my reactivity to the implicit hierarchical nature of the stages as they are presented in mainstream research.
Also, living in Australia and being more and more exposed to Indigenous wisdom (Tyson Yunkaporta's work in particular has been a big eye opener for me) has made me think more deeply about the earth-centered worldview you were mentioning. I've come to think that First Nations around the world have long held an incredibly profound and complex, post-conventional worldview, that cannot be adequately captured in language and I am also aware, as you well point out, that much of the language-based focus we've had on adult development has been rooted in one language - English (let alone that any language has, by its very nature, limits and cannot be used as an adequate way to make sense of consciousness development past a certain point). This has been prompting me to start translating some of this work - so far into Romanian, my native language, but hoping to see more of it translated into other languages too, but also to consider more deeply how other channels - like non-cognitive ways of knowing - play a role in development.
I love the point you are making around the spark of positive energy behind the chaos and the music that may be unleashed now that this particular note, previously silent, has finally been released and allowed to express its frequency in the world. I am intrigued by how we might see beyond the pain and tap into the wisdom of this moment. It's surely a humbling lesson for many of us - myself included.
I would love to continue this conversation - perhaps in a zoom chat - sometime. Thank you for the thought provoking perspectives!
Dear Alis, my heart is warmed by the humbleness and integrity in your reply. I look forward to a time to chat on zoom maybe.
I once suggested a leading figure in the coaches industry that a more fitting name for "adult development theory" should be a map of the development of intellect. This person rejected it. The subtext was that too much was at stake for that change.
The maps created by the adult development theory was immensely useful for myself, not only for my intellectual development, but also for the integration of my indigenous worldview and the modern worldview. However, I engaged it in a way that is fundamentally different than the industry standards. I incorporated it into a divination process to engage in a mystical "dialogue" with the Inter-Being.
I feel very strongly that typing people with the stage through sentence-completion tests is utterly cultural insensitive, carrying the implicit assumption of English-dominance. I did that myself. Frankly, the Chinese-speaking self was horrified how insensitive it is to non-English, non-western-language-speakers, and the ancient-language users. Yet it was marketed as "universal human development model".
I long for a deeper understanding and collaborative way to engage in this fascinating topics. I do feel in my gut that this "note" on the collective piano that has arisen through the election is calling for a drastic shift in the lens we use to see the world.
PS, I'd like to add that I very much like your metaphor of seeing different stage of development as piano keys. When composing a piece of music, each key is necessary and essential (even when it is not played). The collective energy behind Trump's election struck a silent note that has been muted on the collective piano. From the rust and erosions, it sounds awful. But a key is a key. It carries a specific frequency. How can we (left-leaning, progressive, intellectual) re-write our music by incorporating this new note? This note is not all destructive ...
Beautifully written Alis, your passion, insight and understanding shine through. In speaking with some US friends yesterday, their level of grief and sadness was palpable and very real. Not since the shooting of JFK, said one of them, had he felt such shock, horror and grief. He's of the view that many people in the US lack perspective and don't know how good they have it relative to others in the world. It might be a case of not missing the water until the well runs dry, Americans have voted to allow the water out of the well in the vain hope that an authoritarian figure will deliver on the promises he made only to get their votes and not with any intention to make things better for people. One of the mistakes of our developmental journey is to underestimate the power, guile and cunning of Opportunist Action Logic in order to meet it we must recognise and manage it in ourselves. Sad and disturbing times indeed. We don't learn and we don't learn that we don't learn.
Oh my goodness… i am feeling so deeply moved and grateful, by the insight and compassion you have distilled from your life experience… thank you so much, dear Alis, for this rich gift… i am wanting to share it with everyone I know!!!
It was a hard one to write, Rosa, but it felt like a good way to metabolise some of the grief of this day. Thank you for reading and I'm glad it brought some value.
Thank you for sharing this powerful story Alis! And thank to those who shared their wisdom in the comments. It’s warms our broken hearts.
Reading more and more analysis and looking at the data, this question becomes clearer for me, how can we create more communities and dynamics that empower people to be more curious? To be open to perspective taking? To desire to learn how to play the piano, using more octaves? To play more complex songs that soothe human soul?
Beautifully written Alis- Gosh, I’m one of those who has taken voting for granted. I will certainly vote from now on 🥰 thank you for pointing that out. Xx
Thank you for your wise perspective, Nollind - I too hold the hope that this darkness is the lesson we all need, on all sides of the aisle. And love Cheryl Dorsey's words -I was not familiar with her work, thank you for introducing me to her!
Alis, I have been following and appreciating your work for a while. I am native Chinese living in the US. I too grew up in communist regime and was impacted in a big way by Tiananmen event in 1989 in China. I am a teacher of the Tao and a guide for people's self-discovery.
I have also been dipping into adult development theory. While I appreciate many aspects of this intricate and brilliant map, I also see its limitation and blind spots specific to left-leaning-progressive-hyper-intellectual perspective. Nothing wrong with it. We have our own diverse perspectives. Differences makes life rich. However, when we don't own our limitation and cast this specific lens to the world as "universal", we will run into a gap between the reality and our mental maps.
I have written a few articles about the limitation of adult development theory, especially its lack of understanding of indigenous, earth-centered worldview. You can find them here: https://resonancepath.com/?s=adult+development I have also been invited to speak about this, especially about the importance of the "descending pathway" at a few coaching and leadership related forums such as this one: https://www.coachesrising.com/podcast/transformation-in-a-meta-modern-world-the-stage-theory-debate-with-spring-cheng-jeremy-johnson-and-steve-march/
I'd like to propose that your analysis of Trump and the energy behind it is incomplete, imprinted by the current understanding of adult development. Although I completely agree with you the potential catastrophic danger Trump's election poses, I am also seeing an invisible energy that is potentially life-affirming behind all this, if we say yes to it. However, it's not something easily spelled out in words, especially not in modern English. So much of our perception of the world is determined by language. As long as we are restricting ourselves to the grammar, semantic sense-making, and logic of modern language, especially modern English, it's very hard to "see" the positive energy behind the chaos that's unfolding right now.
I am leaving this comments in hope to connect, to co-explore and to inquire together, if there is interest, space and if our life tracks align.
Warm regards, -Spring
I am both intrigued and humbled by your comment, Spring, and thank you for the challenge delivered in such a gentle way! I am aware that the particular lens I used in my article is limited (and also more generally aware of the shadows of the left-leaning perspective - shadows that have become so visible in this particular historical moment). I do find myself holding adult development ever more lightly in my own work and also am noticing the limits of intellectualisation and the many gifts that lie beyond that. Hence the piano metaphor that I felt the need to create to help remind myself and others of the fluidity and complexity of this process - as I was feeling my reactivity to the implicit hierarchical nature of the stages as they are presented in mainstream research.
Also, living in Australia and being more and more exposed to Indigenous wisdom (Tyson Yunkaporta's work in particular has been a big eye opener for me) has made me think more deeply about the earth-centered worldview you were mentioning. I've come to think that First Nations around the world have long held an incredibly profound and complex, post-conventional worldview, that cannot be adequately captured in language and I am also aware, as you well point out, that much of the language-based focus we've had on adult development has been rooted in one language - English (let alone that any language has, by its very nature, limits and cannot be used as an adequate way to make sense of consciousness development past a certain point). This has been prompting me to start translating some of this work - so far into Romanian, my native language, but hoping to see more of it translated into other languages too, but also to consider more deeply how other channels - like non-cognitive ways of knowing - play a role in development.
I love the point you are making around the spark of positive energy behind the chaos and the music that may be unleashed now that this particular note, previously silent, has finally been released and allowed to express its frequency in the world. I am intrigued by how we might see beyond the pain and tap into the wisdom of this moment. It's surely a humbling lesson for many of us - myself included.
I would love to continue this conversation - perhaps in a zoom chat - sometime. Thank you for the thought provoking perspectives!
Dear Alis, my heart is warmed by the humbleness and integrity in your reply. I look forward to a time to chat on zoom maybe.
I once suggested a leading figure in the coaches industry that a more fitting name for "adult development theory" should be a map of the development of intellect. This person rejected it. The subtext was that too much was at stake for that change.
The maps created by the adult development theory was immensely useful for myself, not only for my intellectual development, but also for the integration of my indigenous worldview and the modern worldview. However, I engaged it in a way that is fundamentally different than the industry standards. I incorporated it into a divination process to engage in a mystical "dialogue" with the Inter-Being.
I feel very strongly that typing people with the stage through sentence-completion tests is utterly cultural insensitive, carrying the implicit assumption of English-dominance. I did that myself. Frankly, the Chinese-speaking self was horrified how insensitive it is to non-English, non-western-language-speakers, and the ancient-language users. Yet it was marketed as "universal human development model".
I long for a deeper understanding and collaborative way to engage in this fascinating topics. I do feel in my gut that this "note" on the collective piano that has arisen through the election is calling for a drastic shift in the lens we use to see the world.
Thank you for your response!
PS, I'd like to add that I very much like your metaphor of seeing different stage of development as piano keys. When composing a piece of music, each key is necessary and essential (even when it is not played). The collective energy behind Trump's election struck a silent note that has been muted on the collective piano. From the rust and erosions, it sounds awful. But a key is a key. It carries a specific frequency. How can we (left-leaning, progressive, intellectual) re-write our music by incorporating this new note? This note is not all destructive ...
@Spring, I can't wait to listen to the Coaches Rising podcast and learn more about your work!
Beautifully written Alis, your passion, insight and understanding shine through. In speaking with some US friends yesterday, their level of grief and sadness was palpable and very real. Not since the shooting of JFK, said one of them, had he felt such shock, horror and grief. He's of the view that many people in the US lack perspective and don't know how good they have it relative to others in the world. It might be a case of not missing the water until the well runs dry, Americans have voted to allow the water out of the well in the vain hope that an authoritarian figure will deliver on the promises he made only to get their votes and not with any intention to make things better for people. One of the mistakes of our developmental journey is to underestimate the power, guile and cunning of Opportunist Action Logic in order to meet it we must recognise and manage it in ourselves. Sad and disturbing times indeed. We don't learn and we don't learn that we don't learn.
My sentiments exactly, Nial. Perhaps this is the lesson we might collectively need to learn. And the next few years will teach it…
Oh my goodness… i am feeling so deeply moved and grateful, by the insight and compassion you have distilled from your life experience… thank you so much, dear Alis, for this rich gift… i am wanting to share it with everyone I know!!!
It was a hard one to write, Rosa, but it felt like a good way to metabolise some of the grief of this day. Thank you for reading and I'm glad it brought some value.
Thank you for sharing this powerful story Alis! And thank to those who shared their wisdom in the comments. It’s warms our broken hearts.
Reading more and more analysis and looking at the data, this question becomes clearer for me, how can we create more communities and dynamics that empower people to be more curious? To be open to perspective taking? To desire to learn how to play the piano, using more octaves? To play more complex songs that soothe human soul?
Beautifully written Alis- Gosh, I’m one of those who has taken voting for granted. I will certainly vote from now on 🥰 thank you for pointing that out. Xx
Thank you for your wise perspective, Nollind - I too hold the hope that this darkness is the lesson we all need, on all sides of the aisle. And love Cheryl Dorsey's words -I was not familiar with her work, thank you for introducing me to her!