This blog is the first iteration of what has now become www.OneCommunityGlobal.org, please visit that site for all the most current details on this project.
One of the most powerful aspects of genuine community is that it is defined by elevated levels of consciousness and spirituality. These levels of consciousness have been studied extensively, identifying how people transition through the levels to the highest level of consciousness called enlightenment. This page is meant as a reference point for the 3 most universally accepted and intensely studied explanations of human consciousness and spiritual growth in relation to community building and living in genuine community.
One of the most powerful aspects of genuine community is that it is defined by elevated levels of consciousness and spirituality. These levels of consciousness have been studied extensively, identifying how people transition through the levels to the highest level of consciousness called enlightenment. This page is meant as a reference point for the 3 most universally accepted and intensely studied explanations of human consciousness and spiritual growth in relation to community building and living in genuine community.
"Enlightenment is simply remembering who you really are."
~ Nanice Ellis ~
The three explanations of human consciousness and spirituality development are Professor James Fowler's "Stages of Faith Development," Dr. Scott Peck's "Stages of Spiritual Growth," and Professor Clare Graves "Spiral Dynamics System of Values Evaluation and Evolution." The links below are highly recommended and lead to detailed explanations of all three systems so they need not be discussed here and we can focus on how this relates to community building and living in genuine community.
Professor James Fowler: Stages of Faith Development
Dr. Scott Peck: Stages of Spiritual Growth
Professor Clare Graves: Values Evaluation and Evolution
I've spent the last 6 years studying and applying Graves Values Progression for coaching, negotiation and better understanding of human psychology. Fowler's and Peck's systems were introduced in just the last year to me but aligned with the Graves model perfectly. The reason I mention these systems here is because there ARE stages of development and ascending the levels of all three systems can be facilitated.
"Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost in your mind."
~ Eckhart Tolle ~
Higher levels of consciousness facilitate genuine community building and genuine community facilitates higher levels of consciousness. Peck shares the results of his research community building with groups of 10 to 100's in his book The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace saying "Does this mean, then that a true community is a group of all Stage IV (highest level, enlightened) people? Paradoxically the answer is yes and no. It is no because the individual members are hardly capable of growing so rapidly as to totally discard their customary styles of thinking when they return from the group to their usual worlds. But it is yes because in community the members have learned how to behave in a Stage IV manner in relation to one another. Among themselves they all practice the kind of emptiness, acceptance, and inclusiveness that have characterized the behavior of mystics throughout the ages."
The architects of One Community have experienced this as well and this is the reason we are building One Community. We wish to live in this environment all the time and invite others to share the experience; to learn, grow, thrive and discover the magnificence of who you really are.
