Spectrum of Development

In continuing with this latest series of blog entries, I will now endeavour - based largely on a personal appreciation of the developmental stages - to show how the affective mode evolves through the full range of the spectrum (containing 8 Bands and 24 major levels). As we have seen Band 1 commences from a state where neither differentiation nor integration with respect to development has yet taken place. This therefore represents - with respect to the affective function - a state of total confusion. The first task then in development is to obtain separation with respect to - what I refer to as - the diagonal polarities of form and emptiness relating directly to the volitional mode (of instinctive motivation). So the infant - indeed strictly this stage commences at the foetal stage - beings to become dimly aware of a phenomenal world (of form) as distinct from a void (of emptiness). Then when successfully negotiated (Band 1, Level 1) this leads to differentiation of

In the previous blog entry, I showed that though Bands 1 and Bands 2 are indeed vitally necessary for the differentiated conscious development of both the cognitive and affective modes, that considerable problems are however associated with this form of understanding. Though in experience both modes are necessarily related to a degree, we are concentrating here mainly on the affective mode. As we have seen the key problem with the conscious development of the affective mode, is that it screens out to a considerable degree the holistic nature of the unconscious. And insofar as the unconscious then does operate it is frequently projected in an immature fashion into consciousness whereby it is directly confused with conscious symbols. As we have seen earlier development involves the gradual separation of the three fundamental polarities. Whereas this is necessary for initial differentiation, for successful integration it is then necessary to discover the complementari

In recent blog entries I have been at pains to clarify both the transcendent and immanent aspects of spiritual development in terms of ascent and descent (which operate with respect to both aspects in a dynamic complementary manner). Though Band 3 is primarily concerned with the transcendent ascent, because of the complementary nature of both transcendent and immanent aspects it likewise entails to a degree a corresponding immanent descent. However at this stage the transcendent aspect is still likely to dominate. So all going well, Band 3 culminates - analogous to reaching the top of a mountain peak - with the attainment of a pure form of transcendence, where true intuitive awareness (as emptiness) is seen as beyond all phenomenal form. However as always with respect to human development success in this regard is necessarily of an approximate nature (where considerable imperfections are likely to remain). Then Band 4, as I portray it, relates to a certain consolidat

I have frequently made reference to the fact that the significance of the Riemann Hypothesis is much greater than commonly appreciated. Unfortunately due to the reduced nature of current mathematical understanding, attempted understanding of the hypothesis occurs in a merely quantitative fashion. However, in truth every mathematical symbol inherently possesses both an analytic (quantitative) and holistic (qualitative) significance, which interact in complementary fashion with each other. And it is in the light of this dynamic appreciation that the true meaning of the Riemann Hypothesis is revealed i.e. as the hidden qualitative basis of our everyday quantitative understanding of number. As we have seen all the natural numbers (except 0 and 1) can be expressed as the unique product of prime factors and in conventional terms the natural numbers are represented as lying on a real line. This then forms the basis for all quantitative measurement and by extension acce

We now come to the final level of Band 5 i.e. Band 5, Level 3. As we have seen with Level 1, the transcendent descent (from the mountain summit) is largely completed, whereby one is now ready to ground refined holistic intuition associated with the “higher” spiritual dimensions in the everyday understanding of the middle band. Only now can the marriage of contemplative type vision with linear rational understanding properly commence. Then with Level 2, the immanent descent (to the submerged depths) is likewise largely completed. So one has largely succeeded in the task of unravelling residual physical instinctive behaviour so that it no longer projects itself involuntarily into consciousness (especially with respect to concrete sense phenomena). So, as we have seen, involuntary projections always represent a certain confusion with respect to the relationship as between the conscious and unconscious aspects of personality. So the bottom-up integration of conscious and

Yesterday I characterised Band 5 (Level 1) as the transcendent descent, whereby refined holistic intuition - associated with the “higher” dimensions of spiritual development - becomes grounded in the linear understanding of the middle band. So it represents a certain integration of both conscious and unconscious, whereby contemplative type vision can be successfully balanced with analytic type reason. And this descent of the “higher” superior is only made possible through substantial further exposure to the fantasies and exposures emitted from the depths of the “lower” inferior self. At this stage one becomes keenly aware that such notions of “higher” and “lower” have a purely relative validity. Indeed formerly, undue identification with development of the “higher” inevitably led to a certain repression of the “lower” self, whereby it was unable to properly speak for itself in recognising its most primitive instinctive desires. However as one gradually learns to relinqu

It is over a year since I last contributed to this blog. However an advantage of such a delay is that it enables a perspective from which to place what has already happened in context, while equally enabling a fuller appreciation of the direction in which one's personal development is heading. In previous entries I refer to Band 5 as the descent, whereby one attempts to achieve a better balance as between both the transcendent and immanent directions of development. However in a way this is too simplistic. Previously, I have used the analogy of a steep mountain climb to refer to the transcendent aspect of the spiritual journey. So with Band 3, emphasis is indeed devoted to the ascent with emphasis mainly on the transcendent aspect. However even here there is necessarily a counterbalancing descent with respect to gradual uncovering of the primitive instinctive aspects of personality. So we could perhaps use the corresponding analogy of a deep underwat