What is Integral?

A Brief Origin Story

Integral thinking is humanity’s evolving attempt to see the whole—to connect the parts without collapsing their differences. It’s a tradition that stretches back centuries, appearing in moments when people began to notice that reality isn’t just made of things, but also perspectives. From Plotinus and the Neoplatonists to Sri Aurobindo’s vision of spiritual evolution, from Hegel’s dialectics to Jean Gebser’s “structures of consciousness,” thinkers have been mapping how the human mind grows, and how consciousness itself deepens across time. In the 20th century, pioneers like Teilhard de Chardin, Clare Graves, Suzanne Cook-Greuter, Jane Loevinger, Terri O’Fallon, and Robert Kegan began identifying clear stages in psychological, moral, and spiritual development.

Then came Ken Wilber, who synthesized these many traditions—East and West, ancient and modern—into a single, elegant framework: AQAL (All Quadrants, All Levels). Integral theory is not a rigid system—it’s more like a meta-map, a compass for navigating complexity, weaving together science, psychology, philosophy, and spirituality. At its heart, Integral invites us to ask: How can we honor the partial truths of every perspective, while still growing into deeper, wider, more integrated ways of being?

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Stages of Development: How We Grow Over Time

Stages (also called levels or altitudes) are like the evolution of your perspective as you grow through life. Think of them as different pairs of glasses through which you see the world—and as you grow, your glasses change.

  • Magenta (Magical): The world is full of spirits and mystery. Everything is alive. Like a child who thinks the moon follows them.

  • Red (Power): Everything is about me and my power. Might makes right. Rules are for breaking.

  • Amber (Traditional): There's a right way to live, and my group knows it. Follow the rules, respect authority.

  • Orange (Modern): Use reason, science, and achievement to figure things out. Believe in progress and individual success.

  • Green (Postmodern): Everyone’s truth matters. Let’s include all voices, especially the ones left out.

  • Teal and Turquoise (Integral and Beyond): Life is a dynamic, living system. We need all perspectives to understand it. You start seeing the big picture in everything.

These stages don’t replace each other, they build on each other, like layers. You're not supposed to "get rid" of earlier stages—you integrate them into a more complex, more inclusive worldview.

States of Consciousness: How We Experience Reality in the Moment

States are like temporary moods of consciousness—they can come and go. Everyone can access them, no matter their stage.

  • Waking (Physical): Everyday experience—walking, talking, driving, working.

  • Dreaming (Subtle): Imagination, dreaming, intuition. You might access this in deep creativity or light meditation.

  • Deep Sleep (Causal): Stillness. No thoughts, no images—just peace. Often touched in deep meditation or flow.

  • Witness: You’re not just thinking—you’re watching your thoughts happen. You realize you’re not your mind.

  • Nondual: The deepest state. No separation between you and everything else. You are reality, and reality is you.

These states are always available, but how you interpret or experience them depends on your stage of development.

The Wilber-Combs Lattice: How Stages & States Combine

Now here’s the magic: the Wilber-Combs lattice shows how these two dimensions—stages (how you grow) and states (what you experience)—interact.

Everyone can experience any state, but how they understand and make meaning out of that state depends on their stage. For example:

  • A person at a Red stage might interpret a spiritual experience as a visit from a god demanding loyalty.

  • A person at a Green stage might see the same experience as interconnectedness and love.

  • A person at a Teal or Turquoise stage might interpret it as a direct insight into the nature of reality itself.

Same state, different stage = different interpretation.

The Wilber-Combs lattice shows this relationship: how our inner growth (stage) shapes how we experience the sacred or the subtle (state).