Are Developmental Levels Elitist?

Welcome again to another conversation....
Are Developmental Levels Elitist?

Sali, you raised this question when you commented to What is Mastery?, that having advanced communicating and relating skills seemed fine enough but being called an advanced communicator or a forward thinker seemed like it seperated you from others. I thank you for that observation because many people I talk with have the same concern. And yes, I think you are right. It does... and so it is with those who call themselves, a KKK member or a Nazi, etc. These are differences aren't they? Differences in a world of multiplicity seperate us and lead us to forget that at our deepest levels we are equal because we are One.

There really is only One Mind and that is a Universal Mind that at a deeper level, we all share.

Ha! But here's the rub!

Right there... in THAT statement, I just seperated myself from others, didn't I? It wasnt a label, like "forward thinker", it was a statement. There are many, many people who will not only disagree with that statement, but they will have no clue about the experiences I have had that have led me to that "Knowing". I also know that although we are of one Mind, our experiences legitimately seperate us from others. There are things you know from experiences on a spiritual path that are greater, more sophisticated, more integrated than what others know. There are things you know in the areas of science, running a solo business, life, etc., that are greater, more sophisticated, more encompassing than what a first grader knows...and of course some of you know more than most people know.

Why? Because you are more mature. You are more DEVELOPED. You know what they know...and more.
A WORLD-CENTRIC FORWARD THINKER is at a higher, more encompassing level of development than AN ETHNOCENTRIC NAZI THINKER. A NAZI THINKER is at a higher more encompassing level of development than AN EGO-CENTRIC FIRST GRADER. Is this labeling? seperating? discriminating? dare i say judging?

YES!

Is that wise to do? Does it seem right? Well, who would you rather have as your mentor...a first grader, a nazi or a forward thinker? Do you think those differences matter or are we all equal? It seems to me we confuse levels of Being when we even ask this question. "Flatlanders" are people who dont have the knowledge or experience to really understand that we are operating on a physical plane and on a spiritual plane (more encompassing). And the Universal Laws are different on each one. So while we ARE of one Mind we also ARE different. And that's just one of the many paradoxes that people who do experience life multi-dimensionally are OK with.

So... I ask YOU
Does more maturity, more development, make you an elitist?
Please do leave a post in the comment section below....thanks!
anna

Comments

[Phil Karl]

Anna,

Thanks for your posted comments about what may be a sort of hierarchy of awareness or personal development. Seems that what's really at isue is human dignity in terms of whether one is aware of one's nature or not.

From the point of view of many spiritual traditions, and the insights of some pretty developed people, the outlook is that one's basic nature is awake. Awake to the qualities of kindness, intelligence and selflessness that are inherent to who we are. Confusion, pain, aggression are just an overlay that's mistaken for what's really going on. If you're awake to that, you don't separate yourself from others. You only experience distinction from others at all in that you have sympathy/warmth toward them and see what they're going through. They're stuck. You've been stuck. You want to help. Your own path has taken you past a lot of the self centered neurotic "knots" that tie up your energy. All you want to do with your activity and livelihood is communicate with others. Coaching itself could be seen as just that, thus taking many different forms. You develop skill around that and extend more, softening your sense of personal boundary or territory. Your own hangups in relationships beckon you to open further.

So it seems to me there really IS being more developed, and less developed. That's an accurate perspective. But being truly more developed means you've stripped away the obstacles to seeing how close you really are to others. From that point of view it's impossible to separate yourself as an "elite". There is no snobbery of enlightenment. It's paradoxical, in some sense.

Hope someone else has something to say here. It's an interesting topic.

Phil

[Sali Taylor]

Very thought provoking Anna and Phil. I don't have a clue how to respond, but I must say just thinking of that image of a choice between first grader, nazi or forward thinker made me LOL. Thank you. It also made me think of and go hunt for this quote by Rumi. Of course that took an hour cuz I got lost in reading the whole book!

Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing
there is a field
I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.

That is where my forward thinking mind/heart wants to be more of the time. Thus I think I would have to chose the first grader (who would probably be the closest to "beginner's mind.")

[andrea lee]

Hi Anna and company,

What a wonderful synchronicity there is in your post, Anna, as I end my day on Saturday.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the issues facing the coaching profession, as surfaced by the r&d memo that's been circulating last week.

One of the thoughts is along the lines that of course, as we all know, we wish that coaching had more "entrees" into the rest of the world. And that one of the great 'works' of this next few years will be discovering, mining, and leveraging those entry points. Like velcro, coaching alone will not "stick" to anything. We need to find the other half of the velcro (the rest of the world) and stick coaching to it. (integrate)

In this way, I like to think of coaching not as a concept, but as reality. And in order for coaching to become all it is, it needs to destroy its own concept.

The way I see this relating to your post, and to Phil's comment too, is...

that...being "coaching" (not being a coach, but being "coaching," meaning coming from a coaching mind) is perhaps well characterized as a state of awakeness.

Many people think that if they can't make a success of a full-time coaching practice, that they have failed, and they must quit coaching, and go back to their day jobs. I find this odd. I think that instead, we can be "coaching" in our day jobs, with great effect. And that in fact, being coaching in our day jobs is one way to allow coaching to stick to the rest of the world.

This may seem unrelated to what you are talking about, but I don't think so. A person who is doing his/her day job with an awake mind, or a coaching approach, is different - absolutely - from a person doing their day job asleep. They are living what coaching is.

I would rather not call it elitist though. Perhaps it's just a question of semantics? (Is a rose lovelier than a lilac?) If you are aware, does that make you better? No, it just means you are called on in a manner that spreads this awareness... like dominos, the awake will waken the rest...(and the rose will smell like a rose, and a lilac a lilac...)

Hmm. Your thoughts?

with love, a

PS. A friend of mine told me a story yesterday. It was about Socrates. As we all know, he was one of the world's greatest enlightened thinkers. And did you know how he earned his living? He was a stonemason. Was Socrates, an "awake" stonemason, different compared to other stonemasons? Again...I have to say yes...

[Kerul]

Elitist? If you're really advanced, would you realize that the idea of "I" being "more advanced" or "mature" or "forward thinking" than someone else, rather than being identified with awareness, you're identified with an image of yourself, a story about who you think you are? I don't know. What you believe are "forward thoughts" might be a lot less forward than a first-grader's even though you have acquired more knowledge.

So, when I'm caught up in that story of being "more advanced", I might think of myself as both more of a "forward thinker" as *well* as elitist. If I have a need or striving to bring my forward thinking to others, it's quite likely still about my ego. It seems to me that those who are without that ego-need exist happily without desire for recognition, acknowledgement, or even whatever comes from helping others become "more advanced." Does it makes sense that they would be beyond that?

When I recognize that what/who I am is "bigger" (or simply "other"!!) than that, I understand that what I call my forward thinking is simply another set of different mind-concoctions. Who is to say what is true and not true. My truth is different than your truth; are either any less true?

Maybe it's just semantics. I think I'd simply prefer the phrase "more experienced" (having spent more being-time in a place of experiencing more than what we think of as mind-chatter) - which is still kind of ego-based, and something of a story.

Most people would agree that their existence seems more satisfying, joyful, and enriched by learning, teaching, mastering become an advanced communicator. This is their truth. It may not be the only truth. In the end, does this matter? Am I just ranting on about this to satisfy my ego, so you could all see how smart and forward thinking I am??

LOL!

[anna]

Wow..what a delightful plethora of perspectives. When combined we have more of the whole picture. Phil (click on each persons name at the bottom of the post to get contact information), reminds us that when we are awake, labels dont really matter. Sali poetically adds, When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.

Andrea forwards the thought with.. A person who is doing his/her day job with an awake mind, or a coaching approach, is different - absolutely - from a person doing their day job asleep...

So there is a difference but the one who is different because she is awake just doesn't put energy into that. The energy goes into giving kindness, intelligence and selflessness to all other beings.

And Kerul, (welcome to weblog) wraps it up with the original question ...in the end, does this matter?

Great points. Who cares about developmental levels and who is more awake, more advanced, more forward thinking?

Well, how about Employers? Teachers? Evaluators? Prison Authorities? Certifiers?, etc. Perhaps not the person who is awake, but the people who need someone awake to drive the car, lead the country, teach our children, and evlove humanity forward faster.

Thoughts?

Thanks for playing. Please continue the conversation below by clicking on "comments".

[Michael Beck]

This topic seems to have sparked a great deal of thought and analysis...

Over the years, I've observed that I tend to notice (and appreciate) the ways in which people are alike more so than how they are different. In fact, I even developed a leadership model I call "Commonality-Based Leadership".

Having said that, can't we also say that while everyone has talents, each of us is stronger in some talents than in others? Isn't an accountant likely to have better developed analytical abilities than an actor? Isn't an actor likely to have better developed creative abilities than an accountant? When we use a label for someone, aren't we just acknowledging an area of strength (or belief) in them?

It's no different than calling someone a "teacher", even though we all teach lessons to the people around us all the time. It doesn't make the "teacher" (or the people who refer to that person as a teacher)an elitist.

But here's something that does bother me...
When someone asks you, "A penny for your thoughts," and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny?

[anna]

Delightful! Thanks Michael. Yeah, elitist is a strong word alright. The question actually comes from one of ken Wilber's books. Guess some people really do think that hierarchies of any kind, even those based on proficiency and mastery, are elitist. Everyone is equal is sure debatable in this phenomenological place we call earth.

[fran]

Interesting discussion! I have hesitated to post because I am not a coach. I have been experiencing some deep spiritual growth that leaves me seeing the world quite differently than previously. I don't feel elite. I feel a deeper, more powerful connection with others when I do relate. In this state, I feel at the same level of a child I may be talking or playing with, my dogs, who teach me great things about "being". At the same time, I am am much more "selfish" with the time I have to listen to what is in my heart, write and learn more and more about this wonderful universe. Am I at a loss in a friendship with a coach with such advanced skills? I don't know. Thanks for listening.
Fran