Episode 12: Applying Levels to Integral Recovery
Episode 12:
Applying the Integral Stages to Recovery
The View from the Second Tier
One of the most insidious elements of addiction is its ability to limit our perspective as our survival is threatened. This limiting of perspective leads the developmental regression that characterizes the stereotypical behavior of the addict. Through our work in Integral Recovery, we begin to evolve once again, climbing the developmental ladder until we reach the “monumental leap of meaning” represented by the second-tier or Integral level.
The view from the second tier gives us a new perspective on what came before: our suffering, our pain and trauma, our behaviors, and our well-intentioned (though ultimately destructive) tendencies toward self-delusion. From this new developmental vantage point, we’re able to appreciate not only our own journey, but the pioneering “true, but partial” work of those who came before. We stand on the shoulders of giants to reach new heights, and as a community, we lift one another from the depths of disease to a life of purpose, meaning, connection, and growth.
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In this episode:
[1:17] The interplay of levels and lines, and the development of individual lines through developmental stages
[2:42] Taking on the guilt and self-hatred of our childhood traumas, and how this factors into addiction and recovery
[3:59] Carl Jung’s theory of solar and lunar energies, why developing and working with both aspects is necessary to become a fully developed, healthy, integral human
[7:13] The virtue of integrating opposites, and why understanding the theory is not the same as doing the work
[9:02] “The best and the brightest”, and how addiction steals the gifts that all of us have to give to the world, and blocks us from our true natures and authentic selves
[13:30] Noble suffering, and how our suffering leads to growth through working with our pain and our shadow material
[17:30] When the cute little allegories can’t withstand the flames of addiction, and why recovery requires a deeper understanding ourselves and our pain
[21:36] Using the fire of addiction and suffering as a catalyst for change and growth
[23:26] Committing to a practice and doing deep, and why dabbling in growth never leads to change
[26:41] Asking the right questions and finding our own answers: Who does your recovery serve?
[29:17] The bait and switch of substance use on the spiritual journey, recognizing our self-deceptive tendencies, and the regression of developmental levels as addiction threatens our survival
[33:00] The anti-psychological bias of the twelve-step communities and the need for an evolution that integrates an unfolding developmental perspective
[37:48] The view from the second tier and recognizing the value of AA’s pioneering and life-saving work, and appreciating and understanding the importance of every level that came before
Episode Resources:
Integral Recovery: A Revolutionary Approach to the Treatment of Alcoholism and Addiction (SUNY series in Integral Theory)
Deep Recovery – a guided meditation from iAwake Technologies
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05/12/2017, 43:39, 30.01 mb (Audio)