Excerpt #4: Environment, Identity and Transformation

  Let's consider what we've covered so far and use it to learn more about how human beings change and adapt to their circumstances.
   First of all, leaving aside the issue of a 'spiritual self', we've learned that, on top of a very basic set of temperamental dispositions, sits the selfplex. This is a complex confluence of schemas which include the concept of 'I, myself'.
   The selfplex, which may mutate and change according to the memes of the Environment it finds itself in, forms the Neurological Levels of Identities and Values & Beliefs appropriate to the Environment.

Fig 20: Nominal Level Adaptation

Fig 20: Deeper Level Adaptation

  Let's call this 'Nominal Level Adaptation' - see Fig 20. We are adapting at a nominal level - taking on the role which fits the Environment.

  Things can very easily go wrong at this Nominal Level - with disastrous consequences, as we outlined in Chapter 4. However, to understand how and why things go wrong at this level, we need to look deeper - below the Nominal Level.

  Spiral Dynamics enables us to take a view I call 'Deeper Level Adaptation' - see Fig 21. Now we consider the Life Conditions within the Environment and how vMEMEs influence the schemas of Identity and Values & Beliefs to match to those Life Conditions.

  Let's consider the example of the man and his partner from Chapter 4. Let's say he's managed to adapt his Identities successfully to his Environments. At work, he's a Manager; with his partner, he's a Lover. Nominal Level Adaptation appears to be successful.

  However, successful Nominal Level Adaptation depends on what is happening at the Deeper Level which can be much more complex.
   If the man's partner is loving and caring - B Life Conditions in the Environment of their relationship - which vMEME would match? O PURPLE would be the best fit and would strongly support the Identity of Lover, with Values of love, caring, belonging, etc.
   However, if the partner is concerned with getting her own way and dominating him - C Life Conditions in the Environment - which vMEME will be the best match? Almost certainly P RED. The man has to know if he is more powerful than his partner and what his position is in the 'power pecking order' of the relationship. Who is in control?

Such a RED-led scenario will be quite different than the PURPLE-hued scenario we first envisioned.
   The Values & Beliefs of the man's RED fighting with his partner over her attempts to dominate him will be quite different to the Values & Beliefs PURPLE would have had. This may start to compromise the Identity of Lover, depending on what his prior beliefs about a
about a lover's role were. Behaviour, of course, is most likely to reflect the Values & Beliefs  

and may not be what one would normally associate with a Lover. This may further compromise that Identity.

  In the RED-led scenario, the Neurological Levels will become misaligned unless the Identity starts to mutate into something more in keeping with the Values & Beliefs. ('Lover' is hardly a suitable Identity to win a war for power!)