A Theory of Everything

If you are new here, hello—my name is Gary Farnham, and I am curious. I like to say I never made it out of the "why" phase. I am viciously curious about the way things work, why we are here, and how humans behave. This curiosity has led me to a wide range of books and informational content, lands very unfamiliar to where I grew up, deep conversations with homeless individuals on park benches, and mansions in the Hollywood Hills. Up until a little over a year ago, all that I had learned and experienced had been confined to the inside of my own skull and the pages of my personal journals.

Then, I began to share. It started with posts on Medium, which you can find here: https://medium.com/@chatg. Since then, it has transformed into this newsletter, which is growing each day. I have always said, if just one person reads something I write and learns something new or has a brighter day because of it, I am satisfied. If you have made it this far and are still reading, thank you. I appreciate you, and this is just the beginning.

Now onto Today’s piece:

I introduce to you the theory that explains and can be applied to everything. Here is a graphic that will serve as an introduction to the theory for my visual learners:

This graphic is a bit dense. I am not expecting you to understand all of it, but it helps to get the gist of what I will be writing about in this piece.

I recently picked up a book titled "A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality" by Ken Wilber. Ken Wilber has been described as the "smartest man you've never heard of," the "Einstein of Consciousness," and "an intellectual prodigy as a child. Wilber was a doctoral student at Duke University in biology when he quit his program to, as he put it, 'sit in a room by myself and stare at a wall for five years.' He then went on a binge of studying Eastern spirituality, religion, and psychology."

Ken is a big believer in spiral dynamics and believes it can be applied to many different areas of life. Essentially, the theory lays out that humans individually and humanity as a whole exist in different buckets of psychological development or levels of consciousness that follow a spiral pattern transcending upward.

To even begin to understand this theory, you must already be capable of a higher stage of consciousness and have a relatively global view of the world. This is possible primarily thanks to the internet and technology, which has allowed more of us to become aware of ideas and knowledge that expand beyond the networks we are born into, which was the only source of ideas and knowledge for much of our history. As we advance technology and become more connected, we allow our awareness and consciousness to become more global and integrate the realities of others into our worldview. We are all operating on a learned worldview that either aligns or clashes with those around us. If we are aware of why someone may be operating a certain way, it makes it easier to come to a place of harmony and cooperation, which should be the goal of the planet… after all, we are all made of the same things on an elemental level and of the same species. If we are able to integrate and harmonize our differences, we could all be rowing in the same direction rather than competing. We can see the world as an infinite game and put into place systems and incentives to make the world a better and more integrated place for those that come after us.

Here is a stab at explaining the states as best as possible using words:

Beige: Instinctual, basic survival, food, water, warmth, safety. Where seen - early humans, other species — Approximately 0.1% of the adult population

Purple: Superstitions, folk stories, ethnic tribes, rituals, magical spirits, curses. Where seen: Belief in voodoo, blood oaths, good luck charms, family rituals, superstitions, gangs - Approximately 10% of the population

Red: One’s self is distinct and greater than that of the tribe, power gods, archetypal gods, feudal lords, conquerors, power hunger. Where seen: Feudal kingdoms, medieval times, gang leaders, Lord of the Flies— 20% of the population

Blue: Life has meaning, direction, and purpose, there is an all-powerful being, morality, right and wrong, violating rules results in severe punishment, the faithful are rewarded. Where seen — Puritan America, totalitarianism, charitable good deeds, religious fundamentalism, Boy and Girl Scouts, patriotism — 30% of the population

Orange: Strategy, materialistic, capitalistic, The world is a well-oiled machine with natural & rational laws that can be learned, mastered, and manipulated for personal gain. The world is a chessboard that is played and the better players win. Where seen - Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Wall Street, corporate states, materialism— 30% of the population

Green: The sensitive self, the human spirit must be freed from greed and divisiveness, feelings and caring trump rationality, cherish the earth, rebel against hierarchy, communal mindset, a sense of care, warmth, and sensitivity for the earth and all its inhabitants. Where seen: Greenpeace, ecofeminism, socialism, human rights issues, diversity movements, communes, Canadian health care, hippie movement. 10% of the population

Then comes a chasm one must cross to higher consciousness. The crossing of this Chasm has shown to be difficult. As humans and humanity continue up the spiral, we "transcend and include" the ideas of each stage. Dependent on circumstances, one may find themselves operating in different stages; just because one has reached a certain stage does not mean that they exist only there; it is dynamic. One can have the understanding of the green awakening and operate in orange, due to systems and those in power being of this orange stage. Also, we as humans can have an awakening to a higher stage, but our systems and incentives don’t necessarily allow us to operate in that stage.

Sidebar: Ken Wilber has an idea of "Boomeritis," which involves this interesting internal battle between orange and green that shaped how the boomers view and built the world we now live in. He believes many made it to the Green stage as seen in the hippie movement, but couldn’t quite move beyond the ego and integrate systems that respected those at different stages. That is where the next stages come in.

These next states are able to take a step back, grasp the big picture and appreciate the necessary role that all the various stages play. Second-tier thinkers think in terms of the health of the overall spiral, not just in any one level. The more of humanity we can have reach these stages, the more integral and holistic systems we can create:

Yellow: Integrative, Flexibility, Spontaneity, functionality, fluidity, knowledge and competency should supersede power, status, or group sensitivity. The world today is a result of the existence of these different stages and the inevitable movement up and down the dynamic spiral— 1% of the population

Turquoise: Universal holistic systems, unites feeling with knowledge, universal order, a grand unification is possible in actuality with proper systems and emerging technology, emergence of a new spirituality as a meshwork of all existence, the planet and humanity coming together as one toward a universal mission, attempts to find harmony in everything— 0.1% of the population

Coral: Yet to be defined, will develop as humanity evolves and the boundaries of Turquoise are tested.

Wilber and others estimate less than 2% of the world population is in this second-tier of consciousness. It is rare because it is the leading edge of collective human evolution and well ahead of its time, but nevertheless where we are heading as the collective awareness and consciousness of humanity continues to develop. Again, just because one has reached this level does not mean this level is where they continually operate. More of humanity needs to work their way up the development spiral for this to be a reality.

I find this to be a thought provoking theory, and I see a lot of development happening in real time since exploring this model. I often return to this tweet by Sam Altman:

With knowledge comes awareness. I see the world going through an awakening; people are becoming more knowledgeable daily about how the world works, how others see the world and gathering knowledge at a faster pace. Yes, this is contributing to a feeling of overstimulation, but as with all things, we will adapt.

Assuming this theory holds weight, as the world continues to develop, and we reach higher levels of consciousness, becoming more aware and connected, it would make sense to me—and perhaps this stems from my view that humans are inherently cooperative—that we would come together and operate as one entity, with a universal language, monetary system, and governing body.

Yes, we have serious issues and vast complexity limiting us from that being a reality, but with knowledge and productivity soon increasing at an exponential rate by us being aided by powerful computing power and artificial intelligence, who's to say the world’s problems can’t be solved?

If you like this idea, I highly recommend the movie "Arrival." I happened to watch this movie at the same time as reading about this topic, and they paired very well together. It nudges this topic of oneness, and another topic that has been of interest to me lately, language and communication.

Maybe I will dig into that more next time, maybe I won’t. I guess you will have to subscribe to find out so you don’t miss it. https://resonance.beehiiv.com/subscribe

G