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March 11, 2010
Integral Awakened Mind Coachingâ„¢
By Gary Groesbeck
Expanding Anna Wise's Awakened Mind protocol into Ken Wilber's Integral Theory(AQUAL)
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Originally Published on FutureHealth
AQAL:
State - Upper/Lower Right Quadrants (IT/ITS)
Awakened Mind training did not begin with the Integral
perspective in mind, but as it gradually evolved over time we realized
that Awakened Mind Coaching was a natural fit with the AQUAL
model(Wilber). Integral Awakened Mind Coaching
In Integral theory the states naturally given are waking, dreaming, and non-dreaming. In addition it also introduces two states that are not naturally given but may be developed with training over time; turiya and turiyatitah. Turiya is defined as the fourth state of consciousness, it is a state where awareness is seamless and continuous with waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. Turiyatitah is said to be a non-dual state of awareness. We consider the Awakened Mind state to be a natural state, in fact one that each person would normally manifest, except for the very unnatural demands of today's world.
The main point we wish to make is that for IAMC "state" is the physiological monitoring of the brain waves using the Mind Mirror EEG. IAMC is a non-linear approach, which is purely educational in practice. When we monitor the frequency pattern of the brain it is the signature, "current brain wave state"(CBWS), of the person, and then, through the use of guided meditations we teach the individual how to re-access his/her natural state - the Awakened Mind.
We also recognize that this new state will still reflect the current personality types and developmental structures the person had when beginning training. We generally use Enneatyping as this is easily understood and applied by most people.
AQUAL:
Content/Self - Upper Left Quadrant(I)
The evolution of consciousness is central to Integral theory and the internal/subjective personal experience of consciousness occupies the Upper Left Quadrant in the AQUAL model. In IAMC we view consciousness for didactic purposes as composed of three primary elements; state, content, and awareness. We have already outlined what we mean by measurable "state". Content is what Wilber refers to as structures, lines, and types. It also has the meaning of anything contained in the field of awareness; sensation, feelings, thoughts, etc.
It is said that Alan Watts once quipped that "meditation was the art of staying awake while falling asleep". This points to the importance of awareness in the overall development of consciousness. We use content, that is guided meditations, to produce specific states, alpha, alpha/theta, delta, and finally the Awakened Mind state, in order to train awareness. It is awareness training, noticing the flow of experience, that is the essence of our consciousness training.
We can see that though awareness is the
"container" for state and content it also goes through a developmental
process of dis-identification with state and content. Even though
awareness is "ever present", it is initially totally fused, or
identified with, state and content. This is the normal developmental
condition of most of humanity. By holding attention on awareness during
each shift in state, and each appearance of content, it becomes possible
to gradually dis-entangle awareness from both. This is not a spiritual
process, though it is often characterized as such, it is purely
developmental and no more mysterious than any other developmental
process.(Susanne
R. Cook-Greuter ) AQUAL: Shared
Content- Lower Left Quadrant(WE) Usually the Awakened Mind is
taught to groups ranging from a half dozen to thirty or more, and there
is a reason for this. It is in a group setting that we can share our
experiences and begin to see the commonalities in our experience. Often
people who meditate in isolation, or without some guidance, will not
recognize the significance of their experience or how to re-access the
various state they have achieved. Immediately after a guided
meditation participants break into dyads to share their meditation
experience. This serves the purpose of bringing as much of the state
into awareness as possible. It is similar to awakening from a dream and
writing it down, or sharing with a partner, so as not to forget it. It
also serves to validate the importance of recall to our own
subconscious, without this, awareness is quickly lost. Finally,
and almost inevitably, emotional issues and "Shadow" content will come
up for a few, if not most, in the group. This gives everyone an
opportunity to see how to deal with any issues that might arise for
them. The technique we have found most useful for the greatest number of
people is something called Emotional
Freedom Techniques (EFT). This is simple to learn and has a broad
range of applications to most run-of-the-mill emotional issues. In the
hands of a skilled EFT therapist it can bring about some very profound
changes in a very short period of time. There is also a group benefit as
everyone uses EFT together to help resolve the emotional issues of
individual participants. Integral theory also use a process known as
"3-2-1" work for Shadow resolution. This lends itself easily to the EFT
process.(3-2-1
Shadow EFT work.)