Ken Wilber: Theory, Levels, & Books

Ken Wilber’s “Interior-Collective” Model 
According to Ken Wilber’s model, we all have the potential to go through life stages—or levels—as we mature (Wilber, 2000). Once we transcend a given level, we adopt the perspective of the next level while still including the old perspective in our new worldview (we transcend and include; Wilber, 2007). In other words, we don’t move through life stages as if they were in a straight line; we expand. We are like trees, keeping the old rings, but adding more rings as we grow.

Continuous Versus Discrete Levels
Although the levels are continuous, we still tend to be mostly in one level at a time. For example, when people are tested to see what level they are at, about 50% of their answers will come from one level, and about 25% of their answers will come from the level immediately above or below that level (Wilber, 2000). So we can see that we all tend to have a dominating perspective and worldview—or a home base at a particular level at a particular time. 

The 7 Levels & Their Perspectives

• Level 1: I am my body (self-centric)
• Level 2: I am my group (peer group-centric)
• Level 3: I am my actions (skill-centric)
• Level 4: I am my outcomes (achievement-centric)
• Level 5: I am my perspectives (understanding-centric)
• Level 6: I am my patterns (process-centric)
• Level 7: I am my awareness (consciousness-centric)
• Level 8: I am (oneness-centric)

My hunch is that the high-point of each stage is when we identify most strongly with it (and its perspective). Our world feels stable, and this leads us to feel good.

Patterns of Experience​
With these insights, we can identify which phase of each stage we’re in by observing our direct experiences. 

Within each stage, we experience the following phases:

• Transition into the stage: We experience negative emotions and experiences as our old reality falls apart. (Low point or nadir)
• Stabilize in the stage: We begin to play the hand we were given and work within the worldview of the stage. We may feel a little uneasy, but more neutral.
• Mastery in the stage: We now fully understand the new perspective we’re working with and we use it to our advantage in ways that increase positive emotions and improve our well-being. (High point or zenith)
• Realization that there is more beyond the stage: We realize the stage doesn’t produce consistent happiness, we fall back into neutral, and we start to feel the pull of the next stage (we find ourselves seeking again).

We go through this repeating pattern for each stage, like a rainbow sound wave.

You’ll see that my life does approximately follow the 7×7 rule (discussed earlier), and I do go shift perspectives in exactly the way Wilber (and others) predict. 

Red Stage: Age 0-8
Red to orange transition (low point): I started transitioning to a peer-focus when, at age 7, I chose my first friend. Prior to age 8, my mother chose my friends, I was fine being alone, and I didn’t care whether I had friends or not. Soon, being alone became unbearable, and I remember a depressing period when I realized that I could not keep being alone (my home situation was neglectful, so I was alone a lot). Luckily, I moved in with my dad, who provided support and stability, I made close friends, and I was able to move into the orange stage.

Orange Stage: Age 8-17
Solid orange perspective (high point): There was a period of time in my tween years when I was very joyful, felt strongly identified with my few close friends, and life was good. Of course, everyone has hiccups with friends, and moments of social rejection did happen and were very painful. 

Orange to yellow transition (low point): I started transitioning from a peer-group perspective to a skills and abilities perspective (Cook-Greuter, 2014) when I started drifting away from my social group. My friends fell into hard drug use, and I pulled away. Even though I was the one who pulled away, I still felt rejected. This down period lasted for a couple of years. 

Yellow Stage: Age 17-25
Solid yellow perspective (high point): There was a period of a few years during college when everything was good. I was no longer attached to my peer group because I now identified with my skills. I worked hard to get good grades and advance in my part-time job. 

Yellow to green transition (low point): I transitioned from a skills perspective to an achievement perspective (Cook-Greuter, 2014) when I realized that whatever actions I took were meaningless unless they resulted in the outcomes I desired. I had graduated college with honors but was still working a minimum-wage job, and I felt super stuck and depressed. This down period lasted for a couple of years. 

Green Stage: Age 25-30
Solid green perspective (high point): There was a period of a couple of years during graduate school when everything felt amazing. I felt so smart and successful (my ego inflated quite a bit) and I became really good at prioritizing the right actions to get the right results.

Green to teal transition (low point): I started transitioning from an achievement perspective to a pluralist perspective towards the end of graduate school. I was beginning to realize that there is more to life than achievement. First, the amount of stress and burnout when we are identified with achievement eventually becomes untenable. Second, I finished my PhD at UC Berkeley, one of the best universities in the world, and I couldn’t get a job. Third, my marriage was falling apart. All these so-called achievements were falling away and I was miserable for a couple of years.

Teal Stage: Age 30-35
Solid teal perspective (high point): Eventually, I decided to be honest with myself about what I really needed and wanted. I started my own consulting business, and by being totally honest and understanding, I was able to work through issues in my marriage, making it better than ever. This was a year or two when I was quite happy. 

Teal to blue transition (low point): I started transitioning from an understanding-focused perspective to a pattern-focused perspective when I suddenly got really sick with mold illness. I could barely work or leave my bed. This forced me to investigate every single one of my habits and patterns. I was forced to look at my behavior, adopt work-life balance, eat healthy, do calming meditations, and fully understand what patterns made me sick and how to get better. I was very sick for a few years.

Blue to indigo transition (low point): I started transitioning from a pattern-focused perspective to an awareness-focused perspective when I finally saw through some of my darkest shadows and deepest denials (e.g., about love, and abuse, and pain). Accepting the truth of these shadows was probably the most painful thing I’d experienced thus far, and I cried almost daily for 9 months. Despite the pain, I continued to do the shadow work, and very suddenly, this period ended.  Overall, this period lasted about a year and a half.

Indigo Stage: Age 39-present
Solid indigo perspective (high point): I never previously had experienced as much happiness as when I moved into indigo and began to develop spiritual awareness. I had an awakening, like what is described by the Buddhists who study vipassana, and I had many pure moments of joy, acceptance, ecstasy, and rapture. It was unbelievable. 

Indigo to violet transition (low point): I started transitioning from an awarness-focused perspective to an oneness-focused when I feel into what is known as The Dark Night of The Soul. This is when we realize that all of our former identifications were false and that the “self” that we thought we were is an illusion—a half-truth. Being aware of fundamental suffering can be very depressing. I have past the lowest point, but am still in this phase.

• Cook-Greuter, S. (2014). Ego development: A full-spectrum theory of vertical growth and meaning making. mimeo, Wayland.
• O’Fallon, T. J. (2010). The Collapse of the Wilber Combs Matrix: The Interpenetration of the State and Structure Stages Terri J. O’Fallon Developmental Research Institute May 1, 2010.
• O’Fallon, T. (2020). States and STAGES: Waking up Developmentally. Integral Review: A Transdisciplinary & Transcultural Journal for New Thought, Research, & Praxis, 16(1).
• Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Shambhala Publications.
• ​Wilber, K. (2001). The eye of spirit: An integral vision for a world gone slightly mad. Shambhala Publications.
• Wilber, K. (2007). Integral spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world. Shambhala Publications.
• Wilber, K. (2024). Finding Radical Wholeness: The Integral Path to Unity, Growth, and Delight. Shambhala Publications.