Spiral Cycles and Pressures

Root Levels & Psychosocial Pressures

The Root Levels are currently conjectured to be the carriers of psychic energy via psychosocial pressures. So it is the psychosocial pressure that is projected, when speaking of a Root Projection.

The Root Hierarchy can be divided via a standard internal duality into Transcendence Levels and Actualization Levels as explained for endeavour. It makes sense to label the psychosocial pressures similarly i.e. those pressures associated with Transcendence Levels are «Transcendence Pressures», while those associated with Actualization Levels are «Actualization Pressures».

The Table below shows this pattern with the additional column on the right indicating what is now known about correspondence with Modes in Principal Spirals.

Root Level
Root Level Requirement Internal Duality Psychosocial Pressure
 Mode Corresp.
L7 Willingness
← Transcendence Levels
Transcendence Pressures →
Selflessness μ2
L6 Purpose Autonomy μ4
L5 Communication Understanding μ3
L4 Experience
← Actualization Levels
Actualization Pressures →
Well-being μ6
L3 Change Acceptability μ7
L2 Inquiry Certainty μ5
L1 Action Performance μ1

Using this nomenclature, we can look at the pattern of the Spiral again. In the diagram at right below, it is evident that the Transcendence Pressures are to be found within Cycle-1, while Actualization Pressures are to be found in Cycle-2.

This pattern provides some structural corroboration: it was neither planned nor anticipated and yet it appears meaningful and powerful.

Spirals & the Primal Nexus

On the left below, the psychosocial pressures are shown as they would appear in concentric circles in the TET, with arrows indicating tendencies of the Types. On the right, the diagram shows how the transitions occur in the Spiral evolution.

Mode-1/Type-3 is of particular interest because it is found in three forms:

  1. At the outset, Mode-1/Type-3 provides whatever is the minimum output necessary for existence. That output is surely responsive to performance, an actualization pressure. However, bringing any psychosocial phenomenon into existence is intrinsically creative and might be viewed as an expression of transcendence—which would accord with the rest of Cycle-1.
  2. Following completion of Cycle-1, Mode-1/Type-3actualization is established via the three Transcendence pressures. Existence is no longer in doubt.
  3. Following completion of Cycle-2, Mode-1/Type-3 enables whatever is the maximum desirable and feasible output as a result of the addition of the three Actualization pressures.

In other words, Mode-1/Type-3 may be under the influence of pressures either to Transcend or to Actualize or both. As part of development over time, there appears to be a shift in dominance. It seems that this lower right TET quadrant represents the Primal Nexus: the intermixing of psychosocial time and physical time, psychosocial reality and cosmic reality.

ClosedImplication for Types

This sheds light on the commonly observed phenomenon of a drive for those using the TET-central form of Type-3 to move to the extreme form, often with serious dysfunction or harm to others.

Indeed something similar is seen in the three other TET quadrants : the methods driven by actualizing pressures are perceived as more sophisticated than the methods driven by transcending pressures. This is possibly because interacting with reality is so difficult.

The picture that emerges as a result of this analysis is shown below.

Stage
 Mode Basis Cycles in Spiral Psychosocial Pressure
 Spiral
Tree L		 Internal Duality
φ7 Type-5 Cycle-2
Actualization Pressures		 Acceptability CL7 = KL7 RL(n+1)
φ6 Type-7 Well-being CL6 = KL6
φ5 Type-2 Certainty CL5 = KL5
φ4 Type-1 Cycle-1 Transcendence Pressures Autonomy CL4 = KL4 RL(n)
φ3 Type-4 Understanding CL3 = KL3
φ2 Type-6 Selflessness CL2 = KL2
φ1 Type-3 Primal Nexus Performance CL1 = KL1
           

In anticipation of what is to come, I have added two columns about the Spiral-derived Tree on the far right. The first refers to Tree levels: CL• is the standard Spiral labeling, while KL• is the emergent hierarchy labeling. The far right column is a reminder that all Spirals relate to two Root levels corresponding to their Cycles—a finding that needs further exploration.

Initially posted: 30-Nov-2013. Last amended 5-Jan-2023.