The United States Of You

An Integral Perspective, Part 3

Continuing on with my series on Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory, I’d like to cover the concept of states. States in the Integral context primarily refer to modes of consciousness that include (but are not limited to) the physiological and subjective states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. These states of consciousness correspond to the gross, subtle and causal bodies, referring to old teachings from Indian philosophy.

The following is a brief summary of Vedantic teachings on the three bodies.

• Waking consciousness identifies with the physical body and senses.

• Dreaming consciousness maintains identity with the mind.

• In dreamless sleep, identification with both the egoic mental identity and the physical body are suspended.

On the contrary, according to this doctrine, it is during dreamless sleep the so-called causal body gives rise to the other two bodies, hence its name. I don't know about you, but I've yet to remember maintaining conscious awareness during dreamless sleep despite accounts from mystics, yogis and sages that claim its possibility. If you have had such an experience, please comment and let me know. I would be thrilled.

Supposedly we all go through this state each and every sleep cycle. It would make sense that if there's neither a body nor a mind, no concept of space or time, what is there to remember? Who or what would remember? Pure awareness without subjectivity or objectivity. Interesting questions to ponder.

Another neat little nugget from Jordan Peterson that's a propos – waking consciousness sacrifices completeness for coherence, whereas dreaming consciousness sacrifices coherence for more holistic processing. This is one potential take on the mysterious nature of dreams. He also associates and contrasts this with the brain’s hemispheric lateralization. Perhaps I will dive deeper into this topic as I find the millenia old insights of ancient cultures fascinating.

Now, let's contrast these same subjective states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep with scientifically observable phenomena. Neuroscience, since the advent of neuroimaging, has contributed much by way of neurological correlates of consciousness with measurement and categorization of brain waves – alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc. Neuroscience posits that certain states of consciousness correspond with particular configurations of brain wave states. Alas, this conversation of states would be remiss without discussion of emotional states. While humans have developed very colorful language for the breadth and depth of emotional expression, scientists have discovered it’s actually quite challenging to discuss the phenomena of emotions precisely. 

Source: psychline.in

A useful framework is a 2x2 matrix of high vs. low valence (pleasant vs. unpleasant) and high vs. low physiological arousal (sympathetic vs parasympathetic dominance i.e. the difference between being chased by a bear and falling asleep with your eyes open on a couch.) 

One friend shared a very useful and practical takeaway from an anger management class – simply put, avoid emotionally challenging conversations if your heart rate is greater than 120 beats per minute. 

Hold up, so trying to do couples therapy while ALSO simultaneously fitting in a HIIT workout to be efficient is a bad idea? Why? The limbic system has hijacked the prefrontal cortex rendering rational cooperative thought improbable if not impossible. 

A simple takeaway could be to align physiological, emotional and motivational states and remember to pause and consider adjusting when these are not aligned. Continuing this line of thought, another interesting observation made by Peterson in one of his lectures — higher-order rational thought is really only possible when “lower” physiological drives are satisfied: the needs for thermoregulation, thirst, hunger, safety, etc.

Another of my dear friends (different friend) shared this joke close to two decades ago that has stayed with me (I do not generally recall many jokes at hand): 

“A hungry man will not follow the categorical imperative. He will follow a ham sandwich.”

For those who could use a refresher on their philosophical jargon, a categorical imperative refers to a central element of Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy – simple examples include “don’t steal” or “you shouldn’t kill.”

High-brow philosophical humor aside, it is apparent that human beings possess drives for curiosity, exploration, affiliation, and creative impulses for self-expression that form the foundation for the arts – music, dance, theatre, literature etc.

Indeed, we are all recipients of the cultural generosity of previous generations – all the treasures of modern convenience, the wonders made possible by scientists, technologists and industrialists, the insights and beauty crafted and shared by artists, mystics and philosophers. It is well we remember this alongside the equally human capacity for darkness and mayhem — countless examples of this are readily available so I do not feel the need to belabor the point.

Other examples of states to consider…

• non-ordinary states – pharmaceutical interactions from caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol to trance induction – plant medicine, breathwork, etc.

• social interactions – how you show up with other individuals – family, friends, particular sets of friends, work.

• environmental interactions – nature vs. festivals, attending a protest vs. a quiet morning, at a bar in public listening to live music vs a monastic retreat.

What’s the takeaway here?

Remember…

• States come and go just like day follows night, the weather, and the seasons.

• Aligning suitable states with suitable actions.

• Avoiding certain kinds of activity with certain states.

• You can influence your state but do not necessarily have complete control over all variables. (More on this another time).

• Control what you can.

That’ll do for now. 

May you enjoy smooth and appropriate state transitions conducive to your fullest expression as a human being.

Part 4 of the series on integral theory can be found here.