Most people are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which starts with Physiological needs (food, shelter, sleep), then Safety (security, health), then Belonging (relationships, love) and so on.
There’s another framework called AQAL (“All Quadrants, All Levels”), developed by Ken Wilber. AQAL focuses on the evolution of consciousness.
This framework is a little more complex, but can be summarized by the following image (taken from this Medium article).
Within each quadrant, there are stages of development. On the Interior side, you are developing your introspective depth. On the Exterior side, you are increaing your understanding of society and complexity.
The overall goal is to raise yourself from the lower stages the the higher stages.
Why do I bring this up? Over the past two weeks, I was reminded that not everyone thinks like me. Some people seems to operate at lower stages of consciousness, while others are more enlightened.
The takeaway
One of my goals is to understand where I am today and then attempt to raise myself to a higher stage. The more aware you are, the better consultant you become.