1) Are they Levels of Effectiveness or Levels of Consciousness?
We call the Seven Levels, “Levels of Effectiveness” because this is what the impact of the level is—it governs and will determine one’s effectiveness. It’s always our come-from place that creates our results in the world, so effectiveness is the most basic way of seeing the levels. However, they can also be understood as levels of consciousness, vibration, and energy.
2) Why do you call some levels “below the line” and others “above the line?”
There is an exponential expansion in energy as one goes higher in the levels, with the three lower (below the line) levels all sucking more energy from life than they contribute. At Courage we cross over to contributing energy to life (hence the idea of “the line”).
3) What’s stronger, above the line or below the line?
In the short term, the below the line levels can be loud and persuasive. We like to say that you can get anyone to do pretty much anything you want them to if you hold a gun to their head. They won’t continue to do it once the gun is removed, however, and there will be serious consequences.
Long term, we have found that the above the line levels prevail due to the exponential increase in energy. You need to be in it for the long haul, though!
4) Are the levels fixed? Is someone solidly “in” one level or another?
The levels need to be understood as both static and moving. In other words, a person, group or organization can be solidly in one primary level as an ongoing way of being, and also can be experiencing a level as a temporary or contextual state. For example, I might be in the level of Frustration due to tiredness, lack of sleep, or a specific incident, while normally calibrating closer to Innovation. And I might be in Frustration around a particular project or individual, although in Engagement in most other areas of my life. We are a sort of Irish stew of energies!
The names of each level reflect the impact the person, group or organization is having, whether it is systemic and ongoing, or simply for this moment in time or particular circumstance. The descriptions of each level are written from an all-or-nothing perspective for simplicity’s sake, but are also relevant for those momentary or contextual “visits” to the level.
5) Do the levels build on one another, or are they stand-alone aspects of a person or group?
The levels are not a linear set, but are inclusive in nature. We like to think of it like climbing a mountain—we can only see as high as we are. Hopelessness can only see itself, but Fear can see itself and Hopelessness, and so on. It is not a case of this level OR that level, but this level AND all the levels below it. Thus the lower levels are not something to reject and get away from, but rather something to embrace, integrate, and include.
6) What about people who only want to see the good in things – are they in Synchronicity? If not, how do you get there?
There are many positive, loving people who will not look at or talk about anything negative. They insist on only dealing with positive energy. This is not the integrated state of someone truly in Synchronicity, because Synchronicity is about knowing and owning the rich fullness of life in all its complexity. This is someone who is afraid they will get sucked into negativity if they look at or acknowledge it, and are thus acting out of a degree of fear. There are no shortcuts to moving to a higher level. You must be willing to include everything, love it, and find its gifts.
7) How do the fields work on people, for example, in an organization?
We have consistently seen something we call the “Centrifuge Effect.” That is, the overall level of effectiveness will dictate the culture of the organization or group. People either take on the characteristics of the level (above or below the line), becoming incorporated into the culture, or they are spit out, either leaving or being let go.
©Beabove Leadership, 2015, www.beaboveleadership.com