The **Eight Layers of Human Ability** are strongly influenced and developed using a combination of Ken Wilber's Integral Theory, Carl Jung's Psychological Functions, and my own Subdivision Model. They have been designed to describe and categorise our innate behavioural characteristics, and how they emerge through survival, development and higher integration. This process moves from the most **Physical \[P/P/P]** forms of processing to the most **Mental \[M/M/M]**, beginning with bodily survival, then expanding into resources, systems, relationships, and eventually broader societal unity. While the order of the layers may be hierarchical, each layer builds upon, but also relies on the layer underneath it, making every layer as equally important to stabilise for human development. While later layers may appear to be more 'advanced', without support from the earlier layers they can easily become disconnected and unstable. This is why people more naturally dominant in them can often struggle to find success only until later in life, after they are able to develop the earlier layers they were born less grounded in. While we are all naturally stronger and weaker at different layers, our strengths and weakness are broadly evenly distributed across the same *amount* of layers. <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #3498DB; background-color: rgba(52, 152, 219, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; display: flex; align-items: flex-start; "> <span style="margin-right: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2em;">💡</span> <div style="flex: 1;"> <p style="margin: 0;"> This does not mean that everyone is built identically, some people can have stronger natural spikes than others, however this framework focuses on our broader processing distribution rather than atypical individual variation. </p> </div> </div> Each person carries the same broad amount of *natural* imbalance, just distributed across different areas of experience. The process towards human development is as equally challenging, yet equally important, for all of us. --- <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #3498DB; background-color: rgba(52, 152, 219, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; display: flex; align-items: flex-start; "> <span style="margin-right: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2em;">💡</span> <div style="flex: 1;"> <p style="margin: 0;"> The <strong>[P/M/P]</strong> labelling etc for the layers below will be developed upon in further pages, for now just note that the more <strong>M</strong> a layer has, the more it engages with pattern recognition and how things occur. The more <strong>P</strong> a layer has, the more it engages with the physical senses and what directly exists around us. </p> </div> </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #FF4C4C; background-color: rgba(255, 76, 76, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 1 - Survival [P/P/P] </strong> Layer 1 focuses on recognising and responding to the immediate physical conditions of the body. </div> <div style="margin-top:0.5em;"> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #FF8C42; background-color: rgba(255, 140, 66, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 2 - Sustainability [P/P/M] </strong> Layer 2 focuses on maintaining the needs of the body consistently over time through routine, preparation and stability. </div> </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #FFD54F; background-color: rgba(255, 213, 79, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 3 - Resourcefulness [P/M/P] </strong> Layer 3 focuses on recognising and utilising the observable resources available within our environment. </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #8BC34A; background-color: rgba(139, 195, 74, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 4 - Optimisation [P/M/M] </strong> Layer 4 focuses on understanding how existing systems function and how they can be improved for long term stability. </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #4DD0E1; background-color: rgba(77, 208, 225, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 5 - Harmony [M/P/P] </strong> Layer 5 focuses on recognising other people as equally complex and valid, rather than viewing them only as competition, threats or resources. </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #64B5F6; background-color: rgba(100, 181, 246, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 6 - Alignment [M/P/M] </strong> Layer 6 focuses on recognising personal differences, values, strengths and weaknesses, and aligning them towards authenticity and natural suitability. </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #9575CD; background-color: rgba(149, 117, 205, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 7 - Synergy [M/M/P] </strong> Layer 7 focuses on integrating different people, abilities and fields into larger systems of collective capability. </div> <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #9C27B0; background-color: rgba(156, 39, 176, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; "> <strong style=" display: block; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; "> Layer 8 - Awareness [M/M/M] </strong> Layer 8 focuses on recognising the larger natural processes, cycles and origins that connect humanity with all wider physical existence. </div> --- <div class="canvas-grid"> <!-- Level 1: Source (blue) --> <div class="canvas-card level-1"> <strong>Source</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <!-- Level 2: Mental [M] (purple) --> <div class="canvas-card level-2"> <strong>Mental [M]</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <!-- Level 3: Mental/Mental [M/M] (red) --> <div class="canvas-card level-3"> <strong>Mental/Mental [M/M]</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <!-- Level 4 (orange) --> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 8 Awareness</strong> <strong>[M/M/M]</strong> </div> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 7 Synergy</strong> <strong>[M/M/P]</strong> </div> </div> </div> <!-- Level 3: Mental/Physical [M/P] (red) --> <div class="canvas-card level-3"> <strong>Mental/Physical [M/P]</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 6 Alignment</strong> <strong>[M/P/M]</strong> </div> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 5 Harmony</strong> <strong>[M/P/P]</strong> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- Level 2: Physical [P] (purple) --> <div class="canvas-card level-2"> <strong>Physical [P]</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <!-- Level 3: Physical/Mental [P/M] (red) --> <div class="canvas-card level-3"> <strong>Physical/Mental [P/M]</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 4 Optimisation</strong> <strong>[P/M/M]</strong> </div> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 3 Resourcefulness</strong> <strong>[P/M/P]</strong> </div> </div> </div> <!-- Level 3: Physical/Physical [P/P] (red) --> <div class="canvas-card level-3"> <strong>Physical/Physical [P/P]</strong> <div class="canvas-grid"> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 2 Sustainability</strong> <strong>[P/P/M]</strong> </div> <div class="canvas-card level-4" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; justify-content:center; align-items:center; text-align:center;"> <strong>Layer 1 Survival</strong> <strong>[P/P/P]</strong> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> --- Each layer has an opposite pair that will process the world through reversed Mental/Physical direction to the other. - **Layer 1 \[P/P/P] ↔ Layer 8 \[M/M/M]** - **Layer 2 \[P/P/M] ↔ Layer 7 \[M/M/P]** - **Layer 3 \[P/M/P] ↔ Layer 6 \[M/P/M]** - **Layer 4 \[P/M/M] ↔ Layer 5 \[M/P/P]** For example, if you are naturally stronger in **Layer 3 \[P/M/P]**, you will usually be less developed in **Layer 6 \[M/P/M]**, as each layer processes its environment in the reverse direction. This is similar to pushing and pulling on a door, the more force you apply in one direction, the further you move away from the other, and you cannot move both ways at once. Similar layers are easier to move between because they share overlapping processing patterns, while opposite layers require the greatest shift in direction as you have to behaviourally reverse what is naturally instinctual for you. This does not mean that opposite layers are absent, only that they are less natural, less automatic, and usually require conscious intervention in order to develop. This pattern will be repeatedly explored through the project as we explore how different processing states relate to one another. <div style=" border-left: 4px solid #3498DB; background-color: rgba(52, 152, 219, 0.1); padding: 0.75rem; border-radius: 6px; margin: 1rem 0; display: flex; align-items: flex-start; "> <span style="margin-right: 0.5rem; font-size: 1.2em;">💡</span> <div style="flex: 1;"> <p style="margin: 0;"> Note that when I am labelling processes as M/P etc, I am not claiming that only one mode of activity is occurring within the body. Most human actions involve <em>many</em> simultaneous biological and cognitive processes, and I am instead describing that dominant direction of processing behaviour that is being expressed, whether being primarily in Mental or Physical. </p> </div> </div> --- We will next examine each layer in greater depth, exploring how they each appear through natural human behaviour and the consequences of what happens when they become imbalanced at both individual and societal levels. <span class="nav-buttons">[[1. Processing Subdivisions (Theoretical)|« Back]] [[2.2 Layer 1 - Survival (PPP)|Next »]]</span>