The first rung on the ladder of spiral dynamics is stage beige just before stage purple. Stage beige is the most primitive of the ego stages.
Stage beige at its core is characterized by survival instincts and complete selfishness which is why this stage is often called the “animalistic stage”.
Survival
Life is completely automatic at this stage and it’s based solely on survival. Just like an animal, humans in stage beige act purely on it’s survival instincts.
Everything revolves around staying alive and nothing more. Concerns at stage beige include:
- find water
- getting food
- staying warm
- keeping safe
All action is taken for survival and selfish intent. People at this stage of spiral dynamics are incapable of having higher concerns like group benefit, learning, and self development.
It’s All about me
Those in stage beige are completely self centered, but still have yet to develop a sense of “self” and “other”.
Even though stage beige individuals are focused solely on self survival, it does not yet have a concept of self.
All action is taken for survival of the self. There is no concern for a group or other individuals at this stage as the focus is completely filled with self survival.
Animalistic Instinct
Individuals in stage beige have a deep primal instinct. It is the basic function of animals to stay alive and reproduce. This too is the main function of humans at stage beige.
Humans at this stage of spiral dynamics are essentially equivalent to other animals. There is no higher thought in the mind of a stage beige person than getting food, staying alive, and staying safe.
It would make sense evolutionarily that stage beige is the first level of human development since we originally began on the same playing field as other animals.
Who is stage beige?
What are some examples of humans in stage beige?
- Primitive homo sapiens 100,000 years ago
- Babies
- Severely mentally disabled
- Senile elderly
- Some homeless individuals
Most humans in today’s society only spend a few years at most in this stage from when they’re infants to about the age of 2 or 3 years of age.
For a comprehensive list of examples of stage beige click here.
Wrapping up
Stage beige is essentially the starting block for human development. It’s the floor that all humans start from when they’re born.
It’s about survival and nothing more. There’s no concern for society or development here. The mindset is utterly primal with the focus on keeping “me” safe and alive.
Want to find out your stage on the spiral dynamics spiral? Take the free spiral dynamics quiz here.
Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a meditation teacher, spiritual seeker, and founder of nurtureyourspirit.org. I’m glad you’re here! I founded Nurture Your Spirit because of my love of meditation, spirituality, and spiritual awakening.
