The Integral U - an integral model of creativity

A couple of years ago I did a research project on my colleagues to explore the optimal conditions for creativity in science (published here). While analyzing the results I noticed how the patterns emerging out of the interviews made perfect sense both within the framework of Ken Wilber's AQAL model and Otto Scharmer's Theory U. So it occurred to me that the two models could be merged, or integrated, into one (shown in the image).

The most elegant way to combine the two models is to superimpose the four quadrants on to the U. The descending arm of the U lies at the center of the quadrants, at the point where they meet. During the descending phase of the U process ('observation - preparation'), the quadrants are compressed into each other until they become condensed into one and disappear into emptiness at the bottom of the U. At the point where the U process turns upwards again ('presencing - insight'), the quadrants re-emerge, and during the ascending phase of the U process ('embodiment - realizing innovation') they fully unfold once more.

Notice how the quadrants are transformed after re-emergence: on the left-hand side, during the descending phase of the U process, they are separate from each other - parallel dimensions of being in the world, and of perceiving the world. But on the right-hand side, during the ascending phase of the U process, they have come together, and are now in contact with each other. In other words, the relationship between the quadrants has changed - they are more connected, and the boundaries between them have become transparent.

This model reflects a number of results that emerged in the interviews. For example, several scientists told me "at the moment of creative breakthrough, the contribution of the individual and of the collective are equally critical, and actually merge into one". This indicates that the individual and the collective become one during the creative process, which can be seen in the model as the condensation of the upper and lower quadrants into each other at the bottom of the U.

A prediction made by this model is that the converse is also true: deep integration of the four quadrants depends on deep creativity. This has important implications for the integration of science with spirituality, since it shows that transcendence of the gaping divide between these two worldviews requires a level of creativity that is equally deep.

One of the scientists I interviewed told me that creative breakthroughs  don't generate new information, but instead "reveal a new connection, or a connection that was already there, but was hidden". Thus the core impulse of creativity is the generation of new connections. If we compare this to the definition of 'integration', which is 'the bringing together of things', it becomes clear that the two are fundamentally related. Creativity is intimately connected to integration, and deep creativity depends on the interconnecting power of integration.