User:Jineris/sandbox
| Great Mosque of Samarra | |
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An upward spiral is a three-dimensional shape consisting of a spiral moving upward as it loops around a center. The loops of the spiral may also vary in width as height changes, becoming narrower or wider to form a cone. Another term for a three-dimensional spiral is a gyre.
Upward spirals are a commonly recurring conceptual metaphor associated with self-reinforcing change and positive growth. They are a specific case of the spiral, which is one of five shapes whose symbolism is universal across cultures[1]. The others shapes are square, circle, triangle and cross.
(There are parties) in fields such as Positive Psychology, Conflict Resolution and Complexity Theory who have made use of the metaphor (in the following ways) to provide guidance in the follow (diverse) domains. What these have in common is a Systems Dynamics model of growth.
Geometry[edit]
Although spirals occur in many forms in nature and construction, all spirals share these common qualities:
- They are centered around a single point
- They wind around that point
- Iterative.......
- Progressive.......
Additionally, some spirals, such as the Golden Spiral, amplify as they progress.
Upward spirals, when used in metaphor, tend to involve an additional vertical dimension in which each progressive step along the spiral moves further along the vertical axis without doubling back. Thus for each vertical point, there is only one corresponding point along the spiral.
In addition, an upward spiral typically includes a sense of directionality, treating the spiral as a path along which something travels. In an upward spiral, movement progresses upward along the vertical axis. By contrast, a downward spiral refers to a three-dimensional spiral in which movement progresses downward.
Symbolism[edit]
Upward motion is common associated with positivity, growth, status, health, control or influence, virtue and quantity increase.[2] When combined with spiral imagery, upward spirals are used to refer to constructive self-reinforcing change, growth, cyclicism, repetition, and mutualistic cooperation of multiple elements and growth. An example upward spiral might be a brainstorming session, in which good ideas trigger more advanced good ideas.
By contrast, a downward spiral refers to a situation that self-reinforces to worsen with time, such as an escalating conflict.
Historical Examples[edit]
- Arab spring
- IRA story
- US Civil Rights Movement
Connections to Systems Thinking:[edit]
Some schools of thought which include methodologies for creating upward spirals include:
- Stephen Covey
- Positive Psychology
- Worklore
- Rule #8 / UpwardSpiralNow
- Paul Krafel
Connections with Positive Psychology[edit]
Connections with Conflict Resolution[edit]
Connections with Chaos & Complexity and living systems design[edit]
Example Usages of Upward Spiral Imagery:[edit]
In Art and Architecture:
- Great Mosque of Samarra
- Spiral staircases
In Economics & Politics
- UpwardSpiral2011.org
- Current Upward Spiral Page
In Education
In Spirituality
- William Butler Yeats
- Kundalini yoga, yoga therapy
References[edit]
- http://www.rulenumber8.com/what-we-do/company-in-house
- upwardspiralnow.com
- http://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html
Disambiguate:
- Spiral
Link From:
- Stephen Covey
- Yeats
- Kundalini
- Positive Psychology
- Positive Organizational Behavior
- Management Consulting
- Change management