The idea that development is a “transcend and include” process is a partial-truth that results in significant collective shadow in the integral diaspora—specifically it supports an ascending bias and subtle arrogance in narratives about adult development.  We will see how human development, i.e. all learning, necessarily involves a transcend and *exclude* process. That is, all new mental structures create some degree of shadow or “occlusion,” which later calls to be released, healed, or deconstructed through “descending” processes.  Theories of ego development and spiritual growth must include both ascending processes of complexity-creating vertical development and descending processes of complexity release and un-learning. The Wisdom Skill model, which shows how ascending and descending modes of maturation relate and intertwine, untangles several conundrums and apparent paradoxes in developmental theories.