| |
It is urgent that you
create an emotionally satisfying life, with fulfilling relationships in
which you learn to express love and to practice kindness; to share happiness and to
commit to the survival of humanity. Martyn Carruthers |
Does Your Life Make Sense?
Your meaning of life or
life purpose will change many times, in
predictable ways. Your sense of life will change as you age and during
your relationships. As your happiness and well-being may require
that you find a life philosophy, some questions are useful
for measuring your progress.
| Who are you?
Who is your true self?
Why are you here? |
What is your purpose?
What fulfills you?
What are your life goals? |
What is true?
What is important?
What is death? |
If you seek satisfactory answers to questions
about your sense of life, Soulwork can help you.
|
Victor Frankl
Man's Search for Meaning |
Ultimately, man should not ask
for the meaning of his life, but rather must recognize that
it is he who is asked. Each man is questioned by life; and he
can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life
he can only respond by being responsible. |
[ Mentorship . Is Soulwork "New Age"? . Spiritual Evolution ]
If you are starving, you may find meaning of life in a stolen potato. If
you are in love, you may find a sweet meaning of life in your first home
together. If you are in business, you may not find meaning in
a strategic tax-deductible gift to a charity.
Soulwork coach training includes assessing "meaning of
life" by considering your needs, perception,
values and relationships, using the research of Maslow, Bateson, Graves and
Carruthers.
Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs
Dr Abraham Maslow was a professor of
psychology. He wrote that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs,
and that certain needs must be satisfied before higher needs. He believed that people are
basically trustworthy, self-protecting and self-governing.
| Physiological |
Your need for basics such as air, water, food,
sleep, etc |
| Safety |
Your need for stability: the security of
a home and safety for your family |
| Belonging |
Your need to belong to a family, clubs, work
groups, religions, etc, where you can accept others and feel accepted by
them |
| Esteem |
Your need to esteem yourself, perhaps following
competence at a task, and your need for recognition from others |
| Actualization |
Your need to become "everything that you can
become." You seek knowledge, experiences,
self-fulfillment, oneness, etc |
Bateson: Hierarchy of Logical Types
Dr Gregory Bateson was an anthropologist who applied systems theory to psychology and anthropology
(see Steps to an Ecology of Mind). His description
of Logical Types define a hierarchy of abstraction from physical objects to
universal principles.
|
Place |
You visit locations that you
find meaningful. These may be places with unusual geographic
features; places where special people died
or were buried; or where unusual events happened. |
|
Things |
You venerate objects of
unusual meaning, beauty or scarcity. This may include possessions or
parts of people who you consider as special. |
|
Behaviors |
You repeat body
movements that you find meaningful. This includes
chants or repeated words that symbolize or request a preferred relationship
with an esoteric agency. |
|
Beliefs |
You believe ideas that cannot be
proven. Your beliefs may lack factual basis
and concern meaningful things, people or places. |
|
Values |
You value meaningful abstractions
that cannot be measured or assessed in ordinary reality. |
|
Identify |
You identify with places,
things, behaviors (e.g. a job), beliefs, values people or human systems. |
|
Transcend |
To transcend
identity is
a goal of many spiritual paths, although
some people will dispute whether or not you have transcended. |
Graves: Hierarchy of Values
Dr Clare Graves, a post-doctoral student of
Abraham Maslow, described values as a basis of human
development. His model of societal evolution predicts the behavior of
individuals, groups and organizations. The following table loosely interprets Dr Graves work
in terms of meaning of life:
|
Survival |
Your meaning of life is
to survive long enough to raise children |
|
Tribal |
Your meaning of life is to enjoy family
- to survive in small communities with the help of friendly esoteric
agencies |
|
Power |
Your meaning of life is to enjoy power
- to be a warrior - to discover and conquer new worlds for your own
gratification |
|
Stability |
Your meaning of life is to enjoy stability
- to establish and regulate civilization for the security of your peers |
|
Success |
Your meaning of life is to enjoy success
- to increase your individual worth in a competitive market |
|
Community |
Your meaning of life is to enjoy community
- to share your feelings in a protected group and to protect the group's
integrity |
|
Systemic |
Your meaning of life is to
participate in
complex systems - to find interconnections that benefit all members of
the systems |
|
Global |
Your meaning of life
is to value and nurture all living things as part of an complex global
super-system |
[ Graves Levels
1 - 3 . Graves Levels 4 - 6 .
Graves Levels 7 - 9 ]
Carruthers: Hierarchy of Connectedness
Certain relationships give meaning to
your life and a lack of those relationships may be depressing.
Soulwork uses a hierarchy of relationship coaching that supports meaningful life.
The human relationships that may most affect your meaning of life are probably:
| Early Family |
Your sense of connection to members of
your family, living and dead, in which you learn basic life
skills and family rules as a basis for enjoying life and
relationships with family members |
| Friendship |
Your sense of connection to special people with
whom you share experiences, feelings, personal details and advice, as a basis
for future relationships with people who are not family |
| Teamwork |
Your sense of connection to special people
with whom you work together towards shared goals
for mutual benefit, as a basis for
commitment and co-operation |
| Partnership |
Your sense of
connection to a special person with whom you create a
long-term relationship to experience love and intimacy, and
prepare for nurturing children or important projects |
| Parenthood |
Your sense of connection,
caring and responsibility about your own children, child
substitutes (e.g. pets) or important long term projects that
you create and nurture |
| Community |
Your sense of connection
and responsibility to members of
your community, whether geographical, political, professional or
through other shared interests |
| Humanity |
Your sense of connection to members of
your race, including your acceptance of their country of origin,
and their diverse cultural backgrounds, values and beliefs |
Soulwork systemic coaching can remedy the identity loss
for which many unpleasant symptoms compensate. People who disconnect from their
feelings and from other people may have little meaning of life and perhaps feel
suicidal. People who can enjoy fulfilling the responsibilities of their
relationships seem to enjoy an intense sense of meaning in
life.
At the end of your life - will you say with
integrity "I fulfilled this human life".
[
Emotional Intelligence . Accelerated Learning ]
The Soul of Soulwork is integrity -
a joyful expression of life that brings insight and understanding.
With Soulwork, you can help people untangle difficult relationships, find emotional
maturity and liberate their human spirit. Soul Works! |
