Spirit

Process For Progress:

Perceive, Believe, Conceive, Achieve, Interweave and then Receive.

Perceive your place in the socioeconomic pyramid of power that determines who gets what (or who) in your particular locale, by accepting other peoples evaluations of you.

Believe that those evaluations are accurate but that your place in the hierarchy can be improved.

Conceive of ways to create value for other people, set goals to accomplish that objective, and then:

Achieve that purpose by actually creating such value for them.

Interweave what you have created for others in to the market through which such values are exchanged so that they can enjoy your creations inherent benefits.

and then:

Receive compensation for what you have contributed.

Formula to: Create: Happiness:

Happiness = "Felicity"

Felicity = Piety + Fidelity + Amity + Equity + Magnanimity.

Magnanimity = Love of Community.

Equity = Sharing the Products of Business Endeavours.

Amity = Friendship.

Fidelity = Loyalty in Romantic Relationships.

Piety = Love of God (Our Father in Heaven).

Some information about God is at:

EmperorSelassie.com

To Create (and Potentiate) Universal Happiness, try to achieve balance in all five of those aspects of inter-relating with other People (as illustrated in the following diagram):

Philosophy = "Love of Wisdom"

While growing up I used to visit my cities Public Library to read books (and articles on the internet) in order to try to determine how I could become successful in life. Some of the wisest writers whose works I read often referred to the triune social structure of the ancient Hindu civilization (of prehistorical India) as a model for our contemporary civilization, referring to it's "castes" (or classes) of:

Priests

Business People

and:

Soldiers

who ruled over that civilizations masses of ("out caste") workers and among whose respected ranks a man should endeavor to establish a position for himself in, if he wanted to become a happy member of that civilization.

However, while reflecting up on the nature of the global problems that we hueman beings seem to be repeatedly challenged with overcoming (and the fact that it seems as if all of the ongoing wars that our nations Federal government has been perpetrating against various nations on this planet have been bankrupting us morally {and financially [while at the same time hurting <and killing> men, women, and <even> children on our planet]}) it seems logical to conclude that a new way of perceiving what it means to be "a man" may be necessary.

First, it seems fairly obvious that the apparently widely held belief that a "man" has to be capable of perpetrating (or deploying) violence against other hueman beings (in order to be "respected" by the other people residing within the civilization in which he resides) is a very primitive (and misguided) one, and an approach that our historically: reflexive acceptance of has destroyed (and is currently destroying) many of our species families (and communities) on this planet and so (for those reasons) I believe that the antisocial attitudes that glorify (and promote) violent conflict (particularly those that promote war) should be abandoned in favor of more helpfull conceptualizations of what it means to be "a man".

For those reasons, I would like to elucidate the following categories of endeavor that I perceive that a: man should aspire to achieve within, so that aspiring Leaders (whether they be grown men {or [merely]: boys}) can deploy their time, energy, and material wealth in ways that will be more likely to result in us being found (truly) worthy of the admiration (and respect) that too many people in our civilization seem to have been habitually (reflexively {and immaturely}) demanding from one another (some times {seemingly} without the slightest bit of effort exerted on the demandors part to earn that {coveted} respect).

So, rather than continuing to mindlessly validate inferior paradigms that reinforce incorrect notions that "a man" or "a leader" should be capable of planning, supervising, or perpetrating violent assaults up on others as a way to obtain the respect that they believe that they (or others) want (or "need") in order to be happy in life, I instead prefer to believe that:

A Leader should do his best to familiarize themselves with the structure (and functioning) of as many of their civilizations: Legal, governmental, and municipally administrative entities as possible.

A Leader should endeavor to earn the respect of the most creatively (and constructively) accomplished men (and women) who reside, work and/or: teach at (and/or: are enrolled in) the schools, colleges and Universities within the towns, cities, counties, states and: nations within which he resides.

A Leader should strive to become capable of creating something, whether it be:

Structures: such as buildings, bridges, dams, roads, reservoirs, and/or: waste water treatment plants

Technological Devices: such as microchips, mobile telephones, computers, tablets, and/or: space craft

Personal Items: such as clothing, jewelry, shoes, books and/or: musical instruments

Machines: such as: auto mobiles, trains, boats, jet skis and air craft, or the: manufacturing robots which are capable of producing any (and/or: all) of the items listed previously

Expressions: such as art, literature, poetry, prose, music and/or: newspaper or magazine articles

and/or:

Processes that: empower, potentiate and/or: streamline the creation of those things listed above.

A Leader should all so endeavor to be come capable of teaching other people to perform one (or more) of those functions listed above

and:

A Leader should strive to become respected in the formal (and informal) social, communal and fraternal organizations that are influential in his (or her) chosen town, city, municipality, county, state and/or: nation of residence.

The more accomplished someone be comes in one (or {ideally} in: more than one {or in: all}) of those respected realms of endeavor, the less likely it will be that he (or she) will feel compelled to resort to the (shamefull) deployment of physical force during their efforts to obtain what he (or she) wants (or believes that they "need") in life.

By sublimating lower minded (sociopathic) feelings of hatred (and {psychopathic} urges to: perpetrate violence against others) and transmutating such destructive energies into higher (more nobly minded) creative, constructive and: productive occupational (and social) activities that are likely to prove to be profitable (and conducive to the cultivation of peace betwe'en our selves {and others}) the more likely a: Leader will be to be able to upgrade his (or: her) categorization within the following:

Spectrum of Experiences Corresponding to Ones Degree of Social Integration (or Extrication):

(From total acceptance {on the left} to: total rejection {on the right}):

(With results in grey being much more likely to be experienced in States that are generally referred to as socially "conservative" {here in the United States of America}):

Integrated <------------------------------------------------------------> Extricated

In order to improve your category on that scale, I am of the perception that: aspirants should utilize what they know to make themselves more valuable to the group of people that they are (or want to become) an: integrated member of (by engaging in one {or: more} of the following functions of accomplishment {from the [historically] most respected at the top, to the [historically] least admired at the bottom}):

Create: art, music, prose, poetry, photographs, clothing, motion pictures, machinery, schematics, electronics, automobiles, boats, aircraft and/or: knowledge (or: processes) that facilitate ("empower") the more efficient (and effective) creation of such products.

Produce: those prior products (or fruit {and vegetables} from the natural growth processes exhibited by the flora found on our planet).

Harvest: those prior fruits, by gathering them, bringing them to market, and giving credit (and/or: compensation) to the producers (growers) of such: products.

Store (and/or: Preserve): such (previously listed) products.

Transfer Ownership: of such: products (whether through: donations {or: while regulated through the medium of ["currency"] exchange most frequently referred to as "money"}) to the: elderly, disabled, children and wombmyn in (y)our: community who want (and/or: need) them (while insuring that the grown {able bodied} men in any: group receive any: left over portions last).

Distribute: those (previously mentioned) products to the places where people who want (or need) them will be able to obtain (or purchase) them.

And then there are the least admired (and: least desirable) functions indulged in by hueman beings, which are:

Consuming: which (ideally) should be balanced (in equivalent value) with what the consumer has created (and/or: produced) for others

and:

Destroying: the: perpetration (of which) should be avoided (at all costs).

With those ideas in mind, here is a: Spectrum of: Socialization (which I designed) to help people determine which fields of constructive endeavor that they might experience as most rewarding, based up on whichever types of knowledge that they find most appealing (categorized from: most psychologically individuated on the left, to the: most socially integrated {on the right}):

(If you prefer to work a'lone, choose to deploy your energies through an occupation on {or near} the Left:

If you'd rather work closely with other people, deploy your energies through an occupation on {or near} the Right):

Individual <-------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Social

Math Science Law Business Art Music Medicine Education Religion

The Difference Betwe'en: Psychiatry (and: Psychology):

"Psychology" refers to the:

Recounting

Categorization

and/or:

Discussion

of: experienced (or witnessed) psychocognitive phenomena (and: processes).

While the word:

"Psychiatry" generally refers to the profession of attempting to categorize (and medicate) people who are either:

experiencing intolerable states of mind

or:

are claimed (often by: others) to be exhibiting socially destructive (or intolerable) misconduct.

and then:

attempting to stabilize the suffering (or {allegedly}: offensive) individuals by convincing (or: coercing) them to ingest substances that are believed to be able to recalibrate their (presumably unbalanced) brain chemistry.

Whether someone seeks out the services of a psychological (or psychiatric) professional, the objective (in either case) is to (at a minimum) help the: suffering (or: offensive) individual to: function normally in social situations and (ideally) to (allso) experience (subjective) feelings of normalcy.

Since what is considered to be “normal” may (sometimes) be perceived to be a: shared agreement (betwe'en all of the people residing within a particular vicinity of social contact) and since new hueman beings are regularly being born into our social circles, we should expect that there will be recurring (unexpected) fluctuations in the ways that we (and others) will feel, think and conduct ourselves.

How ever, when such fluctuations begin to cause us (or others around us) to devolve into destructive (mis)behaviour directed at themselves (or at: others) then (sometimes) outside ("professional") intervention may be found to be: required, and (in extreme cases) that can (sometimes) necessitate the soliciting of the services of a qualified (licensed) psychological (or psychiatric) professional.

Fortunately (or unfortunately {depending upon the severity of the social, legal and/or familial difficulties that you may be: experiencing}) I feel compelled to inform you that I am not a licensed psychological (nor psychiatric) professional.

How ever, I did complete a significant amount of research into those two fields, and because I see a number of anomalies in the conduct of significant numbers of people in public spaces that I fear are threatening to sabotage the potential, collective, harmonious, unified culture of joviality I think should be the default on this planet, I can't help but comment on what I perceive the definitions of the following psychological phenomena to be:

"Projection": a psycholinguistic concept utilized to describe the phenomenon of one (or more) people derisively condemning an other (or others) to be that which they themselves are, or to criticize that (or those) others for exhibiting the same misconduct that they them selves are engaging in.

"Transference": a concept utilized to describe the phenomenon whereby one (or more) individuals incorrectly perceive an individual to have done (or said) something which they did not do (or say) because they are (correctly or incorrectly) perceived to resemble the actual perpetrator in some way.

"Displacement": a phenomenon during which unresolved negative emotions resulting from a traumatic incident of victimization are (mis)directed at an individual who did not perpetrate the original offense.

"Generalization": a distortion of internal cognition causing a person to incorrectly perceive that all people resembling one another in either appearance, occupation, style of dress, way of life, or inflection of speech are "all the same", when in fact, that is very rarely correct.

I have frequently found those terms to be helpful when it comes to accurately perceiving, comprehending and discussing the intricacies of thought, feeling, perception, opinion, and (mis)behaviour that often appear to result from human interpersonal interaction.

Then, unfortunately, we have the frightening labels, such as:

"Psychopath": which is word referring to the phenomenon of a person becoming so consumed with hatred that they feel urges to engage in violent crimes against other human beings,

and:

"Sociopath": which is a word referring to the phenomenon of a person hating everyone in society.

It's difficult to discuss those terms in detail, but my understanding is that a:

"Sociopath" is generally reviled because he (or she) harbors such deep seated resentment towards the entire hueman race, that they may conspire to defraud them, or provoke them to fight,

while a:

"Psychopath" is generally feared and reviled because they reputedly display a desire to perpetrate grave bodily harm against other hueman beings.

Those designations are commonly utilized during the study of the abnormal psychology of dysfunctional people... which was one of the main focii of studies (and teachings) of famed psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who conceived of a model of a disturbed hueman psyche as consisting of three, antagonistic components:

An: "Ego" (which is the aspect of a hueman mind which rationally keeps one rooted in reality {as agreed upon by the majority of the people in your social sphere}),

An: "Id" (which is generally conceived to be that {often overly self centered} part of a hueman psyche that attempts to remain what its possessor believes that he {or she} has the "right" to be {often based on lower instinctual motives [likely empowered by past unconditional, physical acceptance <which may, or may not, still be present>]}),

and a:

"Super Ego": which (despite the likely misleading connotations most people would likely glean when hearing that term) historically refers to the "self restraining" part of our mind(s) which (ideally) functions to prevent us from continuing to do (or say) things that we think (or once: thought) were (are?) considered to be acceptable (but may {or may not} be any longer).

Sigmund Freud postulated that much of hueman behaviour is actually unconscious (meaning that many people are often not at all even aware in the slightest way that of what they are doing with regard to how it may be negatively impacting other people in their social vicinity) and so he advocated that disturbed (or disturbing) people participate in psychotherapy (and in his own personal case: the ingestion of psychopharmaceutical substances) to help they (and he) maintain their (and his own) psychosocial stability while attempting to harmoniously integrate with the group in which he (or "they") resided.

Overcoming Duality:

I'd like to spell the english word dual as: “duel”, to reflect the fact that many of the antipodal paradigms I have seen written about and discussed in the past were often structured (or utilized) in such a way as to establish two schismatically oppositional perspectives, both of which were exclusionary (and some times hostile) towards the other, intentionally diametrically opposed perspective, which in extreme cases the aderhents or proponents of which are referred to as "the enemy”, which too many people on our planet have been socially (or "culturally") conditioned to fight, or duel, against.

I perceive such dueling to be a waste of time, and energy, and when I contemplate the often fatally combative culture of this nation (the "United" States of America) in which fighting (whether it be against crime, against "terrorism", or against "drugs") I can't help but elaborate up on a quote I once read that was attributed to Tibets Dalai Lama, who rhetorically queried that:

"Rather than desperately dying (or proudly killing) for a cause,
perhaps it might be wiser for us to live (and work) humbly for one?"

As I mentioned on another page of this website:

It is better to work for who (and what) you love, rather than against that (or those) which you hate.

Yet some times when we are up set we may feel the urge to actively oppose some thing (or some one) that we oversimplistically attempt to blame for all of our problems and suffering, when in actuality such generalizations are rarely true, and may (in fact) only distract from the fundamental truth that it is all most always better for us to invest our time, energy, and money in to advocating for (and obtaining) what it is that we actually want, rather than wasting our lives, time, energy, money, and intellect on pride based efforts to oppose (or criticize) others.

Because, when you examine the "logic" that too many people manufacture during their attempts to hatefully (or even violently) oppose others, you might hear the claim made by such aspiring opposers that "they" "did ____" or "they" "said ____"... but who is "they"?

And which one of "they" did (or said) such a thing?

If you continue to keep contemplating such questions, you will eventually (and gradually) be able to unravel the knots of specious "logic" that are too often relied up on to "justify" hatefully (or violently) opposing others and eventually arrive at the conclusion that: rather than continuing to resent, denounce, or oppose entire groups of "they"s that we irrationally believe are "responsible" for our own personal (or familial) difficulties, it would probably be better for us to in stead speak to that one particular individual (or group of individuals) who we believe did (or said) that original thing that we hate so much and attempt to resolve our differences with he, she, or "they" through a polite and courteous conversation?

Because in the final summation of things, it doesn't really matter what he, or she, or "they" have said (or are believed to have said) or done... all that really matters is how we react to what we believe "they" have said (or done) because the moment in time that that original perceived offense allegedly occurred in is already gone... it has receded into the mists of past expired time and can never be relived, and thus: it can never be changed.

All we can change is our selves and the way that we choose to interpret (and react {or: refuse to react}) to what we perceive was said (or done) so long ago in the distant past. So, why should any one bother to hate, oppose, or fight against any particular individual (or group of individuals) who we believe reputedly did (or said) such terrible things... when it is all most all ways a more constructive (and productive) utilization of our time, energy, money, and attention to instead be more cognizant of what we say, do, and manifest, from this point... and on in to the future?

For example: let's say that I desire to reside, socialize, and/or work in a peaceful, social environment, which by most peoples definition would likely be a place devoid of violence.

How ever, despite all of the proclaimed social advances that have been made in our nations collective culture, violent crime still remains a persistent problem, be cause contrary to what many of our nations elected and appointed officials have attempted to claim in regards to allegedly documented decreases in rates of incidence of violent crime, the fact is that impulses to hurt other hueman beings have not been eliminated from among our nations people, but in fact have (in large part) in stead been redirected against people living within the borders of authority of other nations governments on other sides of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as discussed on the "War" page of this web site (which you can navigate to by clicking on those previous words in blue.

So, rather than attempting to reform the underlying character defects that appear to permeate so many of our nations people, our nations presumed "leaders" have instead directed those sociopathic and psychopathic urges at citizens of foreign nations who someone, somewhere in our nations political, business, or military apparatus appear to have some sort of a problem with, and from my research this appears to have been going on since at least 1948.

I am also of the perception that that organized mass violence being perpetrated by our nations military against the citizens of others nations will continue to rebound back upon us here in the United States of America as it did, not only during the attacks on our nations Pentagon and World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001, but also during the more recent bombing of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, which you can read about by clicking on those words in blue.

So the question remains: what are we going to do to defuse the apparently massive reservoirs of resentment, anger, and hatred that have been created or allowed to fester inside the hearts and minds of tens of millions of people in other nations on our planets land surface, and even among many millions of people right here within the borders of authority of our nations federal government? I believe that part of the solution should be an analysis of the motivii for the commission of violent crime, and I can't help but reflect that during my own contemplation upon the nature of crime there are three particular motivations that I perceive may be present just prior to, or during the commission of, violent crime:

Economic deprivation (which I would assume is the most common motivating factor),

Resentment (from anger at past victimization, which I perceive to be a threat to our collective safety),

Or:

Pleasure (due to sadism, which is a type of crime I didn't think actually existed, but which I view as quite possibly the single most potent threat to our collective security).

I am of the perception that continued, extreme socioeconomic inequality in this nation is fueling crime the first category, perpetuating crime in the second category, and allowing crime in the third category, and for those reasons I believe that serious, proactive steps have to be implemented in order to decrease levels of socioeconomic inequality in our nation, lest more violent crime result, and more innocent people be hurt or killed.

I've made some suggestions on the "Peace" page of this web site as to how we can go about accomplishing those objectives, and have also made some suggestions on the "War" page of this website as to how we, as a nation, might be able to cease from collectively perpetrating violent actions that are increasing levels of resentment against our citizenry, and against our nations elected officials, both domestically and overseas.

However, the fact remains that too many people in our nation are conducting themselves in ways that are highly irresponsible, particularly when they are drunk, or in hostile, or angry moods, by venturing out into public spaces, in an attempt to accost someone, or to buy something that they myopically believe will temporarily dissipate their chaotic inner energy.

That may, or may not work for a short time, but I have noticed a discernable increase in the level of sadness, resentment, and anger that many of the service employees in our nations retail, and other commercial business establishments appear to feel, and I do not think is is right for employees who are often underpaid and over worked, to continue to have to absorb the negative energy displaced or projected by angry customers.

So, for that reason I am of the firm opinion that if one has a residence, and if one finds oneself in an angry or combative state of mind, that one would be wiser to remain inside ones residence and calm down before venturing outside into any type of social or commercial environment, and I hope that the meditation instruction guide lines provided on the "Mind" page of this website can help upset residents calm down.

Because when people who are in hostile or combative states of mind venture out into public and into close social contact with others, confrontations, hurt feelings and resultant resentment is almost certain to follow, and that is the last thing a nation or municipality facing possible acts of terrorism or incidents of violent crimes needs.

For many years I was convinced that the number one impetus for the perpetration of violent crime was economic deprivation, but as time has gone on I have noticed that seemingly more and more people are harboring deep reservoirs of resentment towards others, and even towards society as a whole, and I believe that that resentment, if unaddressed and allowed to continue to fester, may prove to be a potent source of possible violent crime, and even serious acts of domestic terrorism, in the near future.

Because despite the erroneous, yet apparently persistent stereotype that acts and threats of terrorism are generated by people of Middle Eastern or Arabic descent, the fact remains that domestic terrorism perpetrated by people of ethnicities traditionally associated with American citizenship have been, and remain, a potent threat to the safety and well being of all of the more than three hundred million people residing within the borders of authority of our nations federal government, and I am of the firm opinion that real, pragmatic, effective solutions have to be crafted to address the real, deep seated, impetii for the perpetration of domestic terrorism, and I have outlined those impetii in detail on some of the other pages of this website.

Not only are the extreme economic inequalities present among our nations populace an impetus for the perpetration of economically motivated and resentment based violent crime, but I believe that such inequalities are also a potent contributing factor allowing the manifestation of a third type of violent crime that I find to be an even more serious threat, and that is violent crime motivated by sadism, or the insane experiencing of pleasure through the infliction of pain onto others.

I had always thought that even the very idea of such things was only the subject of debased Hollywood motion pictures, but evidence indicates otherwise, and so I believe that strenuous efforts have to be made to modulate the serious socioeconomic inequities and sociopathies that exist within the borders of authority of our nations federal government, as well as to dissipate the deep reservoirs of hatred and resentment mentioned earlier.

Because when disturbed people with large hoards of material resources and violent impulses they would like to express into the perpetration of violence against other human beings have access to people with few or no material resources, and thus, less ability to protect themselves from such potential attacks, then poor people are at risk of falling victim to such violent attacks, and that represents a dereliction of duty on the part of our nations elected officials and business, academic and religious leaders who are charged with the responsibility to ensure the physical safety of all of the people residing within the borders of authority of our nations federal, and various states, government(s).

The following phenomenal sequence attempts to elucidate the causal chain reaction that I perceive to permeate the cycle of events that I believe perpetuates the perpetration of violent crime in our society:

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Excessive Greed can cause extreme economic inequality,

Extreme Economic Inequality is often perceived to be evidence of Injustice,

Deep seated, unresolved feelings of being victimized by such injustices can cause feelings of resentment in groups, and individuals,

Such feelings of resentment, if not addressed and resolved, can metamorphose into hatred,

Hatred can manifest as violence,

Violence causes many people to feel afraid,

and:

Fear can provoke some people to attempt to hoard what they perceive to be a necessary quantity of material things, in a reactionary (yet ultimately societally counterproductive) attempt to insulate themselves and their loved ones from people (or phenomena) that they perceive to be threatening.

(Among people who either:

don't understand their attempts,

or who are:

hurt while the acquisitors are in the process of hoarding sufficient quantities of material things to feel safe such hoarding is perceived as "greed", which is the first element in the preceding sequence of events that appears to permeate the societal discord that manifests as the perpetration of violence).

*************************************************************************

Since there is no one, single root cause of violence, but rather at least the formerly listed number of factors all inter-relating with one another to manifest the conditions that cause the perpetration of violent crime, there will probably not be any one particular solution, but rather a real solution will have to be composed of a variety of different approaches and strategies, a number of which are discussed and proposed on the "War" and "Peace" pages of this website.

One of the most helpful books that I have ever read is titled: "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (by Steven Covey). In it, Mister Covey mentions the fact that too many people "kill the goose that laid the golden eggs", and advises readers to insure that they (effectively) balance what he referred to as their (or their organizations) "P/PC" ratio (an acronym which represents their):

Production

and:

Production Capability

In order create (and sustain) a beneficial (symbiotic) chain reaction.

However, I found that concept to be insufficient, and so I have decided to reconvey those two aspects of a persons (or a corporations) productivity to be:

What we produce

and:

Our compensation

and have postulated that: intelligent people will deploy the compensation that they (and/or: their organizations) receive in order to obtain more of the raw materials that they need to create the products (or services) that they sell (and by doing so, they will be able to increase their capacity to make greater {and: greater} such contributions in the future {thus further increasing their compensation and driving the entire process into perpetuity}).

The following diagram illustrates the concept:

For example, when aspirationalists choose to deploy their earned material compensation to obtain things such as:

Healthy Food

Books

Computers

Lap Top Computers, Tablets and other (mobile) information production (and management) devices

Notebooks (and Paper)

Pens (and Pencils)

Paint, Magic Markers and Other (multihued) Illustration Materials

and:

Calculators

Rather than:

Alcohol

Drugs

or:

Unhealthy Food

dedicated aspirants will be able to be: able to: increase the likelihood that their past labors will be (able to be): leveraged in to: greater (and: greater) productive output (in the future) thus: increasing their (and their finished products) value to others (in society) making such conscientious laborers more deserving of greater (and: greater) status (and/or: material compensation) in the future.

Another concept from that same (best selling) book that I have expanded up on is the idea that there has (historically) been a triune division of a hueman being in to three (separate) components that have traditionally been labelled as a: persons:

Mind

Body

and:

Spirit.

However, as the frequency (intimacy {and: complexity}) of interpersonal hueman interaction has intensified (and compexified) throughout the: millenia, we have now reached a point in our spiritual evolution where the number of identifiable aspects of a hueman being has multiplied, and (thus): can now be divided in to four (4) different aspects of a: person, which I delineate to be their:

Mind

Body

Heart

and:

Spirit.

And the dimensions (with in which) those (particular) energy centers (inside of us) would be relevant are the:

Mental

Physical

Social

and:

Motivational.

According to Steven Covey (the: author of: "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People") those four aspects of a hueman soul are realms of life (with in) which we strive to experience:

Autonomy

Vitality

Harmony

and:

Clarity.

As valuable as Clarity is, I perceive it to be (merely) an: intermediate ability (with in the {hueman}: Mental realm) and one which: exists only to: potentiate our: Autonomy (or: our: Independence) and so (for that reason) I would like to: transliterate Mister: Coveys classification of the manifestation of power in our (hueman) Spirit to be (not: clarity) but (instead): Energy.

I am also of the opinion that: in order for each one of us to be come (what {American} psychologist: Abraham Maslow referred to as) a "self actualized" hueman being, we should (each) strive to deploy all four of those abilities in ways that both allow us (as individuals) to: experience contentment in our own lives, while (at the same time {at a minimum}) not unduly interfering with the ability of other people to experience similar degrees of contentment in their own lives, and (when we are able to) to: help others to obtain the same degrees of happiness, contentment and satisfaction with themselves (and with: their {own}: lives) that we want for: our selves (for: our: Loved ones {and [within] our:own: Lives}).

With those ideas in mind, here are some (pertinent) quotes from the book:

"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"

(by: Steven Covey)

***************************************************************************

"We are what we repeatedly do."

(page 54)

***************************************************************************

"I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday."

(page 80)

***************************************************************************

"Common hueman challenges we face:

Fear,

Insecurity,

Blame,

Victimhood,

Hopelessness,

Lack of life balance,

The 'what's in it for me?' syndrome,

The demand to be understood,

Repetitive conflict with others,

and:

Personal stagnation."

(from the Foreward)

***************************************************************************

"Create a thought and it will be spoken,

Speak a sentiment and it will be enacted,

Perform an action and it becomes your character,

Develop your character and it becomes your destiny."

(paraphrased from page 54)

***************************************************************************

"There is no real excellence in all this world which can be attained without right living."

(page 23)

***************************************************************************

"To create new habits:

1: Become aware of what you want to accomplish,

2: Acquire the skills you need to accomplish it,

3: Manipulate your own mind to make yourself want to do it,

and then:

4) Do it."

(paraphrased from page 55)

***************************************************************************

"Principles of Effectiveness:

Integrity,

Self Discipline,

Contribution,

and:

Co-operation."

(page 209)

***************************************************************************

(On the authors awakening to the "different types of success literature"):

"I was deeply immersed in an in depth study of the success literature published in the United States of America since 1776. I was reading or scanning literally hundreds of books, articles and essays in fields such as self-improvement, popular psychology and self help. At my fingertips was the sum and substance of what a free and democratic people considered to be the keys to successful living.

As my study took me back through two hundred years of writing about success I noticed a startling pattern emerging in the content of the literature... much of the success literature of the past 50 years was superficial. It was filled with social image consciousness techniques and quick fixes... with social Band Aids and aspirin that addressed acute problems and sometimes even appeared to solve them temporarily but left the underlying chronic problems untouched to fester and resurface time and again.

In stark contrast almost all of the literature from the first 150 years of our countries history focused on things like Integrity, Humility, Fidelity, Temperance, Courage, Fairness, Patience, Hard Work, Simplicity, Modesty and "the Golden Rule" as the foundation of success. As I read more and more it became apparent to me that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these noble principles into their basic character."

(page 26)

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"Try to structure all of (y)our interactions with others so that everyone involved wins."

(page 217)

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"6 major deposits that build your 'emotional bank account' with others:

1) Empathize with the individual you are interacting with.

2) Be nice in the little things you do and say to them.

3) Keep your commitments to them.

4) Discuss their expectations of you, and your expectations of them.

5) Display personal integrity in your interactions with them.

and:

6) Apologize sincerely to them when you make make a mistake."

(pages 200-207)

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"Between stimulus and response we hueman beings have the freedom to choose from among four uniquely human endowments which are:

Self-awareness: our ability to reflect upon our own consciousness.

Imagination: our ability to convincingly conceive of a better future.

Conscience: our desire to remain loyal to our noblest capabilities.

and:

Independent Will: our ability to choose what we think, speak and do, regardless of the circumstances and feedback that life presents to us."

(paraphrased from page 77)

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"Proactive people choose to respond to the negative energy projected at them by others or their environment with positive, constructive, productive, peaceful, creative and inspirational behaviours. In order to become a proactive person you should take time to reflect upon the perception that others have of you before you engage in impulsive reactions to what they project at you. Temporarily dis-associate from your insisted upon identity or position in the familial or sociological hierarchy."

(paraphrased from page 79)

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"Listening to our 'Internal Language':

Because our attitudes and behaviors flow out of our cognitive paradigms, if we use our self awareness to examine our paradigms we can often see in them the nature of our underlying maps. Our language, for example is a very real indicator of the degree to which we see ourselves as either proactive or reactive people.

In contrast to the internal language of reactive people (who often shift blame onto others for their lifes difficulties and circumstances) proactive people internally think in ways that make them more responsible for their own lives and their own success (or lack thereof).

Examples of proactive language that we can begin to internally consciously adopt are:

"What are my alternatives?"

"Perhaps there is a different approach?"

"I can control my feelings."

"I can create an better outcome."

"I will choose an appropriate response."

"I choose how to respond to the sensory input that I receive from other hueman beings."

"I prefer..."

"I will."

(page 86)

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"4 Dimensions of Personal Renewal:

Mental: Read, Visualize, Plan, and Write.

Physical: Exercise, Eat Healthy, and Manage Your Stress Levels.

Spiritual: Clarify Your Values, Fulfill Your Commitments, Study, and Meditate.

Emotional (Social): Serve, Empathize, Synergize, and Co-operate."

(page 300)

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And finally, what are the "7 Habits" that, if adopted, will make us more effective in life?:

"1) Exhibit Initiative,

2) Set Goals,

3) Prioritize,

4) Harmonize With Others,

5) Empathize With Others,

6) Synergize With Others,

and:

7) Improve Ourselves."

(from the Table of Contents)

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From:

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

by: Steven Covey

Another excellent book is:

"The Power of Positive Thinking"

by: the Reverend Doctor Norman Vincent Peale

A classic in the field of self help literature, Reverend Peales ideas helped me to stop watching television, and instead sit quietly and observe the workings of my own mind. That habit allowed me for the first time to begin to more precisely see the correlation between the thoughts I was allowing into my consciousness, the feelings I was experiencing, the words I was speaking, and the actions I was engaging in as a result of those thoughts, feelings and speech. The ideas contained in this book also helped me to develop what legendary life insurance super salesman W. Clement Stone referred to as a "P.M.A." (a Positive Mental Attitude).

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