May 20, 2013
There are many dimensions of self-actualization, maybe there are as many dimensions as there are aspects of human experience. As we in Neuro-Semantics keep studying, researching, training, coaching, and consulting on self-actualization and enabling people to live a self-actualizing life, we are discovering new dimensions. To this end, I have designed the Self-Actualization Training, Certification, Competency skills, and Diploma around four of the key dimensions: vitality, potentiality, creativity, and leadership. These are very different aspects of the self-actualizing life and so each of the trainings are very different as well.
The Vitality Dimension – Biological Self-Actualization
The focus in the first module is on identifying a person’s basic and higher needs so that a person can adequately and truly satisfy those needs. When a person succeeds in doing this, it results in vitality-energy and motivation to live more fully and humanly. It enables a you to discover your real self and to be authentically you. How about that!? How much is that worth? What then results from this vitality dimension of biological self-actualization is authenticity- being real and authentic in yourself as a person.
After all, if you do not have vitality and energy to live your life with focus and passion, then you will not be able to be your best self or fulfil your visions and values. It takes energy for the effort of self-actualizing. Where can you get that kind of energy? That energy comes from the built-in drives within your mind-body system. These drives are instinct-like but without content information. So you have to learn. You have to learn what these drives are and how to adequately and truly satisfy them. Do that, and then as they go away, the next level of drives emerge. Eventually, you move beyond the lower needs to the higher being-needs that are the truly human needs that enables us to be fully alive, fully human.
The Potentiality Dimension – Psychological Self-Actualization
The focus in the second module refers to what is potential in human beings which can be made actual and therefore real in your everyday life. To find, identify, and develop your potentials, begin by taking on the challenge of owning and exercising your human powers as a meaning-making in constructing great and positive meanings and also in releasing limiting meanings. We refer to this as entering into the Construct and taking ownership of these powers. This lies at the heart of Neuro-Semantics (as you can see from the front page of the website, www.neurosemantics.com).
Doing that then allows you to create a human Crucible whereby you can release old meanings that no longer serve you and which may, in fact, create leashes that prevent the unleashing of potentials. From this then you can create the synergy of integrating meanings and performance as you move into “the zone” of optimum performance and do so at your will. In APG we call this the “personal genius” or “flow” state. The result that follows from this is a being-doing synergy that allows you to close the knowing-doing gap.
This is the core drama of self-actualizing and we talk about it as a drama in three acts: The Construct, the Crucible, and the Zone. After all, self-actualization is a function of “both contemplation and action” (Maslow) or as we say, meaning and performance (challenge and competence). To taking ownership of meaning-making powers and ownership of your core powers from which every skill is made enables you to act on your highest meanings and sacrilize your everyday activities. That’s the synergy of self-actualization. Would you like that?
The Creativity Dimension – Existential Self-Actualization
The focus in the third model is that of creativity. Maslow described the first creativity is that of creating your self, that is, hearing your inner voice and unleashing your potentials (covered in the second module). After that, your power of creativity does not end, it only shifts gear so that instead of creating your best self, you move outside of yourself to addressing the problems of the real or external world. That’s why self-actualizing people are, by nature, highly creative and inventive. Unleashing your creative powers in creating your self now take a new form as you use them for problem-solving the problems that we have in human societies, businesses, governments, etc.
The third module is about creativity and innovation and to facilitate that we use four conversations- four well-formed conversations. The first is the well-formed outcome conversation to set out a vision and mission. Next is the well-formed problem conversation by which we identify and solve the problems that interfere with achieving our goals. Next comes the well-formed solutions conversation wherein we brainstorm solutions and choose to fully invent the best solution. Finally, the well-formed innovation conversation which, of course, is for innovating the solutions that transforms the problems and enables you to actualize the vision that you began with. The result of this is a professional communication style that is a coaching facilitation style by which you become a highly skilled problem-solver.
The Leadership Dimension – Sociological Self-Actualization
The focus of the four module is on leadership. After all, to unleash your own or another’s potentials for creative solutions is to bring out the best in yourself and/or others. That’s what leadership is-bringing out the best in others and to lead to creating self-actualizing homes, businesses, communities, etc. Self-actualizing leadership is situational and functional and is something everyone who is self-actualizing can do. After all, we need good, caring, visionary, competent leaders in every home, every area of life, and at every level. The result of this is the ability to create and innovate humanistic communities among any and all groups of people.
Self-Actualizing couples, families, businesses, associations, companies, and countries, however, do not just happen. They have to be envisioned and then created by self-actualizing leaders. And given the current crisis in leadership in every area and dimension of life, we really need much more mature and creative leaders in the world today.
These are the four dimensions of self-actualization that we present in the four trainings and when we combine them, this leads to a Diploma in Self-Actualization Psychology. If you are interested, contact us. The next one is this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the one after that is in Johannesburg, South Africa. See the contact information below.
info@seekingthepeak.co.za – for a Description of the trainings also-
The next trainings that I will be involved in for the entire series in 9 days is:
- May 25- June 1 — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – contact jairo@pnl.med.br
- July 14-August 1 — Johannesburg, South Africa – contact — Barbara Walsh barbara@metaco.co.za
- In South Africa – info@seekingthepeak.co.za
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.