META-DEVELOPMENT

Life is the adventure of development. At every age, whether 21 or 50 or 100, we are never finished. There’s always more to learn, to experience, to discover, to contribute, and to become. Isn’t this exciting? Of all species, we of the human species are the most incomplete, not only at birth, but throughout our lifespan. It is because we are born without instincts, without the specific content knowledge for knowing how to be human, that human life is all about learning and changing. Being human is what we have to discover and invent. And becoming fully human, fully alive — this is the drive within all of us that we call self-actualization.

Self-Actualization theory, as developed by Maslow, recognizes that we are born to develop, to unfold, to actualize our potentials, and to become what we are born to become. We are born with an inner drive for unleashing more and more of our potentials. How do you experience this drive? How fully do you embrace this? What is your next level of development?

In fact, we now know that we can continue to grow, learn, develop, unfold, and actualize more and more of our potentials throughout all of the stages of life. Yet while we can, this is not inevitable. With our powers, we can also ignore this inner call. We can deny it. We can repress it so that it goes away.

If it is our nature to develop and we lack the specific instinctual details, then a great deal of the human adventure is about discovering how to fully develop and what to more fully develop. Yet what do you think about the idea of always being unfinished? What do you feel about the fact of all of life being about ongoing development? Does this intimidate or thrill you? Does it put you off or does it turn you on?

One secret about life is that life, as development, occurs on levels. First there is the development of our life style. This concerns how we live, what we do, who we associate with, and all of the first level of development that takes care of our lower needs (survival, safety, social, and self needs). Most of us live all of our lives on this level—getting by, finding work that we enjoy, figuring out how to get along with others, etc.

Yet there is more. There is our meta-development—developing our inner world of meanings—the beliefs that empower and enhance us as we move through life, the meanings that give us direction and purpose.

Meta-development is the ability to reflect on our experiences, to edit our inner representations, to examine our inner perceptions, to detect the frames that we operate from, and to step back to the choice point where we can truly choose how we want to live. This is the place of true human freedom—the freedom to choose, to assume responsibility, to architect our future, and to become the author of our own experiences. NLP speaks about this as “running your own brain.” In Neuro-Semantics we speak about it as developing our highest executive self and states, the states that facilitate our full self-actualization.

How highly developed are your meta-abilities? What is the next step in your own meta- development? What are you seeking to actualize in your life at this stage of your development? What new possibilities are you awakening to that you will work to unleash in the coming months?

Our meta-development involves the higher levels of change beyond merely enhancing our performances. They involve our developmental changes and our transformational changes. Developmental changes involve changes in your beliefs, meanings, understandings, decisions, etc. Transformational changes refer to changes in our direction, orientation, and purpose. It refers to when a paradigm shift occurs and we begin living for something new.

This is the realm of “spirit” and is related to what I’ve been writing about as the dimensions of “spirit.” If the terms “spirit” and “spiritual” refers to feeling an inspiration about life, self, others, growth, etc. (in-spirit-ed), then this is the passion that drives spirituality. It is the high drive to find meaning so we can live meaningfully. Maslow used these words (meaning and spiritual) synonymously.

“If there were no joy in life, it would not be worth living. ... Life has to have meaning, has to be filled with moments of high intensity that validate life and make it worthwhile. (Journals, p. 180)

“The higher nature (or higher life-spiritual life) emerges to be seen clearly. Was it there all the time? Yes, as a universal potentiality. That is, every human being has within his nature a yearning for truth, beauty, goodness, justice, order, humor, completion, etc. (or a preference for the true rather than the false, or to see rather than to be blinded, etc.), but this emerges only as lower basic needs are satisfied — i.e., under the very best conditions.” (Journals, p. 47)

How’s your meta-development? Are you developing your at your highest levels? As a meaning- maker, are you living and experiencing some really rich meanings, robust meanings, and inspiring meanings that pull you out of bed every morning ready or the day?