Personal Deepening, Universal Meaning

     During the process of human maturation, we each progressively approach the core or essence of who or what we are - as in peeling away an onion, layer by layer. We  sequentially "put away childish things" as we become increasingly aware of the disconnect between how we are now, and a sense of what might be possible - an ideal that creates longing, which in turn energizes more peeling.
     Our ideal is to live a meaningful, undivided life, in full harmony with the universe - with all that is. Each onion layer is a barrier, an outgrown friction between how we now are and an unfathomable ultimate. Life certainly takes away layers periodically, often unexpectedly.
     Spiritual practices are designed to do this intentionally and a bit more predictably. For various reasons, "religion" & "spirituality" elicit strong negative emotional reactions, particularly among intelligent, educated people. One major barrier to "religion" has been the apparent necessity to leave one's intellect at the door before entering a "place of worship" - frustrating the deep wholesome desire for an UNdivided life. Another, somewhat-related barrier to "spirituality" is that descriptions of spiritual experiences are incomprehensible without first personally experiencing them. Because these traditional ways of navigating liminality are being rejected, a large portion of our educated population is perpetually adrift in reductionist materialism, pessimism, cynicism, depression & anxiety.
     What we urgently need is a systematic intentional effective approach to ensuring human maturation that is suitable for intelligent, educated people from any ethnic, cultural or religious background. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), as taught by Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD is one such evidence-based, secular approach. Having facilitated twenty of these 8-week MBSR courses, primarily for health-care professionals from all ethnic, cultural & religious backgrounds, I can attest to the fact that participants greatly value & appreciate this way of deepening, of living more meaningful, more congruent, more deeply satisfying lives. It's incredibly encouraging to witness the fact that diverse people can & do see eye-to-eye at a deep, meaningful level.

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/11/446-gratitude-service-responsibility.html

Steve McCurry   http://stevemccurry.com/

Going Well Beyond Limiting Self-concepts

     It's so encouraging to read about the powerful energy good mentors can awaken in young people: http://medicine.dal.ca/facultystaff/our-learners/profiles/cinera_states.html
     Cinera's story reminds me of an old (unethical by today's standards) experiment in which a group of young students was divided evenly with respect to intelligence, academic performance etc. Then one group was formally informed that they were "gifted", while the other (intellectually-matched) group was informed that they were "slow learners". They then carefully proceeded to teach both groups the same curriculum, in the same manner. At the end of the academic year, the "gifted" group markedly outperformed the "slow" group. Henry Ford's famous saying rings true - "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right!"

     Probably most, if not all of us, have at some point been lead to believe that we're "no good" at something, or that we're just plain "no good." We internalize such psychological wounds more than we may ever realize. Pessimism is today's global de facto dogma. So it's vitally important to question our self-concept, to question our worldview because both of these, for the vast majority of us, are limited & distorted by psychological scars. We need wise mentors more than ever.

     “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”             Nelson Mandela

     "Resilience refers to the ability to thrive despite adversity and has been defined as a multidimensional phenomenon, spanning internal locus of control, sense of meaning, social problem-solving skills, and self-esteem. The concept of hardiness integrates many of these characteristics and describes individuals who are committed to finding meaningful purpose in life, believe that one can influence one’s surroundings and the outcome of events, and trust that one can learn and grow from both positive and negative life experiences. High levels of this personality trait have been shown to enhance posttraumatic adjustment, possibly by means of a faster physiological recovery from stress."
        Daniels JK et al. Neural correlates and predictive power of trait resilience in an acutely traumatized sample: a pilot investigation. J Clin Psychiatry 2012; 73(3): 327-32.

     "As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."            Marianne Williamson

     See "Our Self-concepts & Worldviews Must Mature": http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/11/443-our-self-concepts-worldviews-must.html

MiltonC   www.dpreview.com

Efficacy Beliefs Regulate Human Functioning

     "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right!"             Henry Ford
 

     "Efficacy beliefs regulate human functioning through four major processes. They include cognitive, motivational, emotional, and choice processes. Much human behavior is regulated by forethought. Efficacy beliefs affect whether individuals think pessimistically or optimistically, self-enhancingly or self-debilitatingly. Efficacy beliefs play a central role in the self-regulation of motivation. Most human motivation is cognitively generated by goal aspirations and the material, social, and self-evaluative outcomes anticipated for difficult courses of action. People of high perceived self-efficacy set motivating goals for themselves, maintain commitment to them, expect their efforts to produce favorable results, view obstacles as surmountable and figure out ways to overcome them.

     People’s beliefs in their coping efficacy also affect their emotional life and how much stress, anxiety and depression they experience in threatening or disheartening situations. Those who believe they can manage threats and adversities view them as less inimical and act in ways that reduce their aversiveness or change them for the better. People have to live with a psychic environment that is largely of their own making. Many human distresses result from failures of control over perturbing thoughts. Beliefs of coping efficacy facilitate the exercise of control over perturbing and dejecting rumination. Efficacy beliefs play a key role in shaping the courses lives take by influencing the types of activities and environments people choose to get into. Advantageous destinies are shaped by selection of environments known to cultivate valued potentialities and lifestyles. 

     Self-efficacy is a key determinant because it affects behavior both directly and by its influence on these other determinants. As already noted, efficacy beliefs determine goals and aspirations; they shape the outcomes people expect their efforts to produce; and determine how environmental facilitators and impediments are viewed. People of low self-efficacy are easily convinced of the futility of effort in the face of impediments. Those of high self-efficacy view impediments as surmountable through perseverant effort and improvement of self-management skills."

       Bandura A. Swimming against the mainstream: the early years from chilly tributary to transformative mainstream. Behav Res Ther 2004; 42(6): 613-30.