Erhalten Sie Zugang zu diesem und mehr als 300000 Büchern ab EUR 5,99 monatlich.
As many and diverse as we human beings may be once our existential needs are satisfied we all strive for the same thing: We want to feel happy and satisfied the whole time and to be able to live our lives without fear and worries. This search for harmony and inner peace, for self-fulfilment, for calmness, or however we may wish to describe this condition, is indisputably the top goal in the case of virtually all models of human needs. What drives us as human beings? Why do we exist? What do we strive for? On these pages we would like to offer subjects for thought and information on these and other questions. We set out the bases for all existence on the earth and discuss the consequences for life in private and business areas. It is often astonishing how little time we take to consider such an important theme as the meaning of our own lives. How easily we simply take over preconceived notions without questioning them. Or how seldom we thoroughly examine the consequences of our decisions in advance. Amongst other things we describe how we can achieve constant harmony and inner peace. The right choice and deliberate pursuing of our own, self-selected goals take on a key role in this so that we can achieve our own goals and not let ourselves be manipulated by others.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 200
Das E-Book (TTS) können Sie hören im Abo „Legimi Premium” in Legimi-Apps auf:
Ähnliche
ABCof Awareness
PersonalDevelopment astheMeaningofLife
JürgRohrer
Rohrer,Jürg: ABC of Awareness: Personal developmentasthe meaning of life
Translated from German by Roger Curtis
Niederurnen:UTDMedia, 2016 (Series:«Time for change»)
Keywords:Awareness,consciousness,personaldevelopment, meaningoflife,personalresponsibility,counselling,self-realization
Title of the original German edition: Rohrer, Jürg: 1x1 des Bewusst-Seins: Persönliche Entwicklung alsLebenssinn, UTD Media 2001, ISBN 3-8311-1867-1
UTD Media is a publisher for Up-To-Date AG, Mühlegasse 6, CH-8867Niederurnen.http://www.timeforchange.org
Copyright © 2016Jürg Rohrer, Some Rights reserved: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike3.0
You are free:
toShare:tocopy,distribute,display,andperformthe work
toRemix: tomakederivativeworks
Underthefollowingconditions:
Attribution.Youmustattributetheworkinthemanner specifiedbytheauthororlicensor.(butnotinanyway thatsuggeststhattheyendorseyouoryouruseofthe work).
Noncommercial.Youmaynot use thisworkfor commercialpurposes.
ShareAlike.Ifyoualter,transform,orbuilduponthis work,youmaydistributetheresultingworkonlyundera license identical to this one.
Foranyreuseordistribution,youmustmakecleartoothers the license terms of this work. Anyoftheseconditionscanbewaivedifyougetpermission from the copyright holder.
Disclaimer: Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by theabove.
This is a summary of the Legal Code (the full license): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
The origins of this book
JürgRohrer,bornin1962,initiallyworkedasanengineerin diversecompaniesathomeandabroad.In1991hebecame professionallyself-employedandsincethattimehasworkedwith his own small enterprises in the areas of environmental technology and IT. The integration of the highest ethical values into everything we do or do not do is of central importance to him.
Duringhisworktheauthorconstantlymeetsmanypeoplefrom differentculturesinthemostvariedsituations.Thishas encouragedhimtoconsiderthethoughtthatwhoever-overa periodoftime-criticallyobserveshimselfandhisfellowhuman beingsintheireverydaysituationseventuallycannotavoidthe question as to the originsand meaning of ourdecisionsand finally aboutthemeaningofourhumanlife.Thisbookarosefromthese considerations.
Itisoftenastonishinghowlittletimewetaketoconsidersuchan importantthemeasthemeaningofourownlives.Howeasilywe simplytakeoverpreconceivednotionswithoutquestioningthem. Orhowseldomwethoroughlyexaminetheconsequencesofour decisionsinadvance.
Thisbookexplainshumandevelopmentonthebasisofeasily- understoodexamplesandsimplemodels.Itisintendedtoarouse thinkingaboutyourownlifeandtoofferhelpastohowwecan specificallychangeourlives.
Whoeverreadsthisbookwillnotgaingreatfinancialrewardsoon afterreadingitnorwillheorshebeveneratedbyhisorherfellow human beings as «superhuman».However in this book the author doesshowwaysofachievingalifefullofmeaning,innerpeace andthejoyofliving.Andthisnotassomekindofdropoutfrom anysortofcivilisation,butratherinthecentreofdailylife-and alsonotjustinaspecialenvironmentforafewweeksintheyear butratherinthemiddleofourprivateandprofessionalday-to-day lives as a completely normal human being.
Table of Contents
Title Page
The origins of this book
Foreword
The needs of humankind
Advertising responds to our needs
Substitute dealings
The basis of our being
The plausibility of the basic rights of existence
Following the rules of play of the system
Learning to live the basic rights of existence
The development of human beings
The pyramid as a symbol of human development
Automatic mechanisms
The virtuoso in the element
Training camp
Learning thanks to subjective perception
Objectivity and subjectivity
The glasses model
Objectives
Definition of objectives
Partial objectives
Compatibility of objectives
Pursuing different types of objectives
The hierarchy in personal objectives
Concentration of strengths
Objectives as self-motivation
Objectives as an aid to success
Pursuing our own objectives
Tasks
Decisions
Perceptive ability
Awareness
The model of the awareness sphere
Right of self-determination and self-responsibility
Carrying responsibility
How far does our responsibility reach? Awareness of responsibility
The principle of self-responsibility
If I cannot assess the consequences of a decision
Responsibility is somewhat individual
Consequences from the acceptance of tasks
The consequences of being overtaxed by a task
Co-responsibility
My personal contribution
The interaction between objectives and abilities
The model of the tuning bowls
Abilities and objectives influence one another
Interactions with our surroundings
The priorities of objectives
The seminar effect
Manipulation of other people
Nature will help us
Success monitoring
About missionary work
Time for change
Stumbling blocks
Hectic and pill mentality
We have everything under control
Globalization and the mass media
Denial of reincarnation
Words are simpler than deeds
Missing or incorrect success monitoring
Review
If you would like more
Foreword
Whatdrivesusashumanbeings?Whydoweexist?Whatdowe strivefor?Onthepageswhichfollowwewouldliketooffer subjects for thought and information on these and other questions. We set out the bases for all existence on the earth and discuss the consequences for life in private and business areas.
Amongstotherthingswedescribehowwecanachieveconstant harmonyandinnerpeace.Therightchoiceanddeliberate pursuingofourown,self-selectedgoalstakeonakeyroleinthis sothatwecanachieveourowngoalsandnotletourselvesbe manipulatedbyothers.
Thethemeaddressedhereisextremelycomprehensive.Itisnot sufficienttosimplyreadabookonthesubject.Thiscontributionis thereforeintendedinparticulartostimulatethoughtsaboutour own lives, which goals we should setfor ourselvesin our lives and how best to achieve them.
Forsimplicityalltheformulationshavebeenwritteninthemale form.Thisisnot intendedtobediscriminatory,allconclusionsand examples also apply without restriction to the female gender.
Niederurnen, January 2016
JürgRohrer
Theneedsofhumankind
Why do most of us human beings go to work each day, why do we live with a partner, why do we have children? What are we trying to achieveinallofthis?Whatindeedarewestrivingfor?Isitmerely toobtainfood,toprocreate,ordowewanttopurchaseasmany objectsaspossible,possesscompanyshares,makecareersfor ourselves, go down in history, exercise power over others?
Muchhasalreadybeenwrittenontheobjectivesandoriginsof humanactions,wewantherethereforetoextractwhatwebelieve tobethemostimportantofthedifferenttheoriesandtoaddour own thoughts to this.
Ingeneralitisassumedthatinthefinalanalysisallhumanbeings havecomparableneeds.Accordingtowhichoftheseneedshave alreadybeensatisfied,accordingtoage,theexperiencesoflife andtheculture,eachpersonhoweversetshisownprioritiesfor the priorities which are still open in different ways. The best known here is probably the representation of these needs and priorities in theformofaMaslowpyramid(Maslow‘sneedspyramid).Maslow put forward the theory that human beings assign clear, hierarchical prioritiestotheirindividualneeds.Assoonasapersonhas reachedaparticularlevelinhisownneedspyramid,theneedto achievethenexthigherlevelisaroused.Asrepresentativeofthe manyotherapproachestothisthemewewilltakeabrieflookat the individual elements of this Maslow pyramid.
Humanbeings initiallysettheir prioritiesaccordingtotheir existentialneedssuchasfood,clothesandsleep.Ifthe existentialneedsarenotmetsurvivalisthreatenedandlife itself is in danger.
Iftheexistentialneedsaresatisfiedtheneedforsafetyis awakened:Thedesireforprotectionfromtheriskstolifesuch aswar,sickness,accident,environmentalcatastrophesetc. takecentre ground.
ThenextlevelintheprioritypyramidaccordingtoMaslow concernsthesocialneeds:Thehumanbeingwantstobewith like-minded people, he wants to be accepted and loved.
Thefollowinglevelisconcernedwith self-regard and the esteemofotherpeople:Thehumanbeingwantstostrengthen his self-confidenceandforthispurpose seeks regard and recognitionfrom otherpeople.
Thetopobjectiveistheneedforself-realization:Thehuman beingwantstobeabletobehimselfandtopermanentlybe able to experience inner peace, happiness and harmony.
Asalreadyindicatedtheneedsofmanhavefrequentlybeen investigatedanddescribed,theneedspyramidcanberefined, modified and supplemented at will. We can also – with good justification – ask ourselves, whether for example the achievement ofthethirdstepisreallyanecessarypreconditionforthefourthor fifthsteps.Forourpurposesitisnotparticularlymeaningfulto generalize the needs of man too strongly. In spite of this: Whoever observeshumanbeingsseesthatinspiteoftheirindividualitythe great majority of people set very similar priorities within a particular economicandculturalarea.Veryverysimilarindeed–themore we look at it.
Howevereachpersonusuallyfindsthathisneedspriorities change during the course of his life. Older people set many of their prioritiesdifferentlyfromyoungerpeople.Wedon’twanttogointo themanytypesofhumanneedsinanymoredetail.Astonishingly in virtually all investigations into the motives for human actions two greatcommonalitiesarefound:
Existential needs are the first priority.
It is certainly clear that not only the human being but also in general every being upon the earth first of all seeks the resources necessary for survival, in particular food and an environment in which it is actually possible to live.
The top priority level is that of inner harmony.
The more the other human needs are satisfied the stronger is aroused the desire for a perpetual state of happiness, harmony, security, inner peace and calmness. Humans like to be themselves everywhere and at all times and at the same time wish to be fully accepted and to feel loved.
Sincethisconcernsanabstractideaofthequalityoflifethis stateisdifficulttodescribe.Religionsforexampledescribethis asentrytoheaven,theachievementofnirvana,alifeof unconditionallove,totalpeaceonearth,breakingoutofthe cycle of reincarnation etc.
Thehighestobjectiveoflifeisactuallynotsosurprising.Oncewe accept that the needs described above are «somehow» attainable, must not such a state be glorious? Just imagine you are constantly inastatewherenothingcanworryyoueveragain,whereyouare completelysatisfiedandcalm.Youcanfeelloveandradiatelove. Nosickness, noaccidents,noquarrels,nocares,simplyjust harmony.
Surelythisisworthstrivingforbyeveryoneonearth?Ifyoudon’t believe thatthis is attainable would it not be sensible to developin this direction, to at least try to get as close as possible to this goal?
Advertising responds to our needs
Innootherbranchofindustryaretheneedsofhumanbeingsso intensivelyinvestigatedthaninadvertising.Ifitisknownwhatthe potentialconsumergroupwhichpurchasesagivenproductor servicereallystrivesfor,wherethesepeoplesettheirhighest priorities,itispossibletorespondexactlytotheseneedsinthe advertising and hence earn lots of money!
The striving for harmony and happiness, for a life spent in love and peaceisthereforefrequentlyexploitedinadvertising:Firstwesee asufferingpersonwhohasanaffliction,anillnessoraproblem, thenaproduct(pill,ointment,food,drink,car,washingpowder, software,computer,telephone,holidayplaceetc.)andfinallywe seethesamepersonwho–thankstotheuseoftheproduct shown-ishappy.Oftentoothehappypersonisshowntogether withtheproduct.Justtrysometimetodeliberatelyobservehow frequentlytheadvertisingmessagesaresetupinthisway regardless of the product on offer.
Thesuggestionisimplantedinthosewatchingthatthankstothe useofthisproductyouwillbesuccessful,beautiful,highly-regarded,richorwhatever–andthiswill(also)makeyouhappy, your deepest longings will thereby be fulfilled.
Whydoesadvertisingpromiseusharmonyandhappiness?Why doesn’tadvertisingsimplytellusthefactsofthematter,whydo theyappealtoourfeelingsandlongings?Theanswerisobvious: In each person there is a longing for the highest goal, for perpetual harmony,fortheconstantstateofhappiness.Thislongingcan alsobeexploitedtomaximisefinancialprofits,toachievepower, yes-eventomanipulateotherpeople.Wewillcomebackinthis chapter to discuss these goals again.
Substitutedealings
Ifweconsidertheeffortwhichdrivescertainpeopletofeelthe above mentioned feelingofhappiness,ifonlybriefly,itbecomes clearthatmanyofus–probablyforalongtime-havebeen searchingforwaysofachievingperpetualinnerharmony,thatis thetoplevelofourneeds.Hereisjustasmallselectionofthe ways which are undertaken:
Overcoming the fear of death: People subject themselves to great danger in order to feel for a brief moment the indescribable feeling of happiness after surviving the situation. Thereby it is not usually very important whether this risk of death was objectively or only subjectively present. Examples of such activities are free climbing up a rock face (without safety gear), ski descents over vertical rock faces, diving into unknown water from a great height, white-water canoeing, boat trips over waterfalls, bungy-jumping, trips on certain types of ride in pleasure parks, as well as the playing of certain computer games.
Achieving high performance levels: To be the first, the best, the fastest or the most beautiful, in whatever we have done or are still doing, also leads – at least for a short time – to a feeling of happiness of the sort «I am the greatest or the best». In these activities the public often plays an important role. It is at best necessary to be able to see the respective person so as to be able to identify with him. In this way part of this brief feeling of happiness is also transferred to the spectators. Examples: Top sporting events of all kinds, Miss World or similar competitions, Guinness Book of Records etc.
Ascanbeseenfromtheaboveexamples,verymanyofusare– asaruleunconsciously–lookingforwaysofachievingpersonal harmony,thetopstepintheprioritylistofhumanneeds. Somethingdrawsus,wewantto«findourselves»,«experience something»oftenwithoutreallyknowingourselveswhatwemean by this.
Therefore the question is posed once again: What is your personal attitudetothis:Wouldyouliketohavepersonalharmony,come closetoalastingfeelingofloveandhappiness?Wouldyoualso liketobeabletocalmlyacceptalltheinfluencesandsituationsin yoursurroundings?Nevergetannoyedagainandnothavetoput up with fears any longer?
If we deliberately plan for this goal, there must surely also be ways ofgettingclosetoitforalongerperiodthanforjustafewshort seconds!
The observations in the next chapters should serve to discuss how wecanbringthisgoaltorealityandabovealltoshowreal possibilitiesforeveryoneofus.Itisentirelyourowndecision whetherwestriveforthisgoalandwanttoreachitornot.Nothing and no one can make us do this or prevent us from doing it!
The basis of our being
Soonerorlater–andatthelatestshortlybeforedeath–everyone willponderaboutwhywearehere,whatkeepslifegoingonthe earth,howlifestarted,whathappensafterdeath,whyaplant growsfromaseed,whetherthereareother«inhabited»planets etc.Perhapswewillalsoconcernourselveswiththefutureofthe earthandposethequestionofhowthemanyanddiverse problems on our planet can ever be solved.
Inorder–atleasttoasmallextent-tobeabletoanswersuch questions,itisimportanttoknowwhatistheactualbasisforour being. The answer to this question is astonishingly simple:
The basis of all life on our planet is the equal right of all beings to live here, to develop here and to carry out their tasks here.
Doesthismakeyourubyoureyes?Areyounotastonishedthatit isn’t a chemical formula or a physical process which is the basis of our being? Suchprocessesarenaturallyanessentialprecondition forthatwhichwecall«life»onearth.Thebasisofourbeing howeverissignificantlydeeper.Letusthereforeanalysethis sentence step by step:
Everybeingonearthhastheequalrighttobehere:Every person,everyanimal,everyplant,everystone,everylittlepile of earth maybehere.There arenoindividualpeople, plantsor thingswhichmaynotbehere.Therearenoindividualbeings whicharemoreimportantthantheothers–allareexactlyas importantas one another.
Everybeinghastheequalrighttodevelop.Everybeingmay tryto bringhispersonal goals,hisneeds toreality.Thereisno being, whichhasmorerighttoafasterorahigherpriority developmentthanalltheothers.Nobody therefore may develop themselves at the expense of others.
Everybeinghastheequalrighttocarryouthistasks.The „systemearth“onlyfunctionsasitdoesthankstotheinterplay ofalltheinhabitants.Inalargecycleallbeingswork«handin hand».Thereisnoreasonwhythetasksofonebeingshould havepriorityoverthetasksofotherbeings.Allthetasksmust becarriedoutsothat«theearth»canfunction.Alltasksare necessary,theyareconsequentlyallequallyimportantor equallyunimportant.
Theabovestatementisaso-calledcosmiclaw,i.e.alawwhichis alwaysvalideverywhereinthewholecosmos.Allbeingshaveto fitinwiththisrulenomatterwhethertheywishtoornot.Inthis bookwewillonlyconcentratehoweverontheconsequencesof this basic rule for our system on earth.
All other meaningful laws on the earth must be compatible with this basicruleandmaynotviolateit.Inthefollowingwewillsimply refer to this law as «the basic rights of existence».
The plausibility of the basic rights of existence
Itisnotpossibleforusashumanbeingstoprovethevalidityof thislaweitherbylogicorcertainlynotbymathematics.Itissimply true!Vice-versahoweveritisalsonotpossibletoprovethatthe basicrightsofexistencearenotvalid(whichnaturallyalsocannot beinterpretedasproofofthevalidity).Especiallyinnatural sciencesandtechnologywehavebecomeaccustomedtothefact thatwecannotmathematicallyderiveorprovethebasiclaws.Itis truethatwecantestthesebasiclawsbymeansofexperiments– however this is certainly no real proof of their validity.
To examinethevalidity ofthebasicrules ofexistencewecan also carryoutcertainexperiments.Wewillgothroughsuch experimentsinourthinkingquitesoon.Anothertestoptionforus ashumanbeingsisthateachoneofustriesforhimselftofeel whetherthebasiclawsofbeingarevalid.Sincewetooarepartof thecosmos,thistruthmustbeknowntoeachofus.Throughyour intuitiontrytofeelwhethertheabove mentioned basicrightsof existence are valid or not.
Asalreadysuggestedtheplausibilityofthebasicrightsof existencecanbetestedbysimplethoughtexperiments.Letus «test»thethreestatements individually:
Equal right to be on the earth for all beings
Imagine that you are locked into a house with ten other people for a whole year. You have no contact with the outside world and for a whole year you only «know» these ten people. You must share everything: Living and sleeping areas, toilet, bath, shower, food, books etc. There is however sufficient space and also sufficient food for the whole year.
If you wish to spend this year in peace and harmony is not mutual respect and mutual recognition of the right to exist of all eleven people an absolute precondition for this? The more people who refuse to do this the more difficult it will be to live together.
Now let us expand this house in our thoughts to the whole earth and then add additional human beings, animals and plants. From this perspective the mutual recognition of the right of all beings to live on this earth is a plausible precondition for peace and harmony.
The knowledge of all the inhabitants of the earth that their existence is respected, that they may be here, is an absolutely essential precondition for harmony. Lasting peace can only come when no mutual threat is present.
Equal right for all beings to develop
No one can argue that today we are a fairly long way from a world of peace and harmony. Wars are taking place all the time and thousands of people die from hunger every day, while others are wallowing in abundance. Water, air and the soil are sometimes so badly contaminated that no beings can live there any longer or the food is inedible. To improve this situation further development of today’s condition is necessary. Why then shouldn’t a being not be allowed to develop or only be allowed to develop at a slower rate than others? Who is to decide who may develop further and who shouldn’t?
We are all at a certain point in our own personal development. Everyone wants to bring their own needs to reality. When there is competition for limited development space, there is automatically a conflict about who has the right to be the first to develop or who can develop the most. The equal right for all beings to personal development is therefore also a necessary precondition for lasting peace and harmony.
Equal right for all beings to carry out their tasks
The earth’s system is extremely strongly networked. In this network each being (plants, animals, humans, minerals etc.) has many different tasks which it performs. In this networked system intelligence is distributed locally: Each being knows its tasks and objectives from its origin or its birth. There are no foolish beings which simply wait around until a «boss» distributes tasks to them. All of them bring with them the knowledge of their life’s tasks right from their origin or birth, and they start to perform their tasks without external commands. However they do not need to know the tasks assigned to other living beings.
