{"id":5612,"date":"2014-10-21T13:51:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T10:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/?p=5612"},"modified":"2014-10-21T13:53:27","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T10:53:27","slug":"the-age-of-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/the-age-of-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"The Age of Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"its-not-you\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u03a0\u03b7\u03b3\u03ae: RSA – Action and Research Center<\/a><\/p>\n

The Age of Awareness<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Andreas Fossas<\/span><\/p>\n

Coaching. Psychotherapy. Meditation. Spirituality. Self-improvement. Self-love. What do these seemingly different social movements have in common?\u00a0There are over 10 different forms of coaching, each with countless associated techniques\u00a0and exercises. There are over 500 different forms of psychotherapy, most with similar degrees of efficacy. There are over 20 forms of meditation and paths to the spiritual. Available self-improvement and self-love techniques are too numerous to list here. The supply of these services in the market has skyrocketed, which is a likely indicator that high demand from us, consumers, is also present. But what is driving the high demand for these services? What are we collectively seeking as a society, as individuals? What do we long for or hunger for? I may be able to provide a tentative answer to this question only because the longing is also present in me. And, at this level of depth, you and I are not so different.\u00a0The answer to the question, I believe, is self-awareness. We long to know ourselves more deeply. But why? Well, there is reason to believe that we are\u00a0beginning to recognize our deep need for it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Longing to Actualize<\/strong><\/p>\n

While human beings (or perhaps, human brains) are stupendously complex, our basic needs can be boiled down to a small number. Abraham Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs gives a good idea of what these might be. Here\u2019s a 4-sentence introduction to Maslow\u2019s pyramid (shown below): Basic needs are the building blocks of human motivation. Whatever we end up doing with our lives, our motivation for it can be distilled down to these basic needs. Lower needs must be fulfilled before higher needs are (e.g., professional success \u2013 part of the need for esteem \u2013 will not be on one\u2019s radar if his or her personal security \u2013 part of the need for safety \u2013 is at severe risk). As we fulfil lower needs, the higher needs become relevant and we begin to\u00a0long<\/em>\u00a0for them. From lower to higher, Maslow\u2019s basic needs:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Physiological needs (e.g., food, sex, warmth)<\/li>\n
  2. Safety needs (e.g., order, stability, security)<\/li>\n
  3. Belonging needs (e.g., friendship, family)<\/li>\n
  4. Esteem needs (e.g., confidence, respect, achievement)<\/li>\n
  5. Self-Actualization needs (e.g., creativity, morality, spontaneity, autonomy)<\/li>\n
  6. Self-Transcendence needs (this last one may come as a surprise to some,\u00a0but see here<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"maslow-pyramid-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Ironically, self-awareness is not on Maslow\u2019s list, but it does seem to be a critical ingredient along the way \u2013 particularly in the transition from Esteem to Self-Actualization. And the need for self-actualization seems to have remained \u201cdormant\u201d or viewed as unnecessary at the societal level \u2013 until quite recently.<\/p>\n

    So I have 2 aims with this blog. The first is to suggest that we, adults in Western societies, are beginning to push against the ceiling of Abraham\u2019s pyramid (self-actualization and, less saliently, self-transcendence). And our \u201cpushing\u201d is manifesting in a variety of wacky, unexpected, and seemingly incongruent ways. The second aim is to suggest that these ways are not so incongruent, after all.<\/p>\n

    The Right Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n

    There are many flavours of ice cream, but whether you opt for chocolate or strawberry, all flavours work partly in service of our need for hunger. And while there are many forms of enhancing self-awareness (e.g., coaching, meditation, etc.), they are all in service of our need to self-actualize. Even the RSA\u2019s recent call to arms,\u00a0The Power to Create<\/a>, seems to be in service of this emerging need for actualization. There is a very strong connection between actualization and self-awareness, as Maslow observed:\u00a0[Prior to self-actualization, people] \u201coften have not the slightest idea of what they are, of what they want, of what their own opinions are,\u201d [but] self-actualizing individuals have \u201csuperior awareness of their own impulses, desires, opinions, and subjective reactions in general[1]\u201d.<\/p>\n

    \"existential<\/a>
    \nIn other words, self-actualizing people seem to have explored their inner lives to a\u00a0remarkable extent. This is not easy, and it has little\u00a0to do with the external wilderness of politics, social norms, geography, current affairs, Ebola, etc. Self-awareness begins, well\u2026 here, right here, within. Indeed, coaches, mindfulness instructors, therapists, self-improvement gurus all direct a person\u2019s attention inwards, to the self, to varying degrees and in a way that has rarely, if ever, been attempted by most of us. Slowly, however, more and more people seem to be noticing a personal longing for self-awareness. If pursuing personal coaching, therapy, or meditation seems like a selfish act to outside observers, it\u2019s probably because\u00a0it<\/em>\u00a0is a selfish act<\/em>, but not in any conventional sense of the word. It is not about prioritizing one\u2019s pleasures and interests over those of others, as is commonly understood by the term\u00a0selfish<\/em>, but rather it is about exploring the multiple sides of the self, both good and bad, light and dark, pleasant and unpleasant. Both forms require an inward turn, but of very different flavours. In sum, bringing a curious and investigative attitude to the self and its functioning seems a necessary step on the road to actualizing it.<\/p>\n

    While some claim that we are living in an age of loneliness<\/a>, if perceived via a slightly different lens, loneliness may partly be fueling our inward turn toward the self. It\u2019s true that globalization and the internet have led to the hyper-exposure of different people, cultures, and ideologies. The differences between us, humans, are now amplified like never before in our history. We are stranger to each other than we ever have been. Under these conditions of decreased physical isolation and increased psychological isolation, the longing for integration and connectedness seems like a natural response.<\/p>\n

    There is little solace to be found for such loneliness in a society that is increasingly diverse, unfamiliar, and virtual. But the sages, both those spiritual and philosophical, hinted that greater self-awareness paradoxically leads to a greater sense of connection. By discovering and connecting with deeper aspects of ourselves, we may find that the connection we seek has been there all along, even now. As the Buddha observed, \u201cNothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.\u201d Self-awareness may be the ticket to recognizing this.\u00a0There is reason to believe that we, collectively, are beginning to perceive our need to self-actualize.<\/p>\n

    Reaching Further<\/strong><\/p>\n

    So why might all of this be happening now? Why are we collectively seeking these \u201chigher\u201d level needs now, at this point in history? While that topic lies beyond the scope of this brief blog, the simple answer is, well\u2026 simple: People may increasingly be recognizing their higher-level needs because we, as a society, are becoming more proficient in fulfilling the lower level needs of the populace: Physiological needs are met via access to food, property, and sex. Safety needs are met via sufficient employment and law enforcement. Belonging needs via pluralism, diversity tolerance, and social networking. Esteem via access to careers, study, professional preparation, etc. In this context, we seem to be doing a pretty good job (though in other contexts we\u2019re clearly not<\/a>). I am not implying that every individual in society is capable of addressing most of these basic needs even most of the time, sadly, but many individuals are, to varying degrees, able to do so. I am certainly not alone in suggesting that we, collectively, are at least getting something right<\/a>\u00a0(not perfect).<\/p>\n

    \"einstein\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    While this development sounds very promising to cheerleaders of growth like me, our human need to self-actualize is still far from being \u201cthe talk of the town.\u201d It is not yet recognized, acknowledged, nor considered at any considerable degree in the public sphere. Nevertheless, it seems to be inching in that direction.<\/p>\n

    There is even more to this developmental story however. According to Maslow and a range of wise folk throughout history, the purpose of life is not\u00a0just\u00a0<\/em>to actualize and perfect oneself, but to ultimately\u00a0transcend oneself<\/em>\u00a0and connect deeply with all others. Interestingly, public consciousness is slowly beginning to flicker with signs of what seems like Maslow\u2019s final and highest need \u2013 self-transcendence. The many books and texts being published on transcendence and spirituality in the modern age, such as Frederic Laloux\u2019\u00a0Reinventing Organizations<\/em><\/a>, neuroscientist Sam Harris\u2019\u00a0Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality without Religion<\/em><\/a>, Einstein\u2019s letter to a desolate father who had lost his son to polio (see image,\u00a0or click here<\/a>), and even the\u00a0RSA\u2019s upcoming spirituality report<\/a>. Indeed, Jonathan Rowson, director of the RSA\u2019s Social Brain Centre writes, \u201cThe spiritual injunction is principally an experiential one, namely to know oneself as fully as possible\u2026 recognise oneself as being part of a totality, or at least something bigger than oneself.\u201d All of these voices hint at the human capacity to somehow see past or move beyond the personality and self-concept.<\/p>\n

    In closing, I\u2019d like to highlight that a juicy, more controversial, but still highly valuable proposition in this blog is that self-actualization may not be an endpoint, but rather a prelude to something else. Framed differently, fulfilling our human potential in its entirety may culminate, naturally and inevitably, in something that may be captured by the term \u201cspiritual\u201d (and I do not mean\u00a0religion<\/em>). I am not implying that one needs to be self-actualized before he or she can walk a \u201cspiritual path,\u201d but perhaps it is necessary in order to reach the path\u2019s end. Perhaps\u00a0this one spiritual teacher<\/a>\u00a0nailed it, \u201cYou cannot transcend what you do not know. To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself.\u201d\u00a0The ancient Greeks would likely smile in agreement<\/a>.\u00a0And collectively we seem to be doing just that, taking small steps toward knowing ourselves. Bravo, I\u2019d say.<\/p>\n

    Andres Fossas is a Senior Researcher at the RSA Social Brain Centre. He tweets @afossas0<\/em><\/p>\n

    [1] Maslow, A. H. (1954). Personality and motivation.\u00a0Harlow, England: Longman<\/em>,\u00a01<\/em>, 987.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u03a0\u03b7\u03b3\u03ae: RSA – Action and Research Center The Age of Awareness Andreas Fossas Coaching. Psychotherapy. Meditation. Spirituality. Self-improvement. Self-love. What do these seemingly different social movements have in common?\u00a0There are over 10 different forms of coaching, each with countless associated techniques\u00a0and exercises. There are over 500 different forms of psychotherapy, most with similar degrees of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8","category-8-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p12hmI-1sw","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5612"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5622,"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5612\/revisions\/5622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/processworkhub.gr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}