Freedom Focused: October 2024

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Creation Stage

Chapter 20

CREATION Stage

LAYER 9: Planets and Stars Beyond

As you travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into deep outer space, an innumerable host of astronomical bodies—namely planets and stars—are housed within different space classifications known as superclusters, local groups, galaxies, solar systems, asteroid belts, stars, planets, moons, comets, space stations, etc.

All of these objects or collections of objects can be found throughout the Universe in various stages of creation and expansion or contraction and destruction.

LEVEL 9: CREATION Stage

Something truly wonderful awaits YOU on your journey beyond the realms of Self-Transcendence.

That something is the CREATION STAGE, where you get to take a prominent—even a leading—role in creating new ideas, things, relationships, families, organizations, communities, states, regions, nations, and even the world-at-large in the form of global-enhancing projects.

These creative pursuits are likened to the creation of various astronomical bodies throughout the universe.

In the Creation Stage, you have acquired and/or honed all of the abilities, experience, knowledge, skills, talents, and wisdom necessary to become a builder of structures and/or organizations, a creator of constitutions and cultures, a producer of philosophies, and—most importantly—an influencer and molder of human lives and relationships.

In this most important realm of your life's work, YOU spearhead the Existential Growth and development of other self-action leaders in hopes of helping them to one day join you as a Self-Transcended being in the Creation Stage themselves.

In the Creation Stage, there is no longer any jealous threat of competition, and one-upmanship ceases to exist. Self-action leaders in the Creation Stage value each other as much as they value themselves, and they take as much joy and satisfaction in the creations of others as they do in their own—if not more so.

Men and women like Jesus, the Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Florence Nightingale created whole new religions or movements upon entering the Creation Stage. In short, they changed the world in significantly positive ways.

Many other men and women have done likewise throughout human history. While their names are not always widely known to history, the nature and kind of their accomplishments and creations are possessed of a similar substance to those whose names are commonplace. Moreover, the quantity of ordinary men and women who achieved extraordinary Existential Growth, development, and achievements—up to and including the Creation Stage—dwarfs the number of men and women who did so and are well known to history. As such, don't fall prey to the erroneous notion that you must ink a salient or prominent mark on the history books in order to reach this lofty existential status.

Self-action leaders who arrive at the Creation Stage change the world and make it a better place in which to live and work. You can usually identify these people because they possess lasting legacies that are burnished ever brighter with the passage of time. These remarkable and venerable individuals achieved their masterpieces through commitment, consistency, constancy, continency, and continuance to the end.

Depending on the scale and scope of one's visibility and influence in a social setting, such contributions may impact circles ranging from small groups of people (relationship, home, neighborhood, organizational) to immense masses (state, nation, world).

The reason that Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Muhammad, et cetera, are so well known is because they combined substance with a massive scale and scope. But remember: the scale and scope of one's influence or creations is not nearly as important as the substance thereof.

Financial Standing as a Metric for

Measuring Existential Growth

In general, financial status can be a useful metric by which to judge Existential Growth; but it is an imperfect and often unreliable method. This is because some people obtain wealth through avarice and other morally dubious means and then use their wealth for selfish and/or nefarious purposes.

In short, there are almost always exceptions to any given rule.

Nevertheless, the general rule is that financial solvency, security, success, independence, and prosperity/affluence can be meaningful benchmarks for measuring Existential Growth. This is only true, however, when wealth is earned honestly through productive industry that benefits others.

Wealth that was merely inherited or gambled into likely has little, if any inherent positive effect on your Existential Growth. In many such cases, money may even contribute to your existential atrophy and regression.

While many exceptions exist, the Beginner's Stage is typically marked by financial dependence on one's parents/initial caregivers. If you're on your own, you are likely struggling to make ends meet, as I was at that point in my life.

Basic financial stability is typically reached in the Practitioner's Stage, but may be challenged again in the Refining Stage.

A more solid and reliable means of financial stability and security is typically reached in the Polishing Stage. From there, a self-action leader may become increasingly secure along one's way to financial independence and/or prosperity and affluence as they progress to higher levels up to and including the Creation Stage. Many, but not all, self-action leaders who reach the Leadership Stage and beyond are financially independent.

As you reflect upon these approximate benchmarks, always keep in the forefront of your mind the possibility for legitimate exceptions to exist.

Suffice it to say, one can rise to the highest levels of Existential Growth without being financially wealthy, even though fiscal well-being often is a hallmark of such development and growth.

In the next chapter, we will provide three case studies in order to further illustrate and illuminate the SAL Hierarchy's NINE different levels (or stages) in the dynamic interplay of real life.

In Your Journal

Would you like to someday rise to the Creation level? Why or why not?

Are you willing to pay the high price required to rise to the Creation level? Why or why not?

What are ways that we can help each other rise to this lofty level of Existential Growth?

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 412th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 221st consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.

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Chapter 20 Notes

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Self-Transcendence

Chapter 19

SELF-TRANSCENDENCE

LAYER 8: OUTER SPACE

Beyond the Exosphere, the Earth's atmosphere ends completely, leaving a rocket or spaceship free to travel in the air- and gravity-free zones of deep outer space—where a spacecraft can maintain its propulsion and speed indefinitely without the aid of additional fuel.

LEVEL 8: SELF-TRANSCENDENCE

The Self-Transcendence Stage, also known as just Self-Transcendence, or the "Freedom Zone," is the penultimate stage of Existential Growth in the SAL Hierarchy.

It is analogous to deep outer space.

Just as a rocket ship is no longer subject to gravity beyond the Exosphere, self-action leaders who reach Level 8 are no longer subject to Existential Gravity. This means that self-action leaders at this level have become so fully actualized they are no longer candidates for regression for lower levels. Having fully conquered their enemies both within and without, they've truly "Arrived" existentially and have therefore become thoroughly free.

On the first seven levels, even the strongest self-action leaders remain susceptible to moral entropy and existential regression. But upon reaching Self-Transcendence, YOU have finally "Made It" in the sense of your existential journey to character development and moral maturation.

This does not mean you are perfect in every particular—no human being ever is. It does, however, mean there is no longer any danger of colossal moral failure or significant existential regression.

Achieving Self-Transcendence doesn't mean your proverbial "Ship" has come in. Rather, it's a signal that you've voluntarily swam out to your ship and successfully conquered the rough seas and storms along the way. As a result, those who transcend themselves and reach this elusive level enjoy almost unlimited personal and professional freedom within a context of existing Universal Laws of physics and metaphysics.

Self-Transcended persons are almost always financially secure, if not financially independent.

They have also often received and embraced outlying opportunities to positively influence and meaningfully contribute to the lives of others.

They have many relationships with other people that are deep, rich, and founded on mutual respect and impeccable trustworthiness. If they have a significant other, they have probably been with their mate for decades, are more in love than ever, and have a happy, healthy, and mutually satisfying union.

By the time you have reached Level 7, YOU typically have an enormous amount of freedom to choose where and when you spend your time and money. While you may not be an organization's executive leader in a formal sense, you will undoubtedly exert a significant influence on growing (and sometimes vast) numbers of other people with whom you work and associate.

Self-Transcended persons leave a deep and lasting legacy of greatness, honor, love, and service for others to admire and replicate in their own lives.

Sadly, only a relatively small percentage of the population ever reaches this lofty level during the course of their lives. It doesn't have to be this way, of course. Theoretically speaking, everyone has the potential to transcend self over the course of their lives, but many choose to tread other pathways that fundamentally miss the mark. Some simply lack the basic building blocks (i.e. food, shelter, safety, education) so necessary to support existential advancement.

Confucius
551-479 BC

Examples of those who have reached Level 7 are very well known figures in religion and culture, such as Jesus Christ, Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), Confucius, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Florience Nightingale, Mohandas Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and others like them.

Other examples are far less famous, but similar to those mentioned above in terms of their character and commitment to moral and ethical living. Indeed, you don't have to be famous to reach Self-Transcendence.

In reality, the number of obscure individuals reaching this top stage far exceeds the number of high-profile persons who've done so. Such existentially advanced persons may not be known beyond their families, friends, organizations, and communities; however, this fact does not diminish the value and importance of their achievements and contributions. Nor does it negate the very real metaphysical achievement and advancement they have made. There's no specific scope of influence required to reach Self-Transcendence. Seemingly ordinary mothers and fathers are often among the finest of candidates for Level 7.

In the insightful interrogatory of one theological sage:

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling that what happened in congresses?" (1)

Never underestimate the potential of any human being to eventually reach this advanced level of Existential Growth—no matter how inauspicious their beginning or how lowly their station. Moreover, don't ever let the simplicity of your own life's backstory, current social status, or present profession lead you to believe you can't rise to this level of existential greatness.

Theoretically, those who are currently homeless, starving, or drug-addled possess as much existential potential as presidents, potentates, and princes. Human change is always possible; that is perhaps the single most important paradigm and thesis of this Life Leadership textbook. But change doesn't happen by magic. There are FIVE (5) Fundamentals that must ultimately be in place to ensure the transformation actually happens.

FIVE (5) Fundamentals of Self-Transcendence

1). Secure basic Safety and Survival Needs
2). Obtain an Education in SAL

3). Cultivate a cadre of Advocates willing to assist
3). Develop a deep Desire to Grow and Succeed
4). Nurture an Inner Drive to never give up

Anyone able and willing to obtain and pursue these five (5) basic stepping stones can eventually progress to Self-Transcendence. You will inevitably need some help from others to accomplish the first three steps. But once you and others have ensured these steps have been taken, then YOU and SERENDIPITY can take care of the last two, thus ensuring that you eventually reach your goal of Self-Transcendence.

With only nominal help from others, a truly driven and motivated self-action leader possesses the liberty—and can earn the freedom—to advance as far as one desires, intends, and is willing to chase after.

Confucius Quote

That's the GOOD NEWS of Self-Action Leadership.

When you truly transcend yourself through SAL and SERENDIPITY, extraordinary moral authority is earned as a by-product of your diligent and focused efforts over time. You become, in short, a person of authentic GREATNESS. Whether your greatness influences eight billion people, just eight folks, or only a single, solitary soul, it may still be a greatness of the same kind and degree.

REMEMBER: Christ and Confucius did not transcend self because they founded popular belief systems. They transcended self because they paid the price to become a morally-minded and principle-centered self-action leader determined to keep going and growing forever. Christianity and Confucianism were tangible and influential outgrowths of their deep, penetrating, and authentic inner accomplishments. The same could be said of the Buddha, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or anyone else who has reached this extraordinary and elusive level of Existential Growth.