SAL ACTUALIZATION Stage

 

Chapter 17

SAL ACTUALIZATION Stage

LAYER 6:  THERMOSPHERE

Sitting atop the Ionosphere is the Thermosphere. This is the layer of Earth's atmosphere where satellites and space shuttles enter orbit.

The Thermosphere "contains only a minute fraction of the atmosphere's mass." (1) The Thermosphere begins at a height of 50 miles (80 kilometers) above the Earth's surface and has no definite boundaries, (2) thus making it the deepest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

Temperatures increase dramatically in the Thermosphere. This is due to the low density of air molecules. Curiously, however, you would not tangibly feel the full extent of this rise in temperature (heat) because of a lack of air molecules.

Technically speaking, the Thermosphere incorporates the Ionosphere as part of its lower levels. However, space shuttles, space stations, and satellites must transcend to Ionosphere and enter the upper levels of the Thermosphere to officially enter orbit. Thus, the Ionosphere officially ends where ORBIT begins.  

LEVEL 6:  SAL Actualization Stage 

It is appropriate that the Ionosphere is technically part of the Thermosphere. This is because the Polishing Stage and Self-Action Leader Actualization Stage similarly blend. In other words, the process of SAL Actualization begins in the Polishing Stage and the polishing process continues on into the SAL Actualization Stage—and beyond.  

Just as human-made satellites and spaceships begin to orbit the Earth in the Thermosphere, entering the SAL-Actualization Stage launches YOU into metaphysical "Orbit" as a self-action leader. 

From this point on, you'll be able to maintain the same (or greater) levels of performance as you have in the past, but by expending far less fuel (energy and resources). 

In this regard, life really does become easier in many ways (especially physically and emotionally) upon reaching the SAL-Actualization Stage. This is part of what makes it such an appealing stage to eventually enter. 

This is the stage of YOUR personal development and Existential Growth where you can finally say with confidence to both yourself and the world that: "I like who I am, and I wouldn't trade places with anyone else on Earth—even if I had the power to do so."

In this sense, it is very much an "Arrival" stage.

And the arrival is immensely rewarding! 

Having entered your own personal "Orbit" in the SAL Actualization Stage, the probability that you will regress back to former stages is low. This is because your character, integrity, and confidence have reached such high levels of maturity, resiliency, and strength. 

Regression is still possible at this level; it is just unlikely. And while reaching this level unquestionably represents a significant "Arrival" in your existential trek, it does not by any means signal that your journey is complete; nor will it be the end of adversity, pain, and trials.  

It does, however, signal the beginning of a whole new life, one which will be accompanied by a new set of different challenges and obstacles to surmount, many of which will prove easier to navigate than difficulties in days gone by. 

This may be due, in part, to a tangible move or improvement in your physical circumstances and opportunities. It may also be due to your bolstered confidence, added security, and expanded toolbox of knowledge and skills by which you can more successfully adapt to, confront, and troubleshoot life's endless challenges.  

The SAL Actualization Stage is similar to "Self-Actualization"—the highest level attainable on Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" scale. According to Maslow, self-actualization "refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely ... the desire to become ... everything that one is capable of becoming." (3)

The SAL Actualization Stage is marked by a clear realization of who you really are and what your life's purpose is. Arriving at this lofty stage also represents a quasi-mastery of the full-range of SAL principles and practices. 

While you may still be a long way from perfection, you've nevertheless reached a high level of self-awareness, emotional and social intelligence and resiliency, personal capacity, and SAL understanding and application. Having become a self-action leader of great capacity and integrity, you've also begun to exert increasing levels of positive influence on others who seek the Existential Growth you've already achieved. 

Because everyone is unique, SAL Actualization will look different from person-to-person. This is why, as Maslow explains, "in one individual [actualization] may take the form of a desire to be an ideal mother, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in still another it may be expressed in painting pictures or in inventions." (4) 

But, despite all the variations of SAL-Actualization, all actualized persons will demonstrate certain key attributes of CHARACTER, such as integrity, morality, and selflessness.  

The SAL Actualization Stage is likened to the Thermosphere, where satellites, space shuttles, and space stations ORBIT the Earth to obtain knowledge about outer space and transmit information to and from the Earth. 

Similarly, once YOU reach the SAL Actualization Stage and desire further Existential Growth, your focus will begin to naturally shift towards helping those at lower levels who seek their own development and growth. Having achieved a vaulted existential station yourself, you can now continue your own journey by leading others to where you are. 

Thus, moving forward, your own development and growth will largely come as a by-product of helping others rise in their existential journey. Moreover, the extent of your future success will hinge in large part on your success in effectively helping others in this manner. 

Persons entering the SAL Actualization Stage have developed high levels of personal integrity and moral character. They are proactive, resilient, emotionally intelligent, and possess an extraordinary capacity to respond maturely and wisely to a full spectrum of different people and situations.

Professionally, SAL Actualized persons have developed and honed skills and talents such that they are now rightly referred to as an expert, professional, or even a master. 

Becoming SAL Actualized means
becoming more YOURSELF
than you ever were before.

SAL Actualized persons are fully themselves in a way that highlights the gradual development of a singular and unique individuality that is attractive and pronounced without being ostentatious or overbearing. 

This fact flies in the face of the notion held by many—especially among the endless milieu of Existential Crabs—that upholding True Principles rooted in Universal Laws diminishes your individuality and inhibits your freedom. 

In reality, precisely the opposite phenomenon occurs. 

As C.S. Lewis once put it, "How monstrously alike all the great tyrants and conquerers have been; [yet] how gloriously different are the saints." (5). 

M. Scott Peck put it similarly, as follows:

"If one ever has the good fortune to meet a living saint, one will have then met somebody absolutely unique. Though their visions may be remarkably similar, the personhood of saints is remarkably different. This is because they have become utterly themselves. God creates each soul differently, so that when all the mud is finally cleared away, His light will shine through it in a beautiful, colorful, totally new pattern." (6)

On lower levels of Existential Growth, insecure persons often equate individualism and originality with aberrant and rebellious deviations from traditional grooming, fashions, and mores—and the stranger and more flamboyant the better. In reality, such strident personal actions have little connection to one's true and authentic character, identity, or potential—and are usually a cry for help. 

Have you ever found yourself wishing you could be someone else?

By the time you become actualized, such wishes will have vanished from your life. SAL Actualized persons sincerely like who they are and who they have become. By the time you have reached this level in your Existential Growth, you wouldn't trade your own life circumstances and opportunities for anyone else's, even if you had the power to do so. As a result, diffidence, immaturities, insecurities, jealousy, and vindictiveness have been almost entirely eliminated from your life and world.  

SAL Actualized persons no longer see the world through a mindset of danger and scarcity, but through a paradigm of abundance and opportunity. (7) Your embrace of this new mentality engenders genuine appreciation for, and satisfaction in, the growth and achievements of others. You may even find yourself gradually taking more joy in the accomplishments of others than you do in your own successes.

At lower levels of Existential Growth, it is hard to conceive that this could ever be possible. But the higher you rise and the closer you get to becoming SAL Actualized, the clearer you begin to see reality and the more you begin developing this remarkable transformation of positive feelings towards others.    

Knowing that everyone possesses the same Existential Worth, and therefore (theoretical) Existential Potential, you no longer feel the need to compare yourself to others after becoming SAL Actualized. Your own inner peace, maturity, and understanding make such comparisons irrelevant, uninteresting, and puerile. 

At this stage, you have largely achieved what you set out in life to accomplish; therefore, the only primal goal that remains is to continue rising to higher levels of Existential Growth yourself—and help other people do the same. 

Arriving at the SAL Actualization Stage is a significant touchstone along your journey to Self-Transcendence and beyond. It qualifies as a significant personal and ontological achievement. It's the level of Existential Growth where, perhaps more than any other level, you can legitimately claim to have "ARRIVED."

It also serves as an important hinge-point of decision-making moving forward. 

That decision is this: Will you choose to live for yourself in the future, or will you dedicate the rest of your life to helping others to become similarly SAL Actualized?

If you choose to live only for yourself, you'll remain on Level 6, or, more likely, begin a regressive slide backward to lower levels. If, on the other hand, you opt to dedicate your life to helping others progress—which is what most SAL Actualized people do—you advance to Level 7, the Leadership Stage, which is where you begin to make many of your life's most meaningful, important, and lasting contributions.

SAL Actualization and Your Existential Train

At Freedom Focused, we believe that all human beings—including every person who has ever been born upon the Earth—has a definite, specific, and meaningful reason and purpose for being here. We believe that this purpose is, generally speaking, to become SAL Actualized as a self-action leader and then help others to do the same. 

Of course, SAL Actualization looks different for each of us in terms of its topical particulars. After all, we each possess a singular disposition, personality, and genetic makeup in conjunction with a unique set of aptitudes, desires, and talents. 

The process of becoming SAL Actualized is, metaphysically speaking, akin to catching and then boarding a train; and not just any train, but the singular "Existential Train" that Life itself intends for YOU—even your "Train of Destiny"—whose course is straight and narrow and whose engine is programmed to transport you to the highest levels of Existential Growth, even the pinnacle of your personal potential.

To "Catch Your Existential Train" refers to discovering your life's truest and most authentic, individual purpose. To "Stay on Board Your Existential Train" refers to pursuing that singular and unique purpose with all your heart, mind, soul, and might until the end of your life—and beyond if an afterlife exists.  

Unlike boarding a physical train, boarding your metaphysical "Train of Life" isn't easy. You can't merely show up to the train station, buy a ticket, and then hop on board at your leisure. This is because your train stops for no one—not even for YOU—its intended occupant! 

Hence, YOU must prepare and pay the price to "Catch" and then "Board" your train as it barrels down the tracks at a daunting and intimidating speed.

There's an old saying: when my SHIP comes in. 

Self-action leaders understand that their ship never comes in; YOU must swim out to your ship!

The same principle holds true for boarding your existential train. To succeed in catching and then boarding it, you must become well acquainted with how your train runs and works. 

You must also develop the speed, strength, agility, confidence, and daring required to latch onto it as it zooms by. In the process of doing so, it is helpful to remember that no one boards one's train on his or first attempt. 

For most of us—myself included—many attempts will be required over a period of many years, or even decades. 

Your initial attempts will likely end in failure, leaving you with all kinds of metaphysical bruises, lacerations, scars, and perhaps even some dislocated or broken bones—figuratively speaking. 

Suffice it to say, failing to board your train will hurt, sometimes badly. 

In fact, the only thing that could possibly hurt more in the end is the loss and regret you will feel from having willingly forfeited an earned passageway on such a lofty and lovely locomotive.  

To succeed at "Catching" and "Boarding" your Existential Train, YOU must repeatedly "pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again" (8) each time that you fall short.

Doing so is not easy!

It is a wonderfully exhilarating, yet terribly challenging endeavor fraught with seemingly endless frustration and failure. There may even be times when you choose to turn your back on your train and stop trying to board it altogether for a while. 

Sometimes this occurs because you have been injured attempting to board and must take time out to heal and regroup. Other times, feelings of bitterness and disillusionment may camouflage the enormous benefits and rewards available on your train. 

In the midst of such poignant disappointments, you may even try to deny that your train exists. Some, and perhaps many, will deceive themselves into thinking that moseying along through the countryside in an ox-drawn wagon or on a dutiful donkey is preferable to the unspeakable thrill of zipping along the continent on an ultra modern, super speedy, bullet train. 

But for those hardy and determined souls willing to endure the trials of boarding their train, the ride is truly "out of this world."  

Once you have caught and boarded your existential train, you have earned a comfortable residence whereby you can live and work as you continually go forth to coach, mentor, serve, teach, and otherwise help others on their own journey toward SAL Actualization.

In many ways, helping others become SAL Actualized will be far easier and more enjoyable than your own crucible-laden and painful process of SAL Actualization. After all, it is usually easier to talk about something than it is to actually do it; but you won't have much credibility speaking about something that you haven't already experienced and overcome. 

Thus, the BEST TEACHERS are usually those noble souls who have already "walked the talk" and otherwise proved themselves "in the trenches" and "heat of battle."  

Catching and then boarding your own existential train—becoming SAL Actualized—is a tremendously significant event in your life. Moreover, as long as you choose to stay on the train, all tracks eventually lead to the highest levels of Existential Growth.  

A Paradigm Shift from Competition to Love

There is typically a big difference between what motivates YOU on lower levels (1-6) and what motivates YOU on higher levels (7-9). 

On the first six levels, self-action leaders tend to be driven by a desire to compete with and ultimately outdo others in a continual quest to "get ahead" and/or "win." This kind of motivation is referred to as a "Competition Paradigm" and to a certain extent is very useful in helping you to prove yourself to yourself and others. 

A Competition Paradigm is defined as: a desire to obtain Existential Growth in order to surpass others.

COMPETITION  PARADIGM

A desire to obtain Existential Growth to surpass others. 

Every self-action leader is unique. Thus, some will be more (or less) motivated by the Competition Paradigm than others. Nevertheless, most self-action leaders are primarily motivated by the Competition Paradigm on Levels 1-6. 

By the time you graduate to Level 7, however, a fundamental transformation of your mind, heart, and soul has begun to take place. This transformation leads you to become increasingly motivated by a genuine care, concern, and love for other self-action leaders and human beings in general. 

Having already proved yourself and risen above many others (in an Existential Growth sense, or in terms of a specific skillset), your desires will increasingly shift toward helping others along their pathways of Existential Growth. Instead of being primarily motivated by the Competition Paradigm, you will find yourself increasingly motivated by the Love Paradigm, which is defined as: a desire to help others obtain Existential Growth.  

LOVE  PARADIGM

A desire to help others obtain Existential Growth.

The development of this pure, sincere, and unsullied LOVE for others is inevitably a gradual developmental process that occurs by degrees over a long period of time. Most self-action leaders will begin experiencing sparks and vestiges of this authentic love in earlier stages of Existential Growth (Levels 1-6), but will not fully flower until much later on during the time they spend on levels 6-9.

The individual growth curve of a self-action leader's Love Paradigm will, of course, differ widely from person-to-person as one develops up the hierarchy. Personality, environment, circumstances, education, access to loving coaches, mentors, and teachers, and other variables will all play a role in the singular developmental trajectory of each individual. 

Nevertheless, by Stage 7, it will, like concrete in a mold, likely be sufficiently set up to begin a positive and lasting "curing process." If properly cultivated and persistently pursued, it will continue to cure (harden/strengthen/toughen) throughout one's continued development up through the three highest levels of Existential Growth, leading theoretically to a PERFECT LOVE for others at some distant point in one's existence.  

Depending on how powerfully one was motivated by the Competition Paradigm in earlier stages (1-6) of Existential Growth, the pouring, setting up, and curing process of love may occur more slowly or quickly; it all depends on the individual self-action leader and his or her unique SAL Variables Quotient. 

For those who experience a more gradual development and growth of love for others, there may be a protracted period of time where one wonders how one could ever be as motivated by love as one is by competition. Moreover, for those who reach Level 7 and then begin to atrophy and regress backward in one's Existential Growth, the Competition Paradigm may return to smother one's potential capacity for love. 

But those who continue to grow past the Leadership Stage into the Self-Transcendence and Creation Stages will discover that love is in fact an infinitely greater motivator than competition ever was—even in its most captivating and motivating stages on lower levels of Existential Growth. They will also discover that the fulfillment, joy, satisfaction, and inner peace that accompanies an authentic and pure Love Paradigm infinitely exceeds the lesser perks that accompanied the Competition Paradigm. 

At the highest levels of Existential Growth, competition no longer exists in a traditional sense. It has become completely swallowed up by LOVE for all people, living creatures, and other worthwhile things.  

In Your Journal

• Where do you believe you currently stand in relation to being SAL Actualized?

• What do you think would be required of you to eventually become SAL Actualized?

• Describe your ideal Existential Train. 

• What do you believe will be required of you to successfully catch and board your Existential Train?

• How much are you presently motivated by the Competition Paradigm?

• How much are you presently motivated by the Love Paradigm?

• How might you decrease the Competition Paradigm and increase the Love Paradigm in your life?

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 408th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 217th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

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Chapter 17 Notes

1.  Lutgens, F. K., and Tarbuck, E. J. (2010). The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology (Eleventh Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Page 28.

2.  Tarbueck, E J., and Lutgens, F. K. (2009). Earch Science (Twelfth Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Page 454.

3.  Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review. Volume 50, Issue 4, p. 370-396. Page 382.

4.  Ibid. Page 383.

5.  Lewis, C.S. (2001). Mere Christianity. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins. Page 226.

6.  Peck, M.S. (1983). People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. New York, NY: Touchstone. Page 264.

7.  Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York, NY: Fireside. Pages 219-220.

8.  From the Nat King Cole Song, Pick Yourself Up. Lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern. Copyright by Reservoir Media Management, Inc. and Universal Music Publishing Group. 

The SAL Hierarchy, Levels 1-3

 

Chapter 14

The SAL Hierarchy, Levels 1-3

The SAL Hierarchy is conceptually similar to
Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Similar to Abraham Maslow's famous "Hierarchy of Needs," the SAL Hierarchy consists of NINE (9) progressive stages of Existential Growth.

These progressive stages conceptually align with Law 10 and its six corollaries.

Law 10 states that: Self-action leaders are capable of unlimited Existential Growth—or atrophy. 

Law 10

Self-Action Leaders are capable of unlimited Existential Growth—or atrophy.

Because of the reality of Existential Equality, each of us is born with the theoretical possibility of becoming fully actualized human beings with unlimited potential for Existential Growth—or atrophy.

The first four corollaries of Law 10 will address the GROWTH component. The last two corollaries will address the atrophy component. 

Whether or not you reach the fullness of your Existential Potential over the course of your life depends a great deal on the quality of your SAL education in conjunction with your desire and willingness to apply what you learn.

Corollary 10.1 posits that: Existential Growth is measurable and consists of nine (9) different metaphysical levels (or stages) of ontological development and achievement.

COROLLARY  10.1

Existential Growth is measurable and consists of nine (9) different

metaphysical levels (or stages) of ontological development and achievement.

Regardless of your educational goals, personal pursuits, or career ambitions, you likely have opportunities for advancement that provide a progressive ladder of potential achievements, promotions, pay-raises, etc.

The SAL Theory provides a similar opportunity through the SAL Hierarchy. While advancing to higher levels of Existential Growth brings metaphysical (existential), rather than physical (palpable) achievements, the ontological transformations concomitant to these metaphysical accomplishments are often accompanied by a cornucopia of tangible benefits and outward rewards. These desirable external gifts serve as a physical by-product and symbol of your metaphysical progression. 

The SAL Hierarchy consists of NINE (9) different and progressive levels (or stages) of Existential Growth.

SAL HIERARCHY

NINE (9) different and progressive levels (or stages) of Existential Growth.

The SAL Hierarchy is similar to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs because, like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, each level (or stage) of Existential Growth must be obtained progressively, and in order, starting at the lowest level.

COROLLARY  10.2

Like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, each level (or stage) of Existential Growth

must be obtained progressively, and in order, starting at the lowest level.

Just as "the clear emergence of ... [higher] needs rests upon prior satisfaction of ... [lower] needs," (1) in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, so rising to a higher level of Existential Growth must be preceded by your mastery of lower levels.

Earth's Atmospheric Layers and Nine (9) Progressive Levels of the SAL Hierarchy. (2)

LAYER 1.  Earth's Surface                                        LEVEL 1.  Education Stage

LAYER 2.  Troposphere                                            LEVEL 2.  Beginner's Stage

LAYER 3.  Stratosphere                                            LEVEL 3.  Practitioner's Stage

LAYER 4.  Mesosphere                                             LEVEL 4.  Refining Stage

LAYER 5.  Ionosphere                                              LEVEL 5.  Polishing Stage

LAYER 6.  Thermosphere                                         LEVEL 6.  SAL-Actualization Stage

LAYER 7.  Exosphere                                               LEVEL 7.  Leadership Stage

LAYER 8.  Outer Space                                            LEVEL 8.  Self-Transcendence

LAYER 9.  Astronomical Bodies Beyond                 LEVEL 9.  Creation Stage

Layers of Earth's Atmosphere

SAL Hierarchy

Existential Standing

Just as there are nine (9) different layers of the Earth's atmosphere, there are nine (9) different levels of Existential Growth. The term, Existential Standing, is employed to describe the level of Existential Growth an individual self-action leader inhabits at any given point in time. 

EXISTENTIAL STANDING

The level of Existential Growth you inhabit at any given point in your existence. 

A self-action leader's Existential Standing is dynamic and ever-evolving. Thus, there is really no such thing as an "existential fence-sitter." You are never really static in your existential development; you are either progressing or regressing. Along the way, everyone experiences a measure of "back-and-forth" betwixt the two. No one travels a perfectly straight line, in either direction.

SAL Hierarchy of Existential Growth

We all enter this world as infants with virtually no conscious knowledge. Thus, we all begin at LEVEL ONE of the SAL Hierarchy—the EDUCATION STAGE—and work our way up from there. 

Some people advance to higher levels more easily and quickly than others. There are two reasons for this. 

The FIRST reason is rooted in the desire of the individual; some individuals want Existential Growth more than others. As a result, they are more motivated to work hard, sacrifice, persist, and endure than others. 

The SECOND reason involves the many and varied disparities that exist in each individual's SAL Variables Quotient (3). 

Existential Growth involves more than just learning about the different levels or stages of development. It also involves becoming the kind of self-action leader that personifies the character traits and attributes that each level incorporates.

With that introduction, let's begin to explore the nine (9) different layers of Earth's atmosphere and the nine (9) analogous levels or stages of Existential Growth.

LAYER 1:  EARTH'S SURFACE

Though technically not a layer of the atmosphere, Earth's surface is the plane upon which the atmosphere begins. That makes it "Ground Zero" of the SAL Hierarchy. At the surface of the Earth—and especially at sea level or below—the air is thickest and Earth's gravitational pull is the strongest. Thus, the surface of the Earth marks the beginning of the atmosphere.

        LEVEL 1:  Education Stage

The Education Stage corresponds analogously to the Surface of the Earth. This is the place where you begin your journey into outer space and beyond (physically)—or to Self-Transcendence and Creation (metaphysically).

It is impossible to do something without knowledge of that thing. You must therefore obtain knowledge before you can apply it. 

The Education Stage is where you first learn about personal responsibility and Self-Action Leadership. It's here that you are introduced to the SAL principle that some thoughts, speech, and actions lead to Existential Growth while other thoughts, speech, and actions lead to existential atrophy.

This is also the stage where you experience one of life's greatest and more important epiphanies: that you don't have to be a victim of your circumstances—that you are neither helpless nor hapless in the face of external adversaries or internal inclinations.  

Far from being a one-time exercise, the Education Stage continues to play a prominent role throughout all other stages since it's an ongoing process of learning all the lessons required to rise to the highest levels of Existential Growth. However, just as we learn some of our most important life lessons in kindergarten (or earlier), self-action leaders can learn several of the basic fundamentals of personal responsibility and character development in a single sitting.

Thus, the Education Stage represents both a limited series (or semester) of tutorials as contained in this Life Leadership textbook). But it also represents your ongoing SAL and life education forever into the future.

In this sense, no matter how far you may travel from the surface of the Earth or "Ground Zero" (literally or existentially), you always maintain contact with your starting location. Thus, LEVEL ONE is analogous to "Mission Control" in Houston, Texas, the traditional command center of U.S. space missions. 

NASA trains (educates) its astronauts (self-action leaders) before they begin their journey into outer space (Self-Transcendence). Then, after leaving the Earth's surface, the astronauts continue to communicate with Mission Control in a never-ending process of ongoing education about new obstacles and opportunities they will face on their journey through the atmospheric levels and beyond.  

As a self-action leader, YOU should use this Life Leadership textbook as your initial education manual. 

After finishing this book and completing the SAL Master Challenge, you will naturally be eager to begin a quest to rise to higher levels, but you should never leave your manual (this book) behind. 

Rather, you should continue to read, re-read, study, ponder, refer back to, and apply it for the rest of your life. You should also, of course, incorporate a variety of ancillary educational materials to supplement your ongoing usage of the SAL Textbook.  

LAYER 2:  TROPOSPHERE

In the lowest level of Earth's atmosphere, air is thickest and gravity is strongest. It is also where a majority of Earth's weather occurs. This includes rain, snow, wind, hail, fog, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. 

The Troposphere rises to a little over six (6) miles (11 kilometers) above the Earth's surface. The higher you travel into the Troposphere, the colder the temperature gets. 

        LEVEL 2:  Beginner's Stage

The Troposphere is analogous to the Beginner's Stage, or Level 2 of the SAL Hierarchy. 

This is typically the stage where Existential Gravity exerts its greatest negative influence upon your efforts to grow and progress as a self-action leader. This potent presence of X-Gravity often makes it a very unstable level. Like the tempestuous weather in the Troposphere, this stage is filled with a variety of metaphysical storms.

These metaphorical "Weather Events" manifest themselves as a variety of human adversities that include both internal (personal) and external (situational) challenges and vicissitudes.

INTERNAL Events include, but are not limited to: addiction, bad attitude or pessimistic outlook, bitterness, complacency, deception, insecurity, jealousy, laziness, low emotional intelligence, mental illness, myopia, self-loathing, vindictiveness, etc.

EXTERNAL Events include, but are not limited to: abuse, bad luck, disability, disease, illness, injury, negative peer pressure, poor (or absent) parenting, poverty, toxic relationships and/or environments, etc.

The Beginner's Stage is where you are introduced to the "Crab Effect" and the unsavory existential crabs that produce it.

It is a sad commentary to make, but human beings in general too often have crab-like tendencies; this is especially true in the Beginner's Stage, where your fellows will often seek to prop themselves up by pulling YOU and others around them down.  

As the old cliché goes: Misery Loves Company!

The Crab Effect explains in part why childhood and adolescence can, in many cases, prove more socially awkward and difficult than adulthood, since most children and teenagers reside at lower levels of Existential Growth and can consequently be very sarcastic with and cruel to each other.  

The pull of social mores and negative peer pressure, combined with a person's initial lack of Existential Growth, can feel overwhelming on this level. In fact, if a person does not have one or more external advocates to support and guide him or her through this vital stage, it may prove very difficult to rise above it.

Just as you will fail if you just sit there and do nothing, you may also fail without the help of others. 

No matter how gifted or talented you might be, failure is common at this stage. You may work very hard and suffer intensely with relatively little to show for your effort, pain, and sacrifice. As a result, you will undoubtedly experience a measure of both frustration and discouragement on this level. 

Without a vision of, and faith in, the possibilities that lie beyond such ponderous adversities, many choose to quit trying amidst the adversity-laden crucibles of the Beginner's Stage. In extreme cases, some even opt to give up entirely by ending (or trying to end) their own life. 

It is easy to become discouraged in the Beginner's Stage because self-doubt is commonplace. Self-esteem and confidence are typically low, even though one might attempt to mask this fact with external braggadocio and bravado. In reality, however, external limitations are usually the greatest at this stage. Internal inhibitions are also at their peak levels due to personal diffidence, insecurity, and a tenuous track record of success.  

SAL beginners are apt to blame most—if not all—of their problems on other people, events, and circumstances.

That is the bad news!

The good news is that the Beginner's Stage is also the place where YOU have the opportunity to start exercising faith in SAL principles and practices. It is the location and time of life where you can choose to start taking personal responsibility. 

For some, this stage will be the most difficult stage to transcend.

For others, it will be relatively easy.

The differences in each person's experiences on this level will be determined by a combination of each individual's SAL Variables Quotient and one's desire to grow. Thus, those born with natural inclinations toward mental hygiene and/or who possess a supportive family with sufficient resources will likely progress through this stage much more easily and quickly than those who don't. Someone born with a predisposition to neurosis or psychosis, or into a fractured family (or none at all) with insufficient resources and a weak support system will likely have a very difficult time transcending this stage. 

It's vital to note, however, that no matter what your own unique challenges and limitations may be, it's almost always possible to progress beyond this stage if you are given an opportunity to learn, are willing to study, and are determined to act upon this education. 

Always remember that difficulty does not spell impossibility.

SAL MANTRA

Difficulty does not spell impossibility. 

No matter how challenging your situation, or how dismal your supporting cast, there is always HOPE if you are determined to succeed and never give up. Existential crabs will never be able to pull down a truly determined soul. 

In the invigorating words of the poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox: There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent, or hinder, or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.

"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent

or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul."  

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox

This quote comes from a poem Wilcox authored entitled: Will. It is worth repeating here in its entirety.

WILL

          THERE is no chance, no destiny, no fate, [that]

          Can circumvent or hinder or control

          The firm resolve of a determined soul.

Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great;

All things give way before it, soon or late.

     What obstacle can stay the mighty force

     Of the sea-seeking river in its course,

Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait?

Each well-born soul must win what it deserves.

Let the fool prate of luck.   The fortunate

     Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,

     Whose slightest action or inaction serves

The one great aim.

                                Why, even Death stands still,

And waits an hour sometimes for such a will. (4)

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Stratosphere
The Stratosphere exists above most clouds and weather.

LAYER 3:  STRATOSPHERE

The Stratosphere lies above the Troposphere. It rises to about thirty miles (47 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.

Temperatures increase in the Stratosphere due to a high concentration of ozone. It is also beyond the reach of most weather, making it well-suited for jet airplanes and hot air balloons.

        LEVEL 3:  Practitioner's Stage 

The Practitioner's Stage is analogous to the Stratosphere.

Transcending the Existential Gravity in the Beginner's Stage to arrive at the Practitioner's Stage is not easy, and a newfound freedom awaits those who succeed. This freedom is evinced more by an increase in self-confidence and inner empowerment than it is by external rewards or altered physical circumstances, although a measure of both may accompany your advancement. 

Existential crabs still exist in this stage, but their numbers and toxicity have diminished compared to the Beginner's Stage. This decrease in crabs continues the higher you rise in the SAL Hierarchy. On the flip (and down) side, the crabs that remain will usually prove more clandestine and sophisticated on higher levels. Nevertheless, as confidence replaces diffidence and you grow more secure in yourself and your life's direction, your capacity to disregard and/or ignore the unimportant and invalid of criticism of crabs expands. 

Arriving at the Practitioner's Stage is a significant achievement because many people (perhaps even most people) never fully transcend the Beginner's Stage. 

The Practitioner's Stage is a relatively calm period compared to the Beginner's Stage in the same way that the Stratosphere is a calm atmospheric layer compared to the Troposphere. 

Externally speaking, you will have risen above a lot of the negative peer pressure, toxic relationships, or troubling circumstances that marked your life in the Beginner's Stage. Internally speaking, you no longer see yourself primarily as a victim of circumstance—or the actions of others. You have a clearer conception of the power you possess to determine your own destiny in your life. 

This knowledge motivates you to exercise your newfound freedom and power to further your own education and advancement in ways that contribute meaningfully to the lives of others. Financially, you have likely acquired the means to provide basic life essentials for yourself, or you are at least well on your way to temporal self-sufficiency and security.  

This level is called the Practitioner's Stage because you have sufficiently acquired and developed SAL knowledge and skills to the point where you can now competently apply and practice them on a consistent and reliable basis. Moreover, you have developed the inner security, resiliency, and strength to continue growing on your own—even if your advocates, mentors, supporters, and teachers in the Beginner's Stage are no longer around to directly assist and encourage you. 

This stage marks the beginning of a transition between dependence and independence. (5)  

The Practitioner's Stage is a magnificent place in that you can begin to really stretch your wings and practice flying in conjunction with learning even more about your SAL potential. However, it can simultaneously prove to be a disillusioning place where you either regress back to the Beginner's Stage or move forward in faith toward a greater, but still unknown future.  

Either way, breaking free of the Beginner's Stage to the Practitioner's Stage is a major accomplishment and should be accompanied by a sense of achievement, celebration, and satisfaction. After all, it is often marked by tangible life or career accomplishments such as graduation, getting your first "Real Job," or getting married.

In the midst of such achievement and celebration, beware of growing too comfortable, complacent, or otherwise "Plateauing" in your progress. Remember that transcending the Beginner's Stage into the Practitioner's Stage is not the ultimate pinnacle you are striving to summit; it is merely a significant milestone along that never-ending journey. Use it, therefore, as a springboard to maintain and ultimately accelerate your upward momentum and progress toward higher stages.  

A filtering process occurs in the Practitioner's Stage that separates truly proactive and visionary self-action leaders from the lesser serious and undermotivated. Rather than rest of their laurels, the former group will work harder than ever to rise to the next level, while the latter will settle into their new "Comfort Zone" with an eye toward simply defending and maintaining their newfound status quo.

A large percentage of the overall populace spend too much of their time mingling among this ultimately distracted and myopic milieu—aware that they could achieve more and rise higher, but unwilling to invest the courage and effort required to do so. Consequently, more people reside in the Practitioner's Stage than any other level of Existential Growth, except, perhaps, for the Beginner's Stage. 

The plateau of existential comfort that exists on this level seduces far too many, causing them to believe that life is good enough, and that whatever freedom or opportunity may exist beyond is simply not worth the extra effort, sacrifice, and endurance required to obtain. It is a "meh" sort of place where avoiding pain to maintain comfort begins to trump personal sacrifice and delaying gratification for greater things to come. 

After all the hard work invested just to get to the Practitioner's Stage, the reactive are content to coast indefinitely along the highways and byways of the Practitioner's Plateau, which is defined as:

a perceived comfort zone existing in the Practitioner's Stage where you opt to stop striving for higher levels of Existential Growth. 

PRACTITIONER'S  PLATEAU

A perceived comfort zone existing in the Practitioner's Stage where a self-action leader opts to stop striving for higher levels of Existential Growth.

Those who plant their flag on the Practitioner's Plateau continue to work just hard enough to maintain a basic set of creature comforts and other perks—and avoid slipping back to the Beginner's Stage—but fail to embrace the incredible opportunities and enormous growth potential that still lies before them. 

In short, they are content to be average. 

Proactive self-action leaders, on the other hand, grow increasingly motivated in the Practitioner's Stage. They comprehend a great truth that so many others fail to recognize: that one's entrance into the Practitioner Stage is not the end of growth and progress and freedom; it is the beginning thereof!

As a result, their desire for further development and greater growth is stronger than ever before, and their yearning to influence and serve others expands commensurately. This deepening desire for further progress inspires you to continue on toward a further graduation beyond the Practitioner's Stage and into the Refining Stage.    

In Your Journal

• What reflections on the SAL Hierarchy do you have so far?

•  What questions about the SAL Hierarchy do you have so far?  

• What life and/or career experiences have you had that align with Levels 1-3 of the SAL Hierarchy?

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 405th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 214th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

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Chapter 14 Notes

1.  Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review. Volume 50, Issue 4, p. 370-396. Page 383.

2.  The atmospheric science contained in this chapter is drawn from two primary textbooks, as follows: 

        Lutgens, F. K., and Tarbuck, E. J. (2010). The Atmosphere: An Introduction to            Meteorology (Eleventh Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice                Hall.

        Tarbuck, E. J., and Lutgens, F. K. (2009). Earth Science (Twelfth Edition).                Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall.

3.  See BOOK THE THIRD, Chapter 7 – SAL Variables – for detailed information on the seventeen SAL Variables and the ways in which they produce both benefits and limitations for us as human beings.

4.  Wilcox, E.W. (1917). The Collected Works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Volume 1. London, UK: Gay and Hancock, Ltd. Pages 247-248. Google Books Version.    

5.  Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York, NY: Fireside.