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Personal Values
Personal Values
What are
Values?
(top)
What a Value
Is
Values are the deepest beliefs and sentiments we subscribe to.
Values
A value is a belief,
a mission, or a philosophy that is meaningful. Whether we are
consciously aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of
personal values. Values can range from the commonplace, such as the
belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more
psychological, such as
self-reliance, concern for others, and harmony of
purpose.
When we examine the lives of famous people, we often see how personal
values guided them, propelling them to the
top of their fields.
For example, one actor was motivated by his commitment to social justice, which led to important acting roles related to that
value that made him world famous. Likewise, a well-known
business CEO was
motivated by the personal value that technology should be easy to use,
which caused his company to spawn a
technology revolution. Whatever one's values, when we take them to
heart and implement them in the smallest details of
our lives, great
accomplishment and success are
sure to follow.
Values as Spiritual Skills
Values
are spiritual skills, emminations of the Divine that our
heart and mind can relate to for practical application to ennoble
life.
Article: The Power of Values
The Power of Values;
Values and Success
(top)
Overview
(topic)
Values Energize Acts
Values energize any act they are applied to.
Values Energize Anything
The key point to
keep in mind about values is that implementing them
energizes
everything concerned with it. For an individual, committing to and applying
values releases fresh energies, which
always
attracts success,
achievement, and well-being. Likewise, when companies or other
institutions adopt values, individuals working at the organization
become energized, as do its customers, its products and services, and
everyone and everything else associated with that organization.
Power of Values
Values multiply the power of action
and its results.
Values Vastly Raise the Result of a Work
Values,
which are really spiritual skills, can raise the results of work a
hundred-fold or more. (MSS)
Power of Values
Values release tremendous
potential for success, accomplishment, and happiness.
Values and Its Purpose
Values take us out of the mundane life and add meaning to it. It is
the first line of becoming human in the modern age. It ennobles and
energizes our existence.
Releasing
Values in an Act
Every act is a universe can express many
values. The more it expresses, the greater its power and
effectivity.
Values in Work
There is no work where values do not arise. Attention,
organisation, comprehension, integrity, truthfulness, etc. are just a
few of the values we know.
Personal and Spiritual Values in Work
It all comes down to personal values. Is the purpose of the work to
improve life or to assuage one's ego? For most people, it is some
combination of the two - i.e. wholesome values plus ego. To serve
purely based on values is rare indeed. To serve the Divine in one in
a million, if that. To serve Him purely involves a handful on earth.
List of
Personal Values
Power of Values
The
deepest poise for an individual, business, or society are its values.
When values are implemented or are newly developed, then outer
circumstances can change ten times faster (and better) than merely
trying to change things on the surface.
True Value of an
Event
The
greatness and nobleness of an event do not depend on material success,
but on the feelings which inspire it and the goal which men have
pursued.
(The Mother)
[These are its values.]
Apply Values to Life Goals
In any plan you implement to improve your life, add the necessary
values to energize that process. E.g. to raise your income 50%
through instruction you could apply the value of self-givingness,
tolerance to others opinions, and clarity and perfection of the
principle conveyed. Doing so will energize the plan beyond all
measure.
Values and Success
Every story of success is based on
the implementation of personal, social, and
other values of one variety or another.
Energizing a Plan/Act through
Values
You energize any plan of action --from a strategic plan to the
tiniest act -- with values. It helps turn the force of energy in the
objective into a much greater power that can now be achieved
through organization, effort, and skill.
Power of Values to Shape
Our Lives
In the mid 1970s, I made
a decision to move to
California from New York
City, where I was
raised. Why I did so,
and why I made other
decisive turns in my
life is the subject of
this essay. My first
thought on the subject
is that I took these
actions simply because I
was motivated to
do so. And yet, what
really motivates us in
life are the things we
truly value.
Then what were the values that compelled
me to move to California -- in particular to the San Francisco Bay
Area -- where I have resided for these last 30 years? Well, it is
true that after five years attending college at frigid Syracuse
University in upstate New York I was compelled to seek the warmer
climes of California. But I could have moved south to Florida or to
the Southwestern parts of the US. However, having been raised in the
urban/suburban environment of New York City, I valued culture and a
certain type of urban sophistication I might not find in those other
locales. I also enjoyed being near the water, not only because of
its shimmering beauty, but because cities at the edge of the great
oceans tend to attract a diversity of people and a richness of
culture from around the world.
Though climate, beauty, diversity, and
culture influenced my decision, there must have been something more
specific that compelled me to move to this region. Looking at it in
retrospect, I have concluded that I came to the area because of the
existence of Marin County -- the progressive community that lies
directly across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. Marin
County at the time (and still is) was the prosperous land where many
of the creative musicians, artists, and thinkers of the 1970s lived.
From the articles and reports I had read while living on the East
coast, the people who lived in that region were involved with
matters that meant a great deal to me -- i.e. aspects of life that I
truly valued. And because I deeply believed in those things, I
wanted to be near them; to somehow participate in their way of life.
And so I headed out to the SF Bay Area in 1975 in earnest -- and
never looked back.
But I have still not identified the specific values of the Marinites that compelled me to join them.
Let me try to list them for you. For one, the residents were in the
vanguard of the changes going in society at the time -- including an
appreciation of Eastern culture and spirituality, a concern for the
quality of the physical environment, a dissatisfaction with the
mindless materialism of modern life, the rejection of conformity of
the previous generation, and the development of new forms of music
that expressed their new world view. These were the underlying
values that drove me to the region. These were the ideals and
beliefs that shaped my life at the time, compelling me to venture
across country.
Each of us is motivated to move our lives
in certain directions. That motivation is determined by the values
we subscribe to. Our values are thus the formations and ideations of
thought, the distinct formulations of understanding that express
what we perceive to be important truths about life. These ideals are
then reinforced by our emotions and feelings, which turn those
mental perception into a vital passion that we hope to
realize in our lives. Whether we actually make the effort to
implement them is another matter.
Without values or beliefs, we would be
mechanical-like beings, driven here and there by the vicissitudes of
life. Without values, we would be creature-like, compelled to action
solely by our urges and passions. In this inhuman existence, there
would be little consideration for truths we hold dear, let alone
implement them to ennoble and enrich our lives. In this reality
devoid of values, we would live unconscious lives, without meaning
or purpose. On the other hand, when we take to values, we live a
purposeful and dynamic existence -- i.e. we become truly human.
This being the case, what are the truths
of life, i.e. the personal values that you believe in? What are the
cherished ideals and beliefs that have shaped your life; that are
motivating and driving your life today? Why not take a little time
and come up with a short list, and then consider how each has or
currently is shaping your life.
If we think about it, we will see that
people relate to personal values in a number of ways. Thoughtful
people are continually thinking about those things they cherish and
believe in. Powerful people are also motivated and driven to
implement them in their lives. In fact, the most successful
people are constantly evaluating their values, and are continually
driven to turn them into a living reality. For these individuals,
values are an inexhaustible source of inner power that energizes
them to no end; driving them to the heights of success, while
bringing about deep fulfillment in their lives.
Interestingly, not only do values
energize us, but when we implement them, it energizes everything
they come in contact with! If I apply the value of customer
service and delight when I speak with the client, I energize the
conversation, which leads to greater response from the person on the
other end, who is now motivated to purchase the services I am
offering. Also, if I am truly sincere in my belief in
customer satisfaction, I create an added value that
reinforces and builds on the first one. A combination of values
applied to a situation dramatically energizes circumstances, which
not only increases the likelihood of success, but turns the
interaction into an enjoyable, even thrilling experience. Thus,
implementing values have an innate capacity to create more energy,
accomplishment, and joy in living.
Values are actually a very special power
in the universe. It is one our minds can grasp for the purpose of uplifting life. Values are actually
spiritual skills -- a
divine gift that comes to us from the infinite Source of things. The
highest of principles -- such as Oneness, Love, Beauty, and others
-- descend from the heavens, and are reinterpreted as values by our
minds. For example, the spiritual principle of Oneness is recognized
by our minds as values of cooperation, integration, teamwork, and
others. Likewise, the universal principle of Love expresses through
values of goodness, selflessness, self-givingness, openness,
tolerance, respect for others, and a number of others.
The last twenty-five years has seen an
explosion in an interest in values. Tom Peters' book 'In Search of
Excellence' started the ball rolling for values in the workplace.
Religious leaders speak of family values, nations speak of moral
values, spiritual teachers speak of the highest values of gratitude,
benevolence, and self-givingness; even self-surrender to the Divine.
Values drive us, motivate us, move life, move us forward -- enabling
progress even evolution. Values are what enables life to take the
Next Step -- whether they drive our own individual lives in a
positive direction; improve the economic, social, and cultural
conditions of a nation; or move society forward in its never-ending
ascending path of progress.
Tolerance, openness, respect for the
individual, and teamwork are several great human values,
while Oneness, Love, Beauty, and Truth are some of higher spiritual values that they derive from. At certain points, the
human and spiritual values come together and blend into one another,
expressing through spiritualized human values such as
selflessness, self-givingness, and gratitude.
Values are expressions of emotionalized
truths that when implemented energize whatever they come in contact
with, enabling the greatest positive results with the least effort
in the shortest period of time -- whether it is for the individual,
a collective, or society as a whole.
Values are the nexus to our future
progress. It is the call of the Divine to the minds of men to seek a
better life -- to pursue ultimate delight and fulfillment in life.
Power of Values in Action
Values multiply the power of action
and its results. Values express in physical acts, in attitudes and in
thoughts. Each has its own power.
We all know that a skilled act
generates greater results than an unskilled one. The skilled
worker—carpenter, painter, accountant, salesman, lawyer,
physician—produces a more useful, beneficial or beautiful result in a
shorter period of time with less waste. What is not often recognized is
that skilled work expressing values produces far greater results.
The master chef may find his finest
dish rejected when he fails to serve it on a clean platter. The skilled
driver who lacks the value of punctuality may cause his employer to miss
a crucial meeting or a great opportunity. The clever accountant who
lacks the value of orderliness can misplace an important document or
even a customer’s payment, as an accountant in a public sector transport
company once misplaced a draft for a crore of rupees. The brilliant
arguments of a skilled advocate may fail to persuade when the judge that
knows he lacks the value of truthfulness. The dynamic, visionary
businessman who lacks the value of taking the other person’s point of
view may fail to win the favour of a big customer or the support of his
own people at a crucial moment.
Values exist in an ascending series
of planes, each higher plane being more powerful than the one before it.
Physical values express in how carefully and reliably we handle material
things. Vital values express in how pleasantly, harmoniously, generously
we relate with other people. Mental values express in honesty,
truthfulness, trustworthiness and idealism. Spiritual values express our
faith, sincerity, patience, perseverance, goodwill and self-giving.
Every act is a universe which can express many values. The more it
expresses, the greater its power and effectiveness. (MSS)
Powers of Values to Accomplish
We all know that values enhance accomplishment. It is worth
exploring how they do it.
- Cleanliness = attracts prosperity by energising the
atmosphere.
- Punctuality = regularises our activities and thereby
makes best use of time.
- Efficiency = improves conversion of energy into
result.
- Quality = gives perfection to workmanship and thereby
attracts more work which brings more money.
- Attention = makes people, product and market all come
towards us as everything in life seeks attention.
- Harmony = improves coordination and prevents the
scattering of energies necessary for accomplishment.
- Up to date accounts = perfection in accounts is a
form of attention given to money and thereby makes money respond
more.
- Other person's point of view = gives a picture of the
whole and thereby enhances the accomplishment.
- Honesty = makes a person reliable and thereby brings
more clients.
- Freedom = helps to bring out the creativity in people
and thereby accomplishes more.
- Discipline = Helps to control and channelise
activities and energies so that energies are not wasted.
- Creativity = helps bring out new ideas and
opportunities so that progress keeps growing.
- Authority = helps accomplish by extracting work
through unquestioned obedience.
- Soft speech = helps by conserving energy.
- Trust = gives more opportunities for people to
interact and work together and thereby accomplishes.
- Safety = by making the work place a safe place to
work improves productivity.
- Organisation = coordinates and connects people,
money, market, technology and product and thereby improves
accomplishment.
- Systems = makes routine work fall into a pattern and
thereby speeds up work.
- Secrecy = ensures accomplishment by keeping
confidential matters under cover.
- Hardwork = energises the physical
plane where results come. (N. Asokan, MSS)
Values Perfect Work
Work that expresses values becomes perfect work.
(MSS)
Process of Implementing Values in Our Lives
We can
energize our lives by making the full effort to
implement the values we subscribe to. Once we identify values
that are meaningful to us, we can develop
strategies to implement them. When we make the determined effort to
implement those strategies, good fortune it
sure to follow -- in the form of new
opportunities, new sources of revenue and income, and other forms of
material and psychological benefit. We may even
notice that as we implement values, we experiences instances of "life
response" -- where good fortune suddenly comes to us from seemingly
out of nowhere, defying our normal perceptions of what is logical and
possible.
Values as Indicator, Attitudes,
and Implementing Values
What we love
to do is what we value. What we love to do will show our strengths …
and our weaknesses as well, if we look close enough. I.e. it will
reveal positive traits, but also our wanting ones, including our bad
attitudes. Those limiting attitudes are close to the values we
probably should adopt beyond the current ones we subscribe
to. E.g. if we are hostile to others because of what they have to
say, then we need to develop the value of tolerance. Tolerating
others is the attitude that would reflect the value of tolerance. We
can also consider if we really believe in the values we say we
believe in; i.e. if they are backed by consistent action in life. We
tend to fall back on our values, especially if our emotional being
or current circumstance are at odds with them. Value are mental;
reality, i.e. life, is vital. Values implementation is hard work,
but brings its own reward 10-fold. It takes dedication, and
following the process of creation and accomplishment from vision to
manifestation.
Optimal Accomplishment
Optimal accomplishment in life is achieved through intense aspiration
married to focused key values in life, implemented through maximum
effort. Together they create great efficiency to accomplish in life.
(That is, the greatest result with the least effort). Utilizing,
surrendering to the spiritual Force creates the greatest scope and
possibility for accomplishment, and is also the most efficient.
Energy Converted to Force
Energy alone may result it movement or
activity but it is not sufficient for accomplishment. It must first be
converted into a force that is directed toward a specific goal. Energy
is converted into force when it acquires a clear and focused direction.
The acceptance of a lofty goal or objective, the formulation of a
strategy and plan of action help convert energy into force. U.S. coach
Herb Brookes’ lofty aspiration to win the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal in ice
hockey generated a commanding force that was able to overcome the
skepticism of the Olympic Committee members, the supreme confidence of
the Russian professionals, who had won four successive gold medals and
42 straight games, the doubts and hesitation of his inexperienced, young
amateur American players to inspire his team to victory. Brookes’ goal
was a passionate quest, not just a sweet dream or wishful thinking. He
released his full mental, vital and physical energy and that of his
players and directed it to attain that high and seemingly unobtainable
goal. A scientist who seeks to master Newton’s equations, a businessman
who decides to create a new product or market a new service, and a
student who chooses a course of professional study are converting the
energy of their personalities into a force for accomplishment in their
respective fields of endeavor.
Energy is also converted into force by the acceptance of
high values or ideals. Here the goal is not a specific result but rather
attainment and maintenance of a high level of conduct such as honesty or
truthfulness. Here a subtle aspect of the process reveals itself. For
while the release of energy is a preceding stage to the generation of
force in our description of the process, it is also true that the
acceptance of an inspiring direction can release or generate additional
energy – release it from the hidden reserves within the personality or
fresh create it for the unmanifest infinite that lies behind all
appearances. The inspiring ideals of the French Revolution released a
volcano of energy from the long suppressed peasant masses and converted
into a force that wrought havoc to the country’s aristocratic class and
governing system. Fred Smith’s commitment to on-time overnight parcel
delivery within the USA channeled the collective energies of his company
to achieve performance levels of 96% or more compared with 88% by the
nearest competition. Dupont’s commitment to the value of safety enabled
it to achieve a safety record more than 69 times better than the average
for all U.S. industry and 17 times better than the average for the U.S.
chemicals industry.
Applying High Values to an Aspired Goal Attracts
Positive Life Response
Applying personal values in the details of our daily lives
generates a great power for success and happiness. For example, a woman
in college was about to take a test for admission to a company. Her
fellow students knew the answers in advance –- thereby substantially
reducing her chances for admittance. However, she decided not to get the
answers because she valued honesty. As it turned out, when the day of
the test arrived, the class was cancelled. Not only that, but she was
later accepted at that very same company -- a result that came to her as
a complete surprise! Applying personal values not only has the
magnificent power to ennoble and uplift life, but can also evoke
marvelous responses from life as well. Action Plan: Think
about two or three important personal values that have shaped your life.
Now develop several strategies to recommit to them. Or, come up
with one or two new values, and fully implement them in each of
your most critical daily activities. From that point on, life will
continually be fresh, and filled with meaning and wonder.
Believing In,
Implementing Personal Values Attracts Positive Life Response
Bringing a
higher personal value to a situation (which can translate as a higher
attitude) brings positive responses from life. Examples of higher values
are honesty, integrity, commitment to truth, gratitude, concern for
others, maximum utilization of resources, continuous improvement,
openness, tolerance, organization, systemization, service to the
community, etc. etc.
1. Continuous
Improvement
Any attempt to improve a situation will invoke a positive response
from life. ( This is also an example of a
value.)
Example(s) of Life Response"
-An instructor saw that certain training never got to the level he
wanted. He decided to make a major improvement in his approach. From
thereon in students responded much better to his approach, and he was
later known as an expert instructor of that subject.
-A woman performing examinations of people for a recruiting
company intensely felt and believed that the use of computes could
improve the whole process. From out of nowhere her boss informed her of
a program which she later found out to be ideal for what she was hoping
for.
2. Maximum
Utilization of Resources
Fully
utilizing one's current resources in terms of efficiency, productivity,
organization, cleanliness, etc. (This is also an example of a
value.)
Example(s) of Life Response:
-An individual noticed an idle machine that was run down, and decided to
clean it and fix it. Within a few days a new work was started up where
this particular machine was needed. the undertaking fully utilizing the
machine became a cash cow.
-A wine seller
had poor sales. He decided to sell stocks that had been sitting for a
long time and weren't moving. He sold the stocks, plus six months of
sales for his other products.
3. Honesty,
Integrity
True
honesty and integrity attracts positive responses from life.
Example(s) of Life Response:
-A woman in college was to take a test to be admitted to a company. her
fellow students knew the answers in advance. her chances were thus slim.
She decided not get the answers and instead be honest. On the day of the
test, the test was cancelled. She later was accepted to her complete
surprise.
4. Cleanliness and Orderliness
Attempts to bring a greater level of
cleanliness and orderliness tends to attract sudden abundant responses
from life. Example(s) of Life Response:
-A consultant had slow business. He cleaned his
refrigerator from its filthy state to great cleanliness. As he rose up
from the floor upon completion of the work, he got a call giving him
three months worth of work.
Values
and Life Response
Since
Tom Peter's book
In Search of Excellence
the interest in values, especially the value of
freedom and concern for the employee has exploded in companies.
It is the first stage away from the ordinary functioning of business. It
enables a power in the company to grow beyond the usual approach. We can
say that this is a first movement toward the spirit, for after all
values are spiritual skills. It has a subtle power for much greater
accomplishment. It also enables life response, which no one yet sees. If
learned to be seen, the energy for implementing values will expand in
all directions. It will be a new subtle perception that will be a wonder
to all, which if then causally applied through the methods of the
spirit, enable the values to bring thousand fold results in no time,
creating an astounding delight of being and the endless energies that
follow.
Personal Values and the Argument for Life Response
At Growth Online, we address many subjects related to personal,
spiritual, business, and society’s growth and evolution. We even
address the ultimate transformation of humanity through the
power of the spirit. Interestingly, however, the most popular
articles at the site have been on the topic of “personal
values.” We know that in the last 25 years, values have been a
recognizable and much appreciated subject that has moved to the
forefront of life – whether in the classroom or the boardroom.
And so it was then quite surprising that one of our readers
informed us that though he appreciates our articles on personal
values, he questions our advocacy of the phenomenon of “Life
Response” at the site. After all, the reader posits, personal
values are something that has intellectual weight and is worthy
of serious consideration, whereas life response is something
ethereal and unproven. Implicit in the remark is that we should
not mention life response in the same breath as personal values.
100 years ago, virtually no one in the commercial sector had
heard of, or even seriously considered the notion of utilizing
values in the workplace. To succeed in business, one needed
grit, steel, strength, capacity, and plenty of resources.
Likewise, workers needed to be hearty, dutiful, and capable of
doing the job. Other factors, such as an employee’s honesty, the
company’s integrity, the worker’s personal safety, etc. were
absent from the dialogues of commerce. Rather, work was
organized around goals to be achieved within a time period at a
certain cost so that the customer got what he wanted. Adhering
to values was considered too subjective -- even effeminate -- to
be worthy of management’s attention. And yet, today we are
beginning to see that values are well on the way to
revolutionizing many areas of society. Of late, it seems to be
on the lips of everyone; from every sphere and field of life.
Fortunately, in the last 100 years we have seen a gradual
movement away from an empirical-oriented commerce to a more
values-oriented approach. What was subjective then -- i.e.
values -- has become the objective and concrete now. What
was beyond mind’s conception then has now been accepted as a
rational and effective method for uplifting all aspects of life.
For example, leaders of corporations now engage in strategic
planning in which the values of the company -- such as
integrity, customer delights, maximum utilization of resources,
etc. -- are integrated into its mission statement. No longer are
values for the intellectuals or college professors or elites.
Values are now lauded as being of great utility throughout
society, whether in business, government, education -- even
amongst youth. In fact, a good one-half of the readers of our
articles on personal, business, and society’s values at Growth
Online are college students and teenagers! What was once
subjective and “not supported by an intellectual foundation” has
now percolated up through society, and has begun to be accepted
as part of the new objective reality.
The concept of “Life Response” is undergoing the same process of
acceptance. It is admired by a few, not heard of or understood
by nearly everyone, and disparaged by several. It is in one
sense the new subjective, the new functioning of
life that appears to not have that necessary intellectual weight
-- a questionable process of life, without logical, rational, or
scientific underpinnings. The truth is that the life response
phenomenon is simply a more subtle functioning of life
than personal values, and therefore escapes the modern
intellectual mind. It is more difficult for the average person
to fathom because it requires us to go a level deeper in
consciousness to perceive its startling workings. Just as we
have moved from the empirical to the subtle to perceive the
great utility of values, we need to go deeper still to see the
overwhelming power of the life response phenomenon. Life
response is, in case you didn’t know, is the condition where
life instantaneously changes with sudden good fortune due
to a change in a habit, emotion, or attitude on our part. It is
a miraculous-like phenomenon that can shape the way we look at
life in 21st century -- even as we began to
appreciate values at the end of the 20th.
If you consider for a moment the great benefits that
values bring us, then you’ll appreciate the even greater power
of life response. Values, for one, energizes every act engaged
in -- increases its effectivity and efficiency perhaps on an
order of ten times. If, for example, I speak with the
customer with great respect and a caring attitude, then not only
will I more likely get the order, but my firm will develop a
positive reputation that will cause many to flock to us,
catapulting our firm to the top of its field. How does one
measure success in such situations? Is it a factor of 2 or 5 or
10 times? We do not really know the full affect of implementing
values in our lives because the results generated have not been
well understood, documented, and measured -- save for certain
pioneer studies such as Jacobs’ and Macfarlane’s ‘The Vital
Corporation,’
a
profound book that explores the power of values in the
business environment.
Though great, we should keep in mind that values bring about
unprecedented success over time. E.g. applying the value
of ‘quality of service’ has catapulted many companies to the top
of their fields in the years and decades that followed. Other
corporate values like “commitment to the well being of its
people” or “focusing on the emerging needs of society” have done
the same; rocketing companies to the pinnacles of success. Life
Response, on the other hand, can literally change the conditions
of life in a single moment -- overcoming limits of
space and time, and what we believe is possible. It is
miraculous-like phenomenon that overwhelms all previous notions
of how life works. E.g., imagine that you change an emotion, and
then suddenly two minutes later you receive the biggest order in
your company’s history, seemingly out of nowhere! It is no
wonder that the modern intellectual mind is skeptical. Worse
still, in rejecting it outright, the modern Mind never bothers
to determine if it is a real phenomenon of life to begin with!
In other words, it abandons its own empirical scientific
methods in ascertaining if the phenomenon exists!
Fortunately, Mind -- which was not highly developed in man until
recent times -- has begun to shed its past folly and moved
towards logic and reason. More recently still, it has begun to
see that we cannot just measure cold fact and say that is the
entire truth of things; that when considering any object of
inquiry, we must also accept other influences in the human
equation, including the effect of our attitudes, emotions,
beliefs, and other factors. Mind is thus becoming more subtle in
its outlook and understanding, and thus more capable of
perceiving the variety of possibilities that life presents us.
One result has been Man’s recognition of the value of values --
that they are not subjective, as once believed, but do
objectively influence our lives; often with great power.
Mind is capable of going deeper still. It can be centered in a
deeper poise in the depths of consciousness within. From there,
mind can perceive new truths and unfoldings beyond the mere
material facts. From an inner poise of calm and mental silence,
Man opens to new forms of perception -- including the
utilization of insight, illumination, vision, intuition, and
revelation. Anchored within, one can look out into the world and
perceive the subtle workings and unfoldings of life. In
particular, from that “witness consciousness” we begin to
perceive the phenomenon of life response in action. Experiencing
its power on a regular basis, it becomes to us as objective as any empirical or scientific fact.
When we look back 100 years from now, we will see how limited
our current view of objectivity is. We will see that it is
objective to include the power of values in any analysis of
success. And we will see that it is objective to include
the workings of the life response phenomenon when evaluating the
flow and processes of life. Mostly, values and life response
will be objective to us because we will be able to summon up its
power at will. It will be the very stuff of our daily lives.
Except this life will exceed the old way by a factor of a
hundred or even a thousand, as we are able to bring the infinite
potentials of life instantaneously into the here and now.
Education,
Values, and Life Response
Education can organize unorganized energies of youth through
dissemination of knowledge, including the knowledge of values.
Education itself however needs to be organized to comprehend and
explain those values. In the business world, the value of values
is appreciated. It produces results, and profits. Now it needs
to come to education, where the scope is greater. Educators can
learn from the experience of businesses, and teach the benefits
of values, look around, and see the benefits when applied to the
wider life and its various disciplines.
Experience of, perceptions of, and a knowledge of Life Response
would be very helpful here because it shows how transitions
towards values quickly produce results. Such knowledge can be
disseminated through education. Educators themselves
experiencing the wonders of life response as a result of making
the inner transitions that attract its sudden and abundant
appearance would not only champion values, but a knowledge of
the various triggers that enable life response to occur --
including higher levels of cleanliness and orderliness, a switch
from a negative to a positive attitude at a crucial moment,
accepting what life gives, knowing what one truly wants, greater
psychological strength, etc. These can be taught as values.
Thoughts on the
Phenomenon of Life Response
Vast Quantitative and Qualitative
Results from Implementing Values
There are not only vast
quantitative
results generated by values -- like much more money, vastly increased
sales, much greater production, etc, but there are also vast qualitative results that come from applying values, like much more
energy, much more happiness, far greater collaboration and harmony, and
much deeper sense of purpose for those involved in a work. What actual
vast results -- quantitatively or qualitative --
that do come depends on the type of values applied, the degree
and intensity to which it is applied, etc.
Values at Various
Planes
Develop the set of values plane by plane. If there are insufficient
physical values implemented now, the work will
not move to the next higher vital plane.
[E.g. If physical values like cleanliness and
punctuality are lacking, the business cannot rise to the next level of
accomplishment. Then when such physical values are in place, you can move
to next higher level of values, organizational and then psychological values.]
(MSS)
Ways
to Evaluate Values
[The results of] Values can be evaluated in
terms of energy, force, power, skills, results, enjoyment,
accomplishment, progress, Time, Space, matter, life, mind, spirit, the
twelve aspects of the Spirit and every known aspect of life.
(MSS)
Purity of Values Wins Case in Film ‘A Civil Action’
In ‘A Civil Action,’ based on a true-life story, a highly successful
personal injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann, who likes to negotiate big
settlements for his clients, represents the families of several
children who died of leukemia. Jan is touched by several parents'
pleas, and decides to check out the polluting factories that might
be responsible. When he discovers that one of them is a subsidiary
of the big conglomerate Beatrice Foods, Jan convinces his partners
to take on the case. During the trial, Jan contends not only with
his well-financed judicial adversaries, but with the fact that by
taking on the case he is forcing his own associates into deep
financial debt, threatening their very livelihood.
It turns out that he not only loses the case, but his associates
abandon him, and he himself is forced to move towards bankruptcy.
However, in that impoverished state he perceives a new way to pursue
the polluters. Then through a series of events, the case is renewed
through other advocates, the victims win, and they are compensated
by the courts for the amount of $69 million.
We can look at the outcome of the case as life responding to the
purity of Jan’s values. He was at first an intelligent and clever
attorney, driven by money. His higher values and idealism were
buried beneath that attraction. He then however, takes on a case --
i.e. the plight of the victims of water pollution -- that moves him
emotionally and idealistically.
And yet here too he is at first motivated by the possibility of a
big settlement in order to make a personal fortune. Though he is
tempted, his ideals of justice for the victims prevents him from
doing so. Yet, interestingly he is at the same time destroying the
people who are working with him, forcing them into near financial
ruin, in order to pursue the case against an opposition with deep
pockets.
It turns out that he loses the case in part because though his
idealism is strong when it comes to the victims, he is still
insensitive toward the plight of his own people. In other words, he
is still exhibiting negative, even mercenary attitudes when it comes
to money -- despite the fact that he has refused a settlement with
the opposition -- and therefore life responds negatively in kind.
I.e. life does not cooperate and he loses. In fact, the irony is
that denying a lucrative settlement for the victims, while
idealistically positive, causes his own staffers to suffer. And yet
is only when he himself is driven into near bankruptcy that he is
able to come up with the solution that leads to the resolution of
the case in favor of the victims.
With his associates abandoning him, and now reduced to poverty, he
is able to more fully and finally act from his idealism, i.e. his
sense of justice, which are in essence his deep values. With the
money taint gone, his consciousness was free to deal more purely
with the issues at hand.
In that state, he was able to perceive a new strategy to solve the
case. By moving away from money influence, he could think
rationally, even intuitively, which enabled him to quickly come up
with a plan that enabled him to find the man who provides the
damning evidence that enabled him (through the EPA) to win the
follow-up case. Life had in essence finally responded to his
untainted idealism, by presenting his mind with a new perspective
and insight on the direction to take the case.
Since he now had no money of his own, he was not able to pursue the
follow-up case that he initiated though his intuition. Rather he had
to send the new evidence he had gathered to the EPA (the
Environmental Protection Agency), who then instigated the follow-up
case. They then won a vast settlement for the victims – even though
Jan was no longer directly involved. Thus, life brought a huge
settlement to the deserved victims only when the case was taken out
of his hands. (That way his idealism could shine through and pave
the way to a new strategy and new evidence that paved the way for
victory. His old consciousness of money taint would not interfere.)
When a value is pure and perfect, life will respond to it. Jan
valued that justice come to the victims, and with great passion was
able to device an intuitive strategy that won the day. Overcoming
his mercenary attitudes toward money enabled him to overcome a
wanting attitude that had once disturbed the purity of ideals.
Ultimate Power of Business Values
Rooted in the Depths & Spirit
-
We consider lower
costs, more access to money, better products, more technology, etc. the
key to advancement, profitability, and success in business. Though these
should not be underestimated, business values -- like customer delight,
deep concern for the well being of employees, maximum utilization of
resources, innovation, tapping into the emerging opportunities of
society, etc. -- have 10 to 100 times as much power to produce such
results.
- Whoever implements values in business opens themselves to the
emerging opportunities in their field first.
- Implementation of business values enables a leg up on the
competition, as the firm opens up to universal powers that transcend the
narrow energies of self-serving competition.
- Implementing values attracts sudden responses -- money, sales,
opportunities -- to your doorstep. It is a secret subtle knowledge.
- Values attracts the outer, i.e the opportunities outside, to the
inner, i.e. to the now-raised inner consciousness of the company.
(Referring to the principles individuals of the company adopting
values:) We can perceive the
powerful workings and results of values when we develop subtler
capacities of being.
The movement and
outcome of values can be better understood when we move from our
fascination with the material, sense-based surface to a deeper poise.
The more subtly we
look out into the world, the more we see the subtle workings and powers
of values.
When we live within
we perceive the environment better, including the movement of values.
Values are
subjective goals that are missed when we are blinded by the material
surface. There we see only objective goals.
Objective goals
cannot be accomplished infinitely without subjective goals, i.e. values;
and visa versa.
Values, i.e
subjective goals, generate a far greater power of creation -- i.e. of
build up, focus, and coagulation of energy -- than no goals, or even
objective goals on their own.
Values divide Truth
into manageable components of possibility.
Values are spiritual
skills; they are the body's realization of spiritual knowledge and
truth.
Values -- bring the future into the present; move us
away from the constraint of time; replace the finite with the infinite;
and expand the scope of causality to enable vast effects.
Every part of Nature has a soul element. For the
individual it is the True Self, the evolving soul. For the company, its
soul element are its business values.
When we discover our True Self, we know our True
Purpose. When a business discovers its values, it too begins to know its
True Self and Purpose.
The greater an individual moves to his True Self, the
more he can attract the outer from within himself without need for
movement. The same is true when a business formulates and implements its
values.
When an individual shares deeply in the company's
values, he brings to bear the power of the Self of the individual to the
power of the Self of the firm. The Self of the firm can be considered a
Universal Self relative to the individual Self. In such an environment
of shared values, the company fulfills its Universal Purpose through his Individual
Purpose; and the individual fulfills its Individual Purpose through the
Universal Purpose of the firm.
The greatest responses from life come when a company
applies those values that are missing, which are preventing it from
succeeding.
The greater the intensity of commitment and
implementation of values within a company, the greater the outer market
responds.
At various points a company will be faced with
important choices. If it makes the requisite transition, life will
respond abundantly. Saturated with values, those transitions can come
easier for the firm. In this way knowing the laws of life response can
be a great complement to application of values.
Re: Ways to Demonstrate Values
to Adolescents
I don't have any
particular activities for adolescents, though with a little
creativity a lot is possible. E.g. you
could read some news event about a famous person, and have them
comment on it. You can then write down on the board each values that
comes up. (Sometimes values, as expressed positively and negatively
come awful close to becoming limiting personal attitudes.) With
several such stories, a good number of values can be discovered. Of
course, you should be familiar with the variety of values to begin
with so that you can identify it when it is expressed (e.g. see the
Growth Online web site on values). You can also do the same with
short stories, or films, like Mona Lisa Smile, Erin Brockovich,
Harry Potter, etc., or a TV show. Another approach is to ask each
student what they value most in life. They can call it out, or write
it on piece of paper, which you can then collect and discuss with
the group. You can also ask them to jot down why they value
that particular thing. (By the way, "what you believe in" is more or
less the same as what you value. Also, it's best to stay with the
positive side when discussing values. "I don't like phoniness"
(verbalized or written down by the teen) can be restated as "being
genuine or truthful" by yourself.)
Values,
Ideas, & A Token Project
To see values in such ideas is rare. Rarer still is to work
to benefit by it. There are some ideas that, when carried to
perfection, will conquer the knowledge of the world. When
executed in ONE project [a “Token Project
or Act”], it will turn
into POWER that can be called unconquerable. Such an
endeavour is for a lifetime. Coming forward to learn the
essence in that entire project gives that knowledge in a
trice. Thus, it can be followed until man reaches his
maximum. (MSS)
The Source
of Values in Our Human Makeup
(top)
Values Reflect
Highest
Expression of Mind and Thought
Personal values for an
individual, business values for the company, and social values of the
society are a reflection of the highest principal of mind and thought, and
may can even be said to be part of the spiritual
domain.
Source of our Values Within
Values are seated in the mind; below pure thinking of the
philosopher and mathematician, but above the mechanical thought
processing that turn facts into understanding. It is mental perception
of certain truths and ideals of life mixed with a certain vital urge to see
them come about.
Where Values Originate from In Our Being
There are three parts of the being; the physical body,
the vital part, and the mental part. The body is unconscious. It has no sense of values. The vital has
emotions, feelings, attitudes, and skills of living. If the vital endorses
a value one day, it can oppose it the next because it is unstable. Mind
contains fact processing at its base and pure conception and pure
thinking at its top. In between, in the middle mind is the seat of values and sentiments.
(Above these three parts of mind proper, are the higher and
spiritual mind.)
Values and Human Evolution
We say that the human being consists of three planes, the physical
body, the emotional, vital being, and his mental being -- physical, vital,
mental. In the course of the development of life on earth the vital emerged
from the physical, and the mind from the vital. Each of these three
planes can be further broken down into three aspects. For example, the
mind consists of a first part that process the information it derives from
the senses into thoughts and ideas. It also consists of a still higher part
that takes the raw data and ideas of the previous level and tinges it with
the emotions of the vital to come up with sentiments, ideals, and values.
In the makeup of the human being it is this level that values come from. (Of
the 9 levels, we call this level 2. At level 1, the highest level of mind,
the mind is engaged no longer in the input of the senses or influenced by
the emotive power to influence ideas, but is engaged in pure reasoning, and
conceptualizing ideas and possibilities. (To see this scale of 1-9, and see
how values emerge in level 2 of the makeup of the human, click
here.)
Middle Mind as Source of Personal Values
In the middle part of Mind, the
Vital Mental, lies an individual's interests, opinions, sentiments,
beliefs, values, and ideals. It is here where we develop knowledge of
life's workings, where our knowledge is imbued with feelings and
emotions. Values express in this domain of mind.
View chart showing this.
Character Largely Defines Values for an Individual
Churchill is an embodiment of self-reliance and courage. Here the
value and the character trait are intertwined, because character defines
to large extent a person’s real values. (MSS)
Attitudes vs. Values
Our personal attitudes and our personal values appear quite similar.
However, on closer analysis we see a distinct difference. For one, an
attitude reflects more of our vital behavior and action, whereas our
values reflect more of our mental beliefs, which may or may not express
through our behavior. For example, when we say that I am tolerant or
intolerant, it is expressing a positive and negative attitude regarding
one’s own tolerance. However, when I say that I believe in tolerance or
open-mindedness, then I am expressing a value. In that way, a
value contains a conscious mental recognition of the thing -- as an
ideal subscribed too; whereas an attitude is a less conscious vitalized
opinion expressed through our behavior and actions.
It is also interesting to note that one may value tolerance and still be
intolerant! A perfect value would be integrated into one’s behavior, not
just one’s belief system; i.e. the value of a belief in tolerance would
be reflected in our tolerant vital behaviors and actions, i.e. as a
positive attitude.
A value practiced and applied through our attitudes, behaviors, etc.
is a skill of life whose origin is of the spirit.
Character vs. Values vs. Attitudes
Character denotes
the type of man one is.
Values are what that individual believes and subscribes to; his mental
sentiments. Attitudes are rooted in one's vital emotion and feelings,
usually expressive of mental opinions, which are subject to being
error-prone and false. Values are often identified with something more
positive, some higher sentiment or belief or even ideal. It has almost
spiritual roots.
A Value is Greater than a Behavior
It is better to know something as a value than a
behavior. E.g. it is better to be punctual because one values
punctuality, rather than because one has simply learned to behave this
way. The behavior is fine, but the value gives great utility and power;
sustaining power. A value has more of the individual sense, of being
conscious of something subscribed to, or believed in.
P,V,M Values
-- i.e. motives, attitudes, opinions
[We can say that there are physical, vital,
mental and spiritual values. -editor] Attitudes are vital values, opinions mental values, motives
physical values. (MSS) [Perhaps we can say that
perfect values are of
the purer mind or even the spiritual mind.]
"Negative Values"
We could say that there are low values, as someone who advocates
slavery. But unlike what we normally mean by values, which is rooted in
higher mind or the spirit, such "negative values" are rooted in ego,
ignorance, and falsehood.
The Spiritual Source and Power of Values
(top)
The Spiritual
Source of Values
(topic)
On Values
The universe comes to us as values.
Spiritual
Source of Values
-The spiritual reality expresses through spiritual values such as
Truth, Wisdom, Oneness, Unity, Peace, Delight, Love, and Beauty. We can
call these spiritual attributes or values. If we move to a spiritual
consciousness we can experience these directly. Ordinarily, we perceive
these through our individual personal values, such as honesty,
tolerance, gratitude, community feeling, creativity, etc.
-We can thus say
that values are spiritual skills, or the way we currently grasp
spiritual attributes and values in the course of our daily lives.
-Values like
gratitude and self-givingness are right on the cusp between spiritual
values (i.e. Love) and personal values.
Values as Spiritual
Skills
Though
Spirit in its original splendour is a high goal, its values of honesty,
loyalty, truthfulness, cleanliness, and silence are what we can now know
and follow. By adhering to these values seriously, one can bring the
power of Spirit to bear upon life. Values, which are really spiritual
skills, can raise the results of work a hundred-fold or more. (MSS)
Spiritual Power of
Values that are Spiritual Skills
As values are spiritual skills, the spirit is acting through them
bringing infinite-like results in no time.
Origin of
Values
It is spiritual in the sense,
values originate from the highest levels of thought and mind,
bordering on the spiritual. It is said by
Sri Aurobindo, the
Indian sage and seer, that the Universe comes to us as values.
Values as Skills of Higher Mind (Spirit)
Values can be described as the skill of higher mind (spirit).
(MSS)
Untitled
Values are the skills of the Spirit.
Values of
Life as Reflection of the Spirit
The Jnana [Spiritual Knowledge] of the Rishi [Indian spirit
seeker] comes to the population as values of life.
[MSS, modified]
Truth &
Values
Truth is not a mere fact. It escapes a practical mind. In fact,
Truth is objective Existence. For one to whom the subjective
existence is sincere, Truth reveals. All over the world, in all
cultures, it is called values. (MSS)
Spirituality
Translated as Values of the Workplace
Spirituality can be translated as values of the work place:
exhausting our potential, paying the greatest attention, using the
available technologies to exhaustion, avoiding and eliminating
unavoidable waste by appropriate systems, saving every minute of Time
that could be saved, etc. (MSS)
Values and Powers of Spirit
We can devise a list of spiritual
powers, including
Harmony, Unity, Oneness, Perfection, Gratitude, Self-Givingness,
(spiritual) Peace, Equality, (divine) Beauty, (divine) Love, Truth,
Integral Knowledge, and others. We know of
practical values in life like honesty, self-reliance, openness,
tolerance, organization, maximum utilization, attention, continuous
improvement, simplicity, respect for the individual, etc. We
can associate each human value to their appropriate spiritual power.
Powers of Spirit Known in Mind through Values
The body is unconscious. It has no sense of values. The vital has
emotions, feelings, attitudes, and skills of living. If the vital endorses
a value one day, it can oppose it the next because it is unstable. The
middle mind is the seat of values and sentiments. However, even the
mind does not have to have any values it believes in. In spirit values
truly take shape. In spirit one can come to know spiritual powers that can
be adopted as values of Oneness, Truth, Knowledge,
Power, Delight, Love, Beauty, Infinity, etc. Values in mind are spiritual skills
that incorporate spirit's powers through mind's thought felt through
the vital's emotions.
Spiritual
Powers Reflecting in Values
There are fundamental spiritual
powers or
principles of existence that reflect the One Being, such as
peace, power, knowledge, goodness, truth, beauty, love, joy/delight,
creator, etc. Each of these reflect as practical values in life. Thus if
an individual, company, or institution demonstrates a serious paucity in
one of the spiritual principles, it can consider applying one or more
related practical values to itself, as show in the following:
Unity and Oneness
-- All for One; One for All. Collaboration, Harmony, Oneness of
purpose, Community, Concern for others, Equality, Family, Family
Feeling, Integration, Organization, Respect for Others,
Teamwork, World Oneness, Helpfulness, etc.
Truth -- Truth, Accountability, Accuracy, Content over form,
Honesty, Integrity , Factual , Rationality , Organization ,
Self-Improvement, etc.
Goodness -- Concern for others, Gratitude, Generosity, Develop
People, Helpfulness, etc.
Knowledge
-- Knowledge, Education, Continuous Learning, Open-mindedness, etc.
Power
-- Accomplishment, Success, Authority, Accountability, Challenges
Desired, Commitment, Determination & perseverance, Individual
Achievement, Prosperity/Wealth, Strength, Decisiveness, Self-Improvement, etc.
Delight of Being
-- Discovery, Joy, Romance of life, Adventure, Customer
satisfaction, Fun, Happiness, Love, Self-Improvement, etc.
Love
-- Concern for others, Friendship, Loyalty, Commitment, Family
Feeling, Collaboration, etc.
Beauty (Harmony of
Form)
-- Beauty, Perfection, Quality of work, Creativity, Innovation, etc.
Creator in Life
-- Creativity, Discovery, Innovation, Pioneers’ Effort, Progress,
Resourcefulness, Self-reliance, etc.
Values as Spiritual
Skills
Though
Spirit in its original splendour is a high goal, its values of honesty,
loyalty, truthfulness, cleanliness, and silence are what we can now know
and follow. (MSS)
Values
Moves Us to Spirit
Values in
life are spiritual skills. By resorting to them, one moves from the Mind
to the Spirit. (Paraphrase of
MSS)
"The Universe
comes to us as values" --Sri
Aurobindo
Values from Divine
Source
All
values ultimately are manifestations of the Divine and derive from a
common source. (MSS)
Values and Powers of Spirit
We can devise a list of spiritual
powers, including
Harmony, Unity, Oneness, Perfection, Gratitude, Self-Givingness,
(spiritual) Peace, Equality, (divine) Beauty, (divine) Love, Truth,
Integral Knowledge, and others. We know of
practical values in life like honesty, self-reliance, openness,
tolerance, organization, maximum utilization, attention, continuous
improvement, simplicity, respect for the individual, etc. We
can associate each human value to their appropriate spiritual power.
Connecting with Spirit to Enable Spiritual
Skills; i.e. Values
Bringing out
the timeless in time brings out its spirit. Evoking the infinite from the
infinite does the same. Going into the depths and gathering the Force
above are the decisive instruments for these movements, which express for
us through spiritual skills; i.e. personal values in life.
Values in Subtle, Spirit in Causal Planes
Values take us to the subtle plane. Worship of the Inner Divine, the
Spirit, the inmost entity, Brahman, takes us to the causal plane.
(MSS)
Human Values
to Spiritual Values to Spiritual Essence
Though in the West we have organized the physical to degrees
bordering on infinite, it has come predominantly as a result of
limited mind seeing the physical; only peripherally touching on
the vital, i.e. the vital needs of people and man, or the mental
ideals and values further up, that take us to the deeper truths
culminating in spirit.
We can move
up to truly fulfill the vital needs through an ascent to the
mental sentiments, values, and ideals.
However,
there may not be a mass movement in this direction until we shed
our physicality.
Is there a
positive way, without tragedy, to embrace such values of mind
that will help us develop a well-rounded society beyond the
physical infinity being released now?
One way is
through the ascent of a pioneer who reflects the conscious or
subconscious aspirations of society to move in this direction.
Currently we
see such values being utilized in business. It is becoming a
conscious phenomenon there. It can spread from there to the
wider society, as people learn its lessons and apply it to
other fields and aspects of life. Education offers an even
greater scope, as it can become the essential bridge in this
process.
When we
accede to these values, we are taking small but essential steps
to spirit. In this way even now we are secretly moving towards
spirit. We can move closer still to spirit, without directly
invoking pure spiritual essence, by applying spiritual values
such as self-giving, silence, silent will, taking the other
person's point of view, harmony, gratitude, and others.
Maybe these
spiritual values need to be discovered and fully saturated
before true spiritual essence can be discovered and released en
masse in the world.
A positive
way out of our physicality, and far beyond to our full potential
may occur in the following sequence: subscribing to and
saturation of human values; awareness and saturation of higher
spiritual values; and an opening to the pure Spiritual
Essence locally and then en masse.
Values as
Spiritual Skills
Spiritual Values
The Spiritual Power of Values
(topic)
Values
Values are higher consciousness that enables a movement to the next higher
plane.
Attitude for Acquiring Values
The attitude that helps us acquire VALUES is the attitude that
there lies a SPIRIT behind everything.
Values Raise Work to Spiritual
Plane
Values which are skills of the Spirit expressed in
physical work raise the work from the physical plane to the spiritual
plane. (MSS)
Values and Spirit
By adhering to values seriously, one
brings
the [infinite] power of Spirit to bear upon
life. (MSS, slightly modified)
Values as Spiritual
Skills
Though
Spirit in its original splendour is a high goal, its values of honesty,
loyalty, truthfulness, cleanliness, and silence are what we can now know
and follow. By adhering to these values seriously, one can bring the
power of Spirit to bear upon life. Values, which are really spiritual
skills, can raise the results of work a hundred-fold or more. (MSS)
Widening Our Conception & Experience of the Universe
through Values
Sri Aurobindo says that the universe comes to us as values.
Whatever
values we seek is our universe. In this way, our
conception of the universe can be widened. Our experience of our
universe too can constantly increase.
(MSS,
slightly modified)
Vast Power of Values (as Spiritual Skills)
Values, which are really spiritual skills, can raise the results of work a
hundred-fold or more. (MSS)
Implementing Values Energizes
The key point to
keep in mind about values is that implementing them
energizes
everything concerned with it. For an individual, committing to and applying
values releases fresh energies, which
always
attracts success,
achievement, and well-being. Likewise, when companies or other
institutions adopt values, individuals working at the organization
become energized, as do its customers, its products and services, and
everyone and everything else associated with that organization.
Vast Quantitative and Qualitative
Results from Implementing Values
Values, which are really spiritual
skills, can raise the results of work a hundred-fold or more. That is
perhaps its ultimate value when looked at in terms of success and
achievement in life. There are not only vast quantitative
results generated by values -- like much more money, vastly increased
sales, much greater production, etc, but there are also vast qualitative results that come from applying values, like much more
energy, much more happiness, far greater collaboration and harmony, and
much deeper sense of purpose for those involved in a work. What actual
vast results -- quantitatively or qualitative --
that do come depends on the type of values applied, the degree
and intensity to which it is applied, etc.
(It is spiritual in the sense they
originate from the highest levels of thought and mind, bordering on the
spiritual. It is said by Sri Aurobindo, the Indian sage and seer, that
the Universe comes to us as values.)
Values and Prosperity
How can someone working in an office or factory become vastly
prosperous? No one will deny now that education is the foundation
of today’s prosperity. Money that issues out of physical labour is
better earned when education, a mental tool, is added to it. I
advocate the next higher TOOL. It is seated in the Spirit as
skills. Values are spiritual skills.
Whatever your vocation, when you add
values to it, you will
see Prosperity in abundance is the result. Honesty, integrity,
truthfulness, fairness, and justice are higher values.
Punctuality, politeness, pleasantness, record keeping,
orderliness, soft speech, cleanliness, accuracy, precision,
workmanship, and thoroughness are physical values. Perfection is
the wider term that covers both. Be where you are. Do what you are
doing. Add values to your work. Go on adding them in quantity and
quality. You will reach the heaven of Prosperity. (MSS)
The 100-fold
Power of Values
A thousand years ago man was physical. His
life was elementary. He survived. Today he has multiplied his comforts,
enjoyment, reach, mastery a hundred or even a thousand-fold. The progress
in one millennium has been phenomenal. This occurred because man moved
from being physical to being mental. Though he has not yet acquired a
fully formed mental life, a rational life, certainly he has moved away
from the physical to the vital life. Both body and vitality accept the
guidance of the mind, at least in material matters. Thus, we can say that
man today is mental.
If this phenomenal expansion was the result of moving from the physical to
the mental, moving from mind to the Spirit can bring another phenomenal
expansion of similar magnitude. Today’s life will further expand in
its richness, inner peace, outer security, harmony and, especially, in
Prosperity a thousand-fold.
Though Spirit in its original splendour is a high goal, its values of
honesty, loyalty, truthfulness, cleanliness, and silence are what we can
now know and follow. By adhering to these values seriously, one can
bring the power of Spirit to bear upon life. Values, which are really
spiritual skills, can raise the results of work a hundred-fold or more.
We consider money as a thing of use. Spiritually, money is a force of the
Divine. An unceasing in-flow of money will begin when the money we use is
fully supported by all the Spiritual values. But the effort must be
exhaustive and strive for perfection.
A long list of spiritual values can be applied in a company. Paying
greater attention to the needs of all others in the company than to one’s
own needs is a spiritual value that can turn a losing company into a
profit making one the next month. Results of Spiritual Power when
released into action by the truth of inner sincerity are INSTANTANEOUS.
(MSS)
Power of Values to Earn Money
Earning money is an act, like any
other act of winning the elections, passing an exam, etc. The components
of an act are energy that comes from interest, goal that gives the
direction, organisation from which power issues, and skills
that convert that power into results.
Each component goes to decide the
quantum of money earned, but the earning itself depends on the harmonious
functioning of all these components. None of these components can be
missed or supplied in half-measure. When all the components are
adequately present and harmoniously functioning, the result, the amount of
money earned, is decided by the values of each component. This is so
because values are spiritual.
One who is earning Rs.10,000 or
1,00,000 a month can raise that income five fold, if he introduces values
at every stage and gently raises them to their maximum. By this approach a
company that is marginally losing will at once become marginally
profitable. The profits can be raised further by raising the values or
organising better or employing any other method the company needs.
There is no work where values do not
arise. Attention, organisation, comprehension, integrity, truthfulness,
etc. are just a few of the values we know. The list can be endless.
A family presided over by a person
whose priority is his own wants practices selfish values. If he decides to
meet the needs of all others before meeting his own needs, he practises
selfless values. Or, he may decide to practise Self-giving, which means
going all out to meet everyone’s needs which lie within the ambit of his
duty or not. Soon he will witness a burst of income.
Owners of companies taking such an
approach will discover the ORDERS for which they have been searching all
over, like a needle in a haystack, will start coming on their own.
Values are spiritual. They can earn
a vast quantity of good money. (MSS, slightly
modified)
Wealth Comes from
Within; Based on Human Value
All wealth
comes from inner status, but we perceive it as the status accorded
by wealth from outer work. The wealth of someone is based on and
is proportionate to his own perception of human value. (MSS)
Personal and Spiritual Values in Work
It all comes down to personal values. Is the purpose of the work to
improve life or to assuage one's ego? For most people, it is some
combination of the two - i.e. wholesome values plus ego. To serve
purely based on values is rare indeed. To serve the Divine in one in
a million, if that. To serve Him purely involves a handful on earth.
Other
Growth Online Articles,
Content Related to Values
(top)
ARTICLE on Personal Values
How one's personal values
are key to success and happiness in life.
Click
here.
key article
List of
Personal Values
Values as
Spiritual Skills
Spiritual Values
MSS Articles
on Values
The Secret of Values
Values in The Lord of the Rings
Values in the Business
Environment
Society's Values
List of
Personal Values,
Business Values,
Society's Values
Miscellaneous
(top)
How We Normally Acquire Values
The values that enable
one
to accomplish one's goals are primarily given
by the family and secondarily by the school education. Later
one job supplies a few and on
one's own chooses or learns a few more.
(MSS) [Of course we can acquire values
in any degree on our own, as it is our human choice to do so.]
Perfect Values
Perfect values are recognized only when they are perfect, not while
they are partial. What makes a value perfect is its highest reach is
unblemished. An absence of compromise all along makes for perfection.
Unless values are perfect they come to nothing (with a few exceptions).
Skills and Values
-Skill
acquired is of use for the individual when it is accompanied by values
of e.g. cleanliness (e.g.
not smudging the paper, etc.) orderliness, punctuality etc. and
the personal discipline of work.
(MSS, modified)
-Energy in each plane matures into skill of
work in a single act and yields its full result to the individual when
values and discipline are called into play. (MSS)
The Value is the Personality of the Thing that
We Can Relate To
Each thing has a personality of its own. We call the personality
of the material object "use value,"
of the vital personality
"enjoyment
value," of the mental personality
"value of understanding,"
spiritual personality "value of progressing
towards the Divine." As we relate to the
different personalities, so the object yields the result.
(MSS,
slightly modified)
Values Give Meaning
In
one sense personal values have emerged because people are not
satisfied with the way life is at a point in time. The hippies felt
that the material view, the "keeping up with the Jones's" view of
life blocked out so much more that life had to offer. On the other
side of the spectrum religious people also see the limitations of a
just-material life existence. In both instances there is a movement
from the material view to the deeper view expressed as values; such
as freedom, creativity, and multi-culturalism of the hippies, and
community feeling, faith, and family values for the religious. Of
course, each side creates its own limitations as the necessary
quantity of values are not there, or are not applied in right
balance. Nevertheless, people perceive that values give meaning to
things in an often empty material world.
As
people discover higher psychological, social, and spiritual values,
one can experience ever-greater meaning, purpose, capacity, power,
and delight in living.
Values,
Ascent, and Descent
High values rooted in mind's rationality in the ascent enables right
actions in the planes in the descent. [E.g. you value
safety, which enables you to make decisions to improve the physical
condition of those around you.]
Specific (Personal) Values
(top)
(Note: topics below may take you to other pages)
|
Honesty, Truthfulness, Sincerity, Integrity
(also see
Honesty & Integrity in Business)
Greater Effort, Hard Work, Persistence, Determination
| Taking Responsibility
Self-Reliance, Entrepreneurship
| Creativity |
Givingness, Goodness, Generosity, Goodwill,
Gratitude
Respect for the Individual |
Honor
|
Trust
|
Harmony
|
Truth
| Patience
| Punctuality
|
Regularity
| Reliability | Simplicity
Spiritual
Values |
Particular
Values (or Attributes) that Enable Vast
Achievement in Life
Also
See:
Examples of Specific Business Values
(Commitment to People, Customer Delight, Maximum Utilization of
Resources,
etc.)
|
|