Alchemy of the Human Experience: The Destiny of Man

By J.K. McLean

Man is less significant than he thinks he is and, at the same time, more important than he can possibly imagine. Alchemy is the process of changing the ordinary into something extraordinary. The purpose of mortality or human existence has nothing to do with the accumulation of “things” that rust and deteriorate and everything to do with the acquisition of something that transcends the ordinary and that endures. Man’s journey begins in his instinctual mind, develops in his intellectual mind, and evolves to his spiritual mind as each of us exchange potentials for actuals. Alchemy of the Human Experience is about exchanging man’s human nature for his divine nature. This life is the cocoon of the gods.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781647018986

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Alchemy of the Human Experience

The Destiny of Man

J.K. McLean

Copyright © 2021 J.K. McLean

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-64701-897-9 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64701-898-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Desire to Do Good

Taking Responsibility

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

XIII

XIV

XV

XVI

XVII

XVIII

XIX

XX

XXI

XXII

XXIII

XXIV

XXV

XXVI

XXVII

XXVIII

XXVIV

XXX

XXXI

XXXII

XXXIII

XXXIV

XXXV

XXXVI

XXXVII

XXXVIII

XXXIX

XL

XLI

XLII

XLIII

XLIV

XLV

XLVI

XLVII

XLVIII

XLVIV

L

LI

LII

LIII

LIV

LV

LVI

LVII

LVIII

LIX

LX

LXI

LXII

LXIII

LXIV

LXV

LXVI

LXVIII

LXIX

LXX

LXXI

LXXII

LXXIII

LXXIV

LXXV

LXXV

LXXVI

LXXVII

LXXVIII

LXXVIII

LXXXI

LXXXII

LXXXIII

LXXXIV

LXXXV

LXXXVI

LXXXVII

Further Conclusions

My Grandfather—a Life Worth Living

Part of My Mental Toolbox

References

About the Author

Introduction

My fiftieth birthday was in prison.

Have you ever noticed how individuals and/or circumstances convene at appropriate times in your life? Doors unapparent in prosperity somehow open in adversity. These opportunities set the stage for unforeseeable progress. This happens in spite of apparent hopelessness once the mind searches for meaning, ignored while chained to the anchor of public opinion and the yoke of materialism.

Although I put my head through the hangman's noose long before it tightened around my neck and others eventually strapped the hobbles to my ankles and knees, I was the cause of the effect, the ripples of which seem to be endless. The facts are my material death was suicidal and those who guided me over the trapdoor unwittingly set the stage for my rebirth. The sacrifice of self on the altar of materialism, as painful as it was, is central to rising from the ashes that accumulate from the burnt offerings made on that shrine.

One would think that self-destruction on more than one occasion would be unnecessary; however, returning to the surface requires that the bottom be reached. Solid footing is necessary to push away from the bottom. Much to my surprise, the struggle to maintain the status quo was much more difficult on the descent. Letting go was the hard part. Once accomplished, the dynamics changed dramatically. Struggle ceases. The issues of daily life still require attention, but they no longer hold the same urgency. I learned that the true source of tragedy is as Christopher Morley penned nearly a century ago …fixing one's passion too deeply on anything in life. In other words, that happiness comes to those who do not take life too seriously.

I am doing my best to approach life dispassionately now, although on occasion I do get wound up in my underwear unnecessarily. I find that others often perceive one that has attained the perspective of a disinterested observer as a threat or disturber of the peace. I personally leaned that that premature efforts to communicate a developing philosophy do, in fact, disturb the peace. This is due to the fact that an embryonic philosophy precedes the development of personal poise. One must arrive at the conclusion that they do not have the answers for their personal issues and that to offer recommendations on how others should live is not only futile but reveals presumptive ignorance that borders on insanity. The universal pattern for completion requires the passage of specific increments of time from conception to birth in order for maturity to be attained. Premature attempts to circumvent the pattern—whether in physical, mental, or spiritual realms—have disastrous results. Efforts to convert others to any cause when personal understanding is incomplete result in confusion and conflict. This is part of the reason, I think, that we see so much confusion, contention, and conflict today.

Historical and current human affairs provide ample evidence of the effect of repetitive efforts to take the path of least resistance in intellectual realms. Short-circuiting observable patterns is not only unwise; it is dangerous to social well-being. Developing the ability to think independently, personally acquired, sound understanding requires effort and time. I know this because foolishly I attempted to share the rudiments of incomplete concepts before they matured sufficiently to survive outside the womb of my mind.

With the passage of time, as I learned to judge less and think more, I realized that premature sharing of one's insights has a direct relationship to the development of misunderstanding and contention. It is difficult to implement an idea that, while it may have the potential for good, is not compatible or adaptable with or to a common denominator in the mind of others. Ideas must be allotted sufficient time to evolve into ideals that are understood and endorsed by others. The principle of evolution implies selection or choice and acceptance of the universal law that the passage of time is critical for change to occur.

Incomplete or immature ideas often require force for implementation. History is replete with the evidence of the results of forced adoption of doctrines or ideas political, religious, or economic. Resentment and abuse are always the effect of force. Maturation of an idea into an ideal palatable to others requires personal understanding and voluntary acceptance, which implies understanding by others. Time sufficient to consider and personally evaluate any concept, free from coercion, allows for an evolved perspective. Voluntary acceptance and acquiescence to a concept necessitates that all participants expected to support it develop the ability to critically evaluate and understand it in order to adopt and internalize it. Perhaps the confusion and strife observable in human relations is more a function of untimely enforcement of potentially good ideas that failed to develop into universally accepted ideals. They failed to yield the desired results due to untimely execution based on immature or incomplete understanding and an unwise, coerced implementation. The result becomes confusion and strife.

Karl Marx, while forming his social doctrine, theorized, Free development of each must be linked to the free development of all. We cannot be free until all are free. He went on to endorse the social theory from all according to ability, to all according to need. The greatest hindrance to peace at any level is due to the inability of individuals to differentiate between needs and wants. Marketers have succeeded in converting proselyted wants into needs in minds unable to think independently.

Marx's philosophy here is palatable and even reasonable. However, in his disciples' haste to effect social reform, they endorsed violence as the means to an end—which, in the end, failed to deliver any improvement in the human condition. The result merely tipped the social order upside down. Those seizing power and usurping the pyramid perpetuated the same miseries on the unimproved condition of the class they were so intent on remedying. Progress in social relations will occur just as fast as individual intellects are capable of understanding and converting good ideas into universally acceptable ideals that benefit the individual and, as a by-product, improve society. The social order will improve only as fast as the potential for good in each man is fostered and expanded.

As individuals cease to exist for the organization or their value is assessed in terms of their contribution to the organization (church, community, state) and the contribution that the organization makes to the development of the individual becomes the yardstick by which organizations are valued, change in a paradigm that has outlived its usefulness will occur. The paradox of this principle will become even more apparent as the value of the organization will increase without an unnatural, forced acquiescence to the doctrines and mores that provide the basis for the social controls that govern all isms.

The cumulative effect of a personal endorsement of universally applicable ideals will result in a gradual improvement in social relations. As this happens, the external imposition of social mores will be unnecessary as individual self-control and intrinsic morals replace the need for legislatively imposed moral constraints. Understanding more than the facts relative to the events of history is prerequisite to augmenting the social foundation bequeathed to modern man. The future, while constructed on the past, must incorporate more than an understanding of the facts of the past.

W. B. Maxwell wrote, If one does not know that one is in prison, one is free. Having been in prison, I do not believe that Maxwell's observation is entirely valid if one is capable of self-consciousness. It is impossible to be in prison and be free from a nagging dissatisfaction with the circumstances of life no matter how intellectually indolent one may be. Ignoring the obvious does not negate slavery! If one is unaware of being a slave, then slavery is accepted and even embraced as security, which is preferable to uncertainty. Slavery comes in many forms.

Slavery, I believe, is the direct result of a willingness to be led by others, based on an unwitting failure to cultivate an interest in developing a personal understanding of the significance and value of the unique mental endowment we each possess. The bondage of materialism, the shackles of tradition, and public opinion unexamined are the ultimate bondage of mind and spirit. The requisite force to break free from living life vicariously at the whim of authority evolves as the power potential of the mind and the value of personal experience coordinate. This necessitates taking personal responsibility for one's mind and charting a course toward discovering truth and appreciating the freedom potential in man's ultimate asset: his mind.

Following are personal observations from the stones overturned as I experimented with the thoughts of others, coordinating the expressions from the minds of those who paid the price for intellectual power with my own thought processing. I am an average individual, no different than the bulk of humanity. Curiosity about the world around me, historical events and situations, people and the conditions of my own time, and the forces exerted by self-inflicted adversity lead me down an unexpected path.

My musings are about learning to think differently about the value and the meaning of my experiences. A gradual shift occurred in my approach to thinking about history, religion, economics, politics, myself, and others. This transcript represents a partial transcript of a personal experience and the intellectual and spiritual conclusions that evolved. The Thoughts Pondered and Trials Wandered personal experiences illustrate a change in the way my past is perceived and the value my experiences contribute to development of my personal philosophy. As original perceptions expand and integrate, they provide a broader, and perhaps more liberal, outlook than I historically adopted toward others and the world in general. The seemingly insignificant events and the most catastrophic experiences offer increased value, given time to ripen in the mind. Developing the ability to think differently fostered a paradigm shift in my thought processing. Abraham Maslow is correct in his evaluation that true freedom is emancipation from the good opinion of others.

The Appendix A is my mental toolbox. It is a compilation of thoughts and observations of others, collected over the course of the past forty-five years, particularly since my release from prison. These passages exposed me to a broad selection of the thoughts and beliefs—social, religious, and political—of some of the best minds, spanning centuries of human thought. I found them to be critical elements in developing my ability to think independently. The thoughts of others are like stones overturned and gathered in paving a path for personal mental development. When used to pave a path, the observations of others become the materials from which to construct a thoroughfare leading to Maslow's personal freedom. A mind gradually freeing itself from the confines of prejudice and unexamined biases has a much greater potential to affect the social changes critical to peaceful coexistence in a world dominated by personal conflict. However, the undeveloped man cannot share that which he does not personally possess with others.

The Desire to Do Good

All my life, I wanted to do good. To be good—that desire was habitually diluted due to a short attention span, the evidence of an immature mind.

Part of my problem was attempting to define good in terms of what others thought it meant. The axiom the road to hell [if there is one, which I doubt, at least not in the standard religious definition] is paved with good intentions is valid when the realization develops that hell is a purely personal experience, of one's own making. And that the ultimate hell is living life subject to the whim of a public opinion based in marketing ploys developed to tether each of us to an unstable, false standard of truth, beauty, and goodness.

Professing faith was always easier than living it. I was a devout materialist with spiritual inclination, attempting to walk the fine line between a world that, on one hand, is palpable but unstable and ever changing and one that is developed within the mind. This world is merely a pattern for possibilities, always pointing to a less discernible world that is the source of the pattern. I was always unwilling to let go of the former, primarily due to a fear of losing the tangible and because of a desire for the perceived benefits of dual citizenship—dual allegiance actually, which, it turns out, is no allegiance at all.

Isms versus Spirituality

A recurring theme of my mediations focuses on the significance of organized religion with respect to my personal spiritual development and the social religious experience. How does the social experience relate to the spiritual aspect of my nature? How is my personal desire for an understanding of things beyond myself and the material world integrated with a group or social religious experience? And how does the evolution of a personal philosophy or valuation of the things of this world relate to the social organization? As my power to think independently increases, the reason for my unwavering resistance to what I observed to be a capricious exercise of power by the vast majority of those granted authority in the isms of my experience—social, political, economic, academic, and religious—becomes understandable. For the bulk of my life, I failed to achieve a poised approach to disagreeing with those observed inconsistencies. Immature contention assumed center stage as I chafed at the bit of the mores. More often than not, my resistance appeared as passive-aggressive rebellion. As a result, I failed to grow personally, perpetually stuck in a revolving door that lead to nowhere.

There is an innate desire in the human psyche, urging a belief in something higher and more enduring than the constantly changing material environment. I believe that this urge is universal, although subject to drastically different modes of approach. Somehow, shouldn't the efforts of humans to understand and approach something divine, based in a moral ethic, contribute value to more than a future, hoped-for state of existence?

I came to the conclusion that the importance or value of socioreligious mores relate to the fostering of this human need to grow and change by seeking understanding of something higher than self. In my experience, social organizations provided guidance during the early stages of development, setting safe boundaries during the maturing process. A social moral foundation provides footing upon which one can assess relationships and assists in developing a sensitivity to the rightness and wrongness of conduct. However, the ethical imperialism that devolves based on cultural and racial differences and on social status within them did not provide me with a blueprint for a universally adaptable spiritual ethic. There must be, at least to my way of thinking, something of universal value that all men—regardless of race, creed, or religion—can use as a standard for an approach to the higher self regardless of their human nature. Social, political, cultural and religious institutions globally fall short of providing a universal ethic that transcends the boundaries that exist because of the characteristics that differentiate humankind. Ignorant—this does not relate to uneducated—men fail to develop the ability to think independently. Personal ignorance is fostered when the human mind acquiesces to others for the definition and assessment of the value and meaning of their personal experiences and the experiences of others.

Taking Responsibility

Life is lived and governed by the external environment as long as the barometer for measuring ethics, personal relationships, and values remains external to self. It is difficult to sense subtle environmental changes that dictate the need for adjustment in personal beliefs as long as the world is perceived and defined for us by others. Consider how fast the human environment has changed over the past thirty years. Standards of conduct have yet to be defined for social practices that didn't exist a generation ago. The best method for developing a personal ethic, a personal internal barometer, requires self-discrimination. Incorporating elements of the past that fostered human moral progress, while observing and evaluating current practices and then integrating the past with the present to establish a baseline from which to begin personal evaluations, is essential to personal intellectual growth.

It should not be necessary to have our conduct legislated. When something doesn't make sense or is clearly detrimental to happiness and peace, eliminate it from personal practices before it becomes such a social nuisance that legislation becomes necessary. For example, texting when driving—common sense would dictate that this is an unethical, unwise practice. Wisdom, the developed ability to think reflectively upon one's personal experience, if developed, would suggest that the practice of texting while driving should voluntarily be eliminated from personal conduct. Without a personally developed ability to think critically, I was always allowing others to define value. This is the path of least resistance and never resulted in progressive mental development in my case.

The earliest recorded philosophers struggled with the same questions we do today. In spite of all our technology, we are bogged down in the same issues. What is man's relationship to the universe? This has been construed as strictly a religious question. As a result, we compartmentalize the issue and, in most instances, accept the definition of religionists to define our spiritual experience. Development of a desire to worship (reverence for something higher than self) coordinates with developing wisdom—sound understanding—without which personal self-confidence and poise fail to develop. For far too many years, I equated this desire with my social religious experience. My lack of sound understanding resulted in a great deal of confusion and frustration within myself and the external world. The inability or refusal to yield to a personal yearning for something higher than self creates internal conflict and reliance on a narrowly defined mechanistic or materialistic philosophy for the resolution of issues that are more than material, which is the proverbial rabbit hole.

Failure to coordinate personal experience in developing thinking skills leads to reliance on an external authority for resolution of complex personal and social problems. The harvest of the failure to develop a personal philosophy coordinating the material, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of our nature that is sown from intellectual indolence is emotional stagnation. One remains in a perpetual state of instability as life is governed by the caprice of a constantly changing materialistic philosophy. Even worse, we offer our agency to others. This is the source, in my opinion, of all conflict, both within the individual and with the external environment as far as the average man is concerned. There is no attainment of satisfaction for a devout materialist, an overly zealous religionist, or a self-satisfied intellectual. Is this not slavery?

A paradox exists in the social religious experience and the materialistic/mechanistic philosophy, which seem to be polar opposites. The social organization is central to cultivating the human desire to identify with something greater than the physical life. When relying on ecclesiastical authority for defining the nature of the spiritual experience, the organization becomes the single greatest hindrance to advancing man's personal spiritual progress. Alternately, basing value in a constantly changing physical environment provides no sound footing or mooring for a belief system as everything is relative to circumstances. It is difficult for a religious shepherd (herder) or an academic lecturer to push their flock farther than they have progressed themselves—in the process of developing their personal mental and spiritual natures. Without a personal philosophy, the shepherd and lecturer tell the student what to do and to believe, what to accept as truth, rather than being the inspiration or revelation of truth by illustrating and demonstrating the discovery of truth for oneself. Do as I say, not as I do or do as I say, or else is the blind leading the blind.

Another paradox develops once one has coordinated a personal philosophy. A benevolent passivity begins to govern the perception of life as it becomes possible to view conditions impartially. A need for external endorsement of personally acquired beliefs and ethical understanding becomes less of a need. Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul of the New Testament was referring to when he stated, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things (I Cor. 13:11).

How does the existence of so many religious philosophies that endorse ethical conduct within a social group, founded on a purported divine revelation, reconcile with a universal deity, a Father of all men? Tolstoy struggled with this concept and eventually determined that he had personal faith. Evidence of stagnation and reliance on a purely human religious philosophy results in the appearance of the chosen people dogma. A man-made god hates those who do not belong to or subscribe to the traditions and dogmas of the self-chosen few. The limits for personal spiritual growth become firmly entrenched in a narrow channel with endorsement of this type of thinking. Only the development of a personal philosophy that allows for a poised break from the status quo, a developed ability to think differently, absent a need for acquiescence to one's personal philosophy by others, proffers a breach of barriers, be they religious, social, or political. Fine internal adjustments are required to stay on a personally identified and charted course. This requires that we each develop a personal awareness and recognize the need for a developed ability to think for ourselves.

Abraham Maslow wrote, What was truly valuable, Matthew Arnold said, was ‘the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world.' And no one disagreed with him. Nor did it need to be spelled out that he meant knowledge of the classics; these were the universally accepted models. Maslow goes further in valuing familiarity with the thoughts of the best among us: Now in this way I have found that if I select psychologically healthy humans what they like is what human beings will come to like. Aristotle is pertinent here: ‘What the superior man thinks is good, that is what is really good.'

Maslow goes on to observe, For instance, it is empirically characteristic of self-actualizing people that they have far less doubt about right and wrong than average people do. They do not get confused just because 95 percent of the population disagrees with them. And I may mention that at least in the group I studied, they tended to agree about what was right and wrong as if they were perceiving something real and extra-human rather than comparing tastes that might be relative to the individual person. In a word, I have used them as value assayers, or perhaps I should better say that I have learned from them what ultimate values probably are. Or to say it in another way, I have learned that what great human beings value are what I will eventually agree with, what I will come to value, and I will come to see as worthy of, as valuable in some extra-personal sense, and what data will eventually support.

This is exactly what occurred in my mind over the years. As I became more and more familiar with the highest and best thoughts of those considered to be superior human beings and as my ability to assess value independent of the good opinion of others developed, I not only agreed with the wisdom of the ages. I began to incorporate the values into a personal philosophy of living based in the concepts that I recognized and agree with. An interesting thing occurred as I developed the ability to think more reflectively about what I thought. Gradually, I became more adept at recognizing the biases that affected my ability to appreciate the value of differences in belief. Coordinating different points of view with my experience fostered making them my own, with a uniquely personal twist. To date, this is an ongoing struggle. The pressing need to assess value outwardly rather than inwardly perpetuates internal turmoil. Developing the capacity to adopt and adapt the thoughts of others to my personal belief system changed my approach to living.

Eventually, I came to this conclusion: For the true value and meaning of the social spiritual experience to develop for the individual the focus of the doctrine and practices must evolve away from the value of the individual defined in terms of the contribution he or she makes to the organization. This transcends religion and incorporates every facet of every social, political, or religious organization and is particularly relevant to academia. Shifting away from the historical paradigm toward the institutional value assessed in the contribution that the organization makes to the ultimate development of the individual is the key that will unlock the door that opens inward to the social utopia that a handful of thinkers have envisioned throughout the ages. This paradigm shift remains based in the old way and transcends it while incorporating all the values developed throughout man's gradual climb toward supremacy—the supremacy of self.

Interestingly enough, it seems to me that as this occurs, the value of the individual to the organization will increase exponentially as will the significance of the organization for the individual. A win-win situation. The institutions will no longer need to control the individual in order to maintain control, and the individual will no longer need to identify personal self-worth in terms of the institution.

Over the years I kept a thought journal. Recording my thoughts formed the foundation for the evolution of this treatise. This Thought Journal is not a record of daily activities but rather of the insights that occur, seemingly out of nowhere, during a moment of quiet contemplation as one ponders what Aristotle defined as What the superior man thinks is good, that is what is really good. Interestingly enough, I noticed that as I grazed through the green pastures of literary history, the thoughts of the superior man inevitably led from one source to another. Following discovered threads leads to some surprising sources and insights—Alchemy of the Human Experience.

II

Observe and Evaluate Life and the World

Everything we perceive and experience is mind-conceived, mind-created, and mind-controlled. When the individual comprehends the value of his or her own mind, progress in social, economic, and political realms has the potential to dwarf the technological developments of the past twenty years: first, from the realization of the personal power potential latent in each mind; and second, as the benefits of technological advances are applied wisely in culturing the individual. Social, economic, and political advancements will be by-products of individual progress. Personal responsibility for intellectual development precedes a shift in the thought paradigm that is necessary to support a global change in human relations.

Hope for the present and future hinges on the development of personal observation skills in the individual, fostered by curiosity acted upon. We, as a species, can no longer allow others to define the world and our personal experience for us. Human progress is forever impelled upward and eventually inward by those minds capable of questioning the world around them, people, places, and events. Being curious, asking questions, and refusing to accept the status quo is critical to developing the mental power that demands change, which provides for recognizing that what is and what ought to be are seldom congruent.

Absent the ability to evaluate objectively the world around us, we remain subject to the external environment, subjects of the instinctual mind that unconsciously reacts to that environment rather than developing the ability to control the manner in which it relates to the external world. We must all question the meaning of historical and current events and learn to coordinate our perception of them with our personal experience. If something doesn't make sense based on our personal experience, it should not be accepted at face value. Failure to develop the ability to define the world personally leaves each of us subject to the manipulation and control of others—those whose motives and intentions are not always apparent. Often, usually, those in power do not have the best interest of their fellows at heart. The extent of their thinking focuses on staying in power, and either knowingly or unwittingly, advantage is taken at the expense of others. This includes our own behavior. Observation allows one to evaluate the meaning of the desires, actions, and intentions of both the well-meaning, but misguided, and the intentions of the downright duplicitous and selfish.

Perceptions of life evolve distinctly for each of us. Initial attitudes and beliefs develop from our early social environment. Imposed by tradition, they tend to dominate thinking and behavior by molding the perception of reality to conform to the norm or the status quo. This phase is critical to establishing concepts of loyalty and duty essential to social order.

However, to be of true worth, values must be internalized (personally developed), incorporating the best traditions with personally developed ethics. This is acquired by casting a net of curious observation over a sea of personal experience. Curiosity, doubt, and questioning precedes the evolution of a personal value system. Development of proprietary values enhances curiosity, which fosters the ability to think critically. Critical thinking develops progressive insights. While instinctual thinking flat lines and results in a survival of the physically fittest mental attitude. However, doubt and questioning all too often run counter to the status quo or tradition and are viewed as negative influences in an established social order. History is replete with examples of the results of swimming upstream, intellectually and socially speaking. However, it is always the curious and the doubtful that persist in thinking differently enough to eventually provide sufficient stimulus for change.

The value of developing curiosity and the reflective thought that integrates personal experience with outward appearances is always personal. Personal power develops as reflective mental muscles are exercised. Personal MORAL AUTHORITY evolves. Eventually, the ripple effect of a questioning mind benefits the entire social order.

Consider the experiences of Siddhartha (the original Buddha), Lao Tzu, Zoroaster, Socrates, Christ, Galileo, Wesley, Calvin, Luther, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King…to mention only a few of those who effectively questioned the meaning of their experiences and the world they lived in. Without curiosity and doubt, progress is impossible—neither personally nor socially, and certainly not spiritually. There has been economic and political progress over past generations, although the benefits accrue disproportionately to a few. There is great value in familiarity with the thoughts of those questioning minds that preceded us in this adventure of life in developing personal insight. Ask yourself, who today is fostering an increase in social awareness in the manner consistent with the previously mentioned thinkers?

The critical factor to ever bear in mind—as we mine the creek bottoms of the past, searching for flecks of color from the thoughts, beliefs, and observations of others—is that the treasure once discovered and possessed is only a medium of exchange for the acquisition of a purely personal point of view. The pattern for developing intellectual wealth follows the same principle as that required for building material wealth, accumulation over time. This takes times.

III

Contrary to political rhetoric, all men are not created equal—not physically, mentally, socially, or materially. Equality is not prerequisite; however, to commonality of purpose, thankfully, we are different. Differences lay the groundwork for intellectual and spiritual growth and the development of altruistic ethics. An old cowboy that I once knew often observed, It's a good thing we're not all the same, or we'd all want the same woman. Now that would be a wreck. One thing we all have in common though is time and the ability to think about our lives. How we employ our time determines individual perspective and ultimately how we respond to the stimulus of daily living. Today we have access to the leisure time necessary for developing personal mental power, more than any generation preceding us.

When the fast pace of life inhibits the ability to critically process the meaning of experience, the evolution or development of personal values and thinking skills is retarded. Time is truly wasted only when control is surrendered to the forces that maneuver and manipulate our mental perceptions and the theories about life that result. When subject to the external influences that buffet us, we become hostages of the elements that toss us to and fro like ships caught in the clutches of a storm without mooring or rudder. Different factors control each of us depending on the conditions of our lives. Part of the maturing process and a significant factor in mental development relates to developing the ability to determine for ourselves what it is that motivates each of us. Failure to consider these realities surrenders control of our mental and physical life to others. This failure also has a hugely negative impact on our spiritual development.

Over time, with exposure to histories, religions, and the philosophical eruptions of great minds; I developed a fascination with Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, akin to Richard Dreyfuss's character's obsession with Wyoming's Devil's Tower in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Coordination of Maslow's concepts with the teachings, both secular and religious, that have endured the test of time; those expressions—philosophical, political, and spiritual, determined worthy of recording and passed on by succeeding generations—become the keys that unlocked what I consider the treasure chest of my mind. Seemingly unrelated beliefs and theories coordinate into a personal valuation of my life experience. A distinct valuation illuminates the darkened passages of history and liberates me from the shackles of unexamined tradition. The potential to think independently allowed for the gradual development of poise and a sense of balance that systematically dispelled those irrational fears that often governed my approach to life and that had a negative impact on the decisions I made. This, however, did not happen overnight. It becomes clearer to me that time and how it is used and recognizing the value of personal experience fosters the critical-thinking skills prerequisite to achieving independence from the perpetually fluctuating external environment. Time and experience, personal experience and exposure to the experiences of others, become the essential coordinates for charting a course into an external world governed by perpetual chaos. Failure to integrate these coordinates with the progressive ability to think reflectively results in emotional instability and indenture to the irrational fears that dominate the instinct-governed mind.

Life is experienced in a constant state of flux. External influences push or pull us in opposing directions moment by moment. This constant state of imbalance yields a feeling of being out of control as our minds are continually polarized by the volume of unmanageable stimuli that bombards every waking moment. Aristotle philosophized that the middle region, between extremes, is where control resides.

Incorporating Maslow's hierarchy of needs with Aristotle's golden mean and integrating the element of time yields a graphical interpretation of how we live out our lives and a possible method for objectively evaluating oneself personally, independent of whatever the perception of others may be. See Figure 1.

Maslow observed that all needs are essentially deficit needs and that all human beings are motivated to satisfy them.

The deficit-needs are shared by all members of the human species and to some extent by the other species as well. Self-actualization/realization is idiosyncratic since every person is different. The deficits, i.e., the species requirements, must ordinarily be fairly well satisfied before real individuality can develop fully.

Just as all trees need sun, water, and food from the environment, so do all people need safety, love and status from the environment. However, in both cases this is just where real development of the individual can begin, for once satiated with these elementary, species-wide necessities, each tree and each person proceeds to develop in his own style, uniquely. Using these necessities for his own private purposes. In a very meaningful sense, development then becomes more determined from within rather than from without." (Maslow, 1968; Italics and emphasis added by author)

IV

Throughout my life, I developed my perceptions of others, of belief systems, of circumstances, and of conditions, ignoring the significance of individuality. Wrongfully and ignorantly, I often assessed uniformity as the yardstick for measuring value and meaning of my personal experience and that of others. As Maslow succinctly observes, it is individuality that governs personal development. It doesn't seem to be a quantum leap in logic to reason that it is individual uniqueness and development of the individual that contributes to the growth and progress of every other individual.

The Pendulum of Life and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 1

The red vertical time line goes in one direction from birth to death. I refer to this as the Constant Time Factor (Cf ). No control is granted over the direction, speed of travel, or duration of this aspect of time. Although I suppose it is true that one can shorten the timeline by personal choice, other than that, there is no control of time. The source of much of the confusion and strife we experience is the direct result of attempting to control that over which we have no control.

The green horizontal time line moves vertically, swinging back and forth between extremes. This is the Variable Time Factor (Vf ). Man lives in two distinct environments: in a physical world and a mental one. The length and duration of travel between the poles of the pendulum is a function of two primary influences: first and foremost, the stimulus from the external environment; and second, the degree of influence that external stimuli are allowed by the internal or mental environment.

There is, however, a measure of control granted each of us in charting the direction of travel on the Variable Time Factor (Vf ). That control is developed

first, in the realization of the value of a personal mind;

second, in the recognition of the need to