DIVERSITY - PART 6 - Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 Behaviors
Cycle Two
Cycle Two values (and corresponding behaviors) reflect individuals who “live and let live.” They tend to look for the good things in people rather than how others could or should improve. They rarely, if ever, gossip about others and are uncomfortable with those who do. Think of a person in your own life who you enjoy spending time with, then you will have identified a dominantly Cycle Two person. They are people with whom you have conversations and come away with new realizations that apply to your life; although no formal workshop took place. These are typically knowledgeable individuals who have learned from their life experiences. They change the world by how they live their lives.
An example of a Cycle Two person is described in the book Tuesdays With Morrie3. The book is about the relationship between a young man, Mitch, and his terminally-ill former professor from Brandeis University, Morrie. They would meet regularly on Tuesdays after breakfast and have conversations about love, work, community, family, forgiveness, and death. The conversations were rich in the knowledge and wisdom Mitch’s former professor had learned over his lifetime. One of the most important lessons Mitch learned was that “none of us can undo what we have done, …but it’s never ‘too late’ in life.” I assume this statement means that whatever incompletions or unresolved situations we may have, it’s never too late to resolve them.
Several years ago, I realized that I had unresolved feelings about three former close friends. Each of these relationships had resulted in personal monetary loss. Over the years, my anger and righteousness became increasingly justified. Then I read a book which suggested that continued justification of righteousness from a hurtful situation causes bitterness and possibly physical illness. It suggested that forgiveness would resolve those situations and allow one to have peace.
The problem was forgiveness felt like admitting that I was wrong and they were right (Cycle One thinking). I could feel the resistance to such an admission throughout my body. Finally, I accepted the fact that they were as justified in their positions as I was in mine. Neither of us had an unquestionable case for righteousness. Most of all, at this point in my life maybe righteousness was irrelevant! When I had this realization, I experienced an overwhelming feeling of relief and the release of pent-up feelings that I didn’t even know were there. The key element was my inner knowing that I am 100% responsible and 100% accountable for everything that happens in my life. If this statement is valid, how could I possibly be a victim? I am now at peace with them and myself. I’ve learned that the resolution of incompletions in my life has resulted in richer, more fulfilling relationships in the present.
Within this cycle, knowledge is a source of power. Knowledge is defined as the creative integration of information. Since knowledge can only be created by human beings, the knowledge-based paradigm acknowledges the fundamental value of people in any enterprise requiring creativity and innovation. Examples include software development, computer animation, and creative ideas for new products and services. Being knowledgeable also includes an in-depth understanding of areas of study, a personal relationship with the environment, and most importantly, an in-depth understanding of one’s self.
Cycle Three
Cycle Three values (and corresponding behaviors) are indicative of individuals who are “at peace with themselves and their surroundings.” They see no need to change the world because they know that the world is only a physical representation of a much greater reality. In spite of this mind-set, they are natural agents of change. They embrace life as “a glass half-full instead of a glass half-empty.” They naturally exude empathy, compassion, humility, and love in relationship to others. They are non-judgmental, having learned that an opinion of another person is a mirror-reflection of themselves.
Inner exploration is a way of life in anticipation of change. They are astronauts of inner space. They fully accept 100% responsibility and 100% accountability for creating the reality they experience. Finally, they routinely apply the wisdom of the metaphysical world in their day-to-day physical reality, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), spiritual knowing, automatic writing (channeling), clairvoyance, clairaudience, intuition, dream interpretation, clairsentience, telepathy, imagery, premonition, or psychic awareness. Typically, a Cycle Three individual masters only two or three of these metaphysical skills. However, highly gifted individuals may master as many as five or more.
In fact, most of us use one or more of these skills on a regular basis, when we say, “I have hunch that… (intuition),” or “I have a feeling that… (clairsentience),” or “I just know that … (clairvoyance).” We simply don’t validate these perceptions and learn to master them as everyday skills. Primarily because Newtonian-Cartesian physical science hasn’t validated them and given us “permission” to classify such skills as reality! Cycle Three individuals are not waiting for validation by Newtonian-Cartesian science. They have quietly mastered such skills and use them in their everyday lives. I suspect that really clever detectives commonly use these skills to understand the motivations of suspects in an investigation. Such perceptions are then combined with physical evidence from scientific data to solve a case. The focus of physical science is the study of phenomena that can be probed, measured, and analyzed using sophisticated physical instrumentation. I have suggested in a previous publication that the next scientific paradigm will be the Science of Consciousness; the study of the non-physical, but very real, world.
Each of the elements of the cycles described above is explained in greater detail in the following chapters. I also discuss how they influence our lives on a day-to-day basis. You might make a personal assessment of the average percentage of time you experience in each of these cycles over a week or a month based upon the corresponding value systems.
