Categories
Life Progress Self-awareness Spirituality

Mindware: Influences on My Inner Operating System

Reading Time: 4 minutes.

Lithuanian polymath Tomas Jonas Girdzijauskas has said once that every man must develop his own Operating System – the core structure and mechanism on how he perceives the world. The Operating System of my worldview is based on many different influences. Still, at its core, I see the philosophies and paradigms of three men who analyzed the human mind and spirit. They are Ken Wilber, David R. Hawkins, and Carl Jung.

Ken Wilber – Integral Theory

I learned about Ken Wilber through a Mindvalley webinar, read online about his theories, watched another webinar that illustrated his theories by themes in movies, and watched a biographical depiction of his love life, titled “Grace and Grit.”

At a young age, Ken Wilber studied lots of philosophies and religions, and combined what he learned into Integral Theory. He defines stages of personal development, ranging from the physical self to the godly self, and assigns colors to each stage, progressing from infrared to clear light. Human consciousness evolves from being ego-centric to caring about one’s close ones, then about their communities, their city, their country, their continent, their planet, all living physical beings, and non-physical ones too.

There are many aspects to explore in Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory, and I may delve into his books at a later stage of my maturity.

For those curious about me, in the past couple of years, I transitioned from Turquoise to Indigo as my baseline – the first level of spiritual awareness. I have encountered the most resistance from people at the Amber level during my growth.

David Ramon Hawkins – Kinesiology

I learned about David R. Hawkins from a Lithuanian Facebook group focused on consciousness, which cited his book. As the texts resonated with me a lot, I purchased the mentioned book, Power vs. Force. An Anatomy of Consciousness-and it was another eye opener for me.

David R. Hawkins analyzed how kinesiology can help you read your intuition. The idea is that people are connected to a common consciousness field, which can be read from by checking the strength of muscle tension. The mind might doubt or lie due to various biases, but the body feels the field more strongly. There are different muscle tests to check the truthfulness of your true-false statements. Some checks I would start with: “My name is …”. Insert your name and the other person’s name there, and see the difference in your muscle strength. Then, check the statements “I am a body” and “I have a body.”

Eventually, those muscle tests fail too, especially when you are sceptical. However, using those methods, David R. Hawkins deciphered and evaluated consciousness levels with their frequencies ranging from 1 to 1000. That has a similarity to Ken Wilber’s consciousness levels. Hawkins’ consciousness levels address different emotions as the baseline of what a person feels every day. At the bottom of the scale are shame (20), guilt (30), apathy (50), and grief (75). At the top are love (500), joy (540), peace(600), and enlightenment (700-1000).

At some point in my life, while having the consciousness map in front of me, I could empathetically recognize at which frequency a person is currently living.

Carl Gustav Jung – the Shadow

I learned about Carl Jung from an artistic and technical friend, then watched a few introductory YouTube videos, such as comparisons with Buddhism, listened to the This Jungian Life podcast, and read some related threads on X.

The main idea of Carl Jung’s theories was that a person has their conscious thinking and a persona as a chosen representation to others, as well as a significant shadow side (unconscious), hiding all the suppressed beliefs about themselves and past traumas.

For example, one of the topics of the unconscious is how a person perceives the archetypical masculinity and femininity in themselves. 

In society, a lot of humor is based on the assumption that a man is manly and a woman is womanly, and if one has any features of the opposite sex, it’s something to laugh about. But in reality, every one of us has features of both sides; however, some people suppress the features they don’t want to show and accept.

Carl Jung also defined character archetypes: the Hero, the Mentor, the Explorer, the Lover, the Caregiver, the Rebel, the Jester, the Ruler, the Innocent, and the Sage. These archetypes are often used to define personas in marketing. You can recognize similar profiles at 16personalities.

How it all comes together

You can’t get to the surface of the water if you are carrying stones in your pockets.

– Me on socials

As we live at a particular consciousness level as our baseline, we usually have suppressed traumas from the past that raise fears and insecurities about growing into the next levels of consciousness.

By getting into an emotionally safe space and then meditatively going back to the past in memories and re-experiencing the first occurrences of the events that blocked us later in life, we can send energy, love, and understanding to the past version of self, to dissolve the emotional tensions and get free from that trauma that shaped how we react to similar events later in the lifetime. It’s called shadow work, and it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially with the heaviest experiences. However, the more we work on that, the healthier, more loving, and peaceful our life gets later in the future.

By starting to care about bigger and bigger groups of people, we raise our consciousness, increase our responsibility, and create or recall larger missions for why we are here and what we are supposed to do here, or how important it is what we do in the overall journey or grand scheme.

[…] we will see that power arises from meaning. It has to do with motive and it has to do with principle. Power is always associated with that which supports the significance of life itself. It appeals to that in human nature which we call noble, in contrast to force, which appeals to that which we call crass. Power appeals to that which uplifts and dignifies-ennobles. Force must always be justified, whereas power requires no justification. Force is associated with the partial, power with the whole.

– David R. Hawkins

Categories
Life Progress Self-awareness

15 Priceless Productivity Tips for Procrastinators

Reading Time: 3 minutes.

This post first appeared on the 1st things 1st blog.

What a paradox that to write about productivity for those who always postpone things, I am procrastinating myself while scrolling productivity and business tips on Twitter. The problem is that I shouldn’t focus on productivity to be productive. Instead, I should focus on my goals. And develop effective habits.

The trick is just to start doing what you planned. And so I started, and in this article, I will give you a glimpse of those habits that you should develop to live a more thriving and meaningful life.

Know your WHY’s

Always be aware of why you are doing what you are doing. You will always have very little motivation if your reasons are vague.

Do you work just for survival? Or for financial stability? Or for recognition? Or for impact? Or for self-expression? 

Finish what you started

Decide in advance which of your projects are to be finished and which of them are just experiments.

Don’t start working on new projects until the old ones are completed. Learn the habit of getting things done.

Focus on your strengths

Nobody is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. As well as their strengths. 

Don’t be sorry about what you can’t do. Identify what you can do best, and make that even better. 

Ask others for help when it’s too hard to handle yourself or takes too much time.

Start now with what you have

Perfect conditions will never exist. So you have to start doing what you want or need to do now. Not next month, not next week, not tomorrow. But now.

Start ideating, prioritizing, and planning. Take the first steps. Even if that’s for 20 minutes. The goal is to build productive habits.

Create TODO lists

Have three TODO lists: “Must do,” “Should do,” and “Want to do.” Execute tasks from those lists according to your priorities and energy levels.

Don’t waste your time on “wants” if your “musts” are not done yet.

Break big tasks into smaller chunks

Sometimes your tasks are so huge that you just get overwhelmed and perplexed. Where should you start? How can you plan and estimate?

The trick here is to split the big task into smaller ones and evaluate them separately.

Find your prime biological time

Identify your most productive time of day. Maybe it’s your mornings, maybe afternoons, or maybe nights.

It’s your Power Hours that you should use for the most critical or creative work.

Schedule daily work time in blocks

Split your days into segments and dedicate those segments to different types of work. For example, 13:30 – 15:00 is for writing and replying to emails.

Do only one thing at a time. Don’t switch contexts. You will be more productive, focussing on only one type of work at a time.

Gamify your work

Try not to break a chain by working on something for a regular time daily. For example, building something for 1 hour every day.

Or, if you have some tedious tasks to do, decide on some point system to reward yourself for a certain amount of completed tasks.

Choose peace, not conflict

When communicating, aim to be calm, understanding, and harmonious. Unnecessary conflicts just drain your energy and make you less than productive.

Usually, complicated people are so because of their difficult pasts. So be aware of that, and it will help you be more peaceful.

Have an accountability partner

Struggling on your dreams alone might be difficult. There are a million reasons not to do something you wish to have done. The tiredness after the primary job, wishing to spend time with your friends or family, exciting TV show, or a new series on Netflix.

Don’t make excuses, and have a friend to talk with about your progress. This will make you more inspired and accountable against that person.

Control your devices

Don’t fall into the trap of digital devices. Instead, make smartphones, computers, and TV work for you, not control you.

Switch off most notifications not to distract you. Then, when you need more focus, go to Airplane mode.

Install apps that let you prioritize, plan your time, focus better.

Focus on the 20% most important tasks

The Pareto principle says that by doing just 20% of the most critical tasks, you can achieve 80% of the impact.

Identify which tasks make this 20% of your lists and focus on them.

Work hard on your mindset

Life is as finite and fatal as you define it. You can have a fixed mindset, thinking that you have developed during your childhood and youth, and nothing can be changed afterward.

Or you can be in a growth mindset thinking that you can continuously develop yourself, survive mistakes and learn from them, and work on life-changing projects.

Hold yourself accountable – drive your own life

Don’t wait for someone else to fix your life and make your dreams come true. Be the driver of your own life.

Design your life, take action, and go forward!

Invitation

There is more to that. If you learned something new and want to dive deeper, check these concise productivity tips I recently published. There are many more tips there (80 to be exact) for your goal setting, motivation, self-awareness, priorities, planning, efficiency, and growth.


Cover photo by cottonbro

Categories
Life Progress Self-awareness

Needs and Priorities: Important Questions to Ask Yourself

Reading Time: 5 minutes.

This post first appeared on the 1st things 1st blog.

Somewhat 80 years ago, an American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow generalized a hierarchy of needs, where each level of needs builds upon the previous one. At the very base, people require a smartphone with the Internet. Just kidding.

The overview of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

At the very base, we all have physiological needs. To stay alive, we need to eat when we have hunger, drink when we are thirsty, have something to wear for the right body temperature, get to the WC when we need it, have a place to sleep, and probably someone to sleep with.

Then we have safety needs, such as a stable source of income, having where to live, being secure outside, at home, and at work, having some rules to follow, being treated well in case of illnesses, and getting help in case of fire or other catastrophes. At this level, we want to have structure and order. We want to know our limits and live stable and predictable lives.

These two steps ensure that a person will survive physically in this world.

Then we have a need to love, be loved, and belong. At this level, life without connections feels empty. We require pets, friends, lovers, family, coworkers, communities. We want to be a part of something bigger. We want to share intimacy and tenderness, affection and belonging. 

The next level is the need of esteem. We want to feel strength, self-esteem, and self-love inside of us. At the same time, we want recognition for our achieved mastery and respect for our competence from the outside world. At this level, we demand reputation and prestige.

Then there is the need of self-actualization. At this level, we want to explore, learn more, stimulate our minds. We want to play, grow, bring our best to the world. We need to be in harmony, order, and beauty.

The needs and priorities

At all of those levels we make decisions. 

  • At the bottom of the hierarchy we need to choose what to do to survive physically. 
  • Then we need to make decisions what to do to survive psychologically without becoming robots or zombies. 
  • Then we need to decide what to do to become more than social animals. 
  • Then we need to find a way how to escape the narcissism and arrogance. 
  • Finally we need to make decisions what to do to achieve the full harmony in the world. 

To make conscious decisions we have to prioritize some things over others. Let’s explore some of the crucial decisions we make at each level of our needs.

Physiological needs

What are you going to eat and drink to survive another month, week, or even this day?

When choosing food and drinks, you would typically ask yourself: Is your food cheap? Does it fill you? Is it tasty?

To get to the upper levels, you should also ask: Is your food healthy? Is your food nutritious? Does it give enough energy to you? Will your friends or family like it? Will you get a compliment for making this dish? Will your cooking skills be honored? Is it made from the best ingredients? Won’t you need to throw half your ingredients away? Is your food supply chain practical, ethical, fairtrade?

What are you going to wear?

When choosing clothes and shoes, you would typically ask yourself: Do they fit the season? Are they clean? Do they look appropriate?

To get to higher levels, you should also ask: Are they comfortable? Do they look good? Will your friends and loved ones like it? Do you feel like yourself in those clothes? Do you look respectful with this outfit? Do you need another piece of jacket this year? Are you living your authentic self with these clothes?

Safety needs

What job should you have?

When choosing a career, you would typically ask yourself: Is it paid enough? Do you understand, and can you do what they ask you there? Is it not too hard? Is it not too boring?

To get to the upper levels, you should also ask: Do you feel accepted by coworkers? Are coworkers friendly? Are you recognized for your work? Does your salary match your skills? Does the work fulfill you? Do you grow enough there? Do you do something meaningful there? Are you living your full potential at your work?

What should you buy today?

When choosing a purchase, you would typically ask yourself: Is it affordable? Do you want it? Do you need it?

To get to the higher levels, you should also ask: Is it long-lasting? Will that improve your comfort? Will that improve your relationships? Is that a brand you like? Will that look prestigious? Will that represent the status you are at? Is it useful? Does it look authentic and original? Is it ethically and ecologically made and brought to your shops?

Love & belonging needs

Which event should you attend?

When choosing events to go to, you would typically ask yourself: Would you go to this event for solidarity? Do you like the content of the event? Do you like the people who will gather there? Is it a chance to make new friends?

To get to the upper levels, you should also ask: do you feel like yourself in these kinds of events? Is it a chance to express yourself and gain recognition there? Is it not too long? Is there a chance to meet people of the same interests and social status? Can you make an impact at such events? Can you feel authentic at such events?

What present to get to your friend?

When choosing a present, you would typically ask yourself: Can you afford it? Will your friend like it? Is it something they don’t have yet?

To get to the higher levels, you should also ask: Will that present match your friend’s social status? Will that gift show your admiration and respect for your friend? Will that present lift your friend? Will that present add up to the authenticity of your friend?

Esteem needs

What should be your goals for the upcoming years?

When choosing long-term goals, you would typically ask yourself: Is that goal specific? Can it be measured? Is it attainable for you? Is it realistic to achieve it? Is the timing correct for this goal?

To get to the upper level, you should also ask: Is the goal positively stated? Is it ethical? Is it challenging you? Is it environmentally sound?

What books should you read?

When choosing your next book to read, you would typically ask yourself: Does it bring you knowledge and understanding? Does it improve your skills? Is it widespread or reputable literature? Is it interesting? Is it entertaining?

To get to the higher level, you should also ask: Does it make you a better human being? Does it lift you up spiritually? Does it help to find yourself or going towards your personal mission?

Need for self-actualization

What are the activities that you could call your Ikigai?

When choosing your reason for being, you would typically ask yourself: Do you love doing it? Are you good at it? Can you be paid for it? Does the world need it?

To go even further, you should ask yourself: Is it healthy? Is it ethical? Is it sustainable? Is it ecological? Is it progressive?

What should you do today?

When choosing the next optimal action to do today, you would typically ask yourself: Does that bring you closer to your goals? Does it remove bottlenecks? Does it make money or reduce costs?

To go even further, you should ask yourself: Is it impactful? Is it ethically, socially, and ecologically responsible? Does it bring more health and clarity to your life?

Invitation

So you have to make decisions and prioritize your choices at all levels of needs. The strategic prioritizer “1st things 1st” was designed to help you not lose yourself among all those choices and dimensions and help you grow as an individual, personality, and spirit. You are invited to use it and make your life more progressive.

If you are still struggling at the survival phase, but you would still like to make better decisions in your life, drop me a message and your reasons at the contact form. Every month I will select several people to use the tool for free.


Cover picture by Chester Wade