Motivation & Responsibility

This goodness hierarchy has motivation sitting above responsibility as described earlier. Discipline cannot force goodness, but it can help in the activation of motivations e.g. via reminders.
More on Discipline

Discipline cannot operate without motivation. Discipline is associated with following rules and rituals, but these must be motivated. It is appropriate for an Obedience Quest, and relevant to using Primal Injunctions because they constitute a special variety of Obedience Quest, one flowing from the desire for a good communal existence. Bringing goodness to life springs from the same source.

In the diagram at right, the arrows show the influences coming from each Level with the internal duality encapsulated in a phrase.

It appears that motivation is relevant to taking the step, mastering myself and living in the now; while responsibility is about what every person can and must do, and this includes meeting human needs.

Working downwards

■ G"7 ↔ G"6 is about great dreams interacting with the two essentials of vitality: activity and receptivity. I must Take the Step rather than living in a private fantasy world of what I could do or be.

Here is where the light of spirit shines, my imagination about what is good for me and others evolves, and my potential contribution to humanity emerges.

■ G"6 ↔ G"5 is about living intensely in a way that allows me to attain equanimity. This is only possible if I Master Myself and work within my own limitations and those of my society.

Here is wherefate steps in and determines everything from my genes to the epoch in which I find myself. Within those constraints, I still have an ego-self to master.

■ G"5 ↔ G"4 is about using equanimity to build character, and that means playing the hand I am dealt. I have to Live Here & Now in my current society and in touch with people chosen from my family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances.

Here is where my endeavours take place and, having no alternative, I discover my Primal Quest, struggle with others, and repeatedly experience bruising of my ego.

■ G"4 ↔ G"3 is about building character in a way that deals with pain and suffering. This requires me to recognize and Meet Needs, my own and those of others too, because their pain is my pain.

Here is where the attention to needs and the provision of care and tenderness is conventionally ascribed to the feminine principle: the anima.

■ G"3 ↔ G"2 is about overcoming pain through finding strength. Rather than withdraw, avoid or give up, my response has to be: Yes I Must, i.e. stick in there while facing my limitations.

Here is where endurance of pain and hardship requires stamina, with a readiness to assert rights and fight for them: it is conventionally ascribed to the masculine principle: the animus.

■ G"2 ↔ G"1 is about finding strength through using ultimate values. This is the basis for all creative endeavours, and it demands saying: Yes I Can to challenges as they emerge.

Here is wherefreedom is exercised as a creative ethical engagement with society as I choose and pursue my endeavours.

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• To appreciate these interactions and influences and others, start with the unavoidable tension.

Originally posted:  5-Jul-2013