Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic AspirationsThe Unconscious Reason Why Most People Will Fail in Their Pursuit of True Metaphysical Growth and HappinessDear Friend, Welcome to the first issue of the Metaphysical Mind Ezine of 2009. It has been over a month since I last sent out a new information-packed metaphysical newsletter. I am very excited to get back to this, in this issue I will be sharing with you some very insightful psychological research that I learned about in one of my psychology classes here at McGill University. This research exposes what I believe is the true key to happiness. The world is changing at an amazing rate, and now more than ever we need to truly integrate what we know to be true with our consciously and unconsciously motivated behaviors and attitudes. I hope you are ready to take part in some inner contemplation of some powerful insights… Before we begin I would like you to have these two important quotes in mind: “The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs” “You are not here to merely make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” I am sure you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. In this issue I will be focusing on some recent psychological findings that have a big impact on how we act to accomplish things in our own life. Over the past few decades the mainstream media and other cultural influences have made the majority of our population shift in the way we go about celebrating holidays like Christmas. Originally we would celebrate such things with an intrinsic focus and intent. We did it for our own personal growth and for the satisfaction of being around the ones we love. More recently however we are being increasingly influenced to celebrate holidays in a much more extrinsic way. We are tending to focus more on presents and things rather than on each other. As you will learn through my writings below this shift in focus from intrinsic to extrinsic has a major effect on our personal well-being and ultimately happiness. As you read my writings, I encourage you to go through a personal process of self-introspection. It is my hope that the article below will motivate you to do is.
The Unconscious Reason Why Most People Will Fail in Their Pursuit of True Metaphysical Growth and Happiness The key to experiencing the success you are looking for in all areas of your life, including personal growth and conscious creation of reality, is an understanding of your motive. A psychologist named Tim Kasser, along with a variety of other psychologists, has repeatedly done studies that show the direct correlation between aspirations and well-being. This is very important for us to be aware of as many of our aspirations are unconscious, so only by becoming aware of them, can they be changed. According to Kasser, there are two main types of goals/aspirations: Extrinsic aspirations depend on contingent reaction of others and are typically engaged in as a means to an end. This type of aspiration includes such things as money, fame, and image (appealing appearance). Intrinsic aspirations are expressive of natural growth tendencies and are likely to satisfy basic psychological needs. This type of aspiration includes such things as growth, connectedness, and helpfulness. Basically through a variety of controlled studies, psychologists have repeatedly shown that intrinsic aspirations are conclusively related to higher well-being. Whereas extrinsic aspirations are related to a lower well-being and happiness. When you get down to the primary reason why anyone wants anything in life it is almost always because they think it will make them happy. All we truly want from life is happiness. To obtain the happiness that mostly everyone seeks, it is key to focus on intrinsic aspirations. People desire things like money, power, and fame (extrinsic aspirations) because they believe these things will make them happy. Based on scientific proof, we know it does not work like that. Those things are just a means to an end, which will result in a lower well-being for you. If you didn’t intuitively know this already, I strongly urge you to look up the results of Kasser’s research on extrinsic vs. intrinsic goals online. Many people, especially in the western culture, are prone to seek extrinsic goals. We all know at a conscious level that money does not make you happy. But due to unconscious cultural influences we are basically programmed to seek material things like money as a means to happiness regardless of our conscious understanding. This is mostly due to the mainstream media and other cultural outlets that program us to focus on extrinsic goals over intrinsic goals. Simply being aware of such an unconscious influence allows you to begin to shed your cultural programming so that you may experience the state of well-being that you desire. Once you are aware of such unconscious influences you must exert your will to focus on intrinsic aspirations in achieving your spiritual growth. You must continue to work with the law of attraction and personal growth information but with a sole focus on intrinsic goals. This is the only way you will ever obtain your desired results. This goes without saying, but also be wary of metaphysical information that focuses on extrinsic values! In the bigger picture, it will not be until humans offer the deepest respect for all of life, that humanity will know its highest, most noble self. Only when we focus on intrinsic goals like self-acceptance and our deep interconnectedness, will we know what true happiness is. The results of such a shift will profoundly impact all of earth. All in all, this just comes down to basic metaphysics. Turn off your TV. Become aware of, and inactivate, limiting unconscious cultural influences. Make an effort to go within. Seek peace and love with yourself. Then, you must show that love and peace to all others (although it will come naturally once you have found it with yourself). Obtaining happiness has always been that simple… Jason |