LURKING BENEATH THE PSYCHIC SURFACE of every human being, is the propensity for ‘Evil Indulgence’, however minimal it might be. Each person may in one way or the other, use short-term social strategy of acting out against others, with the aim of achieving one’s ends. Irish playwright and philosopher George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) in Major Barbara (1906) informs us:

Every reasonable man (and woman) is a potential scoundrel and a potential good citizen. What a man is depends on his character; but what he does and what we think he does depends on his circumstances. The characteristics that ruin a man in one class make him eminent in another. The character that behaves differently in different circumstances behaves alike in similar circumstances. The faults of the burglar are the qualities of the financier. In short though the character is independent of circumstances, conduct is not; and our moral judgements are not; both are circumstantial.

SEVEN therapeautic tonics to loftily LOCATE your LIFE’s BASIC BEARING:

1. BASICALLY, for thousands of years, it has been the fate of mankind to largely grope in the shadows when it comes to clearly understanding ourselves and our own nature.
2. EXCUSES and rationalisations are kinds of defenses we have used to cover up our darker impulses, making it easier for some to get away with the most unpleasant behaviour.
3. ALL insecurities and the aggressive, selfish impulses you repress and conceal from public view consists your dark, shadow side, which leaks out in baffling or harmful behaviour.
4. REALISE that, you must become aware of your own dark side. In being conscious of it, you can control and positively channel the creative energies that inhabit your unconscious.
5. IN most cases, you will be playful, sometimes having an impish edge to your character, as if you have retained more of the child within; playing your role in LIFE comprehensively.
6. NO wonder then, by integrating the dark side into your personality, you will be a more complete human being and will radiate an authenticity that will draw people to you.
7. GUSTO in your works, you will be able to laugh at yourself; admit to certain shortcomings in your character, as well as to mistakes made; you will be charmingly spontaneous.

Denying or distorting one’s dark side of personality may seem socially desirable in the short run, but dangerous in the long run. You can repress your ‘Dark Side’, but you cannot avoid its consequences; in repressing it you become its pawn. Your ‘Dark Side’ is potentially creative and destructive at the same time. The key here is not outright expression of your dark side, but realising it with aim of sublimating it (managing it through expressing it in a socially acceptable ways). By becoming aware of it, you can integrate it into yourself. You can learn to cherish your internal ‘Demon’ and permit it to give you the salt of LIFE.

Your “Dark Side” urges begins as impersonal; by bringing it into your consciousness, you will make it personal. With a more sensitive understanding of those forces in your PSYCHE, the “Dark Side will push you towards SELF-ACTUALISATION. The more you come to terms with your “Dark Tendencies”, the more you will find yourself conceiving and living by a universal structure of REALITY.

This further entails recognising, and confronting the paradoxes of your LIFE. In paradox, two opposing things are posited against, and seem to negate each other, yet they cannot exist without each other. Thus good and evil, life and death, beauty and ugliness appear to be at odds with each other, but the very confrontation with the one, breathes LIFE and MEANING into the other. “Harmony”, as Greek philosopher Heraclitus (540 - 480 BC) reminded us, “consist of opposing tension, like that of the bow and the lyre.”

BEYONDISM believes that, the disposition to relate positively to others, is an innate part of a person’s natural tendency to ACTUALISE. One of Carl Rogers’ most far-reaching assertions was that, interpersonal and social problems are caused by the failure of individuals to fully ACTUALISE, and accept themselves. Rogers (1951) described this part of his theory in this way:

Here is a theoretical basis for sound interpersonal, intergroup, and international relationships. Stated in terms of social psychology, this proposition becomes the statement that the person (or persons or group) who accepts himself thoroughly, will necessarily improve his relationships with those with whom he has personal contact, because of his greater understanding and acceptance of them . . . Thus we have, in effect, a psychological “chain reaction” which problems of social relationships can be handled.

Here is BEYONDISM FORMIDABLE FORMULA for SELF-ACTUALIZATION
(The ‘head’ and ‘tail’ of Activating your SELFHOOD) in regard to:
Turning your rogue human nature inside out and upside down.

1. FALSEHOODS must be avoided like the plague, except when preventing your possessions from seizure.
   Core Choice #17: Do not be among those deceivers: one foot in sea, and one on shore; no constancy.
   Sure Score #17: NOBLE LIES are temporarily sanctioned, only in matters of averting a bigger disaster.
2. ORGANISED futility that dresses up in embellishing vanity as benevolence, is the worst deviationism.
   Solid Stance #17: Joking is the third best method of hoodwinking people, second, sentimentality.
   Catalysing Consideration #17: But the best and safest method, is to tell the plain unvarnished truth.
3. REALLY, you cannot deceive all people, all the time, and in all sublime matters of strategic self-interests.
   Mighty Mission #17: People are apt to deceive themselves in big things, but they rarely do so in particulars.
   Vivid Vision #17: The most uncontestable beginning of deceiving others, is self-deception, or self-delusion.
4. MERE bald fabrication is useless; keep off from the fancy of blowing hot and cold with the same breath.
   Gaining Ground #17: Success lies in the circumstantial detail, in the embellishing touches of probability.
   Capturing Clouds #17: It is in the general air of scrupulous veracity, that the experienced angler is seen.
5. USUAL temptation of your wandering eyes and heedless heart, is not lawful prize, or what glisters, gold.
   Lofty Leap #17: The height of deceit and pretense is to be able to conceal it.
   Merry Momentum #17: Look BEYOND what people tells you they believe in.
6. LIES to be consistent and appealing requires good memory; it is a very burdening and suffocating state.
   Holy Hearken #17: The fear of contradicting oneself, of being exposed, keeps one in utter chains.
   Divine Distinction #17: Truthfulness sets the spirit free, as one becomes spontaneously serene.
7. ABSTINENCE is a key LIFE factor; to abstain from taking LIFE; to abstain from taking what is not given.
   Prudent Planting #17: Abstain from intoxicants as they tend to really cloud the mind.
   Hoped Harvest #17: Abstain from sensuous misconduct, as well as from false speech.

#17. In as much as I aspire to brighten my DARK side,
Which mode of SELF-ADVOCACY must I seek to assimilate?

Self-advocacy is the ability to identify and speak up to defend a cause or a person.
Identifying a goal and developing a plan of action require being able to speak up.
Learning to self-advocate enhances your ability to take a more active role in your LIFE.
The more effective you become at self-advocacy, the more self-determined you are.
And the more likely your position will be adopted, or at least considered, by others.
It is the ability to sway others that what you would like to have happen is a good thing.
It is first vital to learn HOW to self-advocate before knowing WHAT to self-advocate.

#17. I, ___________________________, up in arms to nurture SELF-ADVOCACY skills, do DECISIVELY DECLARE that, once I have gathered all the information on the change I desire in my LIFE, I have to analyse whether the change is worth the effort and sacrifice it will take to make the change. Here are some steps to follow that can help me analyse the pros and cons. I will make a table containing the pluses and minuses of the change. I will look at the list of minuses and think about how each one of them will affect my LIFE. I will look at the list of the pluses and think about how each one of them will affect my LIFE. I will decide if the minuses that I have to go through outweigh the pluses that I can gain by making the change. If the minuses are more than I want to deal with, I may want to reconsider what I want to change. If the pluses are worth dealing with the minuses, then I will continue to make the change in my LIFE. Since making a change in my LIFE is a time consuming and difficult process, it is important that I have support from friends, family members, or other people in my LIFE that care about me. These people will be able to guide me through times when I am stuck in the process of change and need a little boost in the right direction. When I am picking people to be in my support group, I will remember that support people need to be able to listen to my concerns, give me feedback, and help to champion my desire to be a self-advocate.

In this reference, as a BLESSED BEYONDIST, I hereby, make an ABSOLUTE AFFIRMATION that, I will be assertive without being aggressive while making a change. Once I have decided to make a change in my LIFE, gathered the facts about the change, weighed the pros and cons, and generated a support group, I will be ready to make the change. During the change I need to remember to be calm but assertive. If I become too aggressive, I may not accomplish that very thing that I want to change. Staying calm will allow me to carefully work through the change and allow others to guide me when I am stuck. Keeping my composure also allows me to be a more effective communicator about what I want for my LIFE. It is often helpful to set a time limit on how long I can take to make the change. Another thing to keep in mind while making a change in my LIFE is that I must be patient yet persistent. I understand that change takes time. Sometimes it takes years to accomplish a simple change. I will not let the trials that occur while making the change deter me from continuing with it.