CDT09 | Transcend Human
Date: March 7, 2022
Welcome back to the podcast! More specifically the Conscience Driven Therapy Series.
A quick review on the structure of the series:
Conscience Driven Therapy
Learning to Transcend the Human Condition
PART I: THINGS WE CANNOT CONTROL
Chapter 1: A Lot of Things Came Before Us
Chapter 2: We Were Sent In a Specific Direction
Chapter 3: There Were Landmines & Minefields Along the Way
PART II: THINGS WE CAN CONTROL
Chapter 4: The First Step Toward Health & Healing
Chapter 5: Hold on to the Good - Release the Bad
Chapter 6: Locus of Control & ETOTO
Chapter 7: Understanding the Battle
Chapter 8: Knowing Is Half the Battle
Chapter 9: Transcend Human
Chapter 10: Becoming a CDT Ambassador
Minute of Transparency: The Artist's Way
Chapter 9: Transcend Human
Finding our mission
We are what we value
Living the TH lifestyle
PPA
ETOTO
Morning Papers from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
// 1. FINDING OUR MISSION
The first thing I wanted to cover is the connection between Transcend Human and Conscience Driven Therapy.
In this series I make it look like Transcend Human is part of Conscience Driven Therapy
But at the same time we're doing a series called Conscience Driven Therapy on the Transcend Human Podcast - which suggests CDT is part of Transcend Human
So which is it - which came first?
Well, the simple answer isn't all that simple...
This is the order of things...
The first book I ever wrote was called Controversy Theory
My theory on the Human Condition and how it impacts our lives - often in a negative way
Remember our phrase: First Understand. Then Act.
Well this was the First Understand part
Next, came Conscience Driven Therapy
At least in concept - I didn't write that book - but I knew it was the next logical step in the process - so I created and outline and began the process of thinking through each chapter and what it would address
This would be the Then Act part...the action steps for taking what we learned in CT and applying it to our everyday lives
Fast forward to 2019. I started having these thoughts and ideas around Transcend Human
I got excited as it seemed like a new idea with endless possibilities
I started writing - and that led to the podcast - and here we are over 100 episodes later...
So over time, this is how I've come to view all three:
Transcend Human is the overarching umbrella
It's a much simpler concept - the idea of Transcending Human
And it can be applied to hundreds of different topics - some that go together and others that have nothing to do with each other
And that's great!
But what I was finding was that each of my topics kept pulling in ideas and concepts from CT
So for those of you who have been around for a while - you'll remember this is why I did the CT series early on in the podcast
It made sense to knock it out and use it as a foundation for everything else
Then I went back to random topics
Then we did a series on parenting...
And finally - I got around to doing this series on CDT
So if Transcend Human is the umbrella - why is it also a chapter in CDT?
Great question...
And the simple answer is this: CDT is the action right? It's taking our knowledge from CT and putting it into action in our lives
Transcend Human is all about action as well - I mean it's in the name: "transcend" is a verb - an action word
According to dictionary.com: To transcend is to: "rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed"
So it makes sense that as we walk through CDT - one of the things we can do is to adopt the Transcend Human Lifestyle
The daily habit of working to rise above the Human Condition
Now that last statement should sound familiar - because it's part of the mission statement of Transcend Human.
So let's go there for a minute. And look at the mission statements (and subtitles) of each of the projects I've worked on.
Starting with Controversy Theory: https://transcendhuman.com/controversy-theory
"The Origin of the Human Condition"
Next we have Transcend Human: https://transcendhuman.com/
"How We Can Rise Above the Human Condition"
Then we have Conscience Driven Therapy: https://transcendhuman.com/conscience-driven-therapy
"Learning to Transcend the Human Condition"
And even Transcendent Parenting: https://transcendhuman.com/transcendent-parenting
"Proactive Parenting Within the Human Condition"
So you can see the way each ties into the other - and how they're all connected on some level.
This might seem trivial. But as begin this chapter on Transcend Human - we need to start at the beginning - with the Mission Statement:
"How We Can Rise Above the Human Condition"
Now we're not going to spend a lot of time here - but let's at least pull out the major elements:
The word "We:"
In order to Transcend Human - we must first understand the universality of the Controversy - the universality of the Human Condition
We aren't alone - we're all in this together
Nobody is better or less than anyone else
And nobody has a leg up on anyone else when it comes to getting out of the Human Condition
A perfect example of this is cancer:
Cancer, and other medical conditions are part of the Human Condition
Cancer doesn't care where you live, who you're related to or how much money you have
Cancer can find you if it chooses to
Next is the words "Rise Above:"
This is the action statement - the idea that we have to do something - stand up - get out of bed - and be proactive in deciding how we want our lives to go
Nobody is going to do it for us
There is no Easy Button
It's on us to live our best life
And the word "Above" suggests leaving something lower - something less than - so we're in a position that supersedes the common or routine
Next is the concept of the "Human Condition:"
This is what we're trying to rise above
The Human Condition is the common, routine thing in life
It's standard operating procedure
The default life that each of us experiences and the world suggests is normal...
But It's a way of living that is informed by the Sin Virus
And since the Sin Virus was brought to us by Satan himself - it makes sense that the Human Condition is a tainted version of the life God created for us
We can look at it this way:
When God created us - the Human Condition was perfect - so maybe we call this Human Condition v1.0
But when Satan brought us the Sin Virus and we agreed to it - we lost v1.0
Satan altered the perfect state of our existence, and pushed the Human Condition v2.0 to the production server
And this is where we find ourselves today
Living in the Human Condition v2.0
A far less than perfect operating system - very similar to Windows Millennium or Windows 8 or Windows Vista...
Just thought I'd throw that in there for all you IT nerds...
Basically - we are now living life in less than ideal conditions
We moved from the perfect life that wasn't supposed to end, to one that will end and is full of painful elements along the way
This is the Human Condition that Transcend Human is talking about
It's the one we're trying to rise above
To wrap up this section let's just say it's important to have this as our mission - to rise above the Human Condition v2.0...
// 2. WE ARE WHAT WE VALUE
Once we truly believe it's our mission to rise above the Human Condition - the obvious questions is, "How do we do that?"
Well, Transcend Human has a few suggestions - and they come in the form of values statements.
Obviously these aren't the only values that matter - just the ones Transcend Human chose to focus on.
These are:
Truth
Transparency
Growth
Love
https://transcendhuman.com/mission-values (also available as a download)
Now we touched on these right before we started this series, in Episode 96 | Transcend Human Revisited 2022
But we really just addressed them as high level concepts that help define the DNA of Transcend Human.
After the Mission Statement, these four values are the genetic building blocks that hold the entire idea together.
So let's walk through them from a slightly different vantage point.
Instead of viewing them as things Transcend Human believes. Let's ask this question:
What if we lived our lives as if we fully believed in these four values?
What if we wrote them on a sticky note and placed them on our bathroom mirror? On the dashboard of our car?
And looked at them each day - asking ourselves if we're living up to those beliefs?
If we're making decision based on them?
Or if we've gotten off track - and are living in direct conflict with them?
That's how I want to walk through them today.
So let's start with the value of TRUTH:
Two elements to this one:
Absolute Truth
Living "Controversy Aware”
Absolute Truth:
Do we believe that there are some things that just are?
Things that exist whether we want them to or not?
Realities like "gravity" and the boiling point of pure water?
Constants that provide us two options:
We can either spend our lives trying to dispute and disprove them
Or we can spend our lives building on the solid foundation of these truths. It's up to us
But in order to Transcend Human, we must come to believe that Absolute Truth exists
And the sooner we admit this, the sooner we can move to the next level in our development
Living "Controversy Aware:"
According to Transcend Human - the Controversy is an Absolute Truth
God is an Absolute Truth
Lucifer, now Satan is an Absolute Truth
The Sin Virus is an Absolute Truth
And the battle between God and Satan is an Absolute Truth
This is what we call the Controversy
It's an Absolute Truth and something we must believe in order to have an accurate world view
In order to see the world for what it is - to see clearly using the filter of the Controversy
This is what it means to live "Controversy Aware"
Next, let's talk about value of TRANSPARENCY:
Same here - there are two elements to Transparency:
Willing to be transparent with ourselves
Willing to be transparent with others
First, being transparent with ourselves:
Being transparent with others is difficult - and we'll get to that - but it's almost as hard at time for us to be transparent with ourselves
To fully know ourselves and understand what's going on under the hood
To do a ruthless inventory of our lives:
Our thinking
Our behaving
Our emotional state
Our tendencies
Our rationalizations
Our weaknesses
Our blindspots
Our addictions
And the list goes on...
What if we did a full investigation? Left no stone unturned?
What if we asked every hard question, got the correct answer, wrote it all down and then printed off the completed document?
That would be us choosing transparency with ourselves
Next, is being transparent with others:
So once we have our transparent investigative report completed - do we just file it away? Or do we allow other people to read it?
Transcend Human suggests that if we file it away - we won't transcend anything
But if we're willing to share it with others - there's no telling how far we can go
Now...there are boundaries...
You don't take your report and publish it on the Internet for every person on the planet to see
There are limitations to transparency - and who you should be transparent with
Let's look at a few levels of this:
Obviously we should be transparent with God - even though He already knows everything - He still loves when you bring your thoughts, ideas and concerns to Him
Your partner or spouse. This is probably the person you should be the most transparent with in your life. When the Bible explains, "The 2 shall becoming 1" - what do you think that meant? We're supposed to live together but keep all sorts of secrets from each other? Not at all. Marriages that are open and transparent have a far greater chance of making it than marriages where secrets reign supreme
A therapist or counselor. This is a unique relationship to be sure. You don't know the person at all - but in order for them to help you you need to be as transparent as possible
Your family. A family should be a safe place where people can be themselves and be open about the things they struggle with as well as their dreams and aspirations. In Episode 88 | Transcending Secrecy we spent a full episode diagnosing the issues that occur when families choose not to be transparent with each other
Friends and acquaintances. Next, and on a lower level is the transparency you have with friends, acquaintances and coworkers
And finally - we'll just say the world at large. Strangers, people you come in contact with etc. Now you may balk at this and say, "Why are we even talking about this group - they have no right to my transparency..."
And you'd be right
But what if there are times when public transparency can actually make the world a better place?
Think about the last autobiography you read - where the author opened up about a difficult time in their life?
Think about me on Transcend Human - trying to be transparent about some of the things I went through in life - even things I did that were embarrassing or things that got me into trouble
Is that wrong?
I don't think so. In fact I think this is next level transparency. When we get to a place where we're so comfortable with who we are that we can be transparent for the benefit of others
Next up, the value of GROWTH:
Three elements to this one:
Being Proactive vs. Reactive
Becoming a Lifelong Learner
Moving from Consumer to Contributor
The first, Being Proactive vs. Reactive:
We won't spend a lot of time on this one since we just covered it last week!
In Chapter 8: Knowing is Half the Battle we spend an entire section talking about being proactive
Choosing in advance how we want to live, how we want to react to things
Instead of having no plan - and just walking into situations blind
Blowing up because we didn't think things through before the situation occurred
This is an important piece of the puzzle - and we solidified it by completing a Personalized Plan of Attack (PPA) which we'll chat about a bit more here in a minute...
Next, Becoming a Lifelong Learner:
My apologies to anyone reading this who is still in high school or college
My guess is this sounds terrible!
You want to get through school ASAP and then not have to study ever again - right?!
But it probably wouldn't take me long to convince you otherwise...
Because we are high capacity beings
We have the ability to learn new things every day
Sure we can go stagnant and choose not to learn new things - but what a waste!
Transcend Human believes that the only way we'll transcend anything is to adopt an attitude of GROWTH
Here are just a few things we can keep learning about:
Our Creator
Ourselves
Our partners/spouses
Our kids
The world around us
A new hobby
Historical information
A new skill
Another culture or people group
Other genders
And the list goes on...
Last word on this...never stop learning
Finally, Moving from Consumer to Contributor:
Let me clarify right out of the gate - We're not saying, "Stop being a consumer"
As human beings we're built to consume - think about it:
Our senses are all about consumption:
We see things
We hear things
We smell things
We eat things
We feel things
All things coming into our bodies on some level - being experienced, ingested or consumed
And there's nothing wrong with that!
Enjoy a good movie
Read a good book every now and then
Have Giordano's Pizza whenever you get the chance!
But balance things out:
As a human being - God created us in His image
God is creative - we're creative
That means we come up with things - unique things
And that's our contribution
That's how we become a contributor
Some write, some draw, some make movies, some sing, some dance, some are amazing athletes, some heal, some legislate...
I mean think of all the creative things people do in this world from their careers, to their hobbies and talents
At the end of the day don't overlook your unique contribution to this world
Move in that direction
Consume things, but make sure to give back as well
And finally, the value of LOVE:
Two elements here:
Because He first loved me
Living the "Others First" Lifestyle
Because He first loved me:
This overlaps a bit with our conversation about Absolute Truth
And we also touched on this in Chapter 4: The First Step Toward Health & Healing
When we discussed the idea that we all have intrinsic value
And that we need to understand that value before tow things can happen:
Before we'll ever love ourselves enough to care for ourselves
And before we'll ever have the capacity to love others
This is monumental - and why we talked about it as a first step on the path to health and healing
We need to understand this Absolute Truth: God created us, He loves us, and He would have come to Earth to save us if we were the only person on the face of the planet
That's a mouthful - but let it sink deep into your soul
Because it's the foundation to living a life with purpose and meaning
Living the "Others First" Lifestyle:
Like we said, when we come to an understanding of our value - we start treating ourselves better
And we also see that if I have value - so does everyone else God created - which means we're all equally important
And this is what softens out hard exterior - allowing us to live more like Jesus lived - with the "Others First" mindset
I'm assuming we all remember the WWJD bracelet craze?
WWJD stands for What Would Jesus Do
And if you read the Bible - you'll see that TWJD
That's What Jesus Did...
He loved others first
So what does that look like for us?
Putting others first?
Holding the door for people?
Helping people when they drop something or have a flat tire?
Offering food or money to a homeless person?
Giving money to charitable organizations?
Helping kids in need by providing a safe place for your kids friends?
Being a foster parent?
I mean - all good things
But for me - there's always been an invisible line:
I would say I try to put others first
But when I really look at the things I've done - they're often things that hover on this side of the line
And that line is the "comfort line"
I've been super helpful to people in ways that are pretty comfortable to me
Or said another way, I don't often go outside my comfort zone to help others
But maybe for me - that's an area of GROWTH
An area I need to lean into
Doing things for others that require me to be inconvenienced, to get dirty, to miss out on things, to lose sleep, or to give something up in order to complete the task at hand
That's the "Others First" Lifestyle
I don't know that I'm there yet - but I understand what I need to do to get there
So that's it for this section. The 4 Values of Transcend Human. Or the 4 things we can value in order to move to the next level.
// 3. LIVING THE TRANSCEND HUMAN LIFESTYLE
So let's wrap things up by simply calling it the, "Transcend Human Lifestyle."
Which is strange right? Because we're in a series called Conscience Driven Therapy. So shouldn't we call it:
Living the Conscience Driven Lifestyle?
Or living the CDT Lifestyle?
I mean sure - those both sound great. But I'm leaning more and more toward the idea that Conscience Driven Therapy is a tool we can use as we attempt to Transcend Human. That Transcending Human is the overarching goal - and we must understand Controversy Theory and use Conscience Driven Therapy in order to achieve it.
Let me say that one more time...
So let's walk through a simple outline of the Transcend Human Lifestyle:
Get on mission: Which is to rise above the Human Condition
Live by your values: TRUTH / TRANSPARENCY / GROWTH / LOVE
But feel free to add more!
Add values that mean something to you specifically
Things that help you take steps forward in life
Use the tools you have: We've spent the last 9 weeks walking through Conscience Driven Therapy - and in that time we walked through the following tools:
The Landmines & Minefields Inventory
The Assets & Strengths Inventory
The Personalized Plan of Attack (PPA)
The Cognitive Reframing Workflow, or the ETOTO Worksheet
Change your world view:
On the Transcend Human Podcast - most episodes discuss a felt need topic
For example:
Transcending Short Sightedness
Transcending Negativity
Transcending Drama
Transcending Balance
Transcending Differences
In each episode - what I'm trying to do is suggest the "transcendent" way to view that thing
So for example: If the topic was Transcending Anger:
We would look at what anger is
How the world looks at it
How it impacts us
And what we could do to rise above it - be proactive - and choose to react differently than the world assumes we will
And that's just a simple example
What if we all adopted this world view on the things that are problem areas for us?
What if we did that ruthless and transparent moral inventory on ourselves
Documented our weaknesses and blind spots
Then ran each of them through this new filter?
What would it look like to view the world this way moving forward?
Start a new rhythm:
Do something new!
Learn something new!
Start contributing in a new way!
Or maybe it's as simple as creating a new ritual or habit
In the MOT we talked about Julia Cameron's Morning Pages
Maybe that's something that would work for you?
Start getting up each morning - or even three days a week
Write three longhand pages of whatever's on your mind
And see where it takes you
At this point - the only thing we have holding us back is ourselves. Or put a slightly different way:
“Our superpowers are limited only by our greatest excuses.”
Let’s land the plane:
This week, ask yourself the following questions:
What does it look like for you to "Rise above the Human Condition?"
What do you think about the 4 Values: TRUTH / TRANSPARENCY / GROWTH / LOVE
Anything you can do in one of these areas this week?
What would it look like for you to start living the Transcend Human Lifestyle?
Just pick one thing this week and try it out
Maybe it's wrestling with one of the 4 values
Maybe it's downloading an ETOTO Worksheet and working through some irrational thoughts and beliefs you've uncovered
Whatever it is - stop making excuses and take your next step in the process!
Thank you for being here today - hope you're enjoying the series as much as I have been.
Next week we wrap things up with: Chapter 10: CDT10 | Becoming a CDT Ambassador
With that, have a great week, and as always, keep Transcending Human!