|
|
What
is Value Fulfillment?... Value
Fulfillment Gives Meaning to Life by Jim Schütte
Of all the Seth and Jane Roberts concepts, value
fulfillment offers the most all-encompassing basis for
the meaning behind existence. The concept of value
fulfillment excites many Seth readers because it offers a
positive outlook on reality and the motivations of all
consciousness. It also provides us with a powerful, life-affirming
perspective on how consciousness creates on a mass level
toward a betterment of the individual and the whole.
Seth first mentions value fulfillment early in his co-creative
venture with Jane Roberts and her husband, Robert Butts,
in the early sixties. He defined it initially as "the
fulfillment of literally endless values" (How to
Develop Your ESP Power, chapter 10, session 54). Seth
used an analogy of a forest of trees representing past,
present, and future. He added that each tree expands
"in terms of fulfillment of abilities and values
that may be constructed upon various levels and in
various guises, your present field of existence being one"
(ibid.).
Seth later expands upon value fulfillment, calling it the
prime motivation behind All That Is. According to Seth,
every atom and particle is consciousness, and naturally
seeks to improve upon itself in a constant state of
becoming. That becoming is based on an excitement of
spontaneity and play, transformation and durability as
well as fulfilling the desire to be more than what it
once was. These "fundamental laws" as Seth
refers to them are "carried through in other
realities" as well as our own (The "Unknown"
Reality, Appendix 12, session 44.) Seth adds that value
fulfillment is followed through on our physical level
through physical growth, while we in our "particular
horizontal plane...follow this law under the auspices of
evolution" (ibid.).
Seth later elaborates on these "laws": "You
are born knowing that you possess a unique, intimate
sense of being that is itself, and that seeks its own
fulfillment, and the fulfillment of others. You are born
seeking the actualization of the ideal. You are born
seeking to add value to the quality of life, to add
characteristics, energies, abilities to life that only
you can individually contribute to the world, and to
attain a state of being that is uniquely yours, while
adding to the value fulfillment of the world (The
Individual and the Nature of Mass Events, chapter 9
session 862).
Such emphasis on the importance of individuality for the
good of the whole is unique. In order for the whole to
experience fulfillment, the individual must fulfill his
or her own private "values," values that aren't
concerned with morality. Seth also emphasizes that these
values "have to do with the quality of whatever life
the being feels is its center" (ibid., session 863)
and not quantity.
Yet part of what makes up the values of an individual is
the meaning that she applies to her life. Human beings
will not go on living without some meaning in their
existence, according to Seth. That meaning is basically
up to the individual to determine, couched in a framework
where "each species...is concerned...with an
intensification and fulfillment of those particular
qualities that are characteristic of it" (ibid.).
For instance, a sculptor who feels a magnificent sense of
exaltation through the continual evolution of her
creative work finds meaning in her life through "growing"
her art. She establishes meaning in her life through her
craft. Atoms themselves, which are endowed with
consciousness, "join together... to seek fulfillment
of themselves through form" (ibid., session 866).
Thus, value fulfillment is a fundamental, individually
driven power that affects all manner of consciousness in
the universe. Through value fulfillment, consciousness
applies meaning to existence, seeking the satisfaction
that can only come through a constant state of growth and
becoming.
Seth integrates many of these concepts in his book,
Dreams, "Evolution," and Value Fulfillment, and
offers a clear definition for us. Here Seth says that
value fulfillment "...means each form of life seeks
toward fulfillment and unfolding of all of the capacities
that it senses within its living framework, knowing that
in that individual fulfillment each other species of life
is also benefited" (session 910). Below are some
prime ideas that allow us to develop a deeper
understanding of value fulfillment.
Cooperation
Value fulfillment is typical in nature in that the "achievement"
of each life element in a forest affects all other
aspects in a positive way by improving the quality of
life in the ecosystem. For instance, weeds may intensify
in a marshy slope, spreading "proudly" as they
grow, but also absorbing moisture and preventing new tree
seedlings from flooding out. Hence, cooperation, another
important concept in the Seth/Jane ideas, is a pivotal
aspect of value fulfillment that all elements of
existence
innately understand.
Although biologists acknowledge cooperative plant
behavior, cooperation in nature is still generally
considered unacceptable to science. Scientists still
insist that the individual is only valuable in terms of
species survival, and that includes how it perceives
human evolution. Seth counters this notion: "...the
value fulfillment of the individual and the species go
hand in hand... No species basically biologically
considers its own existence with other species except in
a cooperative manner..." (ibid., session 911). Thus,
individual fulfillment has a positive impact on its own
species, and thus all species. Through a desire to
fulfill that which the individual values, each species
can cooperatively position itself for optimal growth and
becoming. According to Seth, the intricate web work of
nature contains far more cooperative relationships that
we often choose to perceive.
Enrichment
Seth's ideas about reincarnation also tie in with value
fulfillment. According to Seth, we each have different
lives or "aspects" that exist in different time
frames that simultaneously impact each other in the
"spacious present." Hence we choose our life
— time frame, location, gender, sexual orientation,
parents — in advance.
Oftentimes individuals select existences that are by no
means perfect. "Such a choice demands an
intensification. It is made on the part of the individual...
so that a certain group of people will relate to the
world in a highly characteristic way" (ibid.). That
kind of relationship with the culture produces a
perspective on reality that would never have existed if
not for a less-than-perfect life. It also poses necessary
questions that the culture may need to ask in order for
the society as a whole to experience quality enrichment.
Excellence
Value fulfillment and excellence are intimately
intertwined. "Value fulfillment always implies the
search for excellence — not perfection, but
excellence" (ibid., session 912). Perfection, as our
world culture has largely defined it, implies a static
state of being, where no future growth or achievement is
possible. If we become perfect in every possible way
imaginable, I can promise you that we'd be pretty bored.
Nor do we evolve into a perfect state of being over many
lifetimes as several religious doctrines state.
Seth says excellence provides us with a quality to seek
in ourselves and our lives that can always be improved
upon at a pace of our choosing. When we begin to
recognize that nature itself is filled with intricate
"imperfections," we can begin to have a loving
regard for our own imperfections and seek excellence in
how we conduct our lives.
Exploration
By exploring our own abilities and psychological
potential, we learn more than what we understood before
about ourselves and our universe. That knowledge expands
the quality of our being and affects all motivating
factors in our lives. By exploring ourselves and our
existence, we find meaning and fulfill that which we
value.
We also behave according to what Seth claims is our
"biological heritage" by continually exploring
and seeking meaning in our existence. Through exploring
our consciousness, we discover the unlimited potential
that resides within and the meaning that comes through
viewing ourselves as a pertinent part of All That Is.
Pleasure
Much satisfaction and pleasure plays itself out through
value fulfillment. The desire for pleasure often
motivates us to fulfill that which we value. Seth puts it
this way: "It is not so much that man or nature
seeks to satisfy needs, but to exuberantly,
rambunctiously seek pleasure — and through following
its pleasure each organism finds and satisfies its needs
as well" (ibid., session 933). Pleasure infuses a
desire for quality, thus promoting a state of becoming
that not only satisfies the individual, but improves the
quality of his existence as well.
Through trusting our natural desires, we recognize that
the pleasure we seek benefits the individual,
psychologically meeting needs but also creating an
environment where new and fantastic growth can accelerate.
And again, values fulfilled on the individual level
positively impact humanity on the mass level, thereby
improving the quality of All That Is. Unfortunately,
western culture has adopted many beliefs that dissuade
individuals from acknowledging that which pleases them,
oftentimes linking pleasure with sin. Such a belief
produces enormous guilt and distrust of desires that
spring naturally from the individual. For example, Jane
Roberts gained tremendous pleasure out of writing poetry
on unconventional themes as a young woman, yet the
Catholic Church frowned on such ideas. Had she not
trusted the value of her own personal pleasure and not
left the Church, we would not have a system of thought
called the Seth material in our lives today. Instead,
Jane chose to pursue her own individual value fulfillment.
The nature of our lives is continually impacted by our
own value fulfillment. Think to yourself all the things
that sustain meaning in your own life. What do you want
to do? What do you wish to achieve? What brings
excitement and pleasure into your life? If you could do
anything in your life, what would it be?
Those desires are entirely valid. They represent you in
the spacious present, seeking growth and continual
fulfillment. They also represent the direction you wish
to become. Your becoming is dependent on your "take"
on value fulfillment, on your private design for growth
that you and only you can ever experience. According to
Seth, dreaming and fantasizing about the fulfillment of
certain elements in you life that you value is essential
to growing closer to your personal ideal.
An ideal need not be a thing of perfection. An ideal
model can instead represent a magnificent manifestation
of creaturehood that itself has yearnings for becoming.
By placing a principle ideal in front of you that is by
no means perfect, but is in certain terms "more"
excellent than your present state, you set a powerful
pattern of growth before yourself. The path toward that
becoming begins with a clear definition of that ideal.
What would this ideal version of you have achieved? At
what point of his or her life would he or she be? What
would it take for you to become that idea? By activating
this kind of thinking, you're already beginning to
recognize your own drive toward value fulfillment.
Through fulfilling your values, you incorporate many
portions of your drive toward excellence and thus become
that which you call ideal.
How would our culture change if value fulfillment was a
consciously accepted fact of life? The changes are far
too myriad and dramatic to summarize here, but we can
safely acknowledge this: the ideas and practice of
competition and survival of the fittest would completely
dissipate, and cooperation and pursuing personal
excellence would instead meaningfully enrich our lives.
Value fulfillment is a rich and tantalizing concept that
is biologically ingrained in every portion of the world
we know and the driving power behind the consciousness we
have yet to fully discover. Simply accepting value
fulfillment as a crucial element in our own lives builds
trust not only in ourselves and our private motivations
but in the motivations of all those around us. We are
each seeking to fulfill that which we value in a precise
harmony that we can continually discover. En masse, the
potential for becoming is beyond words. I offer a poem in
closing that I hope you can intuitively absorb as a final
key to understanding the implications of value
fulfillment.
Mint Steam
Tiny liquid globes
flutter with my newborn dreams
I wonder, rubbing my eyes,
what world would want
individuals pitted against each other,
may the best man win.
Do we ever compete out of love?
With each sip,
my heart grows boisterous,
a swollen ball of motion
dancing rhythmically in my chest,
yet free from the bounds of
frozen perfection. I jot down
a phrase, a notion, a neural connection.
What biological miracles
in private revolution!
Fulfilled, I set the tea aside,
imagining the sip of a new brew,
wondering what values it will whisper
to my curious tongue.
Originally published in 'Reality Change: the Global Seth
Journal,' spring
1995. © Jim Schütte. All rights reserved.
more
|
