“Evolve into the
person you always wanted to be.” – Shri Nagesh
 | |
| Photo by Rick Hustead |
One
of my psychology professors at college described a philosophy of developmental
psychology whereby each person is actually a completely different organism at
different stages of development. This concept is understandable if you compare
a photograph taken of you as an infant and compare the image to you as a
toddler, young child (age 5-7), at age 10, early teens, etc. through your age
right now. When you look hard at specific features and details of your expression,
shape of your ears/nose/eyes and even the way you clasp your hands in front of
your body, you can see traits and features that are totally “you.” But there
are will also be other attributes that are less obvious and even invisible,
such as the knowledge, experience, beliefs and attitudes that you have acquired
and developed over the years. Today you may not be able to do some of the
physical activities you enjoyed when you were 10 years old, let alone remember
participating in that activity.
From
birth to whatever age you are right now reading this blog is actually a long
time in which you will have had plenty of opportunities to develop—evolve—into
the person you are today. Whether your suggestibility
is physical (direct and literal) or emotional (inference and metaphor), over
time you have been acquiring, processing and acting upon various physical/sensory
stimuli that have helped to mold your belief systems and behaviors. Furthermore,
your sexual
personality facilitates the attraction to another person with whom to
eventually create a strong partnership bond. Then, if you choose, this
relationship will facilitate the creation of your own family. From a strictly
biological or even Darwinian perspective, such creation of new generations is
the evolutionary goal of the human species.
But
there is another, more recent, modern concept of evolution: self-growth. In the
last 50 years or so, there have been many tremendous opportunities to achieve
what 20th Century psychologist Abraham
Maslow described as “self-actualization.” According to his Hierarchy of
Needs theory, once a person’s basic needs for survival and social integration
are achieved the focus shifts to achieving personal goals such as
self-fulfillment and realizing our potential for emotional and spiritual growth.
Modern advances in science and technology have enabled us to learn more about
different cultures and travel to far-away places and experience more “life”
before settling down to raise a family. In the United States and many other
Western countries and cultures, it is more acceptable to postpone starting a
family to work on personal development and achieve personal goals, first. The
advent of social media has enabled us to express ourselves and share our beliefs
and opinions with a much wider audience than could previous generations. Without
our ancestors’ and previous generations’ life experiences and technological
advances that occurred during their lifetimes, it is unlikely that we would be
able to enjoy these opportunities, either.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified
hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors
from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in 2005. For more
information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an
appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2016
