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The idea(s) that a good job, a comfortable place to live and many loving people around you is infinite contributes to humanity's pain, grief and general turmoil. Yet, there is a way to root yourself in a firm foundation. From that point it is easy to build these units into your blueprint ~ an experience of life that does not disappear or fade away.
See this week's video: Living From the Top Down
Why Live From the Top Down
This week's message is so crucial to your spiritual life that I am including the complete text so you can read the message as well as view the video.
I am talking about living from the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid - the one that tells you to foundation your life on the basic need to survive and then work up from there. Maslow considered this pyramid to be the motivating factor in humanity ~ and well it might be.
So, if you take this to heart and look at the pyramid, you see that the first element in being human is physiology ~ how you live, breathe, sleep, procreate, etc. This is followed by safety within the realm of family, your job or career, your belief systems, etc.
According to this concept, once you have gotten these two firmly under control (remembering that control is always relative), then you can begin working on aspects that are a bit more altruistic, i.e. the realm of friendships, intimacy, authenticity - those attributes that make up your more right-brained view of the world.
Living from the Top Down
I am talking about living from the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid - the one that tells you to foundation your life on the basic need to survive and then work up from there. Maslow considered this pyramid to be the motivating factor in humanity ~ and well it might be ~
So, if you take this to heart and look at the pyramid, you see that the first element in being human is physiology ~ how you live, breathe, sleep, procreate, etc. This is followed by safety within the realm of family, your job or career, your belief systems, etc.
According to this concept, once you have gotten these two firmly under control (remembering that control is always relative), then you can begin working on aspects that are a bit more altruistic, i.e. the realm of friendships, intimacy, authenticity - those attributes that make up your more right-brained view of the world.
If we stop here for a moment and consider what I have just said, you will begin to realize that this idea applies to the animal world as well as the human dimension. All animals seek first their need to breathe, sleep and procreate. After that comes seeking of food and depending upon the nature of the animal, the hunting of sustenance may merge into creating relationships within the pack, pride or herd. Often the hunt is followed by sharing the food with the alpha animals receiving the first fruits of the labor. This sharing creates a symbiosis within the group and, again, it changes from species to species with some not addressing this area much at all.
Fourth on the ladder as we climb up is the area of esteem, self-confidence, respect of self and others. Again, this is something humanity also shares with the animal world. Respect within the flock, pack, pride and herd is very important in the pecking order of all animals. Without a sufficient amount of respect and esteem, many animals find it impossible to survive. Frankly, in the animal world, I would place this set of items closer to the second rung – but no matter, let's continue.
Finally, the last section of the pyramid is labeled Self-Actualization which includes morality, creativity, spontaneity, etc. I would include within this last section, the point of the pyramid, your ability to be consciously aware that you are God in form. Why? Because that is what you are – God in manifested form – however you see that God, Source, All That Is, Eminence or the thousands of other names for the Ineffable. You ARE that Ineffable in a created vehicle of expression.
So, let's take a look at what that means. If you are the creator in a created form, why would you base your entire existence upon the need to survive? Why would you not base it upon knowing that you are the Creator having an experience that you have manifested and designed for yourself?
This is what I mean by living from the top down. Just as the original pyramid is foundationed upon a basic need to survive and everything stems from there, reversing the pyramid sets the groundwork upon Self-Actualization and the experience of flow in peak experiences.
Within this Self-Actualization (The Presence of the Essence Within You) lies your inner creativity and self-worth. They reside within the flow inherent within you. When you place your attention on the moment within which you are living, you activate your will to be alive, to create; you feel your union with all life. That is why it is called "being in the flow". You lose the sense of having to strive and are actually alive . . . in the actual flow of being conscious, being alive.
This is where Self-Actualization comes in. The definition of Self-Actualization is the process of making your Self real. You are not real when you are distracted by the currents of activities around you, are living from a sense of fear or lack, trying to survive, looking for esteem from your fellow "animals".
Starting at the top and living from the top down, you next address your psychological needs. Well, that is a moot point if you are self-actualized because when you are actually being your self, you have no psychological needs because you have fulfilled them. The idea of "needs of the mind" stems from the original Hierarchy of Needs . . .
the theory that after you have met your physical needs for survival, after you feel safe and loved, you will address the inner requirements of the mind. And, yet, when you are living from the top, when you are actualizing each day with the knowing that you are God in form going about your earthly tasks, there are no psychological needs because you have met them for yourself through your awareness of your Essence.
Continuing down from the top to the bottom of the pyramid, the need for love, safety and comfort piggy back nicely onto basic needs for survival because though you may believe that you only need food and water to survive, if given only those and no sense of safety or hope of comfort, you will find yourself slowly withering away from stress, heightened cortisol and adrenaline levels and . . . ultimately, depression and death. Living from the foundation of survival needs first, relies upon your reptilian/animal brain and constricts you to a life as a physical "animal" inhabiting earth.
Yet, when you live from the top down, you will realize that self-actualization, being in the flow of the moment, living your life from a state of creativity, experiencing a sense of union and connection . . . all of these fulfill your psychological needs providing a sense of safety and comfort from which to supply your basic physical needs. This is much more than survival.
This is thriving, contentment . . . a deep, inner sense of well-being. Within your self-actualized, thriving conscious awareness of being alive in earth, you then know that you are not alone, that you are one with all that is because you ARE All That Is – in form, in a created universe and dimension – God in form having a physical experience. This peak experience within your awareness IS the foundation of your life on earth. It fulfills you, actualizes you and completes you. It is this for which you were born. This is your Essence and the awareness of its Presence within you.
Begin living from the top down. Re-create your life on a firmer foundation – one that is infinitely available and always present. Let "I am God in form" be your mind's reflection back to you – every day – in every moment, thought, word and action. That – only that – I am God in form.
Toni Elizabeth Sar'h Petrinovich
Doctor of Metaphysics
International Metaphysical Minister
Author of The Call, Awakening the Angelic Human
http://www.youaresacred.com/
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