Post 6. Okay, motivation.

This is actually two-part research, but I need to post this to refer to later in another analysis of modern culture. The direction modern culture is headed in is exciting, but to understand that one needs to visit the theoretical framework which makes it such.


***
Changing over time: Identity, Transcendence, New Identity.

     It is with some sense of irony that I am discussing the process through which personalities might change over time using theories that, once constructed, were evaluated and reconstructed over time. The process of change is not unlike the process which the authors I am writing from went through during their search for the universal understanding of motivation. In the first step, we have the introduction and maintenance of a healthy sense of ego and identity which strives for achievement and a salient role within society, through which the peak experiences are introduced and then describe a sense of meaning in itself, that then as though through some alchemy or catalyzing fire of spiritual individuation the constructions which led to this ego identity are transcended. This is not a static process and there are certainly different dispositions which individuals might have, and specific sets of skills which they may have available that contribute to emotional maturation, are the genesis of entirely unique individuals although their values may become similar. So it is not also without irony that I introduce this idea, that the overall source of generativity had been identified in transpersonal psychology which is generalizable toward all people, so that we might understand their unique story throughout the spiritual process. Abraham Maslow (1974), described very thoroughly what he thought of as the peak experiences he described them as a mindfulness activity which transcended normal perceptions of time and space and in which perfect attention toward some event idea or object was attained. In a sense he reaffirms the idea that any one thing given complete attention becomes indescribable and magnificent in itself, and that these relationships transcend typical figure-ground relationships and are instead experiences without categorization or ontological judgment, they are outside of the self-other dichotomy. In participatory spirituality the initial phases of this dichotomy are thought of as a maturation phase a dialectic which according to Ferrer (2011), “displays what it may be the deepest dynamics of the self-disclosing of the mystery” (p. 6). To Ferrer, his motivation was the inevitable discovery of the unfolding of events played out by the cosmos at his time and place, and his notion of ‘the mystery’ is describing itself through experiences and systems which can be explained not unlike Maslow’s peak experiences. Ferrer (2011), also describes an epistemology for establishing what he would say are healthy belief systems or religious systems which all can be said to be striving in the individual sense toward the attainment of mindfulness and the perfect awareness which Maslow describes as an integral part of every peak experience. So it is with very little reservation that I say once a person has a fully healthy and developed sense of self-identity that each person seeks the meaning found in the peak experiences which inevitably lead toward mindfulness practice and a healthy sense of being, that is a sense of being not dependent on the gratification of deficiency needs but instead based on in-the-moment awareness and on being-cognition. Later in life I suppose I can describe various differences in pathological personalities which might be deficiencies in this maturation process, but the question at hand is about how people are motivated to change. 

Ego-Identity

            My conception of the development of ego-identity comes from research on what are considered the more socially established motivational systems like expectancy-value theory and social identity theory in the context of achievement motivation. There is a dialectic present that Weiner (2010), describes in terms of whether an individual has perceived control over events, people with high achievement needs might view the world as controllable while people with lower achievement needs might view the world as more static. This same dialectic is analogously described in another article about the affective predispositions toward achievement or toward failure avoidance that individuals may gain through their developmental processes or temperament (Bjornebekk, 2008). Whenever I am asked to differentiate whether something is caused by a developmental temperament or through learned responses to the environment I simply say “yes”. Both of these researchers are describing different types of people who are motivated to achieve in different ways. Later in this writing it will be established that there are dialectics like these surrounding even the notion of people as they are motivated either by satisfying some need generated through deficiency or through some need facilitated through the realization of agapean love. In either case whenever presented with a nature versus nurture dialectical argument some component of both influences is required to solve the issue in question.

            At the heart of achievement motivation is the concept of self-evaluation and self-categorization which comes as a part of the valance of tasks and accomplishments (Geen, 1984). Self-categorization also plays a role in intergroup differentiation as people might tend to present salient parts of themselves which they have identified are congruent with a group prototype, a behavior which can simultaneously meet needs for belonging and for distinctiveness (van Knippenberg, 2000). Individuals may begin to define themselves in terms of their various group memberships and identify with the salient traits of each group and bring them into their own sense of identity (van Knippenberg, 2000). People also tend to particularly emphasize the distinctiveness of social groups they are in as a part of reinforcing this identity (Tasdemir, 2011). The cognitive and affective psychological consequences of accomplishing tasks reflects directly on an individual’s self-esteem and expectancy of future success, while the controllability of the outcome reflects on a person’s sense of shame or guilt about failure, and these affects in turn influence a person’s striving (Weiner, 2010). A person may be motivated through different strategies toward achievement but success or failure in achievement is internalized as a person develops a self-actualizing identity and sense of ego. Self-actualization in this context is the initial striving to meet one’s potential, where what an individual can be he will strive to be (Maslow, 1943). It should be noted at this point also that behavior theory is not synonymous with motivation theory, as we have seen people are individuating themselves in a way that is distinctive and salient among their social groups and establishing a relational sense of self using the skills and reference points available in the culture and surrounding groups. This process of achievement motivation which has been researched so deeply is what I would call the first phase of healthy development. This is the establishment and categorization of a distinctive and rewarding sense of self. This process of self-selection and categorization could be said to be self-actualization when a person has only the scope of deficiency-needs to motivate her, and although some people fulfill this need for adequacy and self-identification some may not move beyond this point in the theoretical framework I am describing. Maslow’s initial sense of self-actualization may be fitting for some people in their time and place, and with the strategies they have formed for meeting their basic needs and for maintaining the individualist ego. It is at this point I must place in contrast Maslow’s idea of being-cognition which cannot be said to be striving toward an individual sense of ego. Instead what Maslow describes as the result of peak experiences a kind of godly-love or agapean love for a person or object or experience, where the love for these things is not based on fulfilling a deficiency it is instead detached, altruistic, admiring, unselfish; it is to be experienced for what it is and not to gratify individual needs (Maslow, 1974). This kind of self-transcending admiration is more like a collective ideal and it is not entirely inconsequential that Maslow and Ferrer both compared this ideal to more complete descriptions of mindful being in the eastern belief systems (Maslow, 1974; Ferrer, 2011). What these two kinds of cognition have in common between the deficiency-need cognition and the being-cognition is that they both have an underlying generativity which comes from a sense of meaning either from an egocentric object-ground (self-other) relation or a more collective and complete transcendent experience. The establishment of identity within society and as a legacy may begin to show the pathway toward more mature goals that become understood through the peak experiences.

The Peak Experiences

            Peak experiences are not voluntary, they are considered non-volitional experiences that will cannot command, that simply happen to us at our time and place (Maslow, 1974). In a way iterating this kind of experience for Maslow began to catalyze and consume his initial sense of self-actualizing people, he could no longer describe self-actualizing experiences in terms of self and other dialectics or basic needs, and he ended up recanting some of his previous assertions of what a mature motivational need looked like (Maslow, 1974). The process Maslow went through is not unlike the process I am describing of this writing, but to describe the peak experiences that begin this transformation I would leave it to him. Maslow (1974) states, “The peak experience is felt as a self-validating, self-justifying moment which carries its own intrinsic value with it.” (p. 89). Maslow (1974) goes on to describe these kinds of cognitions as, “so valuable that they make life worth while by their occasional occurrence.” (p.89).  Some of the examples illustrated were: Moments of parental experience, such as the way a mother admires her child, as she cares for and perceives all aspects of an infant; the natural experience, which excludes human utility for nature but that is instead an appreciation of nature by and for itself (this is not unlike the ancient eastern philosophy the Tao stipulated by Laozi); the aesthetic appreciation of beauty, without the inclusion of human projections upon it, e.g. a section of cancer viewed through a microscope which has indescribable aesthetic organization if we can forget that it is cancer; the creative moment in which something is brought from contemplation into existence; the therapeutic or intellectual insight, which is without the usual perceptions of time and space but is instead a complete moment in itself; the sexual orgasmic experience of fusion between heightened biological and spiritual experience; and lastly some kinds of athletic fulfillment at the moment of success (Maslow 1974). From the point of view of normal experience, peak experiences are quite different. When contrasting being-cognition and peak experience with normal experience, Maslow (1974) asserts, “Peak experiences are from this point of view more absolute and less relative.” (p. 92). Maslow was very careful about the use of absolutes but what he is describing in a sense is the lack of figure-ground relationship in the peak experiences, this peculiar perceptual experience is what I would build on when describing peak experience as the result of mindfulness activity. Peak experiences are non-volitional experiences which are entirely attended to and immersive in nature, and then he describes it as a passive process which is characterized by an affective sense of wonder, awe, and humility (Maslow, 1974). After reading Maslow’s description of the occurrence of peak experiences I would say that mindfulness meditation and some spiritual practices like it are very similar to what he is describing. At this point I would focus on the description of peak experiences as being outside the normal perception of the passage of time, and that the peak experiences involve absolute attention and awareness of the experience (Maslow, 1974).

Mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation is an activity which cultivates these kinds of peak experiences. It is a process through which people strive for a sense of non-judgmental acceptance of each moment, and the detached observation of sensations, emotions and thoughts (Holzel, et. al, 2008). People who meditate often had undergone some neurophysiological changes, they had strengthened the grey matter around the left inferior temporal gyrus and the right hippocampus (Holzel, et. al, 2008). Mindfulness meditation results in a change in brain circuitry and in magnetic resonance imaging studies had been found that mindfulness activates the hippocampus regions of the brain and strengthen them (Engstrom, Pihlsgard, Lundberg & Soderfelt, 2010). There are neurological changes which may increase over time, new brain circuitry which may enable peak-experience or at the very least, coping with adversity. Mindfulness-based stress-reduction therapy has been found to be effective as a means of improving the mental health of individuals, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy helps prevent relapse for people who suffer from depressive episodes (Fjorback, Arendt, Ornbol, Fink & Walasch, 2011). Not only is being-cognition something that is sought after and achieved through mindfulness practice, but the practice itself can actually be psychologically beneficial. Peak experiences are always felt as benevolent in nature and they are good experiences (Maslow, 1974). Experiencing and cultivating a lot of being-cognition in the peak experiences enhances perception and attentiveness, and also tends to lead to more peak-experiences (Maslow, 1974). I am not very skeptical that mindfulness practice, and the seeking of peak experiences is a good thing, if I can say it helps people psychophysiologically as well. People were also more able to differentiate among emotions and better experience affective states, and mindfulness practice had led to better emotional regulation in people who were familiar with the skills (Hill & Updegaff, 2012). It makes sense that people seek this kind of attentiveness and mindfulness, as apparently it is very soothing and beneficial to individuals who are coping.

Ferrer (2011), stipulates that where these kinds of mental pursuits are acknowledged, western culture actually hinders the maturation of nonmental attributes and processes making it normally necessary to engage in intentional activities like mindfulness meditation in order to bring these physical and spiritual attributes up to the same developmental level which the mind achieves through mainstream education.

To wrap up the section on peak experiences I also have to indicate that these processes which are doubtlessly beneficial and helpful to individuals are also acquired through unintentional and selfless pursuits. The peak experiences tend to enlighten us, help us cope and solve problems, but they also show us a way to achieve a sense of completeness and agapean love for experience. Maslow finally writes “My findings indicate that in the normal perceptions of self-actualizing people and in the more occasional peak experiences of average people, perception can be relatively ego-transcending self-forgetful, egoless.” (p. 88). It is also necessary to point out for further research that this theory connects western psychology with egocentrism; traditional self-actualization can be thought of in the cross-cultural context as a western and individualist pursuit. Western psychology at the time of the discovery of self-transcendence regarded cognition as a process which was constantly a response to the environment and was an instrumental mechanism for maintaining identity (Maslow, 1974). Western psychology was said to view the world only from the standpoint of egocentric awareness in which individuals were the centering point (Maslow, 1974). I think these descriptions of mindfulness and peak experiences come from very old ideas except that they are not very old western ideas.

Peak experiences end up inevitably transcending the ego through an alchemical change of ideas surrounding one’s self and one’s role in a greater environment. A selfless love for another person, or experience, place, or object paradoxically catalyzes the sense of ego-identity forward and through this maturation people begin to be motivated by the freedom that such an unselfish detachment enables. In contrast Maslow made up a term which he called rubricizing, which was the necessary categorization and judgment of people and experience that self-actualizing people must have; and then he described peak experiences not unlike mindfulness experiences in the way that these experiences are non-judgmental, passive, they do not project human needs outward, they are without human utility or need for recognition (Maslow, 1974).

Conclusion

            Abraham Maslow had to go through a transformation of his work and his ideas to arrive at the notion that there is not necessarily always an egocentric need which motivates people; the need might be instead for experiences which illustrate that we’re meaningful and aware of ourselves and our surroundings in a mindful way. As this kind of cognition is cultivated, peak experiences happen to us more often than they would if we had not been having them before, and each one of them creates a deeper affection for complete understanding and awareness of being, as a complete picture. The need for rubricising is no longer prevalent in our minds and we begin to move toward non-judgment and acceptance of experience without our other more neurotic tendencies and human responses to the environment such as fear of uncertainty. Instead what really makes work worthwhile is the experience of being in that time and place and being so fully aware of it that it takes hold and guides us away from egocentrism and individualist senses of ego. The transformation of self-actualization from ego-identity to self-transcendence and awareness is a process which needs dialectics to operate it needs the ego as fuel for the changes that occur out of the contrasts between our basic needs and the desire to contact moments of egoless being-cognition. Neither ego or egolessness could develop without the other. If we do, move into more spiritual pursuits as a means of becoming more accepting of the experience around us, there are a few epistemological tests which can help establish the validity of spiritual experience (Ferrer, 2011). These are: The egocentrism test, a test which assesses the degree to which a belief system will free people from narcissism and self-centeredness; the dissociation test, a guideline which evaluates the ability for a belief system to foster detachment and integrated development in all dimensions of a person; and the ego-socio-political test which assesses the amount that ecological balance can be found by the practitioners of a belief system in terms of basic human rights (Ferrer, 2011).

            Applying these ideas realistically and in order to foster change in the world I have found that transpersonal psychology enables the recovery of OEF/OIF veterans. The premise is that because these people have been living a life of service they have established a sense of transpersonal agapean love for the people they are protecting, and that through these experiences have become being-people who can go into society and cultivate this awareness. (Osran, Smee, Sreenivasan & Weinberger, 2010). People through life experience in service have been experiencing the peak experiences and have already given up an egocentric desire to be completely independent or individual, we can apply the mindfulness techniques to help veterans cope with traumatic stress anxiety.  We can also point out that, their emotional and spiritual growth from self-actualizing to self-transcending is useful experience and can help many others in society within the context of The United States (Osran, Smee, Sreenivasan & Weinberger, 2010). Not all veterans come to appreciate the society which they had worked to protect, but through a non-judgmental stance the society can be objectified and observed critically. A way to detach and observe a society might be the best way to find something within it to begin bonding with again. The experience of combat can sometimes be a peak experience if there is a sense of higher-ordered meaning to the events; the questions arising about why an individual survives these conflicts might contribute to a more attentive awareness and therefore peak-experience (Osran, Smee, Sreenivasan & Weinberger, 2010).

            Hopefully, the advent of non-judgmental and fully attended experiences can become inevitable for people who might have otherwise lived entirely through acts which fulfill some deficiency, through the experience of others who have become less egocentric and a sensitivity to other societies who have abandoned attachments to completely salient individual identity in favor of communal success, mindfulness is an activity which can no longer be prevented by the absolution of egocentric identity.

            There is a song, in modern popular culture by a band named Linkin Park which was just released which might describe the alchemical process of going to ego, creating identity, and then transcending ego and identity, it’s called “Burn it Down”. In a sense it is asking us to do away with independent senses of self which we have created on our own, to provide the motivation toward a more communal social ideal (Linkin Park, 2012). Maybe through some combination of eastern and western ideas, it will become more easy for people to attain a sense of what Ferrer (2011) calls spiritual individuation. In that discourse Ferrer (2011) relates that although the end values may be similar, the complete spiritual epistemologies which people create are unique to them and not universal; so in a way perhaps there is another spiritual identity to seek through the eventual individuation of systems which bring us the egoless mindfulness awareness that we strive for, each in unique ways. The construction of and dissolution of ego, and the dialectic between the ego and egoless, might be the best way that meaning in experience can be brought into perception. Of course neither side of such dialectic can be perfect, but perhaps the potential created between going to and returning from ego as this paper describes is, the source of change in human behavior.

  

References

Bjornebekk, G. (2008). Positive affect and negative affect as moderators of cognition and

     motivation: The rediscovery of affect in achievement goal theory. Scandinavian Journal of

     Educational Research, 52(2), 153-170.

Engstrom, M., Pihlsgard, J., Lundberg, P., Soderfeldt, B. (2010). Functional magnetic resonance

     imaging of hippocampal activation during silent mantra meditation. The Journal of

     Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, 16(12), 1253-1258.

Ferrer, J. (2011). Participatory spirituality and transpersonal theory: A ten-year retrospective.

     The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 43(1), 1-34.

Fjorback, L. Arendt, M., Ornbol, E., Fink, P. & Walach, H. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress

     reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy a systematic review of randomized

     controlled trials. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 124, 102-119.

      Doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01704.x

Geen, R. G. (1984). Human motivation: New perspectives on old problems. In A. M. Rogers, &

     C. Scheirer (Eds.) , The G. Stanley Hall lecture series, Vol. 4 (pp. 9–57). Washington, DC:

     American Psychological Association.

Hill, C., & Updegraff, J. (2012). Mindfulness and its relationship to emotional regulation.

     Emotion 12(1), 81-90.

Holzel, B., Ott, U., Gard, T., Hempel, H., Weygandt, M., Morgan, K., Vaitl, D. (2008).

     Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry. Social

     Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 3(1), 55-61.

Koltko-Rivera, M. (2006). Rediscovering the later version of maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Self-

     transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification. Review of general

     psychology, 10(4), 302-317.

Linkin Park. (2012). Living Things [CD]. Hollywood, CA: NRG Recording Studios.

Maslow, A. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological review, 50(4), 370-396.

Maslow, A. H. (1974). Cognition of being in the peak experiences. In Covin, T. (Ed.) Readings

     in human development: A humanistic approach. New York, NY: MSS Information

     Corporation.

Osran, H., Smee, D., Sreenivasan, S. & Weinberger, L. (2010). Living outside the wire: Toward

     a transpersonal resilience approach for oif/oef veterans transitioning to civilian life. The

     journal of transpersonal psychology, 42(2), 209-235.

Tasdemir, N. (2011). The relationships between motivations of intergroup differentiation as a

     function of different dimensions of social identity. Review of general psychology, 15(2), 125-

     137.

van Knippenberg, D. (2000). Work motivation and performance: A social identity perspective.

     Applied psychology, An international review, 49(3), 357-371.

Weiner, B. (2010). The development of an attribution-based theory of motivation: A history of

     ideas. Educational Psychologist, 45(1), 28-36. Doi: 10.1080/00461520903433596

Post 5. Dance like you're the only one hearing the music.

I have decided to freehand this post. Sure, I have a few thousand other projects and documents which I can share that help expound on some of my experiences in the context of the culture of the United States. But have you ever noticed, that sometimes the stereotypes are useful?

I have two examples. These are fun examples because I'm not actually always stoic and highly educated and going on about social issues and changing the world. I have fun doing it, too.

There is a man who does this kind of thinking every day, his name is Cody he raps as Sadistik, and this is one of his songs: Sadistik - "The Exception to Everything" 

Buy his albums!

***

Crazy 8's.

     Okay, so it was my birthday and my friend, his name will be Lance today, is sometimes a very impulsive man and I just love enabling that part of his personality. Lance is the star of many stories actually. Anyhow he had been working until well after eleven on a Tuesday night and had been doing homework shortly before I arrived to pick him up at 11:55. We spent the hour driving to the casino talking about our mutual friends and about synchronicity and mindfulness as they apply in the world in so many useful ways. I asked him as we entered the casino, to pay attention to people and his surroundings. He did so very well actually as a matter of fact the first half hour we spent there was just talking to one of the cashiers about this or that. She taught us a recipe for making caramel out of condensed milk with a dutch oven. This skill will make us like gods at any camp site. Anyhow so learning this was just a matter of taking the time to listen, and be aware. After awhile we had managed to corrupt the slot machines at the casino so much they would no longer pay us any money, and the machines which exchange vouchers for cash broke, after they dispensed our winnings. To the blackjack tables, we thought.

     I spent some time trying to pick the brain of a young dark haired bisexual woman who was also appparently practicing awareness at the black jack table, she had come from vegas and she had sworn off gambling. The odd thing about her was, no matter what I did, I ended up being nice to her. I was in the playing position ahead of her and every time I asked for a card, I would lose and she would win, and every time I would not ask for a card, I would lose and she would win. We decided to 'migrate' to another table something which I had mentioned because it seemed the young woman was worried that both lance and I would want to use drugs, and I was trying to indicate that we're "all natural" and a "migratory flock". The stereotypes which the woman applied were in our favor as I am sure she was interested in the game, the two of us, and also our card dealer. But she was incorrect. 

     Later we moved along with our dealer to another card table, at which point I had an inspiration. I doubled down on a hard 13 and I was going to manifest myself an 8. The next card was to be an 8 and I was sure of it. Although the play worked out I ended up with a 19 to the dealer's 20. I should mention I told the dealer that I am "a little crazy.". What happened next was astonishing. On my last play of the game, I was dealt two 8's, which Lance helped me split. Then I was dealt another 8, which Lance helped me split. Finally a fourth 8 comes out, which amazed even Lance. Following the fourth and final split, two more 8's came into play on two of the cards which were split. 

     As the dealer called the pit boss and began exclaiming shenannigans, she had never seen this before, the moniker occurred to me "crazy 8's". I am after all a little crazy and I wanted an 8, but here I was with six of them in the same play, in four games. Lance and I broke even that turn because the dealer ended up with a 20 again, but she is sure to remember the stereotype behind, crazy 8's. This is an instance where, the thought patterns associated with the stereotype were helping to shape the experience and not necessarily taking from it. Just the association crazy with 8, will be something we all remember for some time. 

Liberation theorists never tell you that sometimes, stereotypes are fun.

***

The Festivus Get-Down.

     Lance and I and all of our friends decided to go out for the festivus at a local gentleman's club, our deliberations about mindfulness and the importance of being in the moment continued. Somehow synchronistically Lance had dressed as a santa, complete with a red santa hat and red thermal clothes, I ended up dressed as an elf. I was in my Stolen Babies concert shirt with long sleeves and a bright green t-shirt over it, my wool vest and a green hat. I also had my green entropy talisman which my brother had given me for my birthday. Lance and I were astonishingly sexy. The trouble was, we had expectations, I needed to make this a better situation. 

     Stereotypes are great in underworld clubs because you can use stereotypes from underworld movies. If you want to you can look at some of the dancers and staff as different types of underworld creatures, the sexy werewolf for example never approached me but spent the entire night trying to pick off all of my friends. It should be noted that the werewolf was the only girl I really found incredibly attractive and interesting. 

     The situation at hand, required dancing. Lance was in such a way that things began to appear a little too much from the underworld and our energy had been drained to the point where we needed to make some more. What else is there to do as an elf in an underworld club besides work a little magic and dance? I started to boogey down, to the club music, in the after hours club. I knew Lance wouldn't be able to resist for long. Soon santa and his elf were getting the get down in the after hours club as though no other person in the club heard the music, a crowd began to form, numbers were exchanged and the underworld shadows began to become weaker. 

     I love the stereotypes of the underworld because I of course, am a hybrid. I have this impossible cardiovascular health that I probably got from a broken heart so long ago. This happened during a set of complex relationship issues between a wonderful blonde werewolf, and her french Canadian best friend; Majandra was a fairly strong vampire and we were in Canada. There of course are no real werewolves or vampires or hybrids, but they're such lovely monster stereotypes that it can be liberating to apply them because they're not realistic and because they're fun. I danced for about an hour, exhausted everyone around me, and made one girl jealous. My brother and I were convinced there was some kind of exotic dancer warfare going on around our little troupe of strong men, and somehow every girl ended up with a phone number from, one of the other girls, that we had been given. It was a night of mischief and mayhem that will not soon be forgotten, because santa and his elves can boogey away the boogeyman. 

---

As you can see, escape from stereotypes is not always the best option, if you are awake and aware of our culture, you can have a lot of fun getting down in the minds of the people.

Post 4. Guest Article.

In what really is a capstone for Jorge Ferrer, the article describes the concept of cocreation and idealizes pluralism as a step toward validating individual spiritual epistemologies. In Ferrer's article a universal epistemology for determining the health of a spiritual belief system, and religions, is investigated.

Really the cornerstone of the article is the recognition, that individuals form their own unique version of a spiritual epistemology, by looking at pieces from (several) other systems that they are exposed to in the culture.

Ferrer, J. (2011). Participatory spirituality and transpersonal theory: A ten-year retrospective. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 43(1), 1-34.

Post 3. Let's look at culture.

Okay first, it is probably not a good idea to try and give this to someone as though it were your term paper, because it is something I did academically. However I truly do think that providing instruction in high school to cause the kind of critical thinking I present now, is the solution to today's problems. This is what people need to be able to do now, an argument I will support further.

Here is an example, an analysis of modern culture. Additionally there is a video at: http://youtu.be/q8ICW7swfXI

To help describe further the importance of this task.

***

Modern Culture: Final Project

            For my final project I would like to examine music. One of the reasons that I am choosing music is that I feel it is more diverse and can help me better understand the reciprocal nature of the process of socialization. This is a cultural study; I will examine eight media texts to understand socialization using the fabric of oppression theory and contrast it with liberation theory. The fabric of oppression theory and the liberation theory are both ideas which include the concept that socialization involves misinformation, whether read by an individual or produced by a social group, to suppress another group (Holtzman, 2000). The fabric of oppression holds that, stereotypes are created and maintained in the media as a means of targeting a subordinate social group, and in some cases gaining consent from that group for social actions executed by the dominant group. Liberation theory involves a kind of tabula rasa involving our initial ideologies, liberation theory holds that stereotypes are learned, and un-learning them is a process of liberation from oppression. Stereotypes limit the choices available concerning values, and resolving them is freeing.

Music and Culture

The music I have chosen contrasts a great deal. Although the dialectic between the group perspective and the individual perspective will help with my analysis, I also see that the self-other dichotomy present in musical lyrics can be ambiguous. People tend to listen to music which they gain salience with, and they become more familiar with the groups that they choose to identify with through the symbols in the music.

Cultural studies are a framework which involves processing the prevailing ideology of the groups which produce the media, and the content of the media (Holtzman, 2000).

            When exploring the genre for the final project, I had to consider the nature of the strategies which artists use to produce music. I need to establish establishing in what ways rap and rock as musical genres are similar. They are both expressions which are a sort of cultural road-sign. With music we can understand the society at the time the music was created. Holtzman described very well a strategy for analyzing media as a way of interpreting social issues and organized media according to the issues they represented. When interpreted correctly, media texts paint a portrait of the time and culture they are written in and are salient with the mainstream values in that context (Holtzman, 2000). They demonstrate the values of the musicians; and the musician’s views on events from the context of their socioeconomic class, race, and gender. Music like the Crosby Stills Nash and Young song tell us about a cultural event from the artist’s perspective inside the workings of that culture, in “Ohio” the picture is about 1970 (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1970). In “Cradle to the Grave” the view is from inside a less affluent black urban society of men (Shakur, 1994). Anecdotally, these are portraits of a culture. That is where the similarities end. Country songs and rap music are similar contexts in terms of socioeconomic class (Holtzman, 2000). Comparing the rap texts I will present to the rock songs in the project, it is obvious that the rock music is much more carefully planned around a fixed cultural event or issue. Rap is typically linear, it tends to tell a story and opinions in the rap are expressed through shared experiences. Rock music is carefully composed and orchestrated, and the latest trend in rap is freestyle, where a musician practices his ability to rhyme and rap live during a show without any planning. For all of the rock texts except for the Rise Against track there is a specific moment in history or literary character depicted in the song. The Rise Against song is composed around socioeconomic class as a social issue and expresses jubilant disdain for inequality (Rise Against, 2008). The rap songs all tell stories about experiences from the perception of the individuals creating them and are not centered on specific historically recorded events or people. This is precisely the dynamic I wanted to present. These genres contrast as much as possible so that my analysis is dyadic and can be written more concisely.

Depictions in a rap song are usually related to fictional violent events. Rap songs consist of the use of a symbology which tells a story that is often representing a violent event or behavior, the true meaning of the song is analogous and not necessarily directly describing historical events in the song. Rap in some ways is a live performance, and artists develop stump techniques which will allow them to continue performing live without any pre-planning. Often one of the techniques is the mention of a firearm, or something equally sensational, to buy time while the artist mentally composes the next set of lyrics. In this case, the song is not actually about a firearm, it is about the artist’s compositional skills. On the album Ill Communication, The beastie boys spend time rapping about the nature of their art form and in one song challenge a black musician to take part; the resulting music is very clearly focused on fictional objects and events and subjectively describes the skill that each musician has socially and in the studio (Beastie Boys, 1994). Conversely, in rock music the song lyrics are planned, and orchestrated very carefully. The songs typically do not use objects or events as a symbology that the lyrics are built around, instead rap lyrics are more typically emotional or represent the thought process the artist is engaged in while thinking about a person, or event. Rock contrasts greatly with this. It is evident in some mainstream rock like the artist Tool for example. In “10,000 Days”, there is a philosophical influence or a greater knowledge base that is being written from, that is very carefully pondered and then written to fit the new music from the instruments in the band (Tool, 2006).

Social Issues

This is a brief analysis of a few media texts which are all cross-sections of race, class, and violence. What was convenient about choosing these issues is that they tend to occur and be represented at about the same place and time during historical events. Also, many of the texts describe an individual experience which in some way includes all of these factors.

Social class and inequality are intertwined with racism in the United States for African Americans (Holtzman, 2000). This was one of Tupac Shakur’s favorite things to write about. In one of the texts I selected, the lifestyle of the dominant socioeconomic class for African Americans is evaluated and portrayed; “Cradle 2 the Grave” is an image of socioeconomic class and the potential for violence (Shakur, 1994). Nas spends time in his rap called “I gave you power” comparing violence with racism, the message in this song is that violence is used as a major component of racism, and being violent is being used (Jones, 1996). I needed to include a white rapper to contrast the difference in lyrics and social issues. Eminem raps about a relationship that has gone awry and about the potential for violence which erupts from strong feelings in relationships (Mathers, 2010). The fact that Eminem is a white person who found his place writing in a genre which was founded in political protest from black people also allows me to evaluate race as an issue. Finally, I wanted to blend the lines between rock and rap, and I included a rap about violence in the media from a new band. Linkin Park is a band which combines rap and rock, and the rap in the song talks about how violence in drama on stage is a part of artist’s success (Linkin Park, 2007).

In my analysis of rock media, I chose to focus on two or three texts where I could determine the issues of class and violence intersect. So naturally I will make mention of two current rock bands which had and continue to write music about politically charged issues surrounding class. The bands are Rage Against the Machine, and Rise Against. In addition, I selected a track from U2, and one from Crosby Stills Nash & Young. Although the Crosby Stills Nash and Young track is more like a recount of a specific historical event which was violent, as a sign of the times. While exploring the genre I found an article published by Laura Finley at Western Michigan University, which examines the lyrics of Rage Against the Machine in detail (Finley, 2002). So one of the interesting things about this project will be examining current views and interpretations of the texts and whether my views are congruent with those.

The song “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” by U2 is purportedly written about an event on January 30, 1972 when paratroopers as a police action killed 13 Irish citizens at a protest in Derry, Ireland. The protest was a civil rights protest. So this song is indeed about one place in history where race, violence and class appear to intersect (U2, 1983). According to Laura Finley (2002), the Rage Against the Machine song “Voice of the Voiceless” is about Mumia Abu Jamal, whose imprisonment for killing a police officer is viewed as corrupt. “Voice of the Voiceless” has a strong theme regarding racial and social injustices (Rage Against the Machine, 1999). The Rise Against song “Re-education (Through Labor)” is a very strong message about inequality in labor and socioeconomic class, and the potential for unrest in society (Rise Against, 2008). Generally all of these texts are very well thought out and composed, and are produced because their messages are successful. This is a somewhat encouraging perspective on the media and those texts that people can identify with. Because the theme of these songs is primarily an outright rejection of corruption and violence the themes they express might be beneficial if they are indeed stable in mainstream society. On May 4, 1970, the Kent State shootings occurred. Shortly after this Neil Young wrote the composition and lyrics for “Ohio”. “Ohio” has a broader message and is characteristic of how one text can paint an image of all of the social contexts at play during the time of its release (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1970).

Media Texts

The texts I selected are: “Cradle 2 The Grave” By Tupac Shakur with Thug Life, “I Gave You Power” By Nasir Jones (NaS), “I Love the Way you Lie” By Marshall Mathers (Eminem), “Bleed it Out” by Linkin Park, “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” by U2, “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Voice of the Voiceless” by Rage Against the Machine, and “Re-Education (Through Labor)” by Rise Against. Eight tracks seems like enough for this brief analysis, I will present each track, its highlights and its relevance in terms of the fabric of oppression and liberation theories of socialization.

Cradle 2 the Grave

            This is one of Tupac’s portraits of socioeconomic class, race and violence on the streets of urban America. Tupac has a chorus that sums up the theme for the artists who participate in the song (1994), “From tha Cradle to the Grave, life ain't never been easy Living in the ghetto.”. The song is a sequence of raps from various voices, the first is Tupac himself lamenting on growing up in the ghetto. The ghetto is a term for low income neighborhoods and run down urban areas in a city. There is a reference for ghetto in most current dictionaries, and dictionary.com refers to Ghetto (n.d.),

1.)   A section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships. 2.) (Formerly, in most European countries) a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live. 3.) A section predominantly inhabited by Jews. 4.) Any mode of living, working, etc., that results from stereotyping or biased treatment: job ghettos for women; ghettos for the elderly.

Clearly, Tupac in this rap is describing inequality and its influence on the lives of individuals in urban America. Violence is also present in the rap, because of inequality. Tupac Shakur’s rap refers to (1994), “Penitentiary chances was an all day thang. The only way to advance. And if you slang then you'd better have your nikes on. Cause when we fight it's in the middle of the night with no lights on.”. Slanging is a term for drug dealing in rap songs, and this song is describing that there are greater chances at economic success in the ghetto while drug dealing. He is saying that because of economic inequality, the unavailability of jobs and good education, and the availability of drugs and illicit substances; that violence and incarceration is more likely.

            Tupac’s rap is a stereotype. He is describing a very real phenomenon in urban America, though he is also making it easy to internalize and justify oppression. In the fabric of oppression theory Tupac is describing being a part of a target group, young black men, in a lower socioeconomic strata, the ghetto. What Tupac strived to do in his music though was not to just describe issues and instead to offer solutions, with an epistemology for surviving in hard economic times. So while the song may promote stereotypes, which is a negative effect in terms of liberation, the process of becoming aware of those stereotypes may help individuals listening to the rap shed them. Shakur encourages this (1994), “Never die be a hustler mothafuckas and makin' thugs out you suckas. From the cradle to the grave.”. Tupac is describing his success hustling and intended to be an example for this mindset, referred to as thugging, for young black men. This is relatively typical for most of Tupac Shakur’s work, until his death in 1996.

I Gave You Power

            NaS uses a firearm as a symbol for expressing inequality. He feels used, because the military and life in lower socioeconomic strata in general, expects violence. He tells a story about being a firearm, as though he were property being forced to exact harm. The analogous representation lends itself to issues concerning race, class, and violence. In the United States one way out of poverty is to serve in the Armed Forces. The military provides stable employment, education, housing and health benefits for service people. This occupation is dangerous, and it is a way out of poverty because initially, beginning military work only requires a diploma or GED from high school, and a relatively absent criminal record. The only limitation to serving in the military is a person must be physically fit and able to serve. The military as an occupation in this way tends to ask more of people in lower socioeconomic classes who would benefit most from service. Similarly, as in the previous text from Tupac Shakur, it is clear that in the texts the perception is that violence is more common in low income areas; this is also expressed in Jones’ rap. Jones believes that this violence is intentional. Nasir Jones tells a story of refusing to perpetuate violence (1996),

My creation was for blacks to kill blacks It's gats like me that accidentally, go off, makin niggaz memories. But this time, it's done intentionally. He walked me outside, saw this cat. Cocked me back, said, "Remember me?". He pulled the trigger but I held on, it felt wrong. Knowing niggaz is waiting in hell for 'im. He squeezed harder, I didn't budge, sick of the blood. Sick of the thugs, sick of wrath of the, next man's grudge.

This analogous representation is somewhat encouraging, Jones is sending a message of pacifism, and in the rap tells the story in a way that indicates he would be happiest not being used to exact harm. He seeks to send a message of peace, though it is still easy to internalize the stereotype, to rationalize being expected to act violently. Again this song comes from the perspective of an individual within a targeted social group; a group he says is targeted for violence, and forms a stereotype. Again the message in the song is to resist the stereotypes.

I Love the Way You Lie

            Eminem’s rap is about a dysfunctional relationship and his aim is to create a theme which helps explain domestic violence (Mathers, 2010). What is unique about this rap is it is not about the class of the society or his race directly. This rap is about violence resulting from relationships that develop in those situations. Again, Mathers creates a stereotype, more people can identify with this song and identify with the experience. Media producers are not intentionally creating stereotypes, instead they are doing so because it is in their economic best interest to appeal to the targeted groups (Holtzman, 2000). I have a personal experience related to this, my best friend got into a relationship she was unhappy with, and in order to describe her fears she used this song. By internalizing the reasoning behind the lyrics sung by Rhianna in Mathers’ song (2010), “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn. But that's alright because I like the way it hurts. Just gonna stand there and hear me cry. But that's alright because I love the way you lie.”. My friend was able to decide that her relationship could become violent, and was dysfunctional, and she left the relationship. Eminem seems to have a talent for representing membership in what he feels is a targeted social group, except he is an affluent white man who is healthy and talented. Eminem does not represent any targeted groups concerning race or socioeconomic class. However Mathers’ music does represent a clear stereotype. His art appears to express a violent personality which very many people gain salience with. On a more positive note, because Eminem can represent typical violent behaviors as in the example with my best friend, people can avoid violent patterns in life. Eminem has more in common socially with the rock musicians in this project.

Bleed it Out

            Linkin Park presents us with a song that is both rap and rock. This individual track has more in common with rap than rock, however. The song is describing the musician’s talent and his reluctance to lend toward violence in his lyrics; he is lamenting that violence is what sells in the media and expresses disdain. Because this music comes from the musician’s internal dialogue, is his representation of the subjective story the song is telling, and his story is a shared experience; it is more similar to the rap songs in this context.  However because Linkin Park is a largely successful band, the problems presented in the rap are not representative of a targeted social group in the fabric of oppression. This song reverses the schema, the musician seems to feel that he is expected to present violence on stage by his fans, and he is refusing to be violent himself instead he writes about it. In this way Linkin Park is saying, that they are a successful band but feel oppressed in this occupation (2007), “Truth is you can stop and stare. Run myself out and no one cares. Dug the trench out laid down there. With a shovel up out of reach somewhere.”. This rap represents freedom from violent stereotypes, and is liberating in that he instead provokes the audience who must also choose to be non-violent to identify with the struggle in the story. This text, which is unique in many ways, also seems to challenge conventional notions of class and violence.

Voice of the Voiceless

            This text is the first analysis of rock media in this project. The song by Rage Against the Machine is purportedly about the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who resides in prison for the killing of a police officer (Finley, 2002). Finley’s article goes on to argue that investigating Rage Against the Machine is an investigation in the criminology of radical activists. Finley frames the song in a way that describes it as justification for criminal ideologies, which blame the owning class for violence and crime, to a greater extent than the individuals convicted of crimes (Finley, 2002). The song does appear to elucidate this example of a time in history where, the lines of guilt and innocence are unclear because of corruption due to the race and class of the individuals involved. The murder of Daniel Faulkner is a series of events shrouded with inconsistencies in reporting by witnesses and in the actions of investigators and officials in the legal system. It is not unanimously clear that the evidence in the case certainly convicts Abu-Jamal, whose death sentence was reversed because of confusing instructions given to the jury at the time of his conviction. Further, there are accusations of corruption and racism on the part of the presiding judge Albert F. Sabo. There is testimony which clearly implicates Sabo as a racist, which comes from Terri Maurer-Carter who was a court appointed reporter. As retrieved from a website representing Abu-Jamal; Maurer-Carter’s declaration reads (2001), 

In 1982, a few months after I started working at the Court of Common Pleas, I was sent to a courtroom different than that I usually worked in because the judge I was assigned to was going to be doing "VOP" (Violation of Probation) and post-verdict motion hearings there that day. I went through the anteroom on my way to that courtroom where Judge Sabo and another person were engaged in conversation.

Judge Sabo was discussing the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. During the course of that conversation, I heard Judge Sabo say, "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger." There were three people present when Judge Sabo made that remark, including myself. (p. 1)

She goes on to state that she is subject to prosecution if her statements are found to be falsified. The Rage Against the Machine song does use this event as a justification for a radical ideology, but many facts in the Abu-Jamal case are disputed. The nature of the disputes indicate that Abu-Jamal is a person who is a member of a targeted social group. The Rage Against the Machine song appears to create a rationalization for criminalization as in Finley’s argument, however the actual facts in the murder case itself are unclear to me. Rage Against the Machine however, does present a radical thesis that promotes membership in groups with an agenda that is against the oppression of the working class. Zack De La Rocha’s father Roberto was a member of a Chicano art collective Los Four. Zack’s ideas seem to come from awareness of Chicano heritage, and of the effects of racism and classism in the United States. Finley’s argument is valid in that this music could promote radical criminology, except she never tends to the possibility that the thesis in the music of Rage Against the Machine might be socially accurate. It is clear that this text does handle the issues of race, class, and violence in a unique way which is controversial and representative of ideologies from groups that are targeted for oppression. This is a complex song and does not tend to evoke a stereotype, instead it raises awareness of social issues in a way that could be viewed as liberating. The lyrics of Rage Against the Machine might promote this awareness in an empirical way. As Finley notes (2002), “In addition to the need to teach students about the radical perspective, it is also becoming increasingly important for students to analyze the role of media in their own knowledge base.” (p. 163).

Ohio

May 1970. Anti-war protests at Kent State University in Ohio had escalated. One building on campus the ROTC building was on fire and had been boarded up before the Ohio National Guard had arrived. During the protests, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on the crowds and left four people dead and wounded nine. The protests were about strong anti-war sentiment in the United States at the time of the Nixon Presidency and the escalation of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. People were refusing to fight, and many did not have a choice. At one point during the protest Governor James A. Rhodes states “They're the worst type of people that we harbor in America. I think that we're up against the strongest, well-trained, militant, revolutionary group that has ever assembled in America." (Mazelis & Martin, 2010). I believe most reports about this event because it was the focal point for anti-government protesting after it happened in 1970, even though the source cited above is a pair of authors for an organization with strong political views. Ohio, is a portrait of this time. The issues of racism and classism are not as evident in this text, because at that time the military was not based on volunteers or people who chose to serve because of an economic or social need. The military was formed by a provision of law which required people to serve in Vietnam. Ohio was written about the protests though, does not indicate that any group besides the political dissenters were targeted for oppression. It is thought that the spectacle of events at Kent State helped to reduce stereotyping of protestors and widen public anti-war sentiment. Ohio does create a stereotype, but it was so mainstream that it could hardly be noticed, people who dissented the actions of the government were a part of most every socioeconomic class and race. The lyrics of the song are very simple, and simple characters in media are often the most stereotyped (Holtzman, 2000). However, this ideological premise was so widespread that any stereotyping of people who heard the message was invisible at the time the song was produced, except by people who agreed with the conflict in Vietnam in 1970. The song is an example of liberation.

Re-Education (Through Labor)

            If Rage Against the Machine can be referred to as an example of radical criminology, then Rise Against can be said to be provocative in the same way. Rise Against has produced a song which, seeks to establish the meaning of classism and evoke a sense of success among the working class. Toward the end of the song, it establishes that the working class has been waiting and striving to resist the objectives of the owning class. This song elucidates the potential for violence erupting from classism and serves as a unifying mantra for the working class. Rise Against states (2008),

I won't crawl on my knees for you. I won't believe the lies that hide the truth. I won't sweat one more drop for you. 'Cause we are the rust upon your gears. We are the insect in your ears. We crawl. We crawl. We crawl... all over you.

This is suggestive of a strong message to the owning class, it is an analogy that describes the power of the working class. This song is an example of liberation from classism, because it raises awareness if inequality and esteem for the working class. According to the fabric of oppression this is a message from a targeted group. It is necessary for the owning class to perpetuate stereotypes in the media and in government, to gain the consent of the people for their actions (Holtzman, 2000). This is a strong message of passive action to resist consenting to the owning class. The song is clearly interpreted along existing lines which are typically unseen otherwise, and as such is beneficial in terms of liberation.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

            U2 is a band that has a keen interest in writing about controversial political events, and tends to promote a message of peace and also encouraging messages for targeted groups. Before Bono, the lead singer, would sing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” he would announce that it was “Not a rebel song”. Probably because the political implications of this song are so tenuous and far reaching that it would be dangerous if he took sides in the conflict which happened. Prior to the events in Derry, Ireland on January 30^th, 1972. Political tensions between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland were very high and the British government saw Derry as a focal point of activities of the Provisional IRA and a group of demonstrators named the National Ireland Civil Rights Association. Violence was escalating from both sides of the issue. In August of 1971 laws were passed in Ireland which allowed internment of suspects without legal charges, and the prohibition of marches in protest. The people in Ireland persisted in demonstrating anyhow, and the escalating tensions led the British government to send paratroopers from the 1^st Battalion Parachute Regiment to attempt to maintain order. People were dying on both sides. On January 30^th 1972 the violence between classes escalated so greatly that the paratroopers fired on unarmed people, and in total 13 civilians died from gunshots and injuries sustained from advancing military vehicles. Classism plays a major role in the violence as well as differences in political and religious views. U2’s song, recalls this time in history and asks for lasting peace. The song uses musical lyrics to emphasize the writer’s dismay with the violence, and asks that “Tonight we can be as one.” (U2, 1983). The song was produced in 1983 and was still relevant to political tensions which continued to exist after the 1972 episode. This song asks for an end to violence and asks the victims on both sides to practice forgiveness. From a fabric of oppression standpoint, the conflict between the British government and the people in Derry, Ireland was motivated by classism and religious discrimination. There were clear lines of oppression between a dominant group and a subordinate group, which was perpetuated by the government. The song is liberating in that it does not form a stereotype, instead it raises awareness of this historic event in order to ask for peace.

 

Conclusion

            All of these songs tell stories, but I find rock to be objective analysis, and rap to be subjective perception. Where rock music tells an exoteric story that people can relate to, a rap musician is telling his or her story on an esoteric level. On one side of the dialectic, there is the internal experiential viewpoint of race class and violence, on the other I have the external recording from historical events, resulting from these issues. It is clear that there is a consistent message in the songs, and in some way, all of these texts contribute to liberation and the abolishment of typical stereotypes. Where stereotypes are created, they lead to the strengthening of targeted social groups and raise social awareness about critical events and issues. All of these songs are striving to express or cause in some way, a change in the structure of society. The commonalities in these texts are representations of resistance to oppression, with the exception of the Eminem song, which details the experience of a person who is viewed as an outsider. The Eminem text still results in resistance to violence, when interpreted by people who understand the meaning of the text as in the example given. These are all portraits of a time given from individuals who strive to improve society toward their ideals which they believe are positive. Whether or not the audience interprets the texts in that way is a matter of some debate. Clearly though it is in the musician’s best interest to create music which a greater number of people identify with in a positive way. It would be difficult to maintain the argument after the creation of this document that only rap is created out of a protest against racism and classism, as these themes are prevalent throughout the document. However I will maintain that the architecture for the development of these themes and the stories constructed is dyadic; rap tells a personal story, rock appeals to public sentiment about current events. This kind of dialectic is consistently present within the symmetry of artistic representation and culture.

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