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One Way to Self Management by Réjean Déziel and Benedict Elie Copyright © 2007 All Rights Reserved
It is always wise to consult someone whom we love and trust and
who inspires us, especially when seeking advice, experiencing certain
difficulties or wondering what to do or how to react in particular
situations. Famous French philosopher
Jean-Paul Sartre already initiated discussions on this topic
in his book entitled Existentialism is a Humanism, first published
in French by Éditions Nagel in 1967 under the title L'existentialisme
est un humanisme. Below is a short excerpt from his work: “You may say that the youth did, at least, go to a professor to ask for
advice. But if you seek counsel--from a priest, for example--you have selected
that priest; and at bottom you already knew, more or less, what he would advise.” In the past, Jean-Marie Mousseau suggested
to one of us that each person should create a governing council
to help manage his/her own life. Basically, we have invented nothing of what is
being conveyed here. We simply read an interesting book by Jean-Paul
Sartre, and then gave the topic some
thought and pondered the subject on the basis of Mousseau’s suggestion. Quite modestly, we believe that every individual
on earth experiences difficulties from time to time. In order
to know what to do when unlucky or in trouble,
or in other words, how to manage properly one’s own life and oneself,
it is advantageous to create a personal governing council. In practical terms, all it takes is choosing individuals
who, in our opinion, show good judgment, or at least a good
attitude towards life. One of us personally
chose Jesus as chairman of his virtual governing council. His picture may
be hung in bedrooms, He may be confided in and He is always happy to provide
guidance to those who seek counsel from Him. Having said this in all modesty,
anyone may choose Jesus or any other reliable, intimately known individual
to serve as main adviser or chairman of a personal governing council. The deputy chairman of Benedict’s governing
council is his father-in-law Hugues Massue, or more precisely,
his second father. In fact, Benedict experienced
adjustment difficulties with his father-in-law during adolescence, but once
he left the family home to work full time in administration and computer science,
he actually had an excellent relationship with Hugues who came to visit him
every weekend with his mother, particularly to see his two daughters. Hugues
Massue had been a lieutenant-colonel in the army and was an extremely positive
and warm man at work and in day-to-day life. Hugues’ fellow workers quite
fondly nicknamed him “Mister Positive”. There are the other members of Benedict’s governing
council, including his life partner, Réjean Déziel
and Suzanne Fiset at the École de croissance personnelle
Réjean Déziel. Also included are philosopher Epicurus
(Epicurean philosophy) and the Dalai
Lama (for his profound knowledge of Buddhism), along with scores
of other valued individuals who
sit on his virtual governing council. More precisely, when Benedict has a problem (especially
an ethical problem), he first asks himself what Jesus would
reply to him or advise him to do.
At other times, he automatically thinks about his father-in-law Hugues Massue
by asking himself what he would advise in order to get out of a tight spot
or to become successful in particular endeavours. As you can see, having a personal governing council
is quite simple and works very well. Naturally, the members
of a personal governing council have to
be intimately known. As regards Benedict, he enjoys listening to passages
from the Gospel and having them explained to him; he enjoys understanding
Jesus’ philosophy and attitude towards life. The same thing goes for
the other members of his governing council. Note
that Jean-Paul Sartre gave the example
of an individual who consulted a priest, an actual living
being.
People we knew
closely and who have passed away
may also be consulted. Some people even
say that we can communicate
with the souls of the deceased.
It is a point of view, but in fact
awareness of the attitudes, ways
of doing things, views, tips and
the know-how of people we knew and who have passed away is
sufficient.
However, it must be emphasized
that a person must know each of the individuals
on his/her virtual governing council
quite well, and be acquainted
with their lives and views. In a way, the
person must be familiar
with the “quintessence of their souls”. As
set out in the chart above, we may also draw inspiration from
the management policies of successful major
firms or organizations. These are
referred to namely as “artificial persons” from
a legal point of view. The result is just as appropriate. In
fact, a private business or public organization
making the effort to explain to employees its main ethical concerns is certainly
worth mentioning, especially if these values inspire you and help you to
manage your life better. If you are interested in biblical references,
here are the two New Testament passages in which the teachings
of Jesus set out in the chart above are the
focus: Matthew 11:28-30 and Matthew 22:34-40. The graphic that follows
is slightly different. Réjean
suggests instead that we be our own governing council chairman and fill the
positions of the members of our governing council with people with diversified
knowledge who may guide us in our actions. The following graphic is used by
Réjean. You only need to print out this chart
and write the name of each member
of your governing council in an ellipse.
Like Benedict’s
governing council, you choose these individuals yourself. The way in which Réjean’s
personal governing council works is very simple. When you have
a problem
to resolve, you
ask the members of your governing council
to get together and provide you with
an answer. In fact, the following formula may
be used: asking your psyche to convene
a meeting of your governing council
to provide the best or ideal answer to a particular situation.
In fact, it is a cosmic pattern! In short, we suggest that you take a sheet of
paper, outline the chart that best suits you, fill in the positions
of the members of your governing council
and keep this sheet carefully, because it might be very useful to imprint
in your mind this excellent tool for managing your personal affairs. It should be noted that you may either call upon
all the members of your governing council for advice or consult
a single member. This depends on the situation to resolve. The
help or
answer required always comes automatically,
effortlessly and freely; you need only let your psyche work.
In this regard, every human
being has his/her very own psyche and needs only to use it and make it
work. No special talent is needed
by anyone to use his/her psyche. Give this governing council some thought. Experience
it and outline your chart; it is worth your while. Instead of
struggling to find the solution to all
your problems on your own, leave them up to your personal governing council.
It is a way to call upon the Creator and the Universe to help you. And it
really works! Some psychologists and neurologists think that
the human brain uses only ten percent of its faculties. By using
one’s intuition, psyche and governing
council, the proportion of brain faculties being used can be increased significantly. Naturally, a governing council should be put together with the
greatest care, because the members selected will be those contacted
for help when needed. In conclusion, one should ponder this topic,
choose a suitable chart and fill in the positions of governing
council members one at a time, if need be. Above all, take the
time you need and proceed at your own pace. Putting together your
governing council is no pressing matter. If you often give lectures or if one of your priorities
is to make friends, you might consider having a talented individual
like Dale Carnegie sit on
your governing council. Or if you work with people from various circles and
countries, you might consider having a great humanist like Martin Luther
King sit on your governing council. It all depends on your needs. Besides,
if you were to compare the governing council of people in your entourage,
you would see that they are most certainly quite different. To sum up, we are not always responsible for the
problems we have to face. We quite
often have to say to ourselves that we did not create the world
surrounding us. No human being created the Universe and Cosmos in which we
are immersed. Therefore, why take upon ourselves all the problems that fall
upon us, including those of our spouses, friends, parents and everyone else?
Instead, let us allow our psyche and personal governing council to take care
of all this for us. How well it works is simply amazing. You need only try
it! We wish you a wonderful life filled with happiness, especially
with the help of your governing council. Permission is granted by the authors to reproduce this article
by any means. Acknowledgements: |
Copyright © 2007
Cosmic Patterns