The first pillar of self-mastery invites us to love ourselves so completely until we truly believe are worthy of a bountiful life. Recognizing it’s our responsibility to align our body, heart and mind to consciously create our reality is the challenge of the second pillar. Once we become responsible and learn to love ourselves then sovereignty and actualizing our dreams take priority. Self-actualization is the ability to become empowered and self-understanding creates the foundation of personal power. It could be said that the inscription of the self-actualizing cornerstone reads: “In order to know who we are, we must learn walk in the shoes of many people.” This article will explore why we must walk on many roads and navigate family footpaths, when the operative word of each pillar is self?
Choices let us explore what we are not before realizing what we are. Self-actualization is lifelong process of advocacy through opposites initially. Exploring other opinions help us learn about our self and grow backbones. Children are easily infected with other’s agendas, parental injunctions and religious attitudes that do not represent their eventual attitude about life. Developing a sense of self by exploring what we are not is the path adolescents typically walk. Autonomy, power and sense of identity are the driving forces of adolescents. This is the reason they have rebelled from parental authority throughout history.
Toddlers seek power but the first step in this long path is rejecting anything in their way just because they can. Opposition mirrors an infant’s initial attempt to refuse anything from their mother. This is one of the ways a baby knows it is alive and separate from its mother. The parent’s ability to understand this and champion individualization attempts gives the infant permission to grow and helps the child’s decision-making ability. If the mother is crushed by any attempt of the child to individuate, the baby may impede its own growth to help the mother feel better and fail to self-actualize.
Rules need to be bent and boundaries explored so unique solutions can be developed to help us adapt to changing situations. This is why it’s important to let children’s minds grow without rigid boundaries. We need to give our children and ourselves permission to test boundaries in order to discover what’s possible and what’s not. 
This instills a mechanism to develop fresh ideas as the old ones cease to be effective.
We all need avenues to express our creative impulses to the outside world, so that the mirrors of the universe can reflect the results of our efforts back to us. This is how dreams actualize.
The Internet is a great example of how unlimited opportunities provide a creative outlets and instantaneous feedback about humanity’s dreams.
Another important building block of self-actualization occurs as self-esteem improves and empowerment occurs, then a longing for spiritual connection grows. Since our soul is our self in its highest form, it knows what to do to meet our personal desires, needs, and internal instincts. After walking in the shoes of many people in our youth, healthy adults recognize outside guides aren’t necessary. Now it’s up to our mature body, heart, mind and soul to actualize our dreams. This is the reason why self-actualization is a gift that keeps on giving.
People don’t need to be or should be clones of one another. Unfortunately, many cultures and religious traditions preserve ancient customs that stifle unique expressions.
Self-actualization inspires us to test boundaries, feed our creativity and individuate from the masses. A nation advances through the self-actualization of its citizenry. The reason individual freedom, human rights, and democratic principles are so important to societies around the world is that they promote self-actualization. The most advanced civilizations use these principles to succeed, evolve, and develop mastery in the world.
Forcing conformity or punishing the impulse to foster independent ideas is a fear-based activity from small-minded individuals, cultures, and nations. It’s amazing how fear has motivated various cultures to become very ingenious in their attempts to prevent people, especially women from becoming empowered. If an idea takes away one’s instinct to thrive, or the motivation to empower oneself, or one’s free will to bring joy to life, there is a problem embedded in the idea.
The fear of losing power control runs deep in many areas of the world. Many beliefs are held by unhappy people, such as selfishness is the root of all “evil” and the “devil’s playground.” “Giving is better than receiving” is another one. Resist the temptation to believe the myths that promote sacrifice as next to godliness. They all hold some basic truth, but many people bury these myths deep in their unconscious mind and lose themselves in the process.
Don’t believe the baloney that old repressive cultures have been preaching for centuries to enslave their masses. The process of self-actualization allows us to shed illusions and any misguided notions of what works for us and what doesn’t—from our parents, cultural heritage, and the world in general. We can spontaneously create in our world this way without everyone else’s baggage dragging us down.
Our strength, success, and personal power attract people to us. It’s much more efficient to become powerful, happy, and whole than to put our light under a basket so other people aren’t blinded by our brightest qualities. People will listen more attentively when we already posses the qualities we recommend. The most effective way to offer help and provide resources to others is from this place. People learn from us by what we do and who we are. It matters little what we say, want, or dream about. This is how life works.
Self-actualization is the new paradigm of our new millennium challenged by climate change, partisan politics and shortsighted thinking. Will enough people eventually realize everyone is a divine being living in a human body with an eternal soul just like us? With this knowledge we can create from the pure joy from our soul, access the wisdom of the sages, and use our manifestation powers to create a better world for not only ourselves but all of humanity.
Realistically, improving the quality of our lives is basically changing one idea or rule and replacing it with another. When we walk into our power by unifying the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of ourselves, we can start accessing universal wisdom with the strength of our soul connection. Our heart, mind, and soul provide a powerful force to be reckoned with when we combine them with pure passion and intent. Nothing can stop us when we all work together in pure harmony.
Some may get scared and feel guilty when our friends and family continue to remain mired in illusion’s clutches. Remaining small may be an overpowering attraction for some of us. But we’re not doing anyone any favors if we hide our light. Help them by becoming a living example of how focused power can manifest dreams and create success. By our example, we inspire, become a muse as a friend and teach what needs to be done to laugh with lions.
In conclusion, rules are meant to be broken, and tests of courage always create new possibilities. Every major achievement, individually or collectively, that has ever occurred on earth has been accomplished through this process. Give yourself permission to grow and thrive in this world. Let the creative impulse beating in your heart and shining from your soul manifest your dreams. This is how your soul actualizes itself on earth.
Self-actualization is the only game in town worth playing to achieve any goal worth accomplishing. Anything less is small potatoes in a little world filled with old ideas weighted down with tiny possibilities. So have fun, play to your heart’s content and let love direct your spirit to joyful creations.