MODULE 2:
DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON
ASSESS ASPECTS OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT
In each segment they will write some descriptions of the different aspects of themselves as
follows:
1. Physical Self: Describe yourself. Try not to censor any thoughts which come to your mind.
Include descriptions of your height, weight, facial appearance, and quality of skin, hair and
descriptions of body areas such as your neck, chest, waist, legs.
2. Intellectual Self: Include here an assessment of how well you reason and solve problems,
your capacity to learn and create, your general amount of
knowledge, your specific areas of knowledge, wisdom you have acquired, and insights you
have.
3. Emotional Self: Write as many words or phrase about typical feelings you have, feelings you
seldom have, feelings you try to avoid, feelings you especially enjoy, feelings from your past
and present, and feelings which are associated with each other.
4. Sensual Self: Write how you feel as a sensual person. What sense do you use most – sight,
hearing, speaking, smelling, touching? How do you feel about the different ways you take in
information - through the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and skin. In what ways do you let information
in and out of your body?
5. Interactional Self: Include descriptions of your strengths and weaknesses in intimate
relationships and relationships to friends, family, classmates and
strangers in social settings. Describe the strengths and weaknesses which your friends and
family have noticed. Describe what kind of son or daughter, brother or sister you are.
6. Nutritional Self: How do you nourish yourself? What foods do you like and dislike? What do
you like and dislike about these?
7. Contextual Self: Descriptors could be in the areas of maintenance of your living
environment: reaction to light, temperature, space, weather, colors, sound and seasons and
your impact on the environment.
8. Spiritual Self or Life Force: Write words or phrases which tell about how you feel in this
area. This could include your feelings about yourself and
organized religion, reactions about your spiritual connections to others, feelings about your
spiritual development and history, and thought about your
metaphysical self. Think about your inner peace and joy. Think about your spiritual regimen or
routine.
Lecturette: ASPECTS OF THE SELF
The self-concept is represented by several aspects of the self. It is conceived as collection
of multiple, context-dependent selves. This construct believes that context activates particular
regions of self-knowledge and self-relevant feedback
affects self-evaluations. A deeper look on the different aspects of self can identify specific areas
for self-regulation, stability and improvement.
In a nutshell, an individual is composed of three basic, but very different aspects of the self.
They are the physical or tangible aspects as they relate to the
body, the intellectual and conscious aspects as they relate to the mind, and the emotional and
intuitive aspects as they relate to the spirit. All three aspects of the self work together in perfect
harmony when attention is paid to all three simultaneously.
Many individuals put a strong emphasis on the physical aspect of the self. The body is
tangible, obvious, and we respond to it easily. More time and money is spent on enhancing the
physical component than either of the other two aspects. This does not mean, however, that the
body is healthy or strong. The body provides a place to house the spirit (often experienced as
feelings) and the mind (often
experienced as thought). It may be important to some that their mind can be prominent and well
educated. The mind is important, as it is the part of the self that directs the other two aspects.
The mind learns what to do and communicates the information to the body
and the feelings. What the mind believes, the body manifests or acts on, and the emotions feel,
or respond with. People store both healthy and destructive thoughts and beliefs and responds to
life's circumstances in the most prominent manner. The
mind provides access creativity and serenity which are necessary for such processes as prayer,
forgiveness, acceptance, and passion.
The human emotions are the most feared aspect of the self, as individuals are
reluctant and unprepared to manage them. Managing feelings is like trying to hold water in
the palm of your hand. They are illusive and deceptive. A decision made under emotional stress
and strain usually impacts emotions negatively. Negative emotions that are not managed are
stored and repressed. Repression is
destructive to a content self since all feelings, not only negative ones are stored away.
Accessing feelings when they are needed now becomes difficult, leaving the individual numb
and hopeless. For instance, a girl realizes that she is giving much attention on the physical
aspects and less attention on her intellectual self. In this way, she can discover how much
money and time spent maintaining her physique and its consequences in her grades. By this
honest evaluation of herself, she can plan effective actions to improve her study habits. She can
start seeking for help and for related books to read or browse articles to help her improve her
study habits.
Reading: THE STORY OF THE TWO WOLVES
The following is an old Cherokee Indian story that is enlightening and helpful. One evening
an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son,
the battle is between two wolves inside us all." "It is a terrible fight and it is between two
wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good -
he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity,
truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other
person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will
win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed". Knowing which wolf to feed is the
first step towards recognizing you have control over your own self.
Have you ever had thoughts, feelings or acted in ways that were unacceptable to yourself but
felt powerless to control? The purpose of this story is to
help you find ways to manage your mind so that you can live your life more in accordance with
what your own judgment says is best for you. As we grow up, we gradually become aware of
the many things in the
external world which are largely beyond our ability to control. These include other people in
general and most events in our lives. Initially this is difficult to accept, but a more shocking
realization is that there are many things about ourselves that we seem powerless to control.
Some of these are our own thoughts, feelings, and actions which unfortunately can be the
source of much distress. It may be thoughts such as “I cannot stop hating my teacher for not
giving me high grades.” It may involve an emotion e.g. “My girlfriend left me and I cannot stop
feeling sad, lonely and unloved.” It can also be in the form of a behavior such as the inability to
control one's craving for food such as cakes and chocolates.”
