The Principles of Valid Action
Work
for Personal Development
The Personal Work are simple practices, easy to try out and to pass on
to others. It helps people to recompose internally, to gain power and
self-esteem, to open up, to communicate, to reconcile themselves and others.
We will also learn how to transform the everyday situations we live in,
thus opening the future for a new way of life.
There are many tools for personal work, ranging from meditation to game-like
exercises, all of them carried out in groups.
The personal work usually takes place at the weekly meetings of the Humanist
Movement or special workshops.
The Principles of Valid Action
1.The Principle of Adaptation
"To go against the evolution of things is
to go against yourself."
2.
The Principle of Action and Reaction
"When you force something towards
an end, you achieve the contrary."
3. The Principle
of Timely Action
"Do not oppose a great force; retreat
until it weakens, then advance with resolution."
4.The
Principle of Proportion
"Things are well when they move together, not in isolation."
5.
The Principle of Acceptance
"If day and night, summer and winter are fine with you, you
have surpassed the contradictions."
6.
The Principle of Pleasure
"If you pursue pleasure you enchain yourself to suffering.
But as long as you do not harm your health, enjoy without inhibition when
the opportunity presents itself."
7.
The Principle of Immediate Action
"If you pursue an end you enchain yourself. If everything
you do Is realized as though it were an end in itself, you liberate yourself."
8.The
Principle of Wise Action
"You will make your conflicts disappear when you understand
them in their ultimate root, not when you want to resolve them."
9.
The Principle of Liberty
"When you harm others you remain enchained, but if you do
not harm anyone you can freely do whatever you want."
10. The Principle
of Solidarity
"When you treat others as you would
have them treat you, you liberate yourself."
11.
The Principle of Negating Opposites
"It doesn't matter which faction events have placed you in.
What matters is for you to comprehend that you haven't chosen any faction."
12.
The Principle of the Accumulation of Actions
"Contradictory or unitive acts accumulate within you. If you
repeat your acts of internal unity, then nothing can stop you."
1. The Principle of Adaptation
"To go against the evolution of things is to go against yourself."
This explains that it is useless and counterproductive to oppose the inevitable. When the outcome of a situation is known beforehand, the most useful attitude is to accept it as completely as possible and take advantage of even its unfavorable aspects.
However, it is important to be very clear regarding what is inevitable. If humanity had believed that illnesses were inevitable, medical science would not have advanced. Thanks to the necessity of solving problems and the possibility doing so, humanity progresses. If we examine moments in our life in which we did not have knowledge of this principle, and therefore acted contrary to it, we can understand the usefulness of applying it in the future.
2. The Principle of Action and Reaction
"When you force something towards an end, you produce the contrary."
This principle explains that all things and people have their own characteristics and tendencies, and they will either go along with or resist our projects, depending on how we act. When we are upset or unbalanced and therefore motivated by irrational impulses we pressure and force things against their own natural behavior. We then find that even if things may yield to our demands at first, in the long run they will turn back on us, and our results will be different or even opposite to those we originally wanted to achieve.
3. The Principle of Timely Action
"Do not oppose a great force; retreat until it weakens, then advance with resolution."
In ancient times, people spoke of "prudence" and this is similar to what we mean. But we shouldn't confuse prudence with weakness or fear, or small inconveniences (little problems that we can overcome) with forces that would overwhelm us if we confronted them. When the balance of strength is in our favor, and what was once a great obstacle has weakened, this is the moment to advance decisively; otherwise the opportunity may be lost.
4. The Principle of Proportion
"Things are well when they move together, not in isolation."
If in order to achieve a particular goal we harm our health, sacrifice our loved ones, or are unconcerned with other values, accidents may happen that will keep us from reaching our goal. In other cases, we may reach our desired goal but we won't have the good health to enjoy it, or loved ones to share it with, etc. Life is a whole that requires overall -not partial- equilibrium and development.
5. The Principle of Acceptance
"If day and night, summer and winter are fine with you, you have
surpassed the contradictions."
This principle deals in a figurative way with situations of apparent opposites. However, these apparent opposites can be reconciled by changing one's point of regarding the situation. The heat of summer makes us think about the cold of winter and vice versa, since every difficult situation makes us remember or imagine an opposite one as of compensation.
If I believe that life is not absurd and that everything that happens can be beneficial as a lesson or tool for self-improvement, then I will not simply try to evade dealing with such problems by compensating for them in the usual way. Rather, I will accept and face these problems and try to find some usefulness in them.
6. The Principle of Pleasure
"If you Pursue pleasure you enchain yourself to suffering. But as
long as you do not harm your health, enjoy without inhibition when the
opportunity presents itself."
If this principle were read by a person with a muddled mind it could be interpreted as follows: "Enjoy yourself even if you harm others, since the only restraint is your person health." This is not what it says. What this principle explains is that it is absurd to harm your health through the pursuit of uncontrolled or detrimental pleasures. It explains that both the harmful denial of pleasure, as well as the pursuit of pleasure with guilt produces unjustified suffering. This principle (like all the others) should not be taken out of context or interpreted in a way that opposes the other principles. There is a principle that says: "When you treat others as you would have them treat you, you liberate yourself." The meaning of all these principles changes when they are practiced as a whole and not in isolation from the others.
7. The Principle of Immediate Action
"If you pursue an end you enchain yourself. If everything you do Is realized as though it were an end in itself, you liberate yourself."
This does not mean one should not have goals, since the planning of any activity is carried out on the basis of goals. What this principle explains is that all steps towards any goal should be considered in a positive way. Otherwise, any activity leading to the achievement of a goal produces suffering. Then even if the goal is achieved, it loses meaning because of the suffering experienced in the intermediary steps.
8. The Principle of Wise Action
"You will make your conflicts disappear when you understand them
in their ultimate root, not when you want to resolve them."
This principle suggests avoiding improvisation because one is moved by irrational impulses. Many people, when faced with a problem and pressured by anxiety, rush to solve it without comprehending exactly what they are doing or recognizing the true source of the problem. In this way the problem gets even more complicated and this gives rise to a new unending chain of actions. What this principle explains is that actions should be accompanied by comprehension
9. The Principle of Liberty
"When you harm others you remain enchained, but if you do not harm
anyone you can freely do whatever you want."
If I create problems for others, they will create problems for me. Besides that, creating problems for others gives me a feeling of internal contradiction. On the other hand there is no rational reason to stop doing what I want if no one is harmed by such action.
10. The Principle of Solidarity
"When you treat others as you would have them treat you, you liberate yourself."
This principle is the most important of all. Applying this principle leads to positive interaction with other people. It complements the previous principle, which recommends "Do not harm others," but there is a big difference between them. The question that comes up with this principle is "Who are the others?" The others are the people closest to me, my family, my couple, my work co-workers, my neighbors, and my friends. It is true that all the world is my neighbor, but this "all the world" is so broad that in practice it has no face. This is why this principle must be understood with reference to the people closest to me. It is useless to worry about the problems of people I do not know, if I never help or move in a positive way toward the people right around me. If I truly take into account the people in my daily life, on the other hand I am also sincere in my concern for those far away.
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11. The Principle of Negating Opposites
"It doesn't matter which faction events have placed you in. What
matters is for you to comprehend that you haven't chosen any faction."
This principle does not say that all factions should be abandoned. What is suggested here is to look at my own position as being the result of factors beyond my own choice: educational factors, environmental factors, etc.
This attitude makes fanaticism recede and also allows me to understand factions or positions other than my own. I did not create fat people, thin people, tall or short people; therefore, I deny the obligation to identify with any of them. This commitment to denying false solutions is an act of freedom of conscience and it is a courageous position because it opens one to criticism from battling factions whose intention is to make me support their positions.
12. The Principle of the Accumulation of Actions
"Contradictory or unitive acts accumulate within you. If you repeat
your acts of internal unity, then nothing can stop you."
What is meant by a contradictory act is one which leaves a person with a sensation of "betraying oneself." A unitive act is one which gives a feeling of "agreement with oneself." Every contradictory act not only creates this sensation of self betrayal and betraying others, it also predisposes me towards new actions in the same direction. On the other hand, every unitive act equally predisposes me toward more unitive acts. A good practical formula to surpass contradiction and build a new direction in life is to begin practicing these twelve principles of valid actions.