True Greatness

Have you ever considered the possibility that there might be a vast wellspring of power and greatness hidden within you? Right now? Does that seem like a surprising concept to consider? It certainly isn’t a new idea but it’s a thought that makes many people feel uncomfortable. It’s time to consider the greatness that resides within all of us so, let’s take a closer look.

According to Dr. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist and pioneering explorer of human behaviour, there is a higher potential within humans that he referred to as Self-Realisation. This is an elevated state of consciousness that has been associated with a sense of divinity, a profound feeling of being deeply connected with everything, a powerful expression of creativity and a belief that you are completely in control of your life and your destiny.

 Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.

—    Wilma Rudolph

Dr. Maslow also concluded that this desirable yet remarkable state of personal empowerment can also create unexpected fears and anxieties, a reaction that he referred to as the Jonah Complex after the famous character in the Biblical story. It’s as if the intensity or the magnitude of the experience of self-realisation can prove to be so overwhelming that people prefer to seek refuge in the mediocrity that they’ve so recently escaped. Perhaps the condition is so far removed from our daily experience that we feel completely out of our element, strangely removed from old, familiar feelings and behaviours. It seems that we’re highly likely to retreat as rapidly as possible from this exalted condition in order to preserve our connection to the mundane circumstances of our old life. Strange but, according to Dr. Maslow, also true.

Since self-realisation corresponds to the highest expression of our potential, how can we aspire to this wonderful new level of personal experience and its promise of universal consciousness? And how can we dwell in its heightened state of awareness?

People do not decide to become extraordinary.

They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.

—    Edmund Hillary

These questions have tasked philosophers and mystics for thousands of years. Their advice is as relevant today as it’s always been. They suggested that rather than seeking to express some notional condition of greatness as a series of changes in our behaviour, the answer was to recognise greatness as our natural and purest condition.

The key to discovering its power within ourselves is to release those aspects of ourselves that do not correspond to our true nature. When we let go of the superficial, the artificial, the inauthentic, what remains is the essence of who we really are. And that is where the experience of true greatness is revealed.

It’s ironic that the supreme expression of our true potential should be the cause of so much discomfort. Perhaps we can understand the ego’s role here as it struggles to maintain its dominance and keep us off balance. This is where an ancient description of the ego’s function can help us to understand why it often gets in the way of our progress. It was claimed that the ego prompts us to spend our lives constantly seeking the answers to our deepest questions – but without ever finding them. We seek but, according to our egos, we are not meant to find. Obviously, the realisation of our true nature challenges the ego’s dominance. No wonder it fights so ruthlessly to preserve its influence.

Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness,

and others have greatness thrust upon them.

—    William Shakespeare

Yet, the same traditions declare that we must all eventually encounter our true potential. It’s our destiny, our evolutionary goal and the answer to every question we have ever sought to resolve. In this moment of higher consciousness or self-realisation that Dr. Maslow so often referred to, the ego assumes its simpler function as a way of interpreting the world but it no longer offers the only lens through which the world is viewed.

One of the inevitable starting points for the cultivation of self-realisation is to realise that this is the natural condition that dwells within each of us. We’re more likely to appreciate its presence when we’re relaxed, when we turn down our stress and banish our fears and anxieties. The greatness suggests itself in the silence of a mind that has become still. It’s a place of inner calm where the emotional tides do not ebb and flow. It can be detected in the sense of detachment that helps us to appreciate that we are not the roles we’ve learned to play. In letting go, we can discern that there is something else, something subtle that has a timeless quality. There is something of the eternal in this encounter with our deeper self.

You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success,

and endowed with the seeds of greatness.

—    Zig Ziglar

Should we try to hold onto this extraordinary feeling of inner peace, power and fulfilment? The unexpected answer is No. It cannot be held. It isn’t a possession that you can grasp with your hands or your heart. The more you seek to hold onto it, the more elusive it becomes. Yet in the midst of a busy, distracting day, we can still resolve to find those precious moments of peace and calm that open up the possibility of experiencing our true nature.

With practice and a growing awareness, the natural state becomes your default position, your natural form of self-expression. The conflict with the ego becomes less intense until it ceases.

If the deepest purpose of our lives is to discover this illuminating state of self-realisation, then it deserves our attention. Not by pursuing it as another goal or objective. Rather by setting ourselves free from the layers of conditioned behaviours and fears that conceal the reality of who we are.

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.

-       Khalil Gibran

Are you ready right now for a completely fresh approach to life’s great adventure? Get in touch with us today for a free session to discover how the growing global movement for personal growth, success, change and empowerment can enhance your life.

Greg Parry created the Cognitive Empowerment Programs specifically to help people master their stress, overcome their limitations and explore the power of their true potential.

If you enjoy these blogs, you can imagine how much fun it is to have Greg in the room as an inspirational and highly perceptive speaker. If you’d like to invite Greg to talk to your company or organisation or event, feel free to get in touch.

gregory.s.parry@gmail.com