For self development addicts.

The Way of the Monkey

July 25th, 2007, by Attila Borcsa in Self development, 2 Comments

Why are personal development idea streams so popular? What kind of need are they feeding? There must be a need, there must be a demand since they are so popular. But is this need a natural one, a necessity? Or is it a created one, an artificiality? Maybe this is a question like ‘the chicken or the egg’, maybe there is an obvious origin for it. You tell me. But I would like to draw your attention to something commonly shared in all those personal development promptings.

It is actually about how you learn. All personal development handbooks are telling you to follow certain recipes. If you do it by the book, then you will succeed. Nothing more true. So how should we call this way of learning? I would suggest we should call it learning by imitation. Doing it exactly as told, doing it by the book to succeed.

Imitation is the way of the monkey.

Since it was stated before that personal development, when reaching its goal, leads to a soul, it must then lead you to being truly human. Alright, so if imitation is the way of the monkey, then this is some sort of mapping the Darwinist evolution?

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Comments on "The Way of the Monkey":

  1. Marcus says:
    July 27th, 2007 at 11:41 am

    Hi, I would be interested to hear your definition of Soul, as I am not sure how you mean it in this example.

    In addition – I wonder at the concept of imitation. After all to imitate something is to “copy” it. Copying something means that it is merely a replica, and quite often replicas lack what made the original so special.

    After all – if even a Monkey can imitate, then as far as I can see…it doesn’t speak very highly of imitation. It’s quite possible to imitate without having any comprehension of that thing, isn’t it?

  2. Attila Borcsa (author) says:
    July 27th, 2007 at 12:37 pm

    Marcus,
    I will start from your last question. Agree on that, imitation doesn’t require comprehension. It wasn’t my intention to create an impression of looking down on imitation or any judging. It was more like ascertaining how this learning process goes.

    Personal development and self development are not the same as far as I see it. The former is concerned with personality, character. Our side developing under influences and reactions. And should be differentiated from the more essential sides. Spiritual development is concerned more with the latter. Self development – as I see it – is a set comprising both personal and spiritual development.

    It is very difficult to create clearly differentiated categories or levels here. But I like to experiment with possible ones so it facilitates their understanding and communication.

    Defining the Soul is not easy (… and this definitely sounds like a trivia). Is it a part of the brain, or a capacity or a structure? These are to be debated. Right now I consider it a potentiality available for all. And it will stay like that unless actualized. It seems like the possible peak of human existence and maybe a doorway to other possible existences. Also, I don’t see how it could be avoided, sort of a one-way road. I’ve been touching the subject from many angles so far here on Vertegram and still it is a major task to approach it here.

    On the other hand, a possible more concrete answer that I could give right now is that the Soul can be “caught in the act” in glimpses of higher awareness. This of course also from the perspective of personal development.

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