Always hoping there is brightness in your world! Last month we talked about Axiom 10, Management. Axiom 10 states that, in the range of causal elements (X1 – XN), some elements are more manageable than others. Lets explore that axiom a little further so that you can really understand Axiom 11 and put it to work for yourself. The annual wildfire season in the American Southwest has warranted international media attention for years, more so over the past decade or so. Having seen numerous reports on the news and using our innate cognitive skills we can pretty much figure out the kinds of things a Wildfire Containment Commander would have to take into consideration while fighting the fire. Or, you can imagine that you are that commander.
Let ‘Y’ equal a successful fire containment campaign, and let's define ‘successful’ as:
Minimal loss of forest and wildlife habitat
Minimal loss of human life
Minimal damage or loss of homes and property
Minimal interruption of transportation, power, and commerce
I’m certainly no expert but those four objectives sound pretty good to me. Now let's list the things that the Commander would have to take into consideration in order to utilize his or her resources effectively and achieve ‘Y’. In no particular order,
X1 = the location and geography of the fire area
X2 = the proximity of the fire to access roads
X3 = the proximity of the fire to power lines and other essential infrastructure
X4 = the proximity of the fire to towns, homes, and businesses
X5 = the nature of the fuel source feeding the fire
X6 = the current direction of the fire
X7 = the weather
X8 = the probable direction of the fire based on its fuel source
X9 = the probable direction of the fire based on terrain
X10 = the probable direction of the fire based on the weather
X11 = the danger level to towns, homes, and businesses
X12 = the availability of local resources including fire, emergency services, and police
X13 = the availability of national resources
X14 = the safety of people who may be trapped in the fire area
X15 = the effective communication of updated information and evacuation orders
X16 = the proximity of a water source to fight the fire
OK! You get the idea. An expert might be able to come up with twice as many ‘Xs’ but this will do for our purpose. What the commander is doing is taking into consideration all of the things (causal elements) that can influence the outcome that he or she wants. Axiom 8 tells the commander to look for the originating source of the fire, ‘anything that emerges has a source from which it comes. Axiom 9 tells the commander that the fire will persist as long as it can reach that which is feeding it, fuel. Axiom 10 tells the commander that some of the elements he or she is considering are more manageable than others. So the commander would have to prioritize these elements. Do you have a fire raging at home or on your job, something burning away your energy, your joy, your ability to perform effectively? The process that our hypothetical commander is going through is the same process that you may need to go through otherwise much can be loss. The Multi-Causality Formula is a coherent, helpful, and effective way to plan out the route to your goals and to devise a strategy for dealing with problems. There is no convincing argument against the efficaciousness of writing down your thoughts and ideas.
Axiom 11: The Relative Value of ‘X’
In the range of causal elements (X1 – XN), some elements exert a greater influence on the emergence of the phenomenon than others.
Having outlined the elements that will influence the outcome of ‘Y’, our commander can now begin to sort through what he or she can and cannot control. It is what it is! The fire is where it is at the time of first observation. Roads can be closed but like power lines, towns, homes, and essential infrastructure, they cannot be moved. The weather cannot be controlled and the proximity of a large enough water source may be fixed. The fuel source for the fire (the forest) cannot be moved but the commander plans strategies for managing the fuel source to hopefully guide the direction of the fire away from essential structures. Homes cannot be moved but people can. Fire Fighters need to be actively involved in fighting the fire so other agencies will have to be responsible for enforcing evacuation orders once announced. Communications will need to be of the highest priority. The commander thinks the fire is likely to move in the direction of the main communications tower so they will need to get started on a containment line immediately. By outlining the goal or problem in this way the commander has given his or her body-mind the thing that it craves. The Brain thrives on associative links, the Mind needs to fill-in the blanks, and the Imagination loves stories. The commander’s body-mind immediately begins to create a picture revealing, in greater detail, the complexity and manageability of the situation. You and I are designed to solve problems! The problems we deal with today are more complicated than one thousand or ten thousand years ago but the human capacity for problem solving is locked in our genetic code. There are effective and ineffective ways to navigate daily life. We each choose one way or the other.
You remember the Serenity Prayer don’t you!
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
How can you know the difference unless you analyze the situation? Whatever it is that you are dealing with at home or work, a goal or a problem, try utilizing Axioms 8 – 11 to put the situation under a microscope. The Multi-Causality Formula lets you zoom in on a phenomenon in greater and greater detail all the way down to the consideration of Quantum Influences, Axiom 15. It will be a few months before we get there but you can get a step ahead by purchasing a copy of the Handbook On Being Human, vol I. The QSP Axioms are outlined and discussed in the book, and much more!
There is more to life than what touches our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or skin!
There is another way of Knowing!
There is another way of Being!
