Gemeinschaftsgefühl - Community Spirit

Gemeinschaftsgefuhl - German in English

"Community feeling" or "social interest," this term is used by Adlerian psychologists to describe the state of social connectedness and interest in the well-being of others that characterizes psychological health.

http://en.glosbe.com/en/en/gemeinschaftsgefuhl

Etymology

From Gemeinschaft (community) + Gefühl (feeling)

Pronunciation

 /ɡəˈmaɪ̯nʃaftsˌɡəˈfyːl/

Gemeinschaftsgefühl is a term created by Austrian psychiatrist, Alfred Adler to express,

“Social concern or feeling not in terms of particular social behaviors, but in the much broader sense of caring for family, for community, for society, for humanity, even for life. Social concern is a matter of being useful to others”.

Abraham Maslow saw this social consciousness in the self-actualizer.  The self-actualizer…

"…senses a fundamental connection with the human species whom they observe, not with arrogance, but with the awareness that he can do many things better, that they can see things that others cannot witness, that the truth is clearer to them and veiled from most people."  Maslow

This astuteness possessed by these people makes them feel a deep kinship with others and a consciousness of how things can be improved for everyone.  Gemeinschaftsgefühl is a type of empathy and wisdom comingled with social interest for the betterment of all.   

Acceptance

Most people tend to live life with superfluous amounts of guilt, shame, worry and anxieties.  These attributes in an unhealthy (neurotic) person causes them become fearful, phobic, irrational, obsessed, and disturbed.  The Self-Actualizers distinguish themselves from most people because they are able to accept themselves (their own nature) without vexation or criticism.  They accept their own nature in the same way that most people accept that…

"…water is wet, rocks are hard and trees are green.  As the child looks out upon the world with wide, uncritical, undemanding, innocent eyes, simply noting and observing what is the case, without either arguing or demanding it be otherwise, so does the self-actualizing person tend to look upon human nature in himself an in others."  - Maslow

 In other word, the self-actualizer has a real grasp on who they are and what they are observing. 

They are fully immersed in the “now” and this allows them to have a clear perspective on things.  They also are not attempting to hear or see what they want or prefer to hear and see.  They simply see things as they are in the present situation and based on this then they take action. Self-actualizers embody the attitude Eckhart Tolle talks about in The Power of Now. 

“Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as you had chosen it.  Always work with it, not against it.  Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy.”  Eckhart Tolle 

 This allows Self-Actualizers to enjoy the miracles of life.  Still the Self-Actualizer is not free from feeling embarrassment, repentant, unhappiness and apprehension. 
The areas that a Self-Actualizer feels guilt and shame are in the ways they can improve themselves.  Losing their temper, being lazy, hurting someone’s feeling, being inconsiderate or insensitive, being envious, having a prejudice will cause the self-actualizer to feel guilt and shame.  However, they observe this as an area in their life where they need to improve and grow.  

“The general formula seems to be that self-actualizers will feel bad about discrepancies between what is and what might very well be or ought to be”.   Maslow.  

 The self-actualized person is a person who does not allow guilt to stultify his/her life.  They accept their limitation as part of their character and figure out a way to live life to the fullest. 

Maslow’s Characteristics of Self-Actualizers

In studying the self-actualizer Maslow saw that these people possessed specific qualities, all which create…

“…a pressure toward unity of personality, toward spontaneous expressiveness, toward full individuality and identity, toward seeing the truth rather than being blind, toward being creative, toward being good, and a lot else. That is, the human being is so constructed that he presses toward what most people would call good values, toward serenity, kindness, courage, honesty, love, unselfishness, and goodness" 

-Abraham Maslow

These qualities are acceptance, gemeinschaftsgefühl, have exceptional values called metaneeds, realistic, have peace with duality, are self-sufficient, transcends culture, enjoy a quality of detachment, authentic, altruistic, creative, gracious, mystical, are benevolent and more loving, democratic, and possess an unique sense of humor.

Criteria for Self-Actualization

The 4 Must to Self-Actualize:

1. No evidence of psychopathology

2. The 4 lower needs met

3. Embracing the B-Values (metaneeds)

4. Awareness of one's potential for growth

ABE-Making Peace with the Jonah Complex

A-B-E

ABE is the nickname for Abraham, a fitting the acronym to make peace with the "Jonah Complex".

  

A - awareness of how you judge the way other people enjoy their fabulousness. This step can help you become aware of how you judge your own potential to greatness.

B-Values - Metaneeds are the food for the Self-Actualizer's Soul.  The "Jonah Complex is at the total opposite of the psychopathology idea of Narcissism. Make these metaneeds a part of your life. These values will help you stay grounded and have healthy narcissism and develop self-compassion.

• Truth
• Goodness
• Beauty
• Wholeness, Unity, & Transcendence of Opposites
• Aliveness
• Uniqueness
• Perfection & Necessity 
• Completion
• Justice & Order
• Simplicity
• Richness
• Effortlessness
• Playfulness
• Self-Sufficiency
• Meaningfulness

E- embrace that the "Jonah Complex" is a part of you, do not resist it.  Embrace the positive aspects of what you are capable of achieving.  For example, if power scares you, but the people you can help with power is a positive aspect of what you like about power, focus on how you can use power for the greater good of helping people. 

What We Truly Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”   - Marianne Williamson

This quote has often incorrectly credited to the 1994 Inauguration Speech of Nelson Mandela.  In 1992, Marianne Williamson published, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles (Chapter 7, Section 3 (Pg. 190-191)).

This quote explains the Jonah Complex.  

How are you selling yourself short?  

How do you give away your power?  

Who truly benefits from you not Self-Actualizing? 

Is a lesser actualized YOU better for the world?  

You and only you are keeping yourself from your full potential, the question is why?  

Jonah Complex

Motives which may cause a person not become Self-Actualized are:

• Deprived Childhoods
•  Low Social Economic Class
• Inadequate Education
• Fears and Anxieties
• Jonah Complex – Fear of Success

What is to give light must endure burning.  

Viktor E. Frankl 

Jonah and the Whale

The Jonah Complex can be seen as false sense of modesty which suppresses our natural creativity or a  the fear of one’s own potential.  In the Bible, God tells Jonah to prophecies that "Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah flees, getting on a ship going the opposite direction, to Tarshish. The ship finds itself in a horrible storm, and the sailors begin to question why this is happening. Jonah admits to the sailors that he was the reason they encountered the storm. The sailors cast off Jonah, the storm clams  and miraculously he is swallowed by a whale, where he spends 3 days and 3 nights. The whale spews out Jonah. He goes to Nineveh and this time does as God instructed.

"So often we run away from the responsibilities dictated (or rather suggested) by nature, by fate, even sometimes by accident, just as Jonah tried—in vain—to run away from his fate"              Abraham Maslow

Jonah was evading his responsibility of living up to an important mission, which elevated him to his greatness.  Maslow saw this complex in many people preventing them to Self-Actualize.

Why do people dodge or try to escape their own greatness:

• Fear of the responsibilities of greatness
• Fear of appearing arrogant and not accepted by others
• Unable to fully see oneself in a position of authority
• Fearing people will not accept you if you get what your heart desires
•  Fear of losing control, being overwhelmed and falling apart

Transitions

Transitions are major triggers to the Jonah Complex:

• Making a move
• A promotions with more responsibilities
• Going on an audition/interview for a dream gig/job
• Entering a new stage in the life cycle 
• Getting married or having a baby