Human Potential Movement

[Bubba_Switzler]

What is the Catholic view on the “Human Potential Movement”?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Potential_Movement

(Yes, I know that this is from the 1960s but I only just stumbled across the term.)

 

[triumphguy]

Secular prometheanism.

pathacross.com/human-potential-movement/ Most Western religions teach us that God is personal, whereas The Human Movement Potential believes that God is an impersonal energy that lives within all of us. Also, biblical teachings do not promote leaving our conscious state of minds and entering into an altered state. However, the Human Movement Potential advocates inward imagery, visualization, meditation and relaxation for the purpose of tapping into our minds and transforming our thoughts.

The Human Movement Potential also has influences in what some call “the occult,” also known as spiritualism, divination, astrology or hidden perception of the senses. In Christian teachings, the term occult is met with negative reactions, and is taught to be something that goes against everything Christianity offers. However, this sort of practice is something that Human Movement Potential teachers and activists embrace. Tapping into your hidden potential by means of meditation, motivational techniques, visualizations and positive affirmations is the backbone of the movement.

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

Secular prometheanism.

Thanks for the link and info. I’m certainly not interested in any of that New Age stuff.

The aspect of this that caught my attention was the emphasis on the pursuit of excellence (to use another popular term) in the context of one’s own gifts. In other words, that if you have the potential to be a great doctor, you pursue that. You don’t just settle for being a grocery store clerk. It seems to me to be an important element of discerning a vocation.

 

[triumphguy]

Thanks for the link and info. I’m certainly not interested in any of that New Age stuff.

The aspect of this that caught my attention was the emphasis on the pursuit of excellence (to use another popular term) in the context of one’s own gifts. In other words, that if you have the potential to be a great doctor, you pursue that. You don’t just settle for being a grocery store clerk. It seems to me to be an important element of discerning a vocation.

Yes I agree.

We go where we are called by God and don’t let anything get in the way.

One of the differences is that in the HPM a person seeks their own goals, in Catholicism God sets the goals for us. The two may be VERY different, as numerous saints have found!

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

Yes I agree.

We go where we are called by God and don’t let anything get in the way.

One of the differences is that in the HPM a person seeks their own goals, in Catholicism God sets the goals for us. The two may be VERY different, as numerous saints have found!

That is a very important distinction that merits further discussion and necessarily entails a discussion of how one discerns a vocation. Quite frankly, it had never been clear to me how one goes about making that distinction in practice. Certainly the Church doesn’t tell people their vocation.

 

[triumphguy]

No - there are no classes on discerning a vocation.

I’ve found, in my own (YMMV) experience, that if something is inconvenient, and distasteful, or goes against my comfort level, and involves working with the “least of my bretheren” then God wants me to do it.

So for me: working in prison; working with sex offenders; working with street kids; being a father to a child with down syndrome; teaching religion rather than doing prestigious work, with high achievers, or teaching English or Physics to bright kids, or having an allstar athlete/genius for a son has been what God has wanted me to do.

Unfortunately he gave 2 of my other brothers the vocation to be highly paid engineers!

My other brother is a vocational teacher and a deacon though.

Life is funny - my brother the deacon and I were the party goers, popular with the girls, scrappers, and we end up the “religious” ones.

 

[edwest2]

The Human Potential Movement does not include God. I heard an angry sounding, radical feminist named Gloria Steinem mention this. It is a secular concept.

Now, for Catholics, we are told that the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts as He wills.

See 1 Corinthians 4 through 11.

And see vocation.com

vocation.com/QandAItem.aspx?id=3688

Peace,
Ed

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

No - there are no classes on discerning a vocation.

Well, I certainly remember many discussions of vocation in Catholic school but they were almost entirely exhortations to consider the vocation of the priesthood. I guess that hasn’t changed.

But before we consider whether Catholic vocation classes should exist, let’s consider what they would teach.

I’ve found, in my own (YMMV) experience, that if something is inconvenient, and distasteful, or goes against my comfort level, and involves working with the “least of my bretheren” then God wants me to do it.

That sounds very subjective. Just to throw in a more objective example, we can presume that God would not call us to be an abortionist. But surely there is something in between.

Are there any good Catholic books or websites on discerning vocations?

So for me: working in prison; working with sex offenders; working with street kids; being a father to a child with down syndrome; teaching religion rather than doing prestigious work, with high achievers, or teaching English or Physics to bright kids, or having an allstar athlete/genius for a son has been what God has wanted me to do.

Unfortunately he gave 2 of my other brothers the vocation to be highly paid engineers!

My other brother is a vocational teacher and a deacon though.

Life is funny - my brother the deacon and I were the party goers, popular with the girls, scrappers, and we end up the “religious” ones.

Indeed! Perhaps one may say that a vocation has been chosen well if it satisfies certain criteria. It sounds like you and your brothers have made good choices.

I came across the term “Human Potential Movement” in a rather more negative context:

1. Younger folk who are floundering in deciding what to do with their lives, and
2. Older folk who have fallen into a rut in their lives.

What I found in common to both cases was a lack of appreciation for potential. (To be sure, there are many young folk who have an exagerated opinion of their abilities but that’s another problem.)

It was suggested to me that the Human Potential Movement might have something to offer in these situations. Not the New Age business but the exortation to reach and strive for something grander in one’s life.

The closest thing I have found in Catholicism is Opus Dei which in this context can be loosly described as the view that there is something sanctifying in work. Finding sanctifying work certainly changes the way one looks at the choice of vocation.

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

The Human Potential Movement does not include God. I heard an angry sounding, radical feminist named Gloria Steinem mention this. It is a secular concept. Now, for Catholics, we are told that the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts as He wills.

Well, there is secular in the sense of worldly duties that are entirely Christian and secular in the sense of exclusive of God. I presume you mean the later.

And see vocation.com
vocation.com/QandAItem.aspx?id=3688

Not to seem unappreciative, but at first glance this seems to be another case of vocation=vocation of the priesthood. I will explore further, though.

EDIT: Confirmed:

Individual vocations vary between being single, married, consecrated, religious or a priest. However, we usually use “Vocation” to mean a call to the consecrated, religious or priestly life. That is what we do on this website, but the principles and much of the advice are also applicable to the married and the single life. .

I’m using the term “vocation” here more broadly to compare, say, the vocation of medicine to the vocation of store clerk.

 

[triumphguy]

I think discernment is totally subjective, because there are no algorithms that you can apply to work through the process.

It’s all about “What does God want me to do?” And His call is different for everyone.

Perhaps He does want you to be an Engineer say, rather than take up a traditional religious vocation - but “What does God want me to do as an Engineer?” then becomes the question.

 

[edwest2]

Whatever you do, you are a witness to the faith. In my job, I watch what I say around my co-workers, try to be a good example, and, on occasion, mention things that I think should change to foster a higher standard. I don’t push my faith on anyone but everyone knows I’m religious, if not Catholic.

So wherever you find yourself, speak up if the situation calls for it, for the good. A Catholic friend of mine changed jobs and works mostly with women. She told me she likes her job but avoids those who like to gossip.

People watch what other people do, and sometimes they imitate their behavior. God needs people in every job and every profession. Say a conversation comes up about abortion and you are asked, what do you think? Are you ready to answer in a way that is helpful and consistent with your faith?

Silence and bad behavior, or just going along with the crowd is not what we’re supposed to do. On the other hand, we should be mindful of how others think, and prepare an answer or a comment. Odds are, you will meet someone or know someone that is against certain things the Church teaches or doesn’t understand. And yes, we should do our best.

Peace,
Ed

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

Edwest, what you say is true, of course, but its not really the vocational decision that I mean to focus on here.

Triumphguy, if vocational discernment is so subjective, how is it possible to distinguish one’s own goals from God’s? I’ve never heard someone say they heard God’s calling but chose to ignore it in favor of doing what they prefer.

Most importantly, if Catholicism has so little to say on non-clerical vocational choices, why not look to secular models of human potential (minus the New Age bits, of course)?

 

[triumphguy]

Edwest, what you say is true, of course, but its not really the vocational decision that I mean to focus on here.

Triumphguy, if vocational discernment is so subjective, **how is it possible to distinguish one’s own goals from God’s? **I’ve never heard someone say they heard God’s calling but chose to ignore it in favor of doing what they prefer.

Most importantly, if Catholicism has so little to say on non-clerical vocational choices, why not look to secular models of human potential (minus the New Age bits, of course)?

Well when our goals mesh with God’s goals then they are the ones the go for.

Sure we can look to secular models to improve human potential - as long as you keep first things first, and make the main thing the main thing (building the Kingdom).