A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs are

distinguished from wants because a deficiency would cause a clear negative outcome, such as

dysfunction or death. Needs can be objective and physical, such as food, or they can be subjective and

psychological, such as the need for self-esteem. On a societal level, needs are sometimes controversial.

Understanding needs and wants is an issue in the fields of politics, social science, and philosophy.

Contents

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1 Psychological definition 2 Objective definition 3 Other views 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Psychological definition

To most psychologists, need is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a goal, giving purpose and direction to behavior.

The most widely known academic model of needs was proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow. In his theory, he proposed that people have a hierarchy of psychological needs, which range from security to self-actualization. However, while this model is intuitively appealing, it has been difficult to operationalize it experimentally. It was further developed by Clayton Alderfer.

The academic study of needs was at its zenith in the 1950s. It receives less attention among psychologists today. One exception is Richard Sennett's work on the importance of respect.

One of the problems with a psychological theory of needs is that conceptions of "need" may vary radically between different cultures or different parts of the same society. One person's view of need may easily be seen as paternalistic by another.

[edit] Objective definition

A second view of need is represented by the work of political economy professor Ian Gough. He has published on the subject of human needs in the context of social assistance provided by the welfare state.[1] With medical ethics professor Len Doyal,[2] he also published The Theory of Human Need.

Their view goes beyond the emphasis on psychology: it might be said that an individual's needs are representative of the costs of being human within society. A person who does not have his or her needs fulfilled—i.e., a "needy" person—will function poorly in society.

In the view of Gough and Doyal, each person has an objective interest in avoiding serious harm that prevents the endeavor to attain his or her vision of what's good, no matter what that is exactly. This attempt requires the ability to participate in the societal setting in which an individual lives. More specifically, each person needs to have both physical health and personal autonomy. The latter refers to the capacity to make informed choices about what should be done and how to implement that. This requires mental health, cognitive skills, and chances to participate in society's activities and collective decision-making.

How are such needs satisfied? Doyal and Gough point to eleven broad categories of "intermediate needs" that define how the need for physical health and personal autonomy are fulfilled:

1. Adequate nutritional food and water2. Adequate protective housing3. A safe environment for working4. A safe physical environment5. Appropriate health care6. Security in childhood,7. Significant primary relationships with others8. Physical security9. Economic security10. Safe birth control and child-bearing11. Appropriate basic and cross-cultural education.

The two main forms of Value theory that are in existence right now is the Labour Theory of Value (LTV) and the Marginalist Theory of Value (MTV). Usually the proponents of one, do not recognise the validity of the other in defining the value of an object. I wish to show that these two are not mutually exclusive but that rather, we have a dualistic system of value where both play a role.

First of all, I consider that each item has an Objective utility which is the intrinsic use-value it has for the vast majority of humans. For example, a potato has an amount of kcal and it can always nourish. A car has the capability to move with a number of km per hour etc. These define a utility that remains constant no matter the subjective view on them by any human.

The only way to get this objective utility[1] is to create it and the only thing that creates items is human labour. Labour can be counted in hours and thus we can find out how many hour of labour[2] are necessary to create a specific objective utility in the form of a product. We can call this the objective value of the product.

It is this kind of value that the LTV attempts to define.

Now each item also has a Subjective utility which is the use-value any specific human individual assigns to it. This utility is almost never the same for any two individuals and further fluctuates for the same individual based on marginal utility. So I value a single potato when I have nothing to eat much more than a single potato when I have another 1000 of them in the warehouse. And I value a car when I have to drive 10 km every day to work, much more than a neighbour who works in the same building he lives in.

This subjective utility can only be abstracted based on the average demand for any type of objective utility. There is no other way to quantify it as each human simply thinks in a matter of priorities. For the starving, the potato is more “valuable” than a car. We can call this averaged demand the subjective value of the product.

But how do these two merge? The objective value lets us know how much work a product requires. This work needs to be repaid with an equal amount of work (in the form of another product) if one is to part with it. Thus it defines the minimum exchange value of a product. The subjective value lets us know on average how much people value a product. As a person values another product more than what they produce themselves (due to marginal utility), the subjective value tends to be higher than the objective value. Thus it defines the maximum exchange value of a product.

If there is a demand for the product then we can assume that the subjective value is higher than the objective. The higher the demand, the higher the subjective value. We can consider this difference between the number of labour hours a product requires to make and the number of labour hours we can get in exchange for it, as an objective measure of the subjective value.

In case the subjective value is below the objective value, then it means that this product will not be made as nobody will wish to make even the necessary minimum exchange for it at the objective value.

So what does this all mean? I’m not certain yet. For me, it is an obvious fact that the LTV is true but that also the MTV is also true. Neoclassical economics have used the Subjective Theories of Value as an unbeatable boogeyman to prove that Marxist theories were inherently flawed. But the Labour Theory of Value is still a very real important aspect of the value of a product as it is the only thing that can be used as a basis for the price. Certainly, Subjective Theories of Value play an important part but it is a much lesser role which only helps to show why exchanges happen and why prices fluxuate. It can in no case be considered the only way to define value.

ELIAS: “Your objective consciousness would be likened to and encompassing of your waking state; that which you designate as your conscious awareness. Your subjective consciousness is that element of consciousness which encompasses all other states; all states that you term to be altered states, your dream state also, meditative states, hypnotic states. Any altered state of consciousness, in your terms, would be encompassed within your subjective activity. This also will be designated as what you presently think of as your unconscious element of yourself, although it is not unconscious!” [session 140, December 15, 1996]

ELIAS: “Your objective awareness is that which occupies your attention within your waking state. Your subjective awareness is that awareness which is a part of you, which moves in harmony to your objective awareness and includes your dream state and all other states of consciousness associated with this reality; not your waking state. These two states of consciousness I shall refer to many times. They also, as I have stated, are elements of you. They are inseparable. They are also not at odds with each other. You are not manipulated by some element which you term to be ‘unconscious.’ There is no unconscious. This suggests non-conscious, and there is no non-conscious. There is merely the area of your individual oubliettes, your places of forgetting, which is your objective awareness. Your subjective awareness is that which holds the remembrance, which you are moving into the position of merging into your objective awareness. This also is an element of this shift in consciousness.” [session 270, March 19, 1998]

ELIAS: “I express to you, as I have expressed previously, all is not hidden from you! These are ideas that are expressions of your belief systems. All is quite available to you, and you may view all of your creations quite easily. They lie before you! Your subjective and objective awarenesses are not in opposition to each other, and one is not creating any element that the other is not aware of and is also expressing in mirror action. Therefore, there is no element of your focus that is hidden from you. You are privy to it all! You merely need be viewing and paying attention and noticing what you are creating yourself.” [session 338, November 10, 1998]

ELIAS: “As you enter physical focus and physically manifest within this dimension, you choose a physical body type and function, a gender. You also choose an orientation. The orientation may fit to either gender. All three of the orientations may fit with either gender. Therefore, they cross over each other, and one does not dictate the other. This is another element of your belief system that creates great confusion within you, for as you DO identify so very strongly with genders, you confuse yourselves with orientations, for the orientations do not fit with one particular gender. They are not associated directly with each other.

“Orientation is your perception. It is what is creating your perception. Your beliefs are influencing of your perception and therefore create your perception also, but your orientation is an ingredient of your perception.

“Your perception is how you view yourself, how you view your world, how you interact with your world, how you interact with yourself, with each other, and HOW YOU CREATE YOUR REALITY. You create your reality through your perception. Perception is not visual seeing. Perception is not limited to your thought process. It is not limited to emotion. It is all-encompassing, and that element of yourself that you do not identify as a thing, for it is not your body and it is not your brain. It is that element of yourself that creates your reality, that places you in the awareness of reality within this physical dimension. It is your awareness, your objective awareness.” [session 381, April 09, 1999]

ELIAS: “As I have expressed to you previously, your objective and subjective awarenesses move in harmony with each other and are not independent of each other, in a manner of speaking. Therefore, what is being created subjectively is also being created objectively.

“What you are attempting to be moving into is the translation, is the objective awareness of BOTH creations of awareness. You wish to be objectively aware of subjective movement.

“And in this, we concentrate our subject matter upon the objective movement and objective noticings and recognitions and translations, for you need no translation of the subjective – the subjective needs no translation of the objective – and you have no motivation to be translating any objective imagery into subjective awareness.

“But as you HAVE created veils and separations objectively throughout your history in manifestation within this dimension, you DO hold a curiosity and a motivation to be creating a translation of that which you view presently – or perceive to be illusive – as the subjective imagery and movement, that element of yourself that continues to be suspect, and you wish or desire to be creating a translation, that you may hold an objective awareness of the movement of the subjective imagery and awareness; not that the subjective movement or imagery or awareness is being created in any different manner than the objective in terms of direction, for it is not.

“The direction is the same of both the objective and the subjective, but the imagery presents itself differently, and therefore there is a fascination in the area of investigating that which is unfamiliar to you objectively. Therefore, we DO concentrate our discussions in the direction of the objective terms of translation.” [session 506, November 24, 1999]

ELIAS: “Your attention is you. It is your awareness. It is the combined expression of your subjective and your objective awarenesses, those expressions of you that create you as you.

“Your attention is not your personality. Your personality may be an expression of you, in a preference. You incorporate many preferences within one focus, you create many preferences in essence; but preference is also an expression that your attention directs to. It is the expression of you. And as I have expressed previously, your attention is the wheel that steers you, as being your own individual ship. Your ship moves you through your experiences.” [session 986, January 19, 2002]

KATE: “What is the purpose of what is known at the present time as the ego? Is it the same as essence, and in what way does it assist us in knowing that we are part of consciousness, that we are consciousness?”

ELIAS: “This is your objective identity of yourself, your objective sense of yourself in this individual physical manifestation of this one focus. It is your identity. Therefore, it is quite significant within your reality, for it is how you identify you as you, your personality, what distinguishes you as unique.”

KATE: “Why is that where our negative belief systems seem to be stored, and why is it that we have – or at least I do – have such difficulty in releasing some of those beliefs?”

ELIAS: “For you continue to generate a misunderstanding. First of all, there are no negative beliefs. They are all neutral. It is merely a matter of your individual associations with different expressions of duplicity beliefs that generate an identification of negative and positive.

“Also, in relation to your question of why do these beliefs seem to be stored in this expression of ego, first of all they are not, but you do generate reinforcements of judgments concerning your beliefs and concerning this identification of ego, which you have mis-defined. Your negative association with this expression is directly associated with psychological beliefs that express to you, in association with religious beliefs also, that there are aspects of yourself that are base, undesirable and less than spiritual. One of these expressions of yourself that qualifies in that category is what has been identified as the ego.

“Now; as I have expressed, that which you identify in a negative sense as ego is merely that expression of yourself and your personality which expresses your identity. How shall you associate your identity with negativity, unless you are aligning with religious and psychological beliefs that express to you that in the physical manifestation you are less than, which is incorrect?” [session 1152, October 10, 2002]

NORM: “Now, I would like to have you define that, the difference between objective and subjective consciousness creating what we do.”

ELIAS: “There is quite little difference. As I have expressed many, many, many times, they move in harmony. Therefore, what you create in subjective awareness is what you also create in objective awareness.

“The difference between subjective and objective is that the subjective is quite precise and literal, the objective is abstract. Therefore one action that you may be incorporating subjectively, one direction, one motion that you may be creating subjectively, may be incorporated in thousands of manners objectively, for the objective awareness is abstract.

“It is quite the reverse of what you think. You associate your subjective awareness with dream state. Your dream state is quite objective. If you generate imagery in association with physical reality, it is objective.”

ARTHUR: “And abstract, in dream reality?”

ELIAS: “You are quite abstract in your dream reality, which is quite a mirror for your waking reality which is also quite abstract.

“Your subjective awareness is quite precise and is not abstract. Your subjective awareness may be precisely identifying to you a belief that is influencing what you are creating quite precisely – one – and you may be generating hundreds of objective expressions of imagery to reflect that one belief.” [session 1252, January 18, 2003]

ELIAS: “The point of transition is not merely to shed beliefs associated with any particular physical dimension, but also to shed the objective awareness, for it is unnecessary. Objective awareness is generated only in association with physical dimensions, with physical realities. Perception is a tool of the objective awareness; therefore it also is not necessary. In nonphysical areas of consciousness there is no perception. It is associated merely with physical realities. But that is a strong configuration of energy and is not immediately shed merely that you choose to disengage. That is what I am expressing to you. That is also a process that generates a beginning.” [session 1474, November 23, 2003]

ELIAS: “Now! First of all, we will incorporate an adjustment of some terminology, to be more efficient for our purposes.

Henceforth, I shall refer to your waking state of consciousness as objective consciousness or self.

All altered states of consciousness, such as your dream state, your state within out-of-body experiences, and all other altered [states of] consciousness, as you view them, including your view of ‘subconscious,’ shall be referred to as subjective consciousness or self.

These terms are more efficient and encompassing for your understanding, for all of your conscious state that you view within your waking element deals with information projected out and received from ‘out.’ All other information is directed from within and processed within.

... [The] subjective self is the creative aspect, the initiating aspect, of your manifestation. [The] objective self is the experiencing and executing element of your manifestation. The subjective self is directly connected to mass consciousness and Regional Area 2. Therefore, information is obtained through Regional Area 2 within the collective consciousness, filtered into individual manifestations of reality, interpreted individually, and projected into objective self.

We shall speak of our tree, once again; my very faithful example. View the tree to be the objective self, the roots of the tree being the subjective self; but the tree is intimately connected to the ground. The ground is the collective. It supplies the information, the nourishment, the focus for the subjective self, which is interpreted within manifestation of the objective self, the tree. The ground, being the collective, may also be compared to mass events, for if the ground is creating parchedness, the tree alone is not affected only. Each blade of grass, each flower, and the ground itself is affected directly. If the ground is creating abundance of saturation, the tree, along with all other vegetation, is affected through the subjective self of roots, manifesting an experience within the objective self of the tree. Are you understanding thus far? (Here, there is a silent, uncertain pause, during which Elias seems to evaluate each person individually, and then continues)

The subjective self engages mass events. You look to mass events and you think of your involvement objectively; your physical experience. You also incorporate subjective experience within your dream element, for you incorporate mass events within this area of consciousness also. Mass events are not always incorporated throughout a nation, or a world, or even an entire community. A mass event, as I have expressed previously, may be experienced within small groups of individuals, but you are experiencing collectively, through agreement, within Regional Area 2.

You do not always understand the manifestations of your mass events. You do not always manifest all of your reasons for mass events, for within Regional Area 2 exists your Source Events. These are creative expressions which are vastly exceeding what you may physically manifest within physical focus. Therefore, I have expressed that you manifest an interpretation, an

element. A Source Event is never entirely manifest, for physical focus of any design may not encompass a Source Event. Therefore, you may look to your mass events, and you may feel that you are left with ‘pieces missing’; incomplete explanations of the reason why you have created these events. This is quite common within the element of physical focus, for just as you have distorted information from Regional Area 2, you also omit experiences from Regional Area 2. Not all of the reasons for manifestations are necessary for the experience.

You may manifest a mass event. You may walk away affected by a mass event, and within years to your future, you may look ‘backwards’ to the event and you may question, ‘Why? What was our purpose?’ The purpose for the individual event may not be apparent to you, for the experience is what was important for manifestation. The reasons for experience are held within the subjective self, always. They are always accessible. Therefore, it is unnecessary, at times, to be manifesting all elements of certain issues or subjects of mass events.

I have expressed to you, from our beginning of our sessions, your purpose within physical focus is to experience. You have asked many times, ‘What is my mission? What is my purpose? Why am I in existence?’ You exist within physical focus, for you choose to manifest within physical focus for experience.

You choose many experiences. You are choosing a new experience and manifesting a new Source Event, involving your shift, for your experience. You choose to experience differently. Therefore, you create a new Source Event, which will be partially expressed and manifest within an interpretation and experience of your shift.

You also employ dialog continuously between the subjective and objective selves. Just as the tree does not exist without the root, one element of consciousness does not exist without the other. Therefore, there is continuous communication and interaction; therefore, your dream state. I have expressed to you, from very early on within our session times, the importance of this state. It is your subjective communication. It is important. It is very affecting, for it is affecting of all of your objective expression.

It has been addressed to us many times, ‘I experience difficulty within my dream state. I dream only mundane interaction. I dream of elements that I have viewed upon my television, or interaction that I have experienced within my day or within my employment.’ I express to you that even within these interactions of dream state, the subjective self speaks to you. Sometimes, your interaction of a dream which is focused upon your work state is, in actuality, a communication to the objective self, to be dealing with and coping with elements of that situation. It is delivering information to

you to be helpful. It expresses creative information to you to be more artfully employing your energy within your every-day life.

As there is no time element within the subjective self, you may view the interaction, from the standpoint of the objective self, as reversed. You may dream, and to your perception it is seeming that you have been dreaming of what has been occurring within your previous day. There is no time element within your subjective self. It is an interpretation of the objective self.

Many times, within your dream state, your subjective self expresses, prior to an event, information to be helpful to the objective self. The objective self is not remembering of this information; therefore the interaction or event occurs, lodging a memory. Within communication and validation the following evening, the subjective self communicates once again and is confirming, ‘Yes, I have been helpful in offering you this information. You have responded and experienced. Now, I shall allow you to review and watch again.’

This offers you also the opportunity to be adjusting; for if you are experiencing elements within your objective self ‘time’ that you are wishing to adjust, the subjective self offers a presentation to you to be reviewing, once again, of your position; therefore also offering you the opportunity to adjust behavior.

Very much interaction occurs within this state. It is your clearest and closest interaction. You may view this to be your ‘subconscious’ self, which is not subconscious! Your subjective self is continually available to you. You only choose to be complicating your interaction, and believing that it is removed from you.

If I am expressing to you of very intricate methods for interaction with your subjective self, you will be engaging much brain activity, and you will be exhibiting a determination to be accomplishing; but as I express to you of effortlessness and ease, and how automatic these elements are to you, you do not understand and you do not acknowledge your own action. I have expressed to you, many times, you incorporate these actions continuously.

You experience OOBs [out-of-body experiences] continuously, but you continue to express to Elias, ‘How may I experience an OOB?” If I offer you a mathematical formula, and a very complicated method employing your silver cord, let us not forget this element, (grinning), you may acknowledge yourself, and accept your experience, and view your accomplishment; but as I express, ‘You already accomplish,’ you do not accept. There is no method! There is only trust of self, and acceptance.

Within the communication between the objective self and the subjective self, you also offer yourself an acceptance of explanation for elements that you may not explain. Thus, you have ‘coincidences.’ These are elements that will not fit into your factual focus; but nonetheless, they occur. There is no category for these occurrences, but you are accepting of them, for they are too regular to deny! Therefore, even your most scientific individuals are accepting of coincidences. These are elements of Regional Area 2 being manifest within Regional Area 1.” [session 92, May 05, 1996]

ELIAS: “You deal with an objective world; a time framework. This is where you physically manifest. It is the same as manifesting images within your dream state. You are not walking through a dream, and your dreams are not imagination. They are reality, and this also is reality. They are different realities for they are different areas of consciousness, but they are both reality. There is no other reality which is more reality than the reality that you manifest. Those realities which you do not see also are symbols, but hold their own integrity and are a thing within themselves. They are all affecting of each other.

Within physical focus, there is a constant intermingling and movement in communication which is influencing back and forth. Subjectively, you influence from both directions. Your objective physical expression is influencing of your dream activity. Your dream activity is influencing of your objective physical expression. It is a back and forth exchange continuously of symbolic information that you have interpreted, but you are always in control.” [session 151, February 02, 1997]

JIM: “Does subjective movement pertain to an awareness of your subjective self in your objective awareness? What would be described as subjective movement in consciousness?

ELIAS: To your way of thinking, you have thought within belief systems for much time within your modern now that your subjective consciousness would be classified as your subconsciousness. Within your belief systems, movement within this area of consciousness, subconsciousness, is out of your control and moves without your permission within whichever direction it chooses, be that beneficial or not. Before the institution of your school of psychology, subjective awareness and movement was thought of as the individual’s soul; the spirit; that element of self which motivates you and also moves out of your control, to your benefit or your detriment. I express to you that subjective movement and awareness is not out of your control. It works in harmony with your objective awareness.

Objective is the outward view of perception of reality. Subjective deals with the subject; you. It is the inward view and creation of reality. You form your reality in harmony of both. Objective movement, information, input,

assessment, understanding, is assessed by your outer senses. Subjective movement is assessed by your inner senses. Together, they create your reality. Together, they create what you view as your self; that part of you which is not brain, but is mind.

JIM: So mind would more relate to the subjective self?

ELIAS: It is a combination; for it is taking in information from both objective and subjective awareness and combining these to be creating outwardly your reality. You also create objective reality and subjective reality, which you may view as opposite sides of one coin. Objectively, you may create events or movement, body expression, without thought process. You also project and affect elements within your world, within your environment objectively. Subjectively, you also create a reality within your sleep state and other altered states of consciousness, in your terms. Together, they create what you recognize as you.

JIM: Okay. So in the statement, ‘Your objective attention directs your action,’ your subjective attention would also direct your action, or create the action?

ELIAS: Your subjective action creates your desire.

JIM: Okay, and where we create the conflict is when we question the desire?

ELIAS: You create conflict as you are separating objective and subjective movement, not allowing these elements of oneself to be moving within harmony to each other.

JIM: Okay, so there is a lot of subjective awareness. Objectively I’m becoming very aware of subjective awareness, but I’m blocking it. Okay, thanks. If the body ... This has been brought up a couple of times. If the body is not a vessel, then why does it still remain in physical focus when seemingly the consciousness of it leaves? A dead body would still have a consciousness, would it not?

ELIAS: Correct.

JIM: And it would still dream then as well, wouldn’t it? (Pause) And can we take it with us?

(Vic’s note: Jim’s cracking himself up again)

ELIAS: In a manner of speaking. Within the individual elements, the individual cells, yes; it continues to be dreaming. Within the collective, no. Within the aspects of energy ... atoms, molecules, cells ... which are physically manifest, it holds its own independent identity. Therefore, the

elements independently continue and also engage dream state until each individually is choosing to rearrange itself into another form of energy. They do not all rearrange at the same time. They individually choose.

The collective functions within direction of your subjective consciousness. As that is removed, the collective ceases to be joined. Therefore, it disconnects collectively, and each element experiences its own reality separated from the collective. Therefore, if you are choosing to be burying of this body, you shall witness decomposition of physical form. This occurs in stages, for not all of the elements choose to be rearranging themselves into other expressions of consciousness at the same time. You may choose differently, as I have expressed previously, and you may choose disengagement within such fashion that the body consciousness shall be rearranged immediately, all together.

JIM: As in burning, or ...

ELIAS: No; as in you may be consumed by another creature. If you are burning or cremating you are changing form, but you are not completely changing physical form immediately, and not all at the same time. Some elements of self, within your objective expression of body, do not respond to fire. Therefore, they shall not decompose at the same time as those elements of the body which are flesh.

Some individuals choose to be preserving of the body consciousness, and may continue within the expressed form for many centuries after discontinuation of consciousness within the manifestation. In this, you view mummification, or individuals solidified within rock of lava. But as to your question of these elements’ continuation of dream state, yes. As they are continued to be physically manifest, they shall also continue to engage this activity.” [session 170, May 02, 1997]

ELIAS: “Just as you hold many physical focuses within many other physical dimensions, the belief systems that you hold within this physical dimension are not relevant to another physical dimension. Therefore, within this physical dimension you may choose many manifestations and you may also choose to carry these belief systems through many of these manifestations, many of your focuses within this dimension and reality, although they do not enter into another physical manifestation, generally speaking, although they may bleed through at times. Within this situation you may witness individuals experiencing confusion, for they incorporate those belief systems as relevant to this physical dimension ...

BOB: How are they carried from there to here? What’s the vehicle for the belief systems to enter this physical focus? If they’re not carried in essence and you disengage one given physical focus, where are the belief systems

from that physical focus retained until they remanifest themselves in this physical focus?

ELIAS: Within the aspect of consciousness that you choose to be remanifesting.

BOB: So they’re in the DNA code, or the genetic code?

ELIAS: No. They are not encoded physically. They are not part of your physical expression. They are not part of your physical brain. They are part of your consciousness. They are part of your objective consciousness which is retained. If you are choosing to be remanifesting, and you are choosing to be remanifesting within a similar intent, within a similar time period, within a similar culture, within the same dimension, you may engage transition temporarily and not move entirely into an area of complete subjectivity; therefore retaining an element of objective awareness, which shall be the aspect which shall continue and be remanifest.

BOB: So objective consciousness is not a function of physical manifestation at all. Objective and subjective consciousness are always one, or different aspects of one consciousness, which stays with essence. So even though we think, at least in our terms, of subjective consciousness being somehow more ethereal and objective consciousness as somehow connected to the brain, neither is the case. Consciousness is not a function of thinking.

ELIAS: Consciousness is not a product of thinking, but objective consciousness is relative to physical focus.

BOB: I thought I heard you say you retain objective consciousness as you go into transition, after you leave your body, where you would have no physical focus.

ELIAS: Correct; but you hold an awareness of physical focus continued within the area of transition, and you retain your objective awareness. If you are choosing non-remanifestation, you shall move into areas within transition that you shall disassociate all objective awareness. If you are choosing remanifestation you shall, within the tone of you that you presently recognize ... continue with me ... this element shall move into areas that shall disassociate from objective awareness and continue within non-physical subjective movement; but that aspect of objective awareness which has been an element of you shall deviate in tone ever so slightly and shall remanifest into physical focus, becoming a new creation. Therefore, it shall be its own personality and tone, but it shall be you.

BOB: Okay. It would probably be good if I just thought about this for a while. (Elias chuckles) Thank you.

ELIAS: You are welcome. I quite enjoy our engagements! (Grinning)

BOB: Me too!” [session 173, May 11, 1997]

LESLIE: “As we are going through this shift, what are we expected to experience in terms of our emotions, our psychological experiences, and things like that? Maybe that might explain what I may have been going through for the last two years. Does that make sense?

ELIAS: Quite. You shall be experiencing much subjective bleed-through information into objective reality. In this, let me express that the definition I offer for subjective activity would be all of that type of consciousness which is not waking consciousness. This would be including all altered states, in your terminology, all other focuses, all dream imagery, all of which you consider to be removed or subconscious. Many individuals within their belief systems also attribute this to being super-consciousness or cosmic consciousness. They are all the same. They are subjective awareness, which is the larger aspect of you as essence. This holds tremendous information and also imagery.

In this, within this particular dimension you have been extremely selective in your manifestation, limiting your awareness to only objective awareness, allowing for slight amounts of subjective bleed-through. Within the action of this shift, you have opened the floodgates and allowed the subjective awareness to rush into objective awareness. Therefore, within your waking state, within your consciousness that you recognize as you and that you are aware of, you may experience many different types of occurrences.

Some individuals within your present now encounter what they term to be aliens. These are focuses of their essence. Some individuals experience what they term to be walk-ins. (1) These are exchanges of focuses of other dimensions. They are reality. Some individuals experience bleed-throughs of information and imagery of focuses within this dimension, that which you classify as past lives. Individuals may be experiencing alterations in imagery within their waking, everyday experience. Objects within their experience may alter. You may view a chair, and it may be become another object, and it may return to a chair. You may experience many altered states of consciousness spontaneously, without effort, not intentionally. You may experience increase in projection or out-of-body experiences. These are all natural, normal elements of essence which you are allowing yourself to objectively become aware of.

Within this action you also encounter many of your held belief systems, for these are blocking elements. Therefore, they surface to be addressed, that they may be accepted and your awareness may be widened in these areas; for within the accomplishment of your shift globally, there is no place for the

non-acceptance of these belief systems. This is not an elimination of belief systems! It is an acceptance in awareness of their existence and a neutralization of their power.” [session 183, June 15, 1997]

ELIAS: “Do not misunderstand. This is a difficult area, for this is not to say that your subjective awareness is not fully in play within your waking state. It is; but you hold more of an awareness of your subjective activity within dream state than within waking state. They are equally working within harmony at all times. It is merely a difference of your perception and your awareness of their workings. Is this clear? (Pause, looking at each person) No, it is not clear!

(Intently) Your subjective and objective awareness are continuously within harmony. They are continuously within perfectly working order. Within your waking state, you occupy your attention objectively. This does not mean that your subjective awareness is not perfectly working continuously, and inputting. It is. You are merely not objectively aware of its interaction, for you focus your attention singularly within your objective waking awareness. Within your dream state, within your dream imagery, you relax your objective attention. In this, you allow your attention to drift into an awareness of your subjective awareness. Therefore, you allow yourself both. It is not working any more or any better within your dream state than it is within your waking state. You merely allow yourself to relax your attention and therefore open your periphery and open your attention to incorporate both subjective and objective awarenesses, therefore allowing yourselves more information objectively. Now is this understood?” [session 237, November 09, 1997]

ELIAS: (Speaking slowly) “Now; be understanding: subjective imagery is not necessarily imagery in the definition of images. Objective imagery moves in large portion in the direction of images. The images that you offer to yourself within dream state are objective. This is the interplay of objective awareness within your dream state.

The dream state itself is a subjective movement. It is, in a manner of speaking, figuratively speaking, a subjective realm. Your waking state is your objective realm, so to speak.

Within the objective realm, there is subjective interaction and expression and imagery, and in like manner, in the subjective realm, there is objective interaction and imagery.

The images that are projected and created within your dream state is the objective participation. The impressions, the sensing, the impulses, the knowings, and at times the feelings that you experience within your waking state are the subjective identifiable insertions into your objective realm.

Objective expressions are not all solid and are not all translated into images. You do create objective expressions of thoughts, of emotions, which are not solid and are not necessarily images.

Within your subjective creations, the subjective expression is not necessarily an expression of images, although at times it may – in conjunction with your objective awareness – move in the direction of creating images. In like manner to your objective expression being generally the creation of images, the subjective is generally not the creation of images.

Are you understanding thus far?

PAUL: Yes, I am. I have a question about the relationship between subjective and objective experience. It’s clearly a two-way system, for lack of a better word, meaning that thoughts and emotions that may not necessarily even be images, that are certainly a very objective part of our waking state, definitely reach into and communicate with subjective, collective consciousness and act as a magnet, perhaps, in terms of probabilities and choices?

ELIAS: Not necessarily a magnet, but many times as a facilitating element.

PAUL: So there is a two-way give-and-take between the objective and subjective selves?

ELIAS: Yes, very much so.

The awarenesses of subjective and objective are continuously in harmony and are continuously interplaying with each other. One does not move independently of the other.” [session 493, October 26, 1999]

ERIN: “My question is, I’ve been paying attention to the energy that I’m projecting, and I know this is probably going to get real personal about what my beliefs are, but sometimes I’m projecting a certain energy and I feel like I can’t change it. Whatever energy I’m projecting is where I am at that moment. Whether it’s a feeling or a feeling of energy, I don’t actually feel like I could change it. What is my personal belief that makes me feel like I don’t have a choice over the energy I’m projecting or even an emotion, either way, that I’m experiencing in the moment?

ELIAS: Very well. I may express to you in identification, many individuals generate quite similarly in different capacities, for it is quite commonly expressed the belief that the subjective aspect of yourself is more powerful and more directing than the objective aspect of yourself. The objective aspect of yourself you view to be less controlling, less directing, less powerful, and subject to the subjective.

Therefore any element that you assess as a subjective action – a communication, a projection of energy – you do not necessarily associate those with objective. For you continue to separate the objective and the subjective as two entities, and not necessarily as entities that move in harmony with each other but entities that follow each other, and that the subjective is the more powerful, the directing awareness, and that the objective follows the subjective. Therefore, being the weaker of the two, it does not always incorporate the ability to change or to choose an action that is being expressed in the moment. This once again is not true, but it is a strong influence of a belief.

DON: Is that a belief more commonly expressed by intermediates? (2)

ELIAS: Not necessarily, no. This is not necessarily associated with an orientation. This is an expression, a belief, that is expressed by many, many, many individuals, and it is also associated with the religious belief system, for there are many beliefs that reinforce this expression of not directing yourselves, that there are aspects of yourselves that you do not control and that are directing of you without your will. You merely exchanged names.

You incorporated the identity of ‘god’ previously, and you moved from the identification of god to ‘a higher power,’ and you moved from the identification of a higher power to an ‘essence,’ and you moved from the identification of an essence to ‘subjective awareness.’ But in actuality they are all the same, they merely incorporate different names, and subjective awareness continues to be associated as the god.” [session 1496, January 17, 2004]

12.

How are the details of needs satisfaction determined? The authors point to rational identification of needs using the most up-to-date scientific knowledge; the use of the actual experience of individuals in their everyday lives; and democratic decision-making. The satisfaction of human needs cannot be imposed "from above".

This theory should be compared to the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. Those with more internal "assets" or "capacities" (e.g., education, sanity, physical strength, etc.) have more capabilities (i.e., more available choices, more positive freedom). They are thus more able to escape or avoid poverty. Those with more capabilities fulfill more of their needs.

Designing Effective Worksheets

Graham, B. (1998) Environmental Education in Botanic Gardens Training Course, Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden, South Africa

Planning

What is the purpose of the worksheet?

It is important to have a clear view of the reasons why you are designing the worksheet.For example, there may be a particular message you wish to convey , or you may wish pupils to record information which can be interpreted later on.It is useful to list what you think the pupils will have achieved when they have completed the worksheet (it also helps pupils to have the purpose clearly explained to them before they start)

Who is the audience?

The design of the worksheet will be greatly influence by age, ability and motivation of the pupils.For example, a young child may not be able to read or write more than a few words.The type of audience you are aiming at will also influence the level of formality or informality used in the layout or language.Length of time which the pupils will spend carrying out the tasks must also be considered.

What resources are available?

If a worksheet is going to involve the pupils, they will need to record information which they can find on site.The emphasis should be on what the site had that is special and cannot be seen or found elsewhere.The worksheet has failed if it can be completed in a classroom or on a coach to or from the botanic garden!

Resources available may include

-plants

-location

-environment they grow in

-labels and interpretive information

-recording devices such as thermometers

What methods of recording shall be used?

-writing a piece of text

-completing sentences or filling in gaps

-recording in tables or charts

-ticking, underlining, circling words or pictures

-matching activities e.g. words and pictures

-labelling drawings

-drawing

Remember that paper based recording is only one possible outcome. It can also be oral which may involve the use of tape recorders, or visual such as a collection of coloured petals or leave glued on pieces of paper, or taking photographs.

Preparing the worksheet

The layout and visual quality of the page is very important, A good starting point is to look at examples of worksheets produced by others and think about he design element which make them work or fail.The important factors are:

The general layout

Break the text into ‘bite sized’ chunks which are easier to read while walking about.Use illustration to separate text blocks.Indenting and framing help draw pupil’s attention so they are more likely to read the information.

The choice of print

A clear type is essential but style and size can be varied to create interest and guide the reader through the text. Bold type is useful to highlight key words.

The use of headings

Headlines tell stories fast! They can summarise the main points of a piece of text and help pupil’s understanding as they go on to read more.

Amount of information on a page

Limit the amount of work on one worksheet.The pupils should able to finish – if it is too daunting they will give up.

Tasks

Use a variety of tasks and begin with easier ones, as success motivates.Make the tasks as enjoyable as possible.

Quality of illustrations

Good clear line drawings are essential.Photographs are useful, but what will they look like when photocopied.?

Quality of reproduction

If your worksheet is good, but the reproduction is poor, then the final overall effect is poor!Store the master copy in a plastic wallet in a safe place and use the original only to make any future reproductions.

Making the content accessible

Limiting the complexity

Using short sentences and simple words makes text easier to understand. Limit the number of technical words and explain their meaning in simple language or provide a task which will do this. Avoid where possible abstract examples.

Style of language

Try not to be too formal or official and therefore dull. Use a style which creates a sense of mystery and discovery about your subject and which invites pupils to notice things and explore.

Evaluation

It is unlikely your worksheet will be perfect after your first attempt. Remember to find out what the audience using it thinks and then modify the sheet if required.

Yes, it’s that time again… bring on the guest posts! This time I am joined by Adam Simpson, the man behind the friendly and interesting blog One Year in the life of an English Teacher. He wanted to share some of the things he’s done WRONGLY in making worksheets. And I thought a bit of reflection is always a good thing. I’ve certainly made some of these mistakes in my early days too. So pay attention, and don’t do what he has done!

I like making my own worksheets to accompany course book materials, I always have done and always will. For whatever reason, I never fully trust the coursebook to do the job of getting the teaching objective across as much as I trust myself. Plus, I like making stuff. I’ve always been meticulous in my preparation of something I intend my students to not only use in class, but also to reflect back on at a later date. Nevertheless, I’ve made so many mistakes over the years that it’s almost funny. Here is a somewhat carefully, well thought out list of things for you to think about if you also like preparing your own teaching materials.

1) Purpose What’s the point? Why are you bothering? There just might be something stuck away at the back of the teacher’s book that does exactly what you’re trying to do; stranger things have occasionally happened. Alternatively, maybe someone at school has already cobbled together something that meets the objectives you’re trying to achieve. If neither of these apply… make sure you start with a clear purpose and work towards appearance, not the other way round. Here’s an example of how I went wrong at the start of my teaching career: I still remember the weekend after my first week of teaching. I decided to wow my students with a crossword for the start of our second week. After an hour of labour I’d produced something that looked great, but actually led to about five minutes of class activity. What I’d made was a triumph of style over substance that didn’t really do anything that the book already covered adequately. I learned pretty quickly form this experience.

2) Language I’m not talking about the language of the particular teaching point, I’m thinking of the language I use to make sure that the learners know what they are supposed to do. No matter how careful I am in writing prompts – and I am very careful – sometimes I just have to reflect on the fact that what I gave to the students wasn’t clear enough. So… Ask clear and understandable questions. Match your questions to the level of the learner. Use bullet points for clarity. There probably are worse things than having handed out an absolutely killer piece of material only to be met with blank expressions and total malaise, but it’s still really depressing. Trust me: make your instructions clear.

3) Design The design of your worksheet should enhance the content rather than obscuring it. To be honest, it took me years to truly get my head round this. Indeed, I’m still a stickler for making my worksheets look as professional and attractive as possible, but like I said, this shouldn’t be to the detriment of the content. What steps do I now take to avoid this? Limit the range of fonts you use I have literally thousands of additional fonts added to my Microsoft word, but I rarely use more than two or three in my worksheets. Funky fonts that look good but are difficult to read will only serve to frustrate your learners. Limit the visual aids I still look to put my objectives and instructions into a fancy speech bubble, but that’s it. Don’t overdo it with pictures and borders and other fancy stuff, or the learners won’t be able to see the wood of the learning objective(s) for the trees of the design feature(s).

4) Product What do you want to have created in the end? Is the message clear? How can you make sure that it will appeal to as many of your learners as possible? Keep a collection of all the handouts you produce and reflect on them periodically. Here are a couple of reasons why I think this is a good thing to do. You keep making the same kind of resource again and again Try to include a range of tasks that will appeal to different types of learner (perhaps consider different learner styles if you believe in such a thing). Even the best of us do this. I remember one of my DELTA tutors driving me to despair with constant jigsaw reading tasks. She had no idea of how often she was using this kind of task until I pointed out that that was all she ever gave us. Keep a record of what you make or you’ll find you repeat yourself more often than you might imagine. You make the same kind of resource, regardless of the purpose What is it for? This will affect what kind of questions you can ask the learner. Homework / individual / group tasks will all require tailored questions. Don’t do what I once did and ask the learner to discuss a set of homework questions in groups. I found out the following day that they had spent all night phoning one another to come to a consensus over their answers.

5) Trial It isn’t going to be perfect first time. Treat your worksheet as a draft to be improved. This means trialing it in class to see what queries / confusion it raises. Take a revisable version of it into class with you to make instant notes of necessary changes. Also, make sure you follow up your revisions on the computer, or whatever method you have of maintaining the original.

6) Storage This is still my biggest fault. I can’t stress enough the importance of storing paper copies methodically for easy retrieval. Consider how you want to do this carefully, be it a filing cabinet (I hear these still exist), in-tray system, or ring binder with plastic pockets. My advice is to mark a master copy using a particular system so that you don’t lose it (I have a teachers copy with ‘Adam’s’ emblazoned across the top with a blank copy of the original stapled to it in a plastic folder separate from all other materials). Try to do the same with computer files; be as specific as you can when naming them! Go on, admit it; how many files do you gave on your computer labeled ‘grammar exercise’? Do yourself a favour and give your file a very specific name. The last file I created was called ‘L3 U1 I3 exercise to follow up on writing definitions about education’. OK, it took me ten seconds to name the file, but I’ve a pretty good idea of where to find it from the name next time I need to do a follow up exercise on writing definitions about education for the third input of Unit 1 of the Level 3 course book. I’d love to hear what other ideas you have, problems you’ve encountered and how you resolved these issues.