They shape our character orientation, our values, the kinds of relationships we engage in, our unconscious attitudes and conflicts. All of these forces become expressed in our overall way of life, or life practice. They also determine our perceptions of available solutions to our life dilemmas, including those in the realms of intimate relationships, career, and life purpose or vision. The mix of family, cultural, and social forces can negatively affect, distort or freeze human development, psychologically and spiritually, throughout adult lives. However, the forces which support it are inadequately understood and seldom practiced.
Human development extends beyond resolution of conflict or trauma.
It extends to the realm of major shifts within our awareness, perspectives, and overall life practices. Cultivating meaning, purpose, and the capacity for love are forms of strengthening our connections in life, rather than serving our isolated egos. This core life task is essentially nonmaterial and spiritual . It requires cultivating our relational lives through practicing compassion and mutuality, as opposed to domination, submission or isolated detachment. It also requires cultivating our creative powers in work and in everyday life, through flexible thinking and resiliency in the face of new challenges or problems.