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Lecture delivered for the course on Therapeutic Interventions at the Inter University Center, Dubrovnik, Croatia. 18 - 24 June 2006

The purpose of this lecture is to give an overview of the emerging strengths/empowerment perspective in social work. Space would not permit an in-depth analysis of this view on social work intervention, but the most distinguishing characteristics will be touched upon.

The focus on strengths and empowerment has gained considerable prominence over the last couple of decades (Cowger, 1994:262) and represents a major paradigm shift away from the problem-based approach that has been with social work for such a long time. Both approaches will have and keep its supporters for years to come, but the focus on strengths and empowerment has become too strong to be ignored. It constitutes a fascinating and refreshing way to look at clients and their circumstances and is characterized by its positive and optimistic view of people confronted by life's challenges.

Cowger and Snively (2002:106) see the purpose of social work as assisting people in their relationships to one another and with social institutions. For them, practice focuses on developing more positive and promising transactions between people and their environments. They regard the empowerment perspective as central to social work practice and see client strengths as providing the fuel and energy for that empowerment. Miley et al, (2004:91) express the relationship as follows: "strengths-oriented social work practice incorporates empowerment as both a concept and a process."

The first part of the paper will focus on the strengths perspective, while the second part will focus on empowerment as the process aspects of the strengths perspective. Its practice model components are listed below.

In order to understand and appreciate the contrasts between the strengths approach and the problem-based or deficit model, some of the assumptions of the problem-based model should be considered.

Saleebey (2001:3) makes it clear that social work and other professions have not been immune to the contagion of the disease- and disordered-based thinking. He explains that much of social work theory and practice has been developed around the supposition that clients become clients because they have deficits, problems, pathologies, and diseases; that they are in some way weak or flawed. Saleebey points out that more sophisticated terminology prevails today, and he very cynically declares that the metaphors and narratives that guide out thinking and acting which are often penpered over with more salutary language are sometimes negative constructions and fateful for those we are trying to help. Weick et al. (1989:351) agree with this by saying that attention "to people's inability to cope is a central expression of the prevailing perspectives on helping." They argue that approaches differ in the way the problem is defined, but that virtually all schools of therapeutic thought rest on the belief that people need help because they have a problem that in some way sets them aside from people who are thought not to have that problem. It is further explained (Weicks, et al. 1989: 350) that although social work has not been oblivious to the importance of recognizing individual strengths in practice encounters, "a subtle and elusive focus on individual or environmental deficits and personal or social problems remains in recent frameworks".

Cowger (1994:262) observes that much of the social work literature on practice with families "continues to use treatment, dysfunction, and therapy metaphors and ignores work on family strengths developed in other professions." DuBois and Miley (2005:26) also drive the point home stating that the "professional literature abounds with information on functional problems, maladaptation, victimization and powerlessness." They feel that it too often happens that professionals identify deficits, incompetencies, and maladaptive functioning and yet seem unable to notice clients' strengths.

Saleebey (2001:3) came to the conclusion that the words and terms associated with pathology expresses the following assumptions and consequences:

Several authors have documented their reservations about the problem-based approach. Weick et al. (2001:351) who coined the term strength perspective (Smith, 2006: 13) summarized their views about the focus on the problem and the process of defining it as follows:

Saleebey (2001:103) condenses his reservations about a focus on problems as follows:

However, Saleebey (1996: 297) introduces a balance by pointing out that practicing from a strengths perspective does not require social workers to ignore the real troubles that dog individuals and groups. He emphasizes that problems like schizophrenia, child abuse, pancreatic cancer and violence are real. He explains that in the lexicon of strengths it is as wrong to deny the possible as it is to deny the problem. The expression of the dark cloud with the silver lining is a good comparison as is the case of the glass that is half full. He further explains by pointing out that the strength perspective does not deny the grip and thrall of addictions and how they can morally and physically sink the spirit and possibility of any individual. It does, however, deny the overwhelming reign of psychopathology as civic, moral, and medical categorical imperative. It does deny that most people are victims of abuse or of their own rampant appetites. It denies that all people who face trauma and pain in their lives inevitably are wounded or incapacitated or become less than they might. A good example of this perhaps was illustrated by the hijacking experienced by one of my university's previous vice-chancellors. When it was suggested that he gets counseling sessions, he denied that it was necessary and he never needed it. His strengths have been his strong spirituality and belief in himself, and to this day he does not suffer any consequences from the event.

As a practice perspective (Sheafor, et al. 1996:51) the strengths approach takes a different look at the client, his problems and his environment, and it requires a different approach from social workers. This is also echoed when Miley et al. (2004:81) stress that practitioners need to reexamine their orientation to practice, their views of client systems and the issues clients represent if the strength perspective is to be applied. According to them(2004:81), the practice of the strengths perspective will prompt social workers to examine three transitions from problems to challenges, from pathology to strengths and from a preoccupation with the past to an orientation to the future.

The statement was made in the introduction that the strengths approach is a major paradigm shift away from the problem-based approach. Saleebey (2001:1) makes the serious charge that authors of many textbooks, educators and practitioners all regularly acknowledge the importance of the principle of building on client's strengths but that these are "...little more than professional cant." He then states his view very clearly and forcefully:

"The strengths perspective is a dramatic departure from conventional social work practice. Practicing from a strengths orientation means this - everything you do as a social worker will be predicated, in some way, on helping to discover and embellish, explore and exploit clients' strengths and resources in the service of assisting them to achieve their goals, realize their dreams, and shed the irons of their own inhibitions and misgivings, and society's domination."

Saleebet (2002:1) elaborates and explains that when social workers adopt the strength approach to practice, they can expect exciting changes in the character of their work and in the tenor of their relationships with their clients. According to him, (2002:1) practice from a strengths perspective demands a different way of seeing clients, their environments, and their current situations. It is thus a practice perspective radically different from the problem-focused approach and it will take time for social work practitioners to change their mindset - moving from the known to the unknown. He (2002:2) also points out to rapidly developing literature, inquiries and practice methods in a variety of fields that bear a striking similarity to the strengths perspective - developmental resilience, healing and wellness, solution-focused therapy, asset-based community development and narrative and story to name a view. Saleebey (2002:2) explains that these elaborations are a reaction to our culture's continued obsession and fascination with psychopathology, abnormality, and moral and interpersonal aberrations.

Saleebey (2002:xvii) in the preface of his book on this topic states that much still has to be done with respect to inquiry and the further development of concepts and principles as well as techniques.

Miley et al. (2004:81) state that to apply the strengths perspective practitioners need to reexamine their orientation to practice, their view of client systems, and the interpretations of the issues clients represent. The same authors (2004: 81) identify what they call three key transitions social workers has to examine in practicing the strengths perspective viz problems or challenges, pathology or strengths, as well as past and future. These transitions serve as important guidelines in the paradigm shifts strengths-focused social workers have to make. Viewing problems as challenges, turning points, or opportunities for growth shifts the perspective and clients. The word 'challenge' has a different meaning than problems and creates a more positive frame of mind in both the client and the social worker. The same applies to the word 'strengths' as opposed to 'pathology' and the word 'future' as opposed to 'past.'

The strengths perspective is to a large extent given its character by its principles and its language. This will be briefly discussed below.

4.1 THE PRINCIPLES OF THE STRENGTHS PERSPECTIVE

Saleebey (1999:16) points out that strengths-based approaches differ from pathology-based approaches in both their language and the principles that guide and direct practice. He (Saleebey: 2002:13) points out that the principles of the strengths perspective are still tentative and maturing and subject to revision and modulation. He lists the following principles:

4.2 THE LANGUAGE OF THE STRENGTHS PERSPECTIVE

The strengths perspective has some typical words associated with it, giving it its character and telling practitioners something about the meaning of its perspective. According to Saleebey, these words are essential and direct us to an appreciation of the assets of individuals, families and communities. Some of them are as follows:

Empowerment. It has already been stated that empowerment is regarded as incorporated in the strengths approach. According to Saleebey (2002:9), empowerment "indicates the intent to, and the process of, assisting individuals, groups, families and communities to discover and expend the resources and tools within and around them." Empowerment is thus a helping process to assist people to use their strengths to overcome their challenges.

Membership. Membership is an important experience in people's lives. Saleebey (2001:10) warns that to be without membership is to be alienated, to be at risk for marginalization and oppression. People need to be citizens, responsible and valued members of a community. The strengths orientation proceeds from the recognition that all of those whom we serve are, like ourselves, members of a species, entitled to the dignity, respect and responsibility that come with such membership. He explains that too often it happens that the people we help have either no place to be (or to be comfortable) or no sense of belonging. He elaborates by stating that the sigh of relief from those who come to be members and citizens and bask in the attendant rights, responsibilities, assurances, and securities, is the first breath of empowerment. Another meaning to membership is that people must often band together to make their voices heard, get their needs met, to redress inequities, and reach their dreams.

Resilience. Reader's Digest Universal Dictionary (1987:1303) defines resilience as "the ability to recover quickly from illness, change or misfortune." Saleebey (2001:11) reports that there is a growing body of inquiry and practice that believes that the rule in human affairs is that people do rebound from serious trouble, that individuals and communities do surmount and overcome serious and troubling adversity. He explains that it does not mean ignoring difficulties and traumatic life experiences and neither is it a discount of life's pains. Resilience is a process - the continuing growth and articulation of capacities, knowledge, insight, and virtues derived through meeting the demands and challenges of one's world, however chastening. The process he refers to is the process of interaction between the person and his environment and it can be explained by the ecosystems approach on which the strengths perspective rests.

Healing and Wholeness. According to Saleebey (2001:11) healing implies both wholeness as well as the inborn facility of the body and the mind to regenerate and resist when faced with disorder, disease and disruption. Healing also requires a beneficent relationship between the individual and the larger social and physical environment. The healing process thus requires a supportive relationship between the individual and his/her environment if healing must take place. Healing and self-regeneration are intrinsic life-support systems, always working, and, for most of us most of the time, on call. This implies that the body and psyche starts responding when faced with a threat or a challenge. In many cases the body and mind succeeds in restoring the balance, but often they need outside intervention.

Dialogue and Collaboration. In the human and social sciences it is an accepted and proven fact that humans need relationships to grow and develop. For that very reason they will always seek to connect with other people. People need these relationships for healing and recovery. As Saleebey (2001:12) expresses it "humans can only come into being through a creative and emergent relationship with others." He points out that there can be no discovery and testing of one's powers, no knowledge, no heightening of one's awareness and internal strengths without outside relationships. He (2001:12) views dialogue as an instrument of confirming the importance of others and the process through which the rifts between self, others and institution are healed. Dialogue can thus be seen as facilitating the transactions between the person and his/her environment. It creates the kind of atmosphere in which the person becomes willing to try out his or her potential and strengths. It creates a horizontal relationship establishing mutual trust and confidence between the involved people.

Saleebey (2001) differentiates dialogue from collaboration by pointing out that the latter has a more specific focus. It requires particular roles of the social worker because s/he becomes agent, consultant and stakeholder with the client in mutually-crafted projects. This also allocates a different role and status to the client, one where s/he does meaningful work to tackle his/her challenges. Miley, et al. (2004:126) stress the importance of partnership between the worker and the client if the strengths perspective is to be actualized and empowerment encouraged. This corresponds with the view of DuBois & Miley (2005:200) pointing out that empowerment "presumes active, collaborative roles for client-partners."

Suspension of Disbelief. Being constructivistic in nature, the strengths/empowerment perspective questions the belief in a concrete and objective reality (Dubois and Miley, 2005:30). This implies that the client's representation of reality cannot be regarded as invalid or inaccurate and that the perception of the worker is the correct one. The client knows his reality the best and the worker must deal with it in the way the client describes it. This means that the social worker needs to shelve his disbelief in order to explore the client's world. Saleebey (200:81) encapsulates the above by stating that we must give credence to the way clients experience and construct their social realities if we want to recognize the strengths in people and their situations. He warns against the imposition from our own versions of the world.

Critical factors and community. Saleebey also lists (1996:300) critical factors and community as part of the lexicon of strengths. By critical factors he refers to the variables that will affect how an individual or group will respond to a series of traumatic, even catastrophic situations. Critical factors include "risk factors" which enhance the likelihood of adaptive struggles and poorer developmental outcomes and "protective factors" - conditions that enhance the likelihood of rebound from trauma and stress. He adds what he calls "generative factors" which are remarkable and revelatory experiences that, taken together, dramatically increase learning, resource acquisition, and development, accentuating resilience and hardiness.

By community Saleebey means community in a positive sense - a community with qualities supporting its members, creating opportunities, having an abundance of support systems, having clear expectations for its members and providing the tools for meeting such expectations.

Just about anything assisting you in dealing with challenges in your life can be regarded as strengths, and this will vary from person to person. Because of this it will be difficult to draw up an exhaustive list of strengths but Saleebey (2001:84) observes that "some capacities, resources, and assets do commonly appear in any roster of strengths." He lists the following strengths which are mostly the results of human developmental processes:

What people have learned about themselves: This refers to life experiences through which people learn a lot during their efforts to cope and survive which is a need in all of us. People learn from their successes as well as their failures. Their behavior is strengthened by their successes and their failures prompt them to look for alternatives.

Personal qualities, traits and virtues that people possess. These may be anything - a sense of humor, caring, creativity, loyalty, insight, independence, spirituality, moral imagination, and patience. Saleebey points out that these qualities are sometimes forged in the fires of trauma and catastrophe, or they may be the products of living, the gifts of temperament, and the fruits of experience. Whatever the qualities might be, they will be the effects of developmental processes in the life of the person.

What people know about the world around them. People get to know about the world around them in different ways and the more they know, the better they will understand and the better informed they will be. So many sources of learning exist in the modern world, of which formal education and informal learning are two of the most important sources. Saleebey (2001:85) mentions the possibility that a person may have developed a skill at spotting incipient interpersonal conflict or at soothing others who are suffering. Perhaps life has given an individual the ability to care and tend for young children or elders, or it could be that a person could use an artistic medium to teach others about themselves.

The talents that people have can surprise us sometimes (as well as surprising the individual as some talents have laid dormant over the years.). At some stage in their lives, people may discover talents they thought they'd never have. Many whites in South Africa lost their jobs as the result of the application of the affirmative action policy and had to look elsewhere for something that would keep bread on the table. Many of them discovered that they were good businessmen and started very successful businesses.

Cultural personal stories and lore. Saleebey (2002: 86) points out that these are often profound sources of strengths, guidance, stability, comfort or transformation and are often overlooked, minimized, or distorted. He describes how the stories of women have been shrouded through domination, but when recounted and celebrated, how these stories are sources of profound strength and wisdom. The South African history books will recount the stories of the very important role women played after the second Anglo Boer War in the upliftment of the so-called Boerevolk when people were poor and demoralized. The first welfare organizations in South Africa were started by women groups. I think many countries' histories bear witness to the strengths that women manifested in times of trouble and hardships. Cultural stories, narratives and myths, accounts of origins, migrations, trauma and survival may provide sources of meaning and inspiration in times of difficulty or confusion. Modern South African history will give accounts of the courage and perseverance of black women in their struggle for political freedom.

The pride of people as a strength cannot be overlooked. It is however buried under an accumulation of blame, shame and labeling, but it is often there to be uncovered.

Cowger & Snively (2001:106) identify strengths-based assessments as a problem area in the strengths perspective. According to them a review of the social work literature on human behavior and the social environment reveals that the typical textbook now makes reference to the strengths perspective, although there is little theoretical or empirical content on this topic, yet to be found in the areas of social work assessment, practice and evaluation. Hepworth, et al., (2002:190) point out that changes in practice have lagged far behind the change in terms from diagnosis to assessment, for social workers persistence in formulating assessments that emphasize the pathology and dysfunction of clients - despite the time-honored social work platitude that social workers work with strengths and not with weaknesses. The authors (2002:190) then proceed by identifying the following three ramifications of the tendency of practitioners to focus on pathology:

A strengths-based assessment will be different from a problem-based assessment due to the nature of the approach. It will be an ecosystemic assessment to consider the context in which the client finds himself or herself. Saleebey (2001:108) draws attention to the growing body of social work practice literature that applies their strengths perspective to individual, family and community assessment.

Saleebey (2001:115-117) views the assessment process as unfolding in two stages or phases: a first component whereby the worker and client define the problem situation or clarify why the client has sought assistance, and the second component, which involves evaluating and giving meaning to those factors that impinge on the problem situation. The first component is a brief summary of the identified problem situation or challenge the client faces while the second component involves analyzing, evaluating and giving meaning to those factors that influence the problem situation. Saleebey (2001:113) stresses the multidimensionality of assessment by distinguishing between the internal and external strengths of the client. The internal strengths come from the client's interpersonal skills, motivation, emotional strengths, and ability to think clearly. The client's external strengths come from family networks, significant others, voluntary organizations, community groups, and public institutions all of which support and provide opportunities for clients to act on their own behalf and institutional services that have the potential to provide resources. Cowger and Snively (2001:118) also propose the use of the following diagram of Cowger as an assessment tool.

Source: Saleebey, 2001

The analysis by Hepworth, et al., (2002:193) of the above framework of Cowger made them come to the conclusion that it alerts us to the fact that a useful assessment is not limited to either deficits or strengths, and that the environmental dimension is important as well as the personal.

According to Miley, et al. (2004:242) social workers and clients assess resource systems to discover gold, not causes or reasons. They point out that resources are relative, identifiable only in context. This is a significant viewpoint which refers to the unique person-environment configuration of the particular client. Miley et al. (2004:243) with the unique realities of clients in mind draw attention to the fact that the actual ways in which clients interact with their social and physical environments determine what functions as resources to the clients. To complete an empowering assessment, the partners explore broadly for resources that may be present in the environment, in the interaction of clients with others, and even in other challenges that clients are facing. DuBois & Miley (2005) refers to competence clarification as part of assessment which means that the social worker should explore what the client is capable of doing. They (2005:209) quote Mallucio's guidelines for competence clarification that includes (1) clarifying the competence of the client system, including capabilities, strengths, resiliency , and resources; (2) clarifying the environment, including the availability of resources and supports, and the presence of barriers, risks and obstacles; and (3) clarifying the goodness-of-fit or balance between the requirements for and the actual availability of resources.

Hepworth et al. (2002:194) identified in the following list a number of strengths often manifested by clients in the first sessions.

Miley et al. (2004:250 - 258) list the following components arising from an ecosystems perspective on assessment:

Cowger & Snively (2001) propose the following guidelines for a strength assessment

Many of these guidelines apply to any assessment, but some are specifically related to a strengths assessment. What is significant is that several of these guidelines emphasize a focus on the reality of the client, and the view that there should be a dialogue and partnership between the client and the social worker.

I would now like to come back to focus on spirituality as a strength mainly as the result of neglect of this aspect by social workers and the underestimation of its value in supporting the functioning of client systems.

Articles on spirituality in social work journals have become a significant trend over the last two decades after being neglected for quite a long time. Canda (quoted in Saleebey, 2002:63) concurs by pointing out that recognition of spirituality as a source of strength for people facing serious life challenges is growing rapidly amongst social workers. Moore ( 2003: 558) observes that the absence of a discourse on the matter of spirituality is conspicuous and baffling, when it is considered how often social workers confront such issues on a practical basis, and even more so when we remember social work's historical roots in spiritually informed communities. Miley et al. (2004:256) quotes Gotterer as stating that although practitioners historically included spirituality as an important dimension of assessment, it was often considered superfluous to the secular domain of practice. It was however discovered that many clients' innermost thoughts and feelings are rooted in spiritual beliefs which, rather than being a separate issue, serve as the foundation for the seemingly mundane activities of everyday life. Canda (1988:238) also points out that despite "repeated calls for professionals to focus on spiritual issues in practice, researchers agree that this area has been neglected".

Zapf (2005:634) offers a laudable explanation for what he perceives as the reason for ignoring, neglecting and even discouraging spirituality by the mainstream professions. He suggests that as a profession seeking to improve its status as an evidence-based scientific discipline, social work may have avoided spiritual issues that could be perceived as unscientific or difficult to categorize and use in practice. He explains further and pointing out that in the Western helping professions, religious and spiritual factors have often been linked more to pathology and impediments rather than seen as strengths or resources in a client's situation. The very scope of spiritual practice and understanding can be threatening for practitioners seeking to demonstrate professional competence with intervention techniques that are under their control. To this the author wants to add that social workers who are not religious themselves may find it difficult to bring spirituality into their practice, especially if spirituality is confused with a particular religious belief system. Zapf (2005:634) then makes the observation that "in spite of these patterns from the history of social work, there is strong evidence in the recent literature of a renewed interest in spirituality and social work".

Hodge (2001: 204) states that spirituality and religion often are used interchangeably, but they are distinct, although overlapping concepts. He explains that religion flows from spirituality and expresses an internal, subjective reality, corporately, in particular institutionalized forms, rituals, beliefs and practices. Spirituality is defined by him as a relationship with God, or with whatever is held to be the Ultimate that fosters a sense of meaning, purpose and mission in life. In turn, this relationship produces fruit (such as altruism, love, or forgiveness) that has a discernable effect on an individual's relationship to self, nature, others, and the Ultimate.

Miley, et al. (2004:235) entertain the following views on spirituality: "Although specific beliefs and practices vary considerably, religious affiliation and spirituality have resources to offer. Affiliating with a community of faith provides a network of personal relationships and concrete support in times of need. Specifically, spiritual beliefs and practices strengthen the ability to withstand and transcend adversity and are virtual wellsprings for healing and resilience. Common beliefs, stories of the faith, holy days and ritual celebrations forge a sense of communal identity and purpose. Compassion, love and forgiveness - themes in most religions - contribute to personal and interpersonal healing. Commitment to a faith can initiate a sense of meaning, renewal and hope for the future. Religious commitment may encourage concerns for the welfare of others and, for some, foster a zeal for addressing injustices".

Hodge (2001:204) mentions that the most widely used spiritual assessment tools are quantitative measures but he points out that those quantitative measures have been criticized as being incongruent with social work values. The reason for this is that the "subjective, often intangible nature of human existence is not captured" (Hodges, 2001:204). He proposes the use of qualitative approaches in assessing spirituality because they "tend to be holistic, open-ended, individualistic, ideographic, and process oriented". He feels that as such they offer particular strengths in assessing clients' spirituality, where riches of information can be of particular importance. He offers an assessment framework consisting of an Initial Narrative Framework and an Interpretive Anthropological Framework, which is reproduced in full below.

Initial Narrative Framework

Interpretive Anthropological Framework

Source: Hodge, D. 2001.

As Hodge (2001:207) describes and as can be seen from the framework, the first section provides for three categories of questions incorporating increasing levels of personal revelation and allowing time for the therapist to establish trust and rapport before more intimate information is shared.

The Interpretive Anthropological Framework is a multidimensional framework for understanding the personal subjective reality of spirituality in client's lives. The questions are not sequential but are intended as guides to alert practitioners to the various components of each domain and to create an awareness of the potentiality of clients' spirituality (Hodge, 2001:208). According to Hodge (2001:209), the Interpretive Anthropological Framework is designed to evoke the following empirically-based strengths:

As far as assessment of spirituality is concerned, Hodge (2005:316) discusses five spirituality assessment methods viz spiritual histories, spiritual life maps, spiritual genograms, spiritual ecomaps and spiritual ecograms. Amongst these, only the first one is based verbally, while the others are all pictorial. representations. A spiritual history is analogous to conducting a family history. In the spiritual history approach two question sets from the framework above are used to guide the conversation. The Initial Narrative Framework is used to provide practitioners with some tools to help clients tell their stories, moving from childhood to the present. The Interpretive Anthropological Framework is designed to elicit spiritual information as clients relate their stories.

Spiritual life maps represent a diagrammatic alternative to spoken spiritual histories (Hodge, 2005:316). It is a pictorial delineation of a client's spiritual journey. Spiritual life maps are illustrated accounts of clients' relationship with God (or transcendence) over time - a map of their spiritual life. They tell us where the clients have come from, where they are now and where they are going.

Spiritual genograms provide social workers with a tangible graphic representation of spirituality across at least three generations (Hodge, 2005:319). They are blueprints of complex intergenerational spiritual interactions.

Spiritual ecomaps focus on clients' current spiritual relationships. They focus on the portion of clients' spiritual story that exists in present space (Hodge, 2005:320)

Spiritual ecograms are a combination of the assessment strengths of spiritual ecomaps and spiritual genograms. Ecograms tap information that exists in present space, much like a traditional spiritual ecomap, and they also access information that exists across time like a spiritual genogram (Hodge, 2005:321). These tools are exactly the same as the various diagrams picturing the different aspects of family life, but these are with a spiritual overlay and can be helpful in making the client aware of his spiritual world.

Although dealt with differently conceptually, strengths and empowerment cannot be separated in practice. The one without the other is impossible. Empowerment is the practice approach embedded in the strengths perspective and consists of a variety of techniques used by the social worker to stimulate strengths within the client and in his environment. Adams (2003: 8) defines empowerment as "the means by which individuals, groups and/or communities become able to take control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals , thereby being able to work towards helping themselves and others to maximize the quality of their lives."

Lee (1994: 13) uses the following definition of empowerment in his exposition of the concept:

"Empowerment is a process whereby the social worker engages in a set of activities with the client...that aim to reduce the powerlessness that has been created by negative evaluations based on membership of a stigmatized group. It involves identification of the power blocks that contribute to the problem as well as the development and implementation of specific strategies aimed at either the reduction of the effects from indirect power blocks or the reduction of the operation of direct power blocks."

Hepworth & Larsen (2002:438) define empowerment as "enabling groups or communities to gain or regain the capacity to interact with the environment in ways that enhance resources to meet their needs, contribute to their well-being and potential, give their life satisfaction, and provide control over their lives to the extent possible."

Of the three above definitions, the two latter ones seem to refer to groups and communities while the first one does not rule out the individual. Empowerment should include the individual because eventually it is the individual that is disempowered.

Miley et al. (2004:91) point out that oppression, discrimination, injustice, and experiences of powerlessness are the very circumstances that call for the application of empowerment-based social work practice. To address these issues of oppression, injustice, and powerlessness, strengths-oriented social work practice incorporates empowerment as both a concept and a process. According to Miley et al. (2004: 91) a pursuit of the goal of empowerment significantly affects the way social workers practice. It is first characterized by the application of an ecosystems perspective and a strengths orientation in practice. The fact that social workers apply the ecosystems perspective means that they consider client situations in context, search for client strengths and environmental resources, and describe needs in terms of transitionary challenges rather than fixed problems. It secondly means that social workers as generalists draw on skills for resolving many issues at many social system level, and respond to the connections between personal troubles and public issues.

Miley et al. (2004: 85) distinguishes between personal, interpersonal and socio-political dimensions of empowerment. Personal empowerment embodies a person's sense of competence, mastery, strength and ability to affect change while interpersonal empowerment refers to person's ability to influence others. According to Miley at al. interpersonal power comes from two sources. The first source of power is based on social status - for example power based on race, gender and class. The second is power achieved through learning new skills and securing new positions, which are key features of empowerment. The socio-political (structural) dimensions of empowerment involve person's relationships to social and political structures.

Empowerment is a political concept because it deals with power relationships but Adams (2003:8) explains that the political dimensions of the concept is not party political because "its activist tone transcends party politics" Cowger and Snively. Saleebey (2001:108) stresses that practice that recognizes issues of social and economic justice requires methods that explicitly deal with power and power relationships. This implies that empowerment strategies should be used to intervene in power relationships and should be effective in changing power positions.

Adams (2003:28) states that there is "no one agreed set of concepts and approaches to empowerment. The diversity of theories and models of empowerment reflects the lack of a single definition of the concept."

Lee (1994:300) regards the central processes of empowerment as developing a critical consciousness in the context of relationship through consciousness-raising and praxis: strengthening individual capacities, potentialities, and problem-solving skills; building group, collectivity and community; and taking action to change oppressive conditions. Basic helping processes and skills are divided into the following categories by Lee (1994:31):

Lee (1994) distinguishes between empowerment of individuals, groups, and communities. Lee (1994) and Miley et al. (2004:86) distinguish further between the personal, interpersonal and political layers of empowerment which will cut across the lives of individuals, groups and communities. For Miley et al. (2004:85) empowerment on the personal level refers to a subjective state of mind, feeling competent and experiencing a sense of control. They explain that people who experience personal power perceive themselves as competent. Competence is regarded as the ability of any human system to fulfill its function of taking care of itself, drawing resources from effective interaction with others, and contributing to the resource pool of the social and physical environment.

On the interpersonal level (Miley, et al., 2004:87) it refers to person's ability to influence others. Successful interventions with others and the regard others hold for us contribute to our sense of interpersonal empowerment. The social power of position, roles, communication skills, knowledge and appearance contribute to a person's feelings of interpersonal empowerment. Interpersonal power comes firstly from social status like race, gender and class, and secondly from learning new skills and securing new positions which are regarded as key features of empowerment.

The sociopolitical dimensions of empowerment (Miley, et al., 2004:88) refer to structural elements and involve person's relationships to social and political structures. It has to do with the fact that all human systems require an ongoing, expansive set of resource options to keep pace with constantly changing conditions. The more options, the more likely systems can manage their challenges. The fewer the options, the greater the vulnerability of systems.

Miley et al. (2004:311) provide one of the most comprehensive classifications of empowering strategies. They divide empowerment strategies into three categories viz the activation of resources, the creation of alliances and the expansion of opportunities. In each of these categories are a variety of techniques that could be used to achieve the goals of empowerment. Space does not allow the discussion of these strategies in detail, and only a summary of these strategies will be provided.

8.1 The activation of resources

Generalist Skills for Activating Resources

Maintaining Progress

Developing Power

Changing Perspectives

Managing Resources

Educating

Source: Miley, et al., 2004

8.2 The creation of alliances

Miley et al. (2004:343) emphasize the importance of social workers in creating and facilitating alliances for clients and themselves for the generation of resources for service delivery and the construction of supportive environments for practice. The strength of alliances is to be found in the establishing and improving of relationships and in mutual understandings between role-players in order to form a network of relationships which will empower the client systems. The following types of alliances are distinguished by them:

Client group alliances

Natural support alliances

Client-services alliances through case management

Organizational alliances

Professional support networks

The various alliances are presented by means of the diagram below.

Source: Miley, et al., 2004

Miley et al. (2004:344) stress that social work groups are vehicles for personal growth, skill development, and environmental change. Through group work, members may acquire new perspectives, be a support for one another, and also join forces for collective action.

See more here:
IUC Journal of Social Work Theory and Practice

Whos that good-looking guy? Nico examines itself and its surroundings in the mirror. (Credit: Justin Hart / Yale University )

Yale roboticists have programmedNico, a robot, to be able to recognize itself in a mirror.

Using knowledge that it has learned about itself, Nico is able to use a mirror as an instrument for spatial reasoning, allowing it to accurately determine where objects are located in space based on their reflections, rather than naively believing them to exist behind the mirror.

Nicos programmer, roboticist Justin Hart, a member of the Social Robotics Lab,focuses his thesis research primarily on robots autonomously learning about their bodies and senses, but he also explores human-robot interaction, including projects on social presence, attributions of intentionality, and peoples perception ofrobots.

Recently, the lab (along with MIT, Stanford, and USC) won a $10 million grantfrom the National Science Foundation to create socially assistive robots that can serve as companions for children withspecial needs. These robots will help with everything from cognitive skills to getting the right amount of exercise.

Harts specific goal in this program: enable Nico to interact with its environment by learning about itself, and using this self-model, to reason about tasks mainly ones for humans.

Only humans can be self-aware joins Only humans can recognize faces and other disgarded myths. Quiz: which of the posters on the wall in this 2005 cartoon (from The Singularity Is Near) should now be removed?

Previous researchers have built robots that acquire knowledge of the external world through experience, but Nico is different from those that have preceded it. Knowledge about the robot itself has generally been built in by the designer, Hart says. None of these representations offer the flexibility, robustness, and functionality that are present in people.

For example, Nico is learning the relationship of its end-effectors (grippers, for example) and sensors (stereoscopic cameras) to each other and the environment. It combines models of its perceptual and motor capabilities, to learn where its body parts exist with respect to each other and will soon learn how those body parts are able to cause changes by interacting with objects in the environment.

Nico in the looking glass

An object reflected in a mirror is a reflection of what actually exists in space, Hart says. If one were to naively reach towards these reflections, ones hand would hit the glass of the mirror, rather than the object being reached for.

By understanding this reflection, however, one is able to use the mirror as an instrument to make accurate inferences about the positions of objects in space based on their reflected appearances. When we check the rearview mirror on our car for approaching vehicles or use a bathroom mirror to aim a hairbrush, we make such instrumental use of thesemirrors.

The classic mirror test has previously been done with animals to determine whether they understand that their reflections are actually images of themselves. The subject animals are allowed to familiarize themselves with a mirror. They are then sedated and a spot of dye is put on their faces. When they awaken, if they notice the new spotof color in their reflection and then touch the place on their face where the dye was put, they pass the mirrortest.

To our knowledge, this is the first robotic system to attempt to use a mirror in this way, representing a significant step towards a cohesive architecture that allows robots to learn about their bodies and appearances through self-observation, and an important capability required in order to pass the MirrorTest, says Hart.

So far, no robot has successfully met this challenge. Jason and the Social Robotics Lab are working on it.

Reference (open access): Rajala AZ, Reininger KR, Lancaster KM, Populin LC (2010) Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) Do Recognize Themselves in the Mirror: Implications for the Evolution of Self-Recognition. PLoS ONE 5(9): e12865. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012865

Read the rest here:
Robot learns self-awareness | KurzweilAI

Aligned along the sacred core of your body, seven energy centers known as chakras spin like sacred jewels, forming a bridge of connection between Heaven and Earth, spirit and matter, mind and body.

Herein lies the architecture of the soul.

This ancient map of the chakra system presents a viable key to wholeness and a guide for both personal and planetary awakening.

As we align the inner worlds of earth, water, fire, air, sound, light, and consciousness, we simultaneously align with these sacred elements in the outer world.

Herein find tools to open, engage, activate, and align your chakras and your innermost being with the larger mystery of life.

Explore our books, workshops, home learning courses, videos, and more.

Join our community and become a member of Sacred Centers.

In this long-awaited book by acclaimed chakra expert Anodea Judith, you will learn how to use yogas principles and practices to awaken the subtle body of energy and connect with your highest source. Using seven vital keys to unlock your inner temple, you will be guided through practices that open and activate each chakra through postures, bioenergetic exercises, breathing practices, mantras, guided meditation, and yoga philosophy. Learn how to activate your chakras through yoga. With 232 full-color photographs, step-by-step alignment instructions, chakra-based posture sequences, pranayama (breathing) techniques, mantras, yoga philosophy, and more, this book is a must-have resource for anyone who teaches or wants to learn about yoga and moving the subtle energy.

The rest is here:
Sacred Centers - Tools for Conscious Evolution

Join Us for Meditation

Please join us for meditation Sundays at 10 AM!

SAVE THE DATE! VENERABLE THUBTEN CHONYI WILL VISIT IN APRIL!

Lama Ahbay Rinpoche

How to Deal with Anger and Hatred

FREE PUBLIC TALK

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 6 PM

Siebels House

1601 Richland Street

(corner of Pickens and Richland)

Columbia, SC 29201

Ahbay Rinpoche (Lama Ahbay Tulku Jigme Thupten Tendar Rinpoche) has beenrecognized by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of Lama Lobsang Tenzin, and hastaught widely in Europe and the United States.

FREE PUBLIC TALKPLEASE JOIN US

Lama Ahbay Rinpoche teaches Mondays and Thursdays at 6:30 PM at the Dharma Center

Please join us to hear teaching from Ahbay Rinpoche on Mondays and Thursdays until May 25, starting this Thursday, Apr. 8. Teaching will be offered at the Dharma Center at 6 PM on those days. He will also be with us for meditation on Sundays at 10 AM. We hope you can join us!

Ahbay Rinpoche returns to Columbia April 1-May 25, 2017

Lama Ahbay Rinpochewill return to teach in Columbia April 1-May 25, 2017. Hewill offer regular teachingson various topics

and meet with individuals for spiritual advice.He will offer teachings on on Monday and Thursday nights. The teachings on both nights will be at 6:30 PM at the Dharma Center. He will also teach on meditation on Sunday mornings at 10, and may perform pujas and other practices then, as well. He is available for individual meetings--contact us at scdharma@gmail.com to schedule appointments. Please join us!We hope everyone has an opportunity to meet this remarkableteacher!

Please join us for meditation!

Please join us for meditation at 10 AM each Sunday! If you'd like an introduction to meditation, contact us at scdharma@gmail.com and we can schedule a time to meet with you before or after meditation.

Geshe Dakpa Topgyal teaching in Columbia this weekend (Aug. 26, 27, 28)Geshe Dakpa Topgyal from Charleston will be teaching at the Dharma Center this weekend. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

Here's the schedule

Friday, Aug. 26 7-8 PM

Saturday, Aug. 27 10-12 AM

Sunday, Aug. 28 10-12 AM

Please note that Geshela asks that people arrive on time and not leave early.

Tibetan classes at the Dharma Center!

Please join us for Tibetan classes at the SCDG Dharma Center, the third Sunday of each month, at 11 AM!

These classes will be for absolute beginners, who would like to understand and pronounce the words in recitations and prayers correctly, but students who know a little Tibetan will also benefit. Eric Winter and John Tasevski, who have proficiency in classical Tibetan, will teach the classes.

The class will begin Sunday, Aug. 21, and will be offered on the third Sunday of each month, so dates this fall will be Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20, and Dec. 18. The classes will begin after meditation, at 11 AM at the Dharma Center.

On other Sundays at that time, we'll continue the discussion ofThe Path to Enlightenmentby His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Please let us know if you'd like to participate but don't have the book. We can order additional used copies, or you can buy your own online (the ISBN of the edition we use is978-1559390323).

Please let us know if you need more information about either of these!

Join us for meditation Sundays at 10 AM!

Please join us for meditation each Sunday at 10 AM at the Dharma Center! For more information, email scdharma@gmail.com or call 803-467-7759.

Ahbay Rinpoche Returns to India

After a wonderful three-month visit, Ahbay Rinpoche has returned to India. He will travel in India and attend the Kalachakra offered by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya, India, in January. Rinpoche La will also travel in Europe, and we hope will soon return to South Carolina for another visit, if possible.

Here are Rinpoche La and the students attending his last teaching before leaving in July, 2016:

A Peaceful Mind: A Public Talk by Ahbay Rinpoche June 1

A talk on the Buddhist path tomental and spiritual peace will be given by Ahbay Rinpoche at 6 PM on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in the Seibels House at 1601Pickens St, Columbia, SC 29201 (at the corner of Pickens and Richland Street.The free talk is sponsored by the South Carolina Dharma Group.

The talk will focus on achieving peace by working to eliminate the negativemind of anger and hatred.AhbayRinpoche (Lama Ahbay Tulku Jigme Thupten Tendar Rinpoche) has been recognizedby the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of Lama Lobsang Tenzin, and has taughtwidely in Europe and the United States.

Lama Ahbay Rinpoche Returns to Columbia!

Lama Ahbay Rinpoche has returned to Columbia for a three-month stay! He is with us April 13-July 4, 2016, and will offer regular teachings and meet with individuals for spiritual advice.He will offer teachings on on Monday and Wednesday nights on various topics. The teachings on both nights will be at 7 PM at the Dharma Center. He will also teach on meditation on Sunday mornings at 10, and may perform pujas and other practices then, as well. He is available for individual meetings--contact us at scdharma@gmail.com to schedule appointments. Please join us!We hope everyone has an opportunity to meet this remarkableteacher!

Sand Mandala in Columbia

Visit from Lama Ahbay Rinpoche, July 24-31, 2015

Ahbay's hand on a participant's hand

Ahbay Rinpoche preparing the offerings

Offering bowls at the puja

Lined up for blessings

One person being blessed

Saga Dawa 2015

Members of the South Carolina Dharma Group celebrated

Saga Dawa, the remembrance of Shakyamuni Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing into Parinivana. We said prayers and mantras, and released crickets (who would otherwise have been used for bait), reminding us of compassion and liberation.

Aid for Earthquake Victims in Nepal

Many of the victims of the earthquake in Nepal are Buddhists, some in our lineage, and some may even be relatives of a member of CTS, our sister organization in Charleston. We hear that there are many problems with relief money sent to Nepal going only to the cities, while people in the small villages receive nothing.

The Nepalese family in Charleston has connected us with a new fund set up to send aid directly to the villages that so far have had no relief from the government. (A helicopter that was flying up to the mountain to rescue critically injured villagers was taken by the government to rescue rich mountain climbers on Mt. Everest).

If you would like to send aid that will go directly to help the villages in the mountains, please:

1. Send checks made out to Jampa Gompo

2. Mail them to:

Charleston Tibetan Society

ATTN: Karma G. Sherpa

12 Parkwood Avenue

Charleston, SC 29403

Unfortunately this fund is too new to be a 501c3, so there cant be a tax write-off, but all money will go directly to the villages in Nepal.

Meditate with us at our new location!

The South Carolina Dharma Group has a new location in the Earlewood neighborhood of Columbia, in a building on Florence street just behind the house at 3003 Columbia Street (please come to the building on Florence, not to the house). Please join us for meditation there each Sunday at 10 AM. For more detailed directions, write us at scdharma@gmail.com or call 803-467-7759.

Talk on "Meditation and Neuroplasticity"

by Dr. Dieter Borrmann

(student of Geshe Topgyal andNeurologist at the Gemeinschaftspraxis frNeurologie, Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie in Emmerich, Germany.)

We were fortunate to have a talk on the effects of meditation on the brain by Dr. Dieter Borrman in April, 2015, co-sponsored by the USC Department of Religion.

Dr. DieterBorrmann is a Neurologist at the Gemeinschaftspraxis fr Neurologie,Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie in Emmerich, Germany. He is a student of Buddhism under Geshe Dakpa Topgyal at TheCharleston Tibetan Society, Charleston, SC. and under Geshe Pema Samten at theTibetisches Zentrum e.V., Hamburg, Germany, where he is morethan halfway into a seven year systematic course of study in Tibetan Buddhism. With the Universitt Bonn he has contributed to the research on"Meditation and White Matter". His fascinating book about meditationfrom the perspective of a neurologist, both in personal experience and inmedical practice, will soon be translated and published in English.

StupaCompleted

A stupa honoringthe memory of the late Geshe Ngawang Phuntsok, former resident teacher of theSouth Carolina Dharma Group, has been completed and was consecrated in a formalceremony in April 2014 in Bomdila, which lies in the mountains of northeastern India.

The stupa not only honors the memory of Geshe Phuntsok but also servesfor the long-term spiritual benefit of visitors to Bomdila and residents of theregion. Stupas represent the enlightened mind of buddhas and exhibit thespiritual road map to enlightenment. The stupa will exist as a source of meritfor generations of numerous devoted people who can make offerings at andcircumambulations around the sacred monument.

Erection ofthe stupa was made possible through the generous donations of Dr. Jamie Felbergand membersof the Asanga Institute of Montrose, Colorado.

Teachings from Ven. Chonyi

Ven. Thubten Chonyi, of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State, visited SCDG for teachings Dec. 31-Jan. 5. Below are pictures from the visit.

w Book by Spiritual Director Published

The South Carolina Dharma Group, in conjunction with Dr. Jamie Felberg, the Asanga Institute of Montrose, Colorado, and the Charleston Tibetan Society, has established a scholarship fund in memory of Geshe Ngawang Phuntsok. Geshe Phuntsok was the South Carolina Dharma Groups resident teacher in 2002 and 2003 and was the Asanga Institutes resident teacher from 2007 to 2012.

As devoted dharma students of Geshe Phuntsok, and following the moral suggestion of Geshe Dakpa Topgyal, SCDGs spiritual director, the members of SCDG, CTS, the Asanga Institute, and Dr. Jamie Felberg, donated to the scholarship fund to make Geshe Phuntsoks dream reality. We made contributions out of heartfelt respect for our teacher and out of the wish that Geshe Phuntsoks dream be realized.

A second moral imperative, as pointed out by Geshe Topgyal, is to build a stupa in memory of Geshe Phuntsok in his home village, Bomdila, in northeastern India where he was born and where his parents currently reside. We are uncertain if we can succeedthat will depend on collecting funds the needed to build the stupa.

The purpose of the stupa will not just be to honor the memory of Geshe Phuntsok, but also to serve for the long-term spiritual benefit of as many sentient beings as possible. The stupa would exist as a sacred source of merit for generations of numerous devoted people who may make offerings at the stupa and circumambulations around the monument.

Dr. Jamie Felberg has made a commitment to help make the stupa a reality, but any individual who would like to donate can donate online or by mailing a check to the South Carolina Dharma Group, PO Box 50357, Columbia, SC 29250. Contact us for more information at scdharma@gmail.com.

Your contributions help support our programming, such as teachings by accredited teachers in the Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage, retreats and meditation lessons.

You can securely make a donation online by clicking the button below.You do not need a PayPal account to donate online. Look for the "Continue" link by the bank card icons on the PayPal donation page.

You may also donate bymailing us a check (SCDG, PO Box 50357, Columbia, SC 29250) or by leaving cash or a check at the Dharma Center.

The South Carolina Dharma Group is a federally-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and contributions are taxdeductibleto the extent allowed by law.

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scdharma

The bermensch (German for "Beyond-Man", "Superman", "Overman", "Superhuman", "Hyperman", "Hyperhuman"; German pronunciation: [ybmn]) is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also sprach Zarathustra), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the bermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself. It is a work of philosophical allegory, with a structural similarity to the Gathas of Zoroaster/Zarathustra.

The first translation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra into English was published in 1896. In that translation, by Alexander Tille, bermensch was translated as "Beyond-Man". In the Thomas Common translation, published in 1909, however, bermensch was rendered as "Superman". Common was anticipated in this by George Bernard Shaw, who had done the same in his 1903 stage play Man and Superman. Walter Kaufmann lambasted this translation in the 1950s for two reasons: first, its near or total failure to capture the nuance of the German word ber (while the Latin prefix super- means above or beyond, the English use of the prefix or its use as an adjective has altered the meaning); and second, a rationale which Fredric Wertham railed against even more vehemently in Seduction of the Innocent, for promoting identification by children with the comic-book character Superman (whom Wertham described as "un-American and fascist"). The preference of Kaufmann and others is to translate bermensch as "overman". Scholars continue to employ both terms, some simply opting to reproduce the German word.[1][2]

The German prefix ber can have connotations of superiority, transcendence, excessiveness, or intensity, depending on the words to which it is attached.[3]Mensch refers to a member of the human species, rather than to a male specifically. The adjective bermenschlich means super-human, in the sense of beyond human strength or out of proportion to humanity.[4]

Nietzsche introduces the concept of the bermensch in contrast to his understanding of the other-worldliness of Christianity: Zarathustra proclaims the bermensch to be the meaning of the earth and admonishes his audience to ignore those who promise other-worldly hopes in order to draw them away from the earth.[5][6] The turn away from the earth is prompted, he says, by a dissatisfaction with lifea dissatisfaction that causes one to create another world in which those who made one unhappy in this life are tormented. The bermensch is not driven into other worlds away from this one.

Zarathustra declares that the Christian escape from this world also required the invention of an eternal soul which would be separate from the body and survive the body's death. Part of other-worldliness, then, was the abnegation and mortification of the body, or asceticism. Zarathustra further links the bermensch to the body and to interpreting the soul as simply an aspect of the body.

Zarathustra ties the bermensch to the death of God. While this God was the ultimate expression of other-worldly values and the instincts that gave birth to those values, belief in that God nevertheless did give meaning to life for a time. 'God is dead' means that the idea of God can no longer provide values. With the sole source of values no longer capable of providing those values, there is a real chance of nihilism prevailing.

Zarathustra presents the bermensch as the creator of new values. In this way, it appears as a solution to the problem of the death of God and nihilism. If the bermensch acts to create new values within the moral vacuum of nihilism, there is nothing that this creative act would not justify. Alternatively, in the absence of this creation, there are no grounds upon which to criticize or justify any action, including the particular values created and the means by which they are promulgated.

In order to avoid a relapse into Platonic idealism or asceticism, the creation of these new values cannot be motivated by the same instincts that gave birth to those tables of values. Instead, they must be motivated by a love of this world and of life. Whereas Nietzsche diagnosed the Christian value system as a reaction against life and hence destructive in a sense, the new values which the bermensch will be responsible for will be life-affirming and creative (see Nietzschean affirmation).

Zarathustra first announces the bermensch as a goal humanity can set for itself. All human life would be given meaning by how it advanced a new generation of human beings. The aspiration of a woman would be to give birth to an bermensch, for example; her relationships with men would be judged by this standard.[7]

Zarathustra contrasts the bermensch with the last man of egalitarian modernity, an alternative goal which humanity might set for itself. The last man appears only in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and is presented as a condition that would render the creation of the bermensch impossible.

According to Rdiger Safranski, some commentators associate the bermensch with a program of eugenics.[8] This is most pronounced when considered in the aspect of a goal that humanity sets for itself. The reduction of all psychology to physiology implies, to some, that human beings can be bred for cultural traits. This interpretation of Nietzsche's doctrine focuses more on the future of humanity than on a single cataclysmic individual. There is no consensus regarding how this aspect of the bermensch relates to the creation of new values.

For Rdiger Safranski, the bermensch represents a higher biological type reached through artificial selection and at the same time is also an ideal for anyone who is creative and strong enough to master the whole spectrum of human potential, good and "evil", to become an "artist-tyrant". In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche vehemently denied any idealistic, democratic or humanitarian interpretation of the bermensch: "The word bermensch [designates] a type of supreme achievement, as opposed to 'modern' men, 'good' men, Christians, and other nihilists ... When I whispered into the ears of some people that they were better off looking for a Cesare Borgia than a Parsifal, they did not believe their ears."[9] Safranski argues that the combination of ruthless warrior pride and artistic brilliance that defined the Italian Renaissance embodied the sense of the bermensch for Nietzsche. According to Safranski, Nietzsche intended the ultra-aristocratic figure of the bermensch to serve as a Machiavellian bogeyman of the modern Western middle class and its pseudo-Christian egalitarian value system.[10]

The bermensch shares a place of prominence in Thus Spoke Zarathustra with another of Nietzsche's key concepts: the eternal recurrence of the same. Several interpretations for this fact have been offered.

Laurence Lampert suggests that the eternal recurrence replaces the bermensch as the object of serious aspiration.[11] This is in part due to the fact that even the bermensch can appear like an other-worldly hope. The bermensch lies in the future no historical figures have ever been bermenschen and so still represents a sort of eschatological redemption in some future time.

Stanley Rosen, on the other hand, suggests that the doctrine of eternal return is an esoteric ruse meant to save the concept of the bermensch from the charge of Idealism.[12] Rather than positing an as-yet unexperienced perfection, Nietzsche would be the prophet of something that has occurred a countless number of times in the past.

Others maintain that willing the eternal recurrence of the same is a necessary step if the bermensch is to create new values, untainted by the spirit of gravity or asceticism. Values involve a rank-ordering of things, and so are inseparable from approval and disapproval; yet it was dissatisfaction that prompted men to seek refuge in other-worldliness and embrace other-worldly values. Therefore, it could seem that the bermensch, in being devoted to any values at all, would necessarily fail to create values that did not share some bit of asceticism. Willing the eternal recurrence is presented as accepting the existence of the low while still recognizing it as the low, and thus as overcoming the spirit of gravity or asceticism.

Still others suggest that one must have the strength of the bermensch in order to will the eternal recurrence of the same; that is, only the bermensch will have the strength to fully accept all of his past life, including his failures and misdeeds, and to truly will their eternal return. This action nearly kills Zarathustra, for example, and most human beings cannot avoid other-worldliness because they really are sick, not because of any choice they made.

The term bermensch was utilized frequently by Hitler and the Nazi regime to describe their idea of a biologically superior Aryan or Germanic master race;[13] a form of Nietzsche's bermensch became a philosophical foundation for the National Socialist ideas. Their conception of the bermensch, however, was racial in nature.[14][15] The Nazi notion of the master race also spawned the idea of "inferior humans" (Untermenschen) which could be dominated and enslaved; this term does not originate with Nietzsche. Nietzsche himself was critical of both antisemitism and German nationalism. In his final years, Nietzsche began to believe that he was in fact Polish, not German, and was quoted as saying, "I am a pure-blooded Polish nobleman, without a single drop of bad blood, certainly not German blood".[16] In defiance of these doctrines, he claimed that he and Germany were great only because of "Polish blood in their veins",[17] and that he would be "having all anti-semites shot" as an answer to his stance on anti-semitism. Although the term has been associated with the Nazis, Nietzsche was dead long before Hitler's reign. It was Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth Frster-Nietzsche who actually first played a part in manipulating her brother's words to accommodate the worldview of herself and her husband, Bernhard Frster, a prominent German nationalist and antisemite.[18] In order to support his beliefs he set up the Deutscher Volksverein (German People's League) in 1881 with Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg.[19]

The thought of Nietzsche had an important influence in anarchist authors (see Anarchism and Friedrich Nietzsche). Spencer Sunshine writes that "There were many things that drew anarchists to Nietzsche: his hatred of the state; his disgust for the mindless social behavior of 'herds'; his anti-Christianity; his distrust of the effect of both the market and the State on cultural production; his desire for an 'overman' that is, for a new human who was to be neither master nor slave; his praise of the ecstatic and creative self, with the artist as his prototype, who could say, 'Yes' to the self-creation of a new world on the basis of nothing; and his forwarding of the 'transvaluation of values' as source of change, as opposed to a Marxist conception of class struggle and the dialectic of a linear history."[20] The influential American anarchist Emma Goldman in her famous collection of essays Anarchism and Other Essays in the preface passionately defends both Nietzsche and Max Stirner from attacks within anarchism when she says "The most disheartening tendency common among readers is to tear out one sentence from a work, as a criterion of the writer's ideas or personality. Friedrich Nietzsche, for instance, is decried as a hater of the weak because he believed in the bermensch. It does not occur to the shallow interpreters of that giant mind that this vision of the bermensch also called for a state of society which will not give birth to a race of weaklings and slaves."[21]

Sunshine says that the "Spanish anarchists also mixed their class politics with Nietzschean inspiration." Murray Bookchin, in The Spanish Anarchists, describes prominent CNTFAI member Salvador Segu as "an admirer of Nietzschean individualism, of the superhombre to whom 'all is permitted'." Bookchin, in his 1973 introduction to Sam Dolgoff's The Anarchist Collectives, even describes the reconstruction of society by the workers as a Nietzschean project. Bookchin says that "workers must see themselves as human beings, not as class beings; as creative personalities, not as 'proletarians,' as self-affirming individuals, not as 'masses'. . .(the) economic component must be humanized precisely by bringing an 'affinity of friendship' to the work process, by diminishing the role of onerous work in the lives of producers, indeed by a total 'transvaluation of values' (to use Nietzsche's phrase) as it applies to production and consumption as well as social and personal life."[20]

Notes

Bibliography

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bermensch - Wikipedia

The Ordained Ministerial Counselor training applies the principles of A Course in Miracles to spiritual ministry. Being an Ordained Ministerial Counselor (OMC) prepares you to fulfill your purpose of serving in this time of the Great Awakening. Upon completion of the Ministerial Curriculum you are qualified to offer Accessing Inner Wisdom Spiritual Counseling as well as to facilitate Pathways of Light Spiritual College courses and 8-week programs.

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You may still feel plagued with fear, anger, resentment, self-doubt and guilt cropping up here and there. Intellectually you know better, but those old, subconscious scripts still seem to be around.

Self-image transformation means changing the way we perceive ourselves. To transform our self-image, we don't need to change what we do. We need to change who we think we are. What we do comes from who we think we are. In A Course in Miracles we are taught to remind ourselves frequently, "God is but Love, and therefore so am I," and "I am not a body, I am free. For I am still as God created me."

This course will provide practice in becoming aware of the trance formations that make us act like robots, controlled by unconscious, habitual ego belief systems. You will learn to retrain your mind to develop new mental habits while releasing those old mental programs that are limiting and painful.

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This course seemed simple on the surface; that was deceptive! It was so much more than I expected. I value hugely what it brought up for me. It has led to better relationships with my loved ones and greater inner peace.

This is a very powerful, invaluable course. It helped me learn to identify false self-image beliefs and transform these false beliefs to truth with the help of Spirit.

I felt that through the readings and visualizations, I made a greater shift to the Light within. My self-image improved. I feel more open to love, joy and peace. I really felt that this was a major shift for me.

I learned to look at how I think about myself and change that image with the help of Inner Guidance.

This course allowed me to stop, and become aware of the gaps and differences between what I have manifested into my life and relationships to date, and what I consciously desire to focus on. I gained valuable insights into how and why I set up limiting relationship patterns..

This course helped me realize at still another, deeper level that I make the trance scripts and I can let them go with the help of Holy Spirit. I also enjoyed the experience of deep peace and feeling connected with my Source in the meditations..

This course brought me clarity and a sense of peace about where I am in my life. I was able to focus more clearly on differentiating between ego and my Higher Self, especially in relation to my own issues of worthiness.

As you open to understanding your true purpose, you enter a new time a time of looking at the concepts you are holding about yourself and others and letting them be replaced by the awareness of your unlimited True Self.

Understand how the veils of forgetfulness can be lifted to give you a new sense of life purpose. Learn how to change your beliefs about time. Learn to access long-held thought patterns you picked up as a child, and heal these limited thoughts with the help of the Light within you. Find out why it is important to quiet your mind and listen to your Self, and how you can better serve your true identity as Spirit in this life.

Receive insight on new choices, new ideas, and learn how you can extend the qualities of your true Self in your life. Take an inward journey to a Haven of Greater Awareness to connect and identify with qualities of Spirit, such as universal Love, and feeling deep inner peace. Transcend time and communicate with your unlimited Self. Imagine seeing life differently in the years ahead as you dissolve blocks to the greater awareness of Love's Presence. Practice seeing yourself knowing and expressing your true life purpose.

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Wow. It was such a joyful, elevating experience. The meditations were deep and transforming. It was an enlightening experience, more than I expected.

The exercises were created in such a way that they directly got to important life issues. I felt like I shook hands with myself and my unconscious self. I learned to create a bridge for conscious dialogue with Higher Self.

For the first time in my life I found myself going very deeply into guided meditations. I always brought back some important new information, some new awareness. I was impressed with the gentle and nurturing approach. Growth doesn't have to hurt.

I would recommend this highly as a powerful class for opening to the Higher Self.

I love all the extra benefits of these courses how they are synchronistic with events in my life. I also love the little jewels in each course sentences that are profound. I increased my sense of peace.

It made me aware of my issues and my solutions. I gained insight into the changes I need to make to get back to my True Self. The experience was relaxing, rejuvenating, profound and very enjoyable. The materials are simple, direct and precise.

I have the knowledge and the ability to change my present experiences by changing my thoughts and beliefs about the past, and to have a future of Love, peace and joy. It helped me a lot with meditation. The CDs and the course brought the wisdom I needed to access my Inner Truth.

This course helped remind me why I am in this world and assisted me in remembering/discovering how to return to the reason: My purpose. It has come at an extremely difficult time in life, thus proving extremely beneficial.

I believe that the course opened areas of forgiveness for me to a greater degree than ever before. It allowed me to review and release situations in my life which I still held judgments about. I am aware to a greater extent that my Higher Self is always there to help and comfort me.

In this course you will look at core aspects of your personality which are holding on to ideas that do not come from your true Self. Some of the ways these aspects express themselves include self-righteousness, suffering, victimhood and projecting guilt and blame onto others. If you still find yourself sabotaging your innate happiness, this course will give you practice in identifying and healing those self-defeating aspects. You will learn how to quiet your mind to let your true Self lovingly transform your mind your thoughts and feelings to higher levels of awareness.

As you learn to quiet your mind and listen, you awaken to the real you to your true Self. As you gradually welcome awakening to your inner Spirit, your experience changes to allow in more joy, love and the knowing that you are safe in God. Your true Self is your true nature, the essence of what you are. You will learn to allow in the awareness of your true Self more fully and receive helpful insight. Your true Self is your inner Teacher and will help you transform your thinking to see the outer world differently to live a happier and more purposeful life.

As your thinking increasingly comes from your true Self, you become more gentle with yourself and others. You are able to see past the fearful thinking and resulting behavior in yourself and others, to see the true reality of Love that lies behind all fear. You are able to make choices and decisions from a place of Wisdom and peace.

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It really helped me look at areas in my life that I wasn't facing. The meditation CDs are wonderful and I enjoy listening to them more than once or twice. This course reinforced my values and beliefs in my spirituality.

By becoming aware of the limiting aspects in my personality, I can more clearly choose to hear my Inner Guidance. Receiving the guiding vision of my True Self was very moving and powerful.

This course reinforces the work I am doing with A Course in Miracles. The CDs facilitated getting in touch with my True Self and receiving a vision of the next evolutionary step of my "practice."

This course helped me clear away the blocks that prevented me from discovering my true Higher Self and has freed me to proceed with my personal growth. It has a helpful, building block approach of recognition, healing, cleansing and awareness. The excellent recorded meditations were so helpful in guiding me through inner explorations.

This course is more far-reaching in its scope than I anticipated. It facilitated a change that is an ongoing process. My experience can only be described as miraculous. I stand a changed person on the inside, thereby creating a changed perception on the outside. I gained a deep sense of union with myself and an absolute conviction that I am never alone.

By doing one of the exercises and applying the insights to my daily life, I came to a clearer understanding that I was projecting my limiting personality characteristics onto those whom I seemed to get upset with or angry at. With this realization, it became easier to see myself in those people, whom I used to blame for their 'bad' behaviors. I was them and they were me! Seeing oneness with those who seem to upset or hurt me has been a big challenge for me. But this experience helps me move in the right direction.

All the exercises brought me to deeper and deeper levels of my being. The meditations were profound and moving. I was able to see things so clearly.

The meditation CD helped lead me to the Holy Spirit (inner guidance) naturally, to a profound depth of inner insight, with peace and Love.

There were many ah-ha's, such as: All need for "specialness" is a belief in scarcity a belief that there's not enough goodness or universal abundance to go around.

I realized that my abundance is so incredible that I couldn't even really imagine how great it is. And the Holy Spirit is there to guide my creativity. Each session was so right on. It amazed me how effective they were.

This course will help you feel more confident about trusting your Inner Guidance, spiritual intuition and your ability to know what is right for you. Trust opens the door to living a purposeful life, following Spirit. Trust helps you experience the quiet peace that comes with letting go of fearful thinking. When you trust that your Source is working for you and with you, you relax and allow It to lead you.

Learn how to let go of the doubt that cuts you off from experiencing trust in areas of:

Learn what pushes your buttons, causing you to lose your trust, and how to get back to trusting your true Self as your source of Guidance. Trusting your inner Teacher changes how you see everyone and everything. This trust allows you to see the world from a new perspective of oneness. As you place your trust in your true Self, you see through the false veils of ego thoughts of conflict, limitation and lack. You are unlimited Love and Light. The more you can trust in the Christ within, the more it will be reflected in your life.

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I increased my awareness, commitment and TRUST in Spirit, learning to see that Spirit does the work and I just need to be mindfully connected in a place of peace, allowing it to take place.

I learned so much about myself. This has been the best course for me yet. I learned to locate the things that trigger mistrust for me and how to trust Spirit more.

I was reluctant to take a correspondence course, preferring the group sharing environment. I was very pleased with the opportunities and insights I received by doing individual and guided facilitated study. I would now recommend correspondence as a very valuable experience, and I would correspond again in the future.

Trust has been an issue with me in the past. I believe that by doing this course, I attained a new level. The experiential work allowed me to feel trust in a way that is wondrous and new. It is the experiential meditative exercises which made this course come alive for me.

The meditations are profound. I play the meditation CDs over and over, and each time I hear them differently. So I have an actual "physical way" to realize the layers that exist and work with myself at each level.

I gained a renewed trust in Self, extending that trust to everything and everyone. I became aware of areas I want to let go of and areas I want to focus on to make stronger in my life.

It helped me realize how powerful my thoughts are and how important it is to monitor my thoughts. I was able to release some doubt I had in communicating with my Higher Self.

It helped me let go of doubt and fearful beliefs of separation, and to trust my inner powerful Light and true Self. I can trust in Love to heal all things.

I learned to trust my inner Self, listen to It, and relish the beauty It gives me. Simply amazing!

Within everyone is a desire to return to Love, our Source. In our search for Love, we may look to someone outside of ourselves to give it to us. In this stage we are not aware of the Love within. We don't recognize our inner worth, our Light, our own perfection. As long as we continue to look outside ourselves to fill this sense of emptiness, we will feel unfulfilled.

When you realize that you have not found Love by looking for it from others, you are ready to go into a new stage of your life. You are ready to walk into an expanded awareness of Love. You are ready to consistently express your true unconditional loving nature. You are ready to wake up to What you are. In this course you will practice healing and releasing your barriers to Love. With the support of others, you will experience the depth of unconditional Love which lies within you. You will learn how to tap into this reservoir and bring Love to situations in your life which need healing.

You will learn to let go and let Love take over, seeing the world from a new perspective. You recognize that Love is giving, not getting. As Love extends from you, the sense of scarcity and lack gently falls away. Extending the Love that you are is your top priority. It is what you are here to learn and teach. You will focus on opening up to that Love and letting It shine through. Love is the healer. It will change your life.

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It helped me remember that love is everywhere and that I can share love without fear or anxiety. The processes were uplifting and inspiring. I feel peaceful all over again.

This course helped me remember that everyone, including myself, perceives the world based on our fears, feelings of lack and inadequacy, etc.... That we can only allow in the amount of love that we feel we desire. This allows me to see situations in a manner that is more serene for myself and others. This is a course I will definitely repeat for myself.

It was a very love-filled experience. I absolutely loved the material and exercises. It had a nice balance of meditation, processing and reading material.

This course helped me feel more comfortable in expressing the positive things I feel about other people. It also provided an unusual opportunity to receive positive comments about myself in a comfortable, safe environment, which helped lower my defenses.

I realized that I have looked for love outside of myself and do not see myself as a vessel of love. The experience of having the group tell me that I am worthy and deserving of love was profound. I truly value this experience.

The sharing with my inner child experience helped me recognize that I am love and loving.

My inner child received a healing and incorporated some new, healthy qualities. I now have a greater desire to love others. It helped me move through resistance to receiving love. It also helped me realize the value of extending love at all times.

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This course gives an overview of the important ideas and lessons presented by A Course In Miracles. You will to learn to tell the difference between ego thoughts and the thoughts of your true Identity. You will learn to choose peace instead of conflict, Heaven instead of hell.

Learn a process that helps you see past the physical form to the Light in everyone. It helps you forgive the people in your life whom you find difficult to love. Take an inventory of your patterns of right-minded and wrong-minded thinking and practice shifting your thoughts toward right-minded thinking with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your mind. Focus on the true Self in others and experience how that focus helps you recognize the true Self in you. Learn how to transform upset feelings into a healed perception with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's teaching is a lesson in remembering. Let us join together in our remembering. It takes just a little willingness.

This course also includes a 3-CD set (MP3's with the downloadable e-course) of Gary Renard explaining ACIM in a full day workshop.

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Before this course, I didn't know anything about A Course in Miracles even though I had tried to do some reading on it. Now I feel like I have a very good overview of ACIM. It was very enlightening for me. I have more clarity about the ego and forgiveness.

This course brought healing on many levels. I experienced a deep healing with the Forgiveness meditation. I have been working with ACIM for over 10 years, yet this course brought greater understanding and clarity with it.

The Forgiveness and Recognizing Illusion & Reality meditations were especially meaningful for me. I want to work with them more.

All the meditations were valuable. I was particularly moved by the exercise in which we practiced seeing the Light in each other. It was a deeply beautiful class that called upon me to see the Truth in all situations.

My experience has been one of relaxing and opening to the concepts a deep peace an open pathway. This has been very different from the way I first entered the Course.

This course helped me experience insight into myself and my belief system. I now realize that the only thing that needs to be healed is my belief in separation from God. Once this is healed, all seeming lack in my life will disappear.

You don't have to experience life as a serious, stressful, day-to-day grind. In this course, you will identify the mental habits you may have developed which create tension, guilt and self-doubt. See how inappropriate expectations cloud your ability to experience unconditional love.

Learn how you are unconsciously telling others how to treat you, to fit your unconscious expectations. Discover ways you may still be following the unconscious expectations of others or trying to live up to unhealthy models of perfection. See how learned childhood responses become unconscious knee-jerk reactions. Learn how to release these reactions for a happier life. Realize that you are not your programming. Consciously choose how you want to feel and how you want to think. Connect with your Inner Source of direction. Learn to be in peace and be happy.

This course will help you allow more constructive inner scripts which empower you. You will learn to perceive yourself and the world in a way that brings happy experiences of unconditional love, no matter what is happening around you.

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A Course in Miracles Minister Training

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It seems like a very abstract idea to think of being awake as something completely different than being conscious, but they actually are two very separate functions.

Just opening our eyes when it is time to get up each day gives us the impression we are mindful of what we see and how we feel, even if we may need a cup of morning coffee first to feel that way.

Then at night as we lay down to try to sleep, we may momentarily feel ourselves begin to lose our conscious state and we equate this with not being awake anymore. So, is there really any difference between the two?

When trying to define the idea of wakefulness and consciousness, the problem of subjectivity when it comes to things that each of us experiences and how we experience themarises.

If we were to look up the meaning of consciousness in any dictionary, the word included in its meaning that sets it apart from wakefulness is quality. So, consciousness can be said to have an added element of this within the scope of our experiences.

You can say that to be conscious is to function in a state of being enveloped in the content of life that surrounds you and makes you more than just awake but aware as well.

One of the most well-known experts in the study of the idea of consciousness is William James. He puts forth the idea that any state of our consciousness must have an element of analysis to it in order for it to be defined in those terms.

So, he believed that a conscious state was one that was a series of perceptions coupled with our thoughts and emotional responses to what we are experiencing and how we can control it and monitor it all at the same time.

So, as we monitor our surroundings, we are focusing our attention on specific things and using our critical thinking skills such as identifying a problem, assessing how to solve it, and then making a decision about how we will act on it.

This can only happen if it is coupled with an element of conscious control of our thoughts and ways in which we react to things around us.

This differs from just being awake, which is more of a scientific functioning of our brain. Being awake can simply mean that you are taking in some form of stimulus from the environment that you find yourself in or even your own internal thoughts.

According to Medical Daily, this is why there is some question about whether individuals who are considered unconscious while they are in a coma state can still take in external stimuli and actually are in some form of wakefulness but cannot physically respond to it.

For many years, individuals have performed experiments on themselves to try to understand consciousness and wakefulness. You can also try to do this on your own to give you a better understanding of the two concepts.

Pick an evening that you are able to go to bed fairly early but are also able to fall asleepquickly and wake up early enough in the morning that it will not be light out yet.

Make sure that before you go to bed, you close your blinds so that when you awaken the room will be completely dark.

Then, as you awaken in the morning, make sure to make a mental point of remembering the exact second that you felt conscious. Make up a triggerphrase like up now or even the word conscious and say it as you make this mental note.

Ask yourself in that moment: Am I completely aware of my surroundings or am I still a bit hazy from sleeping? If the answer is that you feel like you are completely awake, then the odds are, you awakened earlier but your brain was not conscious for a period of minutes until that moment you said the trigger word.

If your answer is that you still feel hazy, then you have probably experienced being awake and conscious all at the same time just as you said your trigger word.

If you experiment with this a half a dozen times, you will likely begin to feel that consciousness and wakefulness are happening simultaneously,and gradually your awake state will seem to occur before you actually became conscious.

This proves that, to be conscious, there must be an element of content (the trigger word in this case) added to the state of being awake. Think of waking up to the alarm on your phone; you hear it, and simultaneously are forced to be conscious by the sheer act of reaching and shutting it off.

If you try this, report your findings. I will keep a log of everyones results and report them in a blog in the near future.

You can also consider a brain supplement, which is not necessarily a bad thing to try, especially if you are tired constantly and dont seem to be able to find the time to practice some physical and mental exercises that will help you fully engage instead of just being awake.

Maybe you find that your job is so boring that by the middle of the day you cant help but begin to disengage in the activities you are performing and you are starting to feel like your co-workers are noticing.

Are there things you can do to combat restless nights that put you in a state of wakefulness in the middle of the night and conscious of every sound and every minute ticking away on the clock, only to go through a day of torturing yourself with trying to stay awake? Yes.

This is no way to function on a daily basis. There are a few things you can do to try and alleviate the problem.

Weve previously written on how to stay completely conscious and engaged at work.

Try any of those tips, or consider anover-the-counter supplement that will help you to not only stay awake and focused but remain conscious of your surroundings and effective in your activity.

Either way, you are taking the necessary steps toward achievinga way of life that allows you to be consciously involved in your most important moments.

Your life path number can tell you A LOT about you.

With the ancient science of Numerology you can find out accurate and revealing information just from your name and birth date.

Get your free numerology reading and learn more about how you can use numerology in your life to find out more about your path and journey. Get Your free reading.

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Awake vs. Conscious: How They Differ & Why it Matters ...

We are glad you discovered us! It is our hope that our studio will offer everyone an opportunity to find a path of health and wellbeing in life. We offer two styles of hot yoga, accessible for yogis at all levels, designed to make you sweat! Our classes will challenge you, inspire you and leave you feeling that anything is possible. We offer over 40 classes a week, 7 days a week, at times convenient to you.

Our community is passionate about yoga and your health and wellness and is dedicated to giving you an amazing studio experience. After class, we invite you to enjoy our spacious locker rooms, with amenities like shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hairdryers - so you can continue on with your day. We have Greenville's largest selection of yoga and athletic wear with new items arriving each week. And we offer a lending library, sharing our favorite books on health and nutrition.

Our original location is located adjacent to Whole Foods Market and there is no better place to practice yoga and shop healthy! We are very excited to announce our second studio will open in the West End area of downtown Greenville in early 2018. Two studios means twice the number of your favorite hot and warm yoga classes! We can't wait to unveil Southern Om West End to our community!

It is our business to ensure you have the best yoga experience possible. We are glad you're here.

Namaste.Pace & Sarah Beattie

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