PERMA "confirmation"

11 april 2016

my former colleague and spiritual co-sojourner reggie used to say that if the lord sends a message, he always confirms it.

today is the start of a rare FREE 3-day trainers' training on positive education at quezon city academy by experts emily larsen & alejandro adler of ipen (international positive education network based in london), mentees of dr martin seligman, the founder of positive psychology from the univ of pennsylvania in philadelphia.

guess what?

in the gospel reading today, i saw the 5 factors identified under positive psychology / education! i.e., PERMA (Positive emotion, Engagement or Flow, Relationship or Connectedness, Meaning [and Purpose] or Optimism, and Achievement or Accomplishment) in my self-critique, i thought i could just be seeing too much into the text until i read the commentary of my high school classmate and psychologist colleague glenn gomez who finally confirmed my personal interpretation.

gospel: john 6:22-29 discourse on the capernaum synagogue (people looking for jesus because the ate bread and had their fill)

1. P = Positive Emotion: Gratitude (v 22 "when the Lord gave thanks" - New American Bible)
2. E = Engagement (v 25 the people looked for Jesus across the sea of Tiberias and said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?")
3. R = Relationship (v 29 "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.") [Addition & Confirmation: the commentary for 12 April 2016, continuing on the discourse on the eucharist from John 6, fr estomo said that jesus "PERSONIFIED" the bread of life; he not only wanted physical salvation alone, but also spiritual.]
4. M = Meaning & Purpose (v 27 "Do not work for food that perishes [extrinsic motivation] but for the food that endures for eternal life which the Son of Man will give you [intrinsic motivation].")
5. A = Achievement or Accomplishment (v 28 "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?") [Note: the word "accomplish" is another confirmation because "Accomplishment" as another term for "Achievement" was just added today during the lecture; whereas, i read the gospel BEFORE going to the seminar today!]

commentary:

my friend glenn mentioned Abraham Maslow [he was also mentioned by Joanne, the local assistant trainer, in her group's presentation], i.e., his "Hierarchy of Human Needs...., five (5), namely: Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization." to this, glenn added "self-transcendence" to represent the Spiritual aspect of human needs. thus, ending with EXACTLY the same dimensions being responded to by PERMA in our framework, namely:

1. P = Physical (Maslow's Physicological and Safety needs)
2. E = Emotional (Maslow's Belonging needs)
3. M = Mental (Maslow's Esteem needs) [Note: although this can be also under Emotional, he classifies it here.]
4. S = Spiritual (Self-transcendence) 

i like what glenn said about self-transcendence: "Constant fulfilling of one's needs without making SACRIFICES could led to selfishness."

Let me just end with glenn's punch line: 

"Needless to say, material food perishes; only spiritual food lasts. Do we want to gain eternal life? Transcend! Go beyond material / physical needs!

"Let the words of Jesus be out guide here on earth: 'Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.'"

Amen!

final confirmation: during mass which i gratefully was able to offer today, our guest priest fr ferdie referred to the word of God and the eucharist as our food that endures for eternal life!