The Value of a Useful Model for Making Sense of Life
Dr. Frank Gerbode’s model of the Six Life Domains provides a useful view of the elements of our lives. In our own estimation, we may be doing anywhere from great to terrible, on each one of these major aspects of life. Taking a look at our domains and how we feel each one is doing can give us access to improving the quality of life. Each domain is bound to have an effect on the others.
If we have a personal success, we feel our 1st (self) domain benefiting. If we fall in love (and it is mutual!), or we have a new baby in the family, or we make a new wonderful friend, we feel our 2nd (intimates) domain expand. When we join a group of like-minded people to achieve a common purpose, either for work or play, that improves our 3rd (groups) domain.
If we become aware of the ingenuity of our species and its capacity for creativity and altruism, our 4th (humankind) domain may get a boost. Anything that connects us with the 5th (all life), domain, such as planting a garden, walking in nature, and interacting with beloved animals, brings us a closer feeling for that domain. If we have a spiritual/religious experience, we feel more connected to the 6th domain, the infinity/God/All That Is domain.
Painful experiences, physical, emotional, or both, in life cause us to contract both our perception and our ability to act freely in one or more of our domains. Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR), and related techniques allow us to reduce the pain and resistance from past painful events. This can bring about a resurgence of our ability to perceive and to act.
If we are fortunate enough to do a good amount of work using TIR and other Applied Metapsychology techniques, we can enjoy an expansion of awareness across all of our domains with interesting results.
As we increase our awareness and are able to lay aside painful burdens from the past, we can engage more deeply with our own domains, considering both the physical aspects of each one and the non-physical aspects. We can gain the ability to be mindful of more aspects of life at once and see more clearly how the domains affect each other. Many, perhaps most of us, tend to concentrate our attention on our inner three domains as these are the ones that seem to affect us most strongly. When considered logically, the well-being of our species and of all life on the planet that sustains us is quite important as well. For some people, the 6th domain is central to their lives; for others, it may not seem very real.
Domains we are unaware of can become more real and accessible as we do our work, and even domains where we are doing well can benefit from examination. As we become more aware, we are more present to both the physical and nonphysical aspects of each domain, as well as our well-being and balance across the domains. Certainly, life experience and the wisdom we gain as we grow older contribute to a deeper understanding. Doing good work to continue to develop our perceptions and abilities reaps real rewards beyond just feeling better or feeling good. We are able to expand out reach into life and be more causative and creative, able to cause positive effects in life for ourselves, those we care about and well beyond. We find continual new realizations and discoveries opening up to us as we progress.
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