Exploring Identity-Part 3- Identity and different levels of human functioning

The human being functions on different levels, there are 5 important levels that we function on.

- Spiritual

- Psychological

- Intellectual

- Social

- Physical

All these things are what makes up the whole human being and if we only function on some levels instead of all then we will always feel that something is missing in our lives. The way we perceive ourselves on all these different levels ultimately contributes to our IDENTITY OR SELF-DEFINITION.

1. What is your identity (i.e. how do you see yourself ) on each of the different levels of functioning?

2. Are you happy with your identity, is this a positive identity or a negative one, look at each area and decide.
3. What do you think your identity is based on?


Let's look at an example of how you can do this.
 
For instance you can say, I am a very spiritual person and I am happy with that. Then for the psychological level you might say, I have a certain personality type (I may be introverted, outgoing, perfectionistic, etc.) but I'm not that happy with my identity on a psychological level because it's not that good to be introverted, etc. Then you might say, on a physical level I am very happy with the way I look, (for whatever reasons- you can make a note of your own reasons). On an intellectual level you may think, I need to learn more and study more and I'm not very happy with my identity on an intellectual level. On a social level, you may say... I have lots of friends, I socialise easily, people like me, I am very happy with my identity on a social level.
 
The above is just to give you an idea of what needs to be done when thinking about your own identity on all the different levels. Now you can apply this to your own life and see what your identity is like on all the different levels and whether you are happy with it or not.
 
Rememember, you may be very happy with your identity on some levels and on other levels you may be unhappy with your identity.
 
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Now we will take this a little further:
 
Consider the following:
 
What are the ideas about your identity based on? Are they based on Islamic ideals or something else? 
 
If they are based on something else, what are they based on and why have these other things become important to you?
 
Once you've identified how you feel about your identity on all the different levels, this will help you to understand why you have either a positive or a negative identity.
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•  If you have a negative identity on any level, then pay attention to the above questions and perhaps you feel negative about yourself on some levels when those things don't even matter in Islam.
• Allah Almighty made us all differently, and we are all different on all the different levels mentioned above. It doesn't make sense for us to all wish to be the same when Allah (SWT) made us unique.
•  Many times people have a negative self-identity because they do not accept themselves as Allah has made them and they try to be like others.
•  This is also a form of ungratefulness, because we should be thankful to Allah for everything. If we are not good at a certain thing, then surely we will have to be good at something else. For instance, if we are not that good looking, we may be very intelligent, and so forth.
• Allah Almighty has not deprived anyone so we should always be grateful for who we are, exactly how Allah has made us.
• This will help us to always maintain a positive identity on all levels!

 
May The Almighty help us all to recognize the bounties He has given us, to accept ourselves the way we are, to only strive to better ourselves in ways that please our Creator, Allah and to always be happy with our identities! Insha'Allah Ameen!

Living A Balanced Life-Part 2-Balancing the Different Levels

In the previous post we focused on achieving inner and outer balance. I hope that this was useful for people and helped to get you to start thinking about your own life.

Balance between different levels can further be broken down.

Within the socio-psychological paradigm 5 different levels of human functioning have been identified. These are as follows:

SPIRITUAL

PSYCHOLOGICAL

SOCIAL

INTELLECTUAL

PHYSICAL

Think about these levels for a while- Place them in order of preference for you, i.e. which level do you think should be the most important, then which one would follow, and so on.

A good balance between these levels is important, but the importance placed on each level will directly influence your life as well. It will determine what becomes more important for you and what is less important. For instance, if you choose the Intellectual level as your most important and for example the spiritual as your least important then you will find that you most probably have a life which is intellectually rich, (you will read a lot, your knowledge and understanding about things will be vast etc), but you will be lacking on a spiritual level. This is just an example; you can make sense of your own life once you’ve understood the importance of the different levels for you. All of the levels cannot occupy the same space in your life, but how and why you choose the levels will have a direct impact on your life.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman Ansari also discussed this concept along very, very similar lines when he spoke about knowledge of the self.*

According to this he has stated that The Holy Qur’an speaks of a system of values. Every culture is based on a particular arrangement of values. The human personality has 5 levels of consciousness and therefore 5 values which correspond to these levels. These are as follows:

SPIRITIUAL (consciousness of a Transcendental Being)

AESTHETICAL

INTELLECTUAL

MORAL

PHYSICAL

He went on to say that people are sometimes only aware of some of these 5 values, thus the value system is imperfect, and the culture that emerges is also flawed. Or, people may know about the 5 values, but the order may be incorrect. Maulana Ansari argues that a system which places more value on lower levels than on higher levels is problematic. He states that the Qur’an and hadith are absolutely clear about values.

Maulana Ansari quotes the following Quraanic verse in support of his argument:

“Those who are honoured by Allah who cultivate iman and who cultivate ilm (knowledge)” (Surah 58: verse 11).

So, according to this argument, the higher levels should be the ones associated with cultivating iman (faith) and knowledge.

Now, if you go back to the order you first placed the levels in and reflect upon this, what do you see?
Does it fit in with this Islamic view of the self or have you somehow managed to place emphasis on other, less important levels of functioning?

Once you begin to understand how your ideas, attitudes and choices are all interlinked and they determine the balance as well as the value of your life, then things in your life will begin to make more sense to you.

If you’ve found that all this time you have been placing emphasis on the lower levels instead of the higher levels, then don’t become despondent, it is never too late to make crucial changes to your life. You are fortunate that you have now received information and knowledge about these things and now you can use it to live a better, more fulfilled life.

I hope that this helps encourage and not discourage anyone.

Remember always that Allah (SWT) is the Greatest, the Most Merciful and the Most Kind. Put your trust in Allah and you will find even the greatest of challenges will become easy.

Until next time, May Allah’s Peace and Blessings continuously be showered upon you!


*The reference for this is; Maulana Fazlur Rahman Ansari – Lectures in South Africa 1970 & 1972, ‘Islam to the Modern Mind’, (2002), Edited by, M.Kriel & Y.Mohamed. Hidden Treasure Press: Paarl South Africa.