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Well, it has been quite a while since the last Minessence eZine,
and a lot has happened since then.
- Both www.minessence.net and
MissionControl (the support site for Accredited AVI Consultants)
have been completely rebuilt using the ASP.NET 2.0 framework. This
means the sites are easier to maintain, easier for you to navigate
around, and provide more sophisticated functionality.
- The AVI Values Map and the AVI Brain-Preference Maps are now
available online for use by Accredited Consultants. Live examples
of all online AVI reports are at the home page of www.minessence.net.
- I have written my first eBook Values Education: A Guide for
Educators, as well as several more articles.
- A Presentation page has been added to www.minessence.net. Here, I
am progressively adding PowerPoint like presentations which take
less time to read than books or articles.
- At www.minessence.net,
I have now written my own software to support FAQs, a discussion
group (Minessence Dialogue) and a personal Blogger. I was
motivated to do this because of the difficulty maintaining these
services on third party sites - so we now start afresh with these
services!.
The Language of Values
In New Wisdom and New Wisdom II, I quoted
from Ignatieff, in The Needs of Strangers (1984), who argued
that, with the demise of the language of religion, we no longer have
a language appropriate to the expression of our needs and, without
an adequate language of needs, the needs themselves will die, and
along with this goes the very essence of our humanness.
In order to ensure a language of needs prevails, and exists
independently of any religion, a key thrust of the Minessence
Group, and its associates, since 1988 has been development of a
language of values. Using the same techniques as the original
values-research team some 40 years ago, we continually monitor
people language looking for emotionally charged statements,
searching for the emergence of new values. In this way three new
values have been added since 1988. So the list of 125 values has now
expanded to 128.
Why is it important to have a standardised list of values?
Without the chance of choosing from a list of all currently known
values, there often are things which are passionately important to
us, yet we are unable to give them full expression. This is because
we do not have the language to define them and to share them with
others.
The value Minessence, the one we have adopted as the name of our
organisation, is a great example. The values-research team found a
value which was very important to some people, however, it did not
have a name. It was important to many people to work with complex
ideas and/or technologies and to simplify their understanding and
use for the benefit of others. A name for this value was thus
created: min from miniature - i.e. to make smaller,
less complex; and essence - simplifying a concept so its
essence is clear. So combining the concepts of miniaturization and
essence, we have minessence.
Since the identification of this value, many people have
discovered how important it is in their life and they can now share
this passion with others. This is but one example from the set of
128 values. There are many other stories like this.
Values Lie Behind All Our Choices
Now that values-programs have become mainstream in our society,
watch out for people conducting programs where they have limited
your choice of values. When they limit your choice of values, they
are imposing their own bias on you!
Many of people's values are unconsciously important to them. It
is only when people are given the fullest set of values possible and
are able to choose between value-laden statements based on them,
that their values emerge to the level of conscious awareness. Then
magic begins!
Regards, Paul Chippendale - Minessence Group
Coordinator |