Self Development is discovering and actualizing potentials of human being. Self Development is a way of thinking that enables us to recognize ourselves, our universe and the God more clearly. This change in our understanding will enable us to improve our personality (as an individual), our culture (as a society) and our world (as human being).

 

What Self Development is not?
Self development is not a profession and someone cannot take it as an alternative to his/her current profession. A success indicator self development in practice is to help the practitioner be successful in his/her professional as well as personal life.

 

Theoretical principles of Self Development school of thought:
It is unavoidable to have some assumptions to lay the foundation of any school of thought, whether it is philosophical, scientific or religious. These principles are a set of believes that answer the most fundamental questions of human beings, and prepare the scholar to find the rest of questions and answers of the human life. These principles in Self Development school of thought are as following :
I. Question of the God:
We believe there are at least three approaches to recognize the God; 1) personal experience, 2) religious or authority, and 3) rational or philosophical approaches.
1. Personal experience: This is the best way to know the God and only through this approach one can reach to a state of conviction in faith. The person can find the God in himself. He can feel the God’s existence and establish emotional relationship with Him such as love and can communicate directly with Him, without any mediator. This type of cognition and experience of the God cannot be taught or transferred to another person, and everyone must experiment it personally to recognize it.
2. Religious approach: As the personal experience is limited only for few people and everyone cannot or will not try to experiment it, so the God has introduced Himself always through the teachings of His messengers (prophets) to us. The teachings of each prophet is basically introduction of some qualities or attributes of the God, which based on those the rest of principles of the religion is set. In Islam, for example, we believe that “Allah is One; All things depend on Him; He begot not, and He is not begotten; And there is none like unto Him”. Also we believe that during this life we do not have the cognition capacity to understand the essence of the God and we know Him only through His qualities and attributes – those which He has described for Himself.
3. Rational or philosophical approach: We can know the God through the rational study of the creation too. This understanding is more philosophical and needs to be joined with one or both of above-mentioned approaches to influence the beliefs and deeds of people. Through this approach we know that the God is the final cause, omnipotent, omniscient, all just, and all merciful.
II. The questions of creation and universe:
1. What is the overall purpose of creation? The God has decided to reveal His potentials that are in His spirit and the universe is a small part of that potential that is disclosed. Mohamad (Peace Be Upon Him) quoted from Allah, in Hadith Qudsi: “I was a hidden treasure and I longed to be known, so I created both worlds, the visible and the invisible, in order that My hidden treasure of generosity and lovingkindness would be known." 
2. Soul and matter: They are not two different things, but are the same truth. Soul is the all potentials which has not been actualized fully, and matter is the actualized part of it. If we notice to its overall existence and potentials, we use the word “soul” but when we mean the actualized part, which we can understand it or observe it through our senses, we use the word “matter”. According to Dr. Iqbal, “matter is the habit of soul”. It is in fact the essence and main part of existence of anything we can see, hear, touch, or know. If the matter has self awareness and can communicate, will explain this fact that we see or understand only a small part of the truth of it, and the main part is within it. As a human being we all know this fact and understand fully that we are not developed fully or nobody can understand our all potentials. The people outside us see and understand only a small part of us, even we cannot understand ourselves fully. We know that the main part of our existing is within ourselves and we try in all our life to actualize it and make it comprehensible. According to the overall purpose of the creation that we mentioned above, soul will reveal its potentials completely in a gradual manner. So the world of matter is getting to increase not only in size and quantity, but in its complexity and quality.
Here we understand the meaning of the phrase “Allah o Akbar” (the God is great). When we say the God is great, it should not guide us to thinking about the greatness of the space and the hugeness of universe. As the space and universe with its all enormity still is limited and a small part of the truth. On the other hand if we think of greatness of the God as the spatial infinity, indirectly we believe in the existence of another vacuum in which the God and the universe both are placed but the God is more enormous than the universe, which is not true and acceptable in any theological or rational thought and there is no any scientific or rational support for existing of such vacuum. But if we believe that the matter is the habit or just a dimension of soul, which is belongs to the God, then we understand that this soul is not separated from the universe and it is in fact within its heart as the essence of its existence. So here we understand that the greatness is within, not outside. The God is in our heart, not far from us. Here we understand the meaning of this verse that Mohamad (PBUH) quoted from Allah: “The heavens and the earth cannot contain Me; only the heart of My faithful servant can contain Me”. Or we understand the real meaning of this verse from Allah in Holly Quran: “He understands the secret of the earth and the heavens and knows what you reveal or cover as Allah is aware of the secret of hearts.”
3. Cognition and knowledge about the world: Human who is in one hand part of the universe and on the other hand has an essential relationship with it, attain two achievements by knowing the world. First by revealing the secrets from the world, which is in-line with the overall purpose of the creation, and second by removing the shade of ignorance from his own awareness ability actualize one of his important potentials. So according to self development school of thought, human knowledge whether it is acquired through observation and experiment, or through rational and logical process, or through intuition and personal experience is a valuable achievement. To know and reveal awareness is in-line with the purpose of creation and any effort toward knowing is admirable step.
4. Time and space: These are the characteristics of the matter. From self development point of view, there is no a vacuum, in which the matter located. Also there is no an infinite time as a line that events come and locate in it by sequence. Both time and space are the characteristics of matter which we know them through our cognition ability and self awareness. Soul creates matter through its creative and purposive action. Time and space come as the two characteristics of the matter. There is no a deterministic time in the future, and what is known as future is one of the infinite options that comes out of the creative action of soul. So with this knowledge we conclude that foreseeing the future as the only deterministic result of now, is impossible. But as we can create the future by our creative, purposive and free choice. By having the abilities of awareness, and free will, we actualize one of the possibilities and then explain it through rational and cause-effect phenomena.
5. Creative movement and continuation of creation: so moving toward future is a creative movement, though it is not simply exact execution of a pre-determined plan. Each movement is unique and creates something which is new. The God is creating this universe actively and His creativity is not following exactly a pre-determined plan, but is result of His free-will and creative power. We as human being in line with the will of God do the same. The history of human society, and human development process are the examples of this creative movement.
III. The question of Self:
1. Human is representative of God on the earth: Self is the essential part of our existence, it is the spirit which the God has inspired to us and is the cause of creation and actualization of the worlds. The Islamic scholars (Arefan) called it “Del" meaning heart, which is representing the deepest part and the most real part of all creature’s existence. That part which the hidden treasure is in it and all the potentials exist in it. Any creature who reaches to a certain level of self awareness knows this truth well. As far as we know among all, the human being has this capacity and therefore is the God has given him the title of best of all creatures. By having the ability of self awareness and the ability of critical creativity has been chosen as the representative of God, and this is a great responsibility on the other hand.
2. Continues development of self: Creation is in process and for the purpose of this self awareness will continue. Human being is in the front line of this movement and his development will continue even after death. This life is not enough for full development of self, so there is need for other life as well to give the human being to develop more till become complete. Therefore death is not the end of this journey but is a border between two types of life, and human being continue his life and efforts for the sake of full self awareness and self actualization, till all the potentials of that hidden treasury is discovered and actualized. The paradise, hill and Barzakh are the phases that help human being to reach his goal.
3. Relationship of human being with God:
The God has introduced Himself close to to us, and says: “I am close to you and accept your request and prayer, whenever you ask me, and develop your faith on me.” Nobody else can be closer to us than the God, and we cannot measure this closeness as He says: “we are close to you more than your jugular vien.” So the best way to find Him and decrease our distance to Him is through focusing on our hearts. As the Prophet told us on behalf of Allah: "The heavens and the earth cannot contain Me; only the heart of My faithful servant can contain Me". And this heart is not the material part of our blood circular system, but it means our deepest part of existence, the spirit which caused us to become exist or in our words, the self. That is why the prophet told us: “whoever know himself, knows the God”.
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