The Life Values System – A definition

The Life Values System (LVS) is a system of guiding principles that help you understand people and hopefully get along with them more easily. It shows, without a doubt, that we are all equal. It will help you understand people… what makes them tick, so to speak, and it is especially useful in cross-cultural conflict resolution, which is a long way of saying it helps people get along… no matter where they are coming from.

It is based on the “Dual-Life Value” as presented by Dr. Robert Humphrey in his book, Values for a New Millenium. The book is excellent in its depth, but it requires a good deal of effort to properly understand the meaning of some of the things it talks about. That’s an easy way of saying it is hard to read. Consider it both “academic” and “philosophical,” however, and you will not be disappointed in what it has to say.

Be aware that the LVS is a work in progress. I happened upon it when listening to martial artist Jack Hoban give a “Warrior Ethics” class
for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Jack gives his own description in a short interview with Black Belt Magazine.

Martial arts aside, I have used the Life Values System to help a lot of people understand more about the world around them and the people they encounter. As a Navy Chaplain, I often have to help people with their spiritual journey and, given my position, I sometimes have to do so without reference to necessarily religious material. I often use the LVS because when people hear it, they say, “Wow that makes sense.”

Dr. Humphrey used to explain his Dual-Life Value Theory to GI’s overseas where we (the U.S.) were having some serious problems (countries wanted to kick us out). I use it with people fairly new to the military to help prevent such problems and I normally get feedback along of the lines of:

• “Wow, that really makes sense to me”
• “You put into words what I was feeling deep down”
• “You clarified for me why I actually joined the Marine Corps.”
• “Our Core Values make a lot more sense now.”
• “I am of religion [insert here]. I thought you were just going to preach to us, but you didn’t, and yet I think we all agreed that this was the most awesome class we’ve had.”

Give me a few posts and I think you’ll begin to see why these comments are frequent. Hopefully, you will start to realize that Life Values System in the world around us and develop your own presituational values to help you understand your own world and the people you interact with.

The first dozen or so posts are going to tell a story, so start at the beginning and enjoy!

Hopefully I’ve piqued your interest a bit. Please come back as I hope to update regularly, and I sincerely desire comments and feedback.

Ganbatte,
KermitJr

Next installment of Life Values.