Value Systems
These varied works are made to provide contrasting perspectives to traditions from great societies which have addressed growth in ways which can be applied practically today. They are the basis for much of our modern global society.
Western Society (Stoicism)
At the core of Stoicism is the belief that humans can attain happiness and live a good life by focusing on the things within their control—namely, their thoughts, attitudes, and actions. Stoics advocate for practicing self-control, cultivating moral virtue, and aligning one’s will with the natural order of the universe.
Dichotomy of Control
Stoics distinguish between things that are within our control (our thoughts, actions, and attitudes) and things that are not (external events and circumstances). They encourage individuals to focus their energy on what they can control and not be disturbed by external factors.
Virtue Ethics
Stoicism places great importance on living a virtuous life, which involves cultivating qualities such as wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. Virtue is seen as the highest good and the key to human flourishing.
Acceptance of Fate
Stoics believe in accepting and embracing the inevitability of change, impermanence, and the uncertainty of life. They advocate for embracing the present moment and adapting to whatever circumstances arise.
Emotional Resilience
Stoics promote emotional resilience and advocate for controlling one’s reactions and judgments. They encourage individuals to cultivate equanimity, maintain a calm and rational mindset, and avoid being overwhelmed by emotions.
Indigenous Perspectives
Indigenous perspectives on personal growth typically take a holistic approach, addressing mental, physical, communal, intergenerational, natural, and spiritual aspects of well-being. Balance and harmony among these dimensions are often essential components of individual growth and flourishing and are often accomplished through strengthening one’s connection with one’s ancestors, natural landscape, and cultural traditions.
Indigenous communities often have a shared history of traumas resulting from colonization, forced assimilation, and cultural genocide. Because of this shared history, Indigenous perspectives on growth often involve processes of healing, resilience, and reclaiming cultural identity in the face of these challenges.
North America
Cree
As per Cree Elder Florence Allen, when individuals lose their connection with nature, they become susceptible to illness. Essentially, healing involves utilizing natural ingredients, with the body metaphorically described as having tiny gaps. When healers aid in recovery, their objective is to identify these gaps and replenish them with medicines sourced from the land (Reconciliation Education).
In today’s modern society, healers may need to utilize more intricate compounds like Chemotherapy or Adderall to fill these gaps, where the natural origins of such medicines may not be immediately evident.
Nevertheless, the concept of viewing the healing process, resilience, and the quest for new treatments for illnesses as an extension of humanity’s relationship with the natural world can serve as a source of inspiration and direction for many.
Latin America
South Asia
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine from present-day India that emphasizes holistic wellness and balance between body, mind, and spirit. It uses personalized treatments including herbs, diet, lifestyle, and therapies to promote health and prevent illness, based on individual constitutions and imbalances of three fundamental energies called doshas: Vata (air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (earth). Rather than developing treatments based on population averages, Ayurveda operates on the assumption that every individual is different and attempts to develop treatments and predict patient response within one’s dosha (Kanojia 2021).
It is relevant to note that most practices associated with Ayurveda have not been tested in modern clinical trials. User discretion is advised.
Dr.Kanojia MD (also known as HealthyGamerGG or Dr.K) is a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist and addiction specialist with an interest in Ayurvedic approaches. You can learn more about Ayurveda accompanied by commentary from a more standard Western medical perspective through his YouTube Channel:
Judaism (Primarily Ashkenaz)
Jewish Wisdom on Being Fully Yourself
- Neurodivergence isn’t a mistake to correct.
- In Jewish thought, difference is often the point the universe intended.
These ideas offer a framework for understanding yourself not as “deficient,” but as intentionally distinct.
Tafkid — Purpose; your specific role in the world. What only you can contribute, in the way only you can.
Ein od milvado — Irreplaceability; literally: “There is none besides.” No one else has your mind, your experiences, or your way of seeing.
Shleimut — Wholeness; living as one integrated self. The refusal to fragment who you are to fit different spaces.
Not Just Permission — Obligation
From Pirkei Avot: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”
You are not merely allowed to build your life your way. You have a responsibility to do so.
Rabbi Zusya taught:
“They will not ask, ‘Why were you not Moses?’ They will ask, ‘Why were you not Zusya?’”
Stop trying to be neurotypical. Be fully, unapologetically you.
The Shift
Stop asking:
“How do I do this the normal,”right” way?”
Start asking:
“What is my way of doing something the way only I could do it?”
What This Means
Your neurodivergence isn’t a bug to fix. It’s a lens, and it’s a contribution.
You are not failing at being neurotypical. You are succeeding at being yourself.
“A halber emes iz amol a gantser lign.” A half-truth is a whole lie.
Living as half of yourself: Masking, shrinking, or conforming, withholds what only you can offer.
The Payoff
When you stop conforming and start living as your full self:
- Work aligns with how your brain actually functions
- Relationships respect your communication and boundaries
- Systems support you instead of draining you
- Your contribution becomes precise, meaningful, and irreplaceable
That is shleimut. Wholeness.
The real question isn’t:
“Why can’t I be normal?”
It’s:
“Who was I meant to become?”
Judaism On Guilt and [Relational] Ethics
Jewish guilt operates differently from guilt in other traditions. As a tradition that does not emphasize conversion and has no clear concept of heaven and hell; ethics do not center the individual, nor does it focus on whether you are individually good or bad, clean or tainted, forgiven or condemned. It is about the fabric around you that sets the context.
You Are a Node, Not the Protagonist
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of Jewish relational ethics is this: You are not the main character of your own moral story.
You exist in a web of obligations: To family, to community, to the stranger, to the dead, to those not yet born. Any harm you cause ripples outward in ways you cannot fully track. The repair you make ripples outward in ways you may never see.
Your job is not to feel sufficiently bad. Your job is to keep weaving.
Honesty Works Differently
“A halber emes iz a gantser lign” — A half truth is a whole lie.*
This ancient Yiddish principle, rooted in Talmudic ethics, reflects the Jewish emphasis on relational integrity over self-protection.
Withholding information is not considered neutral in Judaism. Partial truth distorts the fabric between people just as surely as outright deception.
This creates genuine ethical tension: Sometimes full disclosure causes more harm than it prevents. But the discomfort of carrying what you cannot share is not treated as unjust; it is simply the weight of living in relation to others.
In Judaism one does not get to transfer that weight to someone else simply because it is heavy for you.
Harm Is The Tear, Not the Feeling
In Jewish ethics, when harm occurs, the relevant question is not “How do I feel about what I did?” but “What tore, and can it be repaired?”
Feeling Guilty Is Irrelevant
Your guilt, your suffering, your shame… is beside the point. It doesn’t count toward anything because there is no salvation. The tear in the relationship, the community, the trust between people, exists whether you feel bad or not.
The obligation to repair exists whether you feel bad or not.
Weaving Tears
This is why Jewish guilt can feel heavier than guilt in other systems: It doesn’t give you the comfort of your suffering being meaningful.
In Judaism pain is not penance, nor is repair glorified as heroic. Guilt is just a human byproduct of what’s happening to you while the actual problem exists outside of you.
Teshuvah is About Return, Not Absolution
The Hebrew word for repentance, Teshuvah, literally means “return”.
It is not about being forgiven, it is about turning back to the impact you’ve had and making those relationships right.
Teshuvah Requires:
1. Acknowledging the harm (not just feeling bad about it) 2. Making direct repair where possible 3. Committing to act differently when the same situation arises again 4. Demonstrating that change through action, not declaration
In Judaism there is no confession to a priest that wipes the slate clean. There is no prize for doing the repair There is only the responsibility to mend and engage in the ongoing work of weaving more carefully.
What This Means
Jewish guilt does not ask: “Am I a bad person?”
It asks: “Did I harm the fabric, and what am I doing about it?”
This is harder than self-focused guilt because it removes the narrative satisfaction of sin and redemption. You don’t get to be the sinner who was forgiven. You just get the obligation to do better, knowing that some tears cannot be fully mended.
The payoff is not feeling clean. The payoff is relationships and communities that hold because people kept showing up to repair them. That is the work Maimonides (n.d.).
Persian Society
Sufism (Persia)
Sufism is a mystical and spiritual dimension of Islam. Sufi, صوفی, works are written in the form of poetry, and the pedagogical verses are designed to grow the student into an enlightened adult (master). It is by nature fluid and esoteric, difficult to pin down. Progress is grown from one’s relationship with God’s intentions, far from what a Western individualist tradition would intend.
Sufism is extremely cohesive and is not meant to be interpreted through literal, analytical, traditions of interpretation. Progress is made to be felt and transformed, rather than acted out.
Recommended Works
- The Conference of the Birds by Fariduddin Attar
- Takes you through wisdom by state. You seek guidance and start at the beginning, working your way through. The first book prepares you for the consequent chapters; supposedly the real teaching does not actually start until the second book.
- The Masnavi by Rumi
- Swallowing the Sun by Rumi
Qasida
A strict literary tradition with roots in Arab society. The pedagogical texts often have clear messages and structure. They are less esoteric than, for example, Sufi works and can be analyzed through analytical traditions.
Recommended Works
- Gulstaan by S’aadi Shirazi
- Takes you through wisdom by topic
References
- Reconciliation Education (2024). Colonial Lens. Four Seasons of Reconciliation: Additional Modules. [Training Video]
** Sections of this page have been rephrased with assistance from, but not authored by, ChatGPT.