self-improvement | the Wakefield Doctrine

Reprint Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

October 28, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

How weird is it to read something you wrote say, five or seven years ago, and think, ‘Good job with the Doctrine post, younger clark.’

Yeah, by local standards, that’s only semi-weird. The truth be told, while I’m always slightly on edge about my earlier style, I was relieved in today’s reprint to see that the Everything Rule was there, back in 2014. (I don’t think I knew the name of the rule yet, but the principle was.)

So lets travel back to October 31, 2014. A simpler time. We were all five can-you-believe-it? years younger and not a care in the world! I believe I had yet to start writing Almira. Thanks zoe and Kerry! Both for zoe’s bloghop for which I wrote a six sentence story that, somehow, contained the whole of the story and for Kerry’s encouragement to continue the story.

Lets see what was top of mind at the Wakefield Doctrine in 2014

Welcome to… (sorry do your own scary, radio voice-over audio here) Velcome to ze Vakefield Doctrine… (the spookiest, most useful and fun theory of creepy-clarks, scary scotts and… and regulatory! rogers!)

Yeah, I’m kinda surprised too. How I got through the last 4 years without a Post on the topic of Halloween is totally beyond me. I’ll bet I mentioned it, (Halloween), on a number of occasions, if for no other reason than Halloween is one of the Big Three ( holiday celebrations), and marks the end of Summer! In any event, all that changes today!

hey! here’s a disquieting surprise! I was about to do a bullet-point listing of Halloween and the three personality types (knowing that this is a clarklike holiday) and I thought to check Wikipedia for a reference, or at very least a good image (I’m a Contributing Member of Wikipedia, so I’m comfortable using ‘our’ images*)… and my stomach turned at what I read.

…this (my reaction to my anticipation of the Reader’s reaction, is what I’m finding interesting). I’m finally coming to appreciate that most Readers are more advanced in their understanding of the principles and application of the Doctrine.** …anyway I thought, “man! I don’t have to even have to explain what it is about this citation that makes me feel…. (something: not pleasant, but more on the wistfully regretful, rather than scared or outraged). Weird, huh?

Screw this reflectioning, here’s the citation from Wikipedia:

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. Jack-o’-lanterns are traditionally carried by guisers on All Hallows’ Eve in order to frighten evil spirits. There is a popular Irish Christian folktale associated with the jack-o’-lantern, which in lore, is said to represent a “soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and hell”:

On route home after a night’s drinking, Jack encounters the Devil and tricks him into climbing a tree. A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.

(neither the hell (waiting for the scotts) nor the heaven (of the rogers) awww…. poor clark)

Halloween:

clarks see opportunity but are limited by their capacity to trust the costume

scotts see fun but are limited by the restriction of custom… vandalism is out of favor, organized marches through neighborhood streets are de rigueur what kind of fun is that?!

rogers see celebration, but their fun is to be standing inside the door, when the participants come marching up the driveway

(let me know if anyone is up to a vidchat…. I know most will be busy.)

* hey zoe!! …Lizzi Kristi! …is this rogerian enough?

** a variation on a cool old saying… (to paraphrase: when the students are adept, the teacher must learn)

from this week’s listening to old songs:

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: personality types, psychology of personality, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘tell me one, immediately useful thing this Doctrine can do for me and I’ll Comment.’

July 29, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

I have, for reasons un-examined, come to think of Monday as Cynthia’s Substitute Class Day. (You remember. The substitute teacher, (short-term substitute, not long-term; there is a total difference between the two, the former a clark or a scott, the latter a Roger), would start the class by saying that she/he would pick up where the regular teacher left off, and then ask the class where that was.)

Cast your mind back to, say, either the third or the sixth or, if you’ve done your reading, tenth grade. All three stages in your school life will serve quite nicely. So when the substitute teacher asks, the responses from your class were as follows: the first two from rogers, the third, a scott and the fourth and fifth, a collaboration between a clark and a scott.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Let’s listen to music while the more fastidious among us (no, not a bad thing, roger, not a bad thing). The selection today is inspired by Phyllis from an early morning conversation.

Alright, back?

The most useful thing to be derived from an understanding of the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine:

We, all of us, live in a world, experience a reality, that is, to a small but significant degree, personal. Nothing exotic, psychotic or otherwise weird. Simply personal. (Here, try this: you and I are standing on the sidewalk across the street from a popular local restaurant. It is the beginning of lunch hour and the restaurant is already crowded. Just as I’m about to say something about personal reality, we hear a voice. It is an acquaintance of both of us. Their tone is one of surprise. Neither of us believe that quality. I smile. You laugh.) In the scenario in parentheses all three people see the same restaurant. All three experience the ‘lets go have lunch’ quite differently.

That is half of the ‘immediately useful’ thing.

The other half is that we all experience the world from one of three perspectives, that of:

the Outsider(clark)
the Predator(scott)
the Herd Member(roger)

The nature and character of the three predominant worldviews is distinctive and different. Understanding all three will allow you to gain a sense of how the three luncheonnaires above are experiencing the prospect of crossing the street.

Learn the worldviews and you will be in a position to know the other person better than they know themselves. All of what you need to learn is in this site. Maybe next post we’ll consider the nature of the three worldviews.

Miz Cynthia!!! Miz Cynthia!!! I know! I know where the teacher left off!!!

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: predicting human behavior, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine, three personality types

Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

June 24, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Just so no one forgets how ambitious this here blog here is, consider this: while I recognize the benefit of writing posts more frequently, I don’t always have a theme. Which is in contrast to the first years when I wrote a post every day. The value and utility of the insights afforded by our little personality theory should not be underestimated. That being said, I had to laugh (soundlessly and to myself*) when I thought, “What can I write that will make a difference in the Reader’s day today?”

With no further ado, lets consider the following: ‘we live in a world of echoes.’

No! Wait! Don’t go! It’s not going be all secret meaning, mysterious utterances. This is a Doctrine post. Ain’t nothin mysterious about it.

…much.

The only article of faith necessary to enjoying the benefits of the Wakefield Doctrine is to allow that we, all of us, live, to a certain extent in a reality that is personal. As distinguished from the everyday reality that binds us (totally, in all senses of that word) to everyone else. This personal reality is the difference between the outside and the inside, experientially-speaking.

Example: you and I stand on the sidewalk across from a restaurant, could be a Four Star eatery, or Donovan Dining Hall at Rhode Island College. We both stare at the building as streams of pedestrians/students, on their way to work/class, flow past us like a river of possibilities. What we both see is the same. What we experience is not. This second is the realm of personal reality. It is as real as anything to us, you just can’t prove it. Hence the need for faith.

If you are willing to take the chance** then the Wakefield Doctrine says,

We’re all born with the potential to experience the world in one of three characteristic ways: as would the Outsider, the Predator or the Herd Member. At an early age we settle into one of these and it becomes our reality. Being very young, our primary efforts are to find ways to interact, resist, cooperate and otherwise negotiate with the world and its people that surrounds us. Our ‘personality types’ are simply a label for the most appropriate style, based on the nature of the world we encounter.

the Outsider(clarks) realize immediately that they are not only different, they are not included in the world shared by everyone around them. They learn to blend in to the background, the better to observe those who apparently know something that they do not. This curiosity is not idle, it is critical. If the clark missed a lesson that others obviously learned, then either they were excluded or they were unforgivably absent. Neither is something they want to advertise and both are reasons to devote most of their lives to learning whatever they don’t already know. clarks think.
the Predator(scotts) start moving as soon as the lights come on because, in the world of the predator, it is all about eating or being eaten. They notice everything in the world around them that is important and necessary. If it moves away, chase it. If it moves towards you, run or stand and fight. The world is full of life and conflict, which kinda are one of the same. To live is to be in motion. scotts act.
the Herd Member(rogers) feel at home, even among strangers because the world is complete. What it is is all that it is. They have the feeling that while there are many things to be learned in life, there is a Right Way to do things. They see the world and feel a part of it. Even the bad things are connected, and, provided they are allowed the time and resources, they will learn the Right Way to do things and show others what they have learned. It’s important, because in a Herd, there is no center. However, there are always others surrounding them. The only Good is to influence as many in the Herd as possible. rogers feel.

That is about all we have time for today.

…that echo thing? You know what it warns against.

Remember, the Wakefield Doctrine is not an answer, it is one more perspective on the world and the people in it. The more that we can appreciate how the other person is experiencing the world, the more effectively we can relate ourselves to the world around us.

* being a clark, of course, laughter is subject to the old westernized koan ‘If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear, does it make a sound?”

** and if there’s anything in life requires us to risk having to pay the highest of prices, i.e. being wrong about reality, it’s the fact that only through perspective are we able to see beyond our limitations.

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: self-development, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

June 23, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Hosted each week by Kristi, the TToT (‘Ten Things of Thankful’) is not only a contemplation, (and sharing) of gratitude, it is an exercise in perspective. (More on this tantalizing notion down in the list, somewhere around Item 7 or so.)

So, for my Grat List of this last week of Summer:

1) Una

Una reading the riot act to aggressively invasive garden denizen.
(Landscape Orientation)

“I got this”
(Landscape Orientation)

2) Phyllis This is her arboreal lifeforms free-cafeteria (“Why, yes, those are old mailboxes. Whatever else would you use?” lol)

3) Driveway Corn (photo to follow at end of day. Need to do some judicious grass cutting.)

4) the Wakefield Doctrine. Continues to be the basis for virtually all changes (of a positive nature) and survival of changes (of the negative sort). Such as life seems to persist in throwing in the path. I mean, seriously, at this stage of the game, we should have a clear vision of the remaining walkway. God knows, even if we don’t always pay complete attention, we surely must remember how wide and level it is at any point. Experience has (or should have) taught us that deviations, while sometimes threatening and always inconvenient, have little power over the pace we keep.

Anyway, the Wakefield Doctrine is a tool and a fun way to look at life and the people that make it up.

5) Saturday Night Call-in. still running after all these years* Every Saturday evening (I have one of those conference call apps) and wait on the line for people to call in and ask about the Wakefield Doctrine, (the invitation and the number is on the upper righthand side of the homepage). Can’t miss it. Anyway it’s fun. Cynthia calls in as does Alex & Denise. Last night we got a call from the progenitor roger (the one to the far left in the clarkscottroger photo that appears most everywhere). Enjoyable conversation. You should call in next Saturday 8:00 to 8:45 EDST (1-218-339-0422 access code: 512103#)

6) The Case of the Missing Starr. So, we know that I’m always trying to improve my writing skills. The only sure way I know of is to keep writing. As much as possible. Sometimes current projects lose some of their energy and languish in the draft folder. For reason poorly understood, I decided to create a page in the Wakefield Doctrine Facebook page and start a serialized story. If you’re in the Facebook and did not receive an invitation to ‘Like’ the page, please click on this and like (and follow and such). This is a noir detective story. Should be fun. If you’re not on the Facebook but would like to get each chapter sent to you every Saturday, let me know in comments.

7) Perspective: the foundation of the Wakefield Doctrine. There is more than one way to experience the world. There are three. And they are equally real (for the individual). ipso facto, y’all.

8) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE Stopping by and like what you read but weren’t prepared with, like a full, 10 item list? NP! Just send us one (without attribution as you prefer) and we will totally post it right here.

9) something, something

10) Secret Rule 1.3 “…the near-completion is totally something to be glad of, and, parsing that last clause (or phrase or whatever rhetorical device it represents) means one thing: Valid Item for List of Gratitude. [ibid, op. cit. whathca.no ed. 2009-2019]”

* music vid

(lol…. no, wait let me explain! Not laughing at my choice of music video. I’m laughing at my non-choice of music. Not sure I can explain, (or even understand for myself), the process behind picking a music video to accompany a TToT or Six Sentence Story post. But it remains one of the more satisfying elements of the process.

So, anyway this morning I was all set to use Paul Simon’s ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’. Very catchy melody. But the lyrics. Lets just say… Mr. Simon is so a roger. And still I almost used it but the instrumental bridge, I was ‘ok! catchy melody, sure you’re so crazy but jeez lets keep it simple.’ In any event I decided no.

…so I decided to go to our scottian side.

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

May 26, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Here we are again. Kristi throws open the shutters (though, maybe to keep with the seasonal metaphor) pushes aside the curtains on the bloghop that Lizzi created. Kristi welcomes all to read, write and share any experiences with/of gratitude. (Don’t have to be no doctor with degrees (lol fore-shadowing of the music vid)). In any event, mark your calendars: June 6 2019

1) Phyllis. For providing reminders of things I’ve learned and sometimes forget that I already know.

2) Una. For being a living demonstration of the rightness of some of the things referenced in Item 1

“One paw after the other… can you remember that?”

3) Yardwork^{3A & 3B} The photo at the top of the post is from yesterday at the site of most of my physical and spiritual self-development. There is a brush pile on our property, one edge of which is in the photo with Bella’s wagon. It, (the pile, not Bella’s wagon), is easily 20 years in the making. Most of the woods on our property are pines. Pine trees, as we all know, shed limbs like baggies of pot out the windows of a 1969 VW bus at a traffic stop. In any event, we decided to clean up the woods. Trouble is, brush piles like this one compress over time and one has to dig (with a rake) in order to expose the under layers of rotten tree trunks.^{4^3B}

4) ^3B Exercise So… about the rotten tree trunks that I’m uncovering. Like a personal archeological dig, (“My God, Carruthers! The people who built these brush mounds surely must have dwarfed modern Man, not only in size but in short-sightedness!). I’m stacking the top layers in neat piles for the chipper and pulling cart loads of rotten tree trunks to a section of woods where no one goes. (Yes, I know, clarks don’t always learn their lessons).

5) ^3A Spiritual development. To walk quietly when physically exhausted. (For a clark) surely the next step in spiritual development. The body knows, we need only quiet the mind.

6) The Book-writing process. Defending my doctoral fiction thesis at the University of Stomach Aches, Doubt & Elation.

7) Upcoming anniversation* of this here bloghop hop. See Kristi and the TToT facebook group for details. Speaking of wild-partying, has anyone ‘seen’ Jack? (He gets credit/takes the blame for one of the cooler anniversary past events… the one with ‘Naked Cake’)

8) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE Need a place to publish a single Grat, want to give the group a shoutout but only one, not ten? Here you go.

9) Gotta go with an old standby: technology (in general) computers (in particular). Had to replace the home typing-box. Staying with St. Roger’s Computers and Sundries (Apple). The process has been… interesting. Will save the story for next week’s TToT.

10) Secret Rule 1.3 You know, you made it!

music vid