(continued
on page 8)
(cover
story continued)
contributing to, rather than reducing, American
overseas problems, he developed a new leadership
approach that overcame Ugly Americanism among hundreds
of thousands of people in crucial Third World areas.
Later, his method won commendations for educating
the allegedly uneducable: Mexican-American street-gang
youths in southern California and Native American
teenage dropouts in Canada.
Until
communism's fall, Humphrey kept his new methods
confidential. Those methods are real world and significant.
From his experiences with young infantrymen in heavy
combat, and with the peasants in many villages of
the world, he perceived humankind's basic goodness
that many philosophers have missed or dismissed.
In place of compartmentalized, primarily mental
education, Humphrey developed a human-nature-guided
approach, with a balance of the moral, physical,
artistic, and mental. His company offers money-back
guarantees to solve any education or leadership
problem where leaders agree to implement the total
program.
Call
of the wilds. Joseph Lau at a middle school teaching
primitive wilderness skills.
Discovery of the Balanced, Dual Life Value
It
was during one of his contracts to counteract a
situation of "Ugly Americanism" in an
Asia Minor country in the 1950s that Dr. Humphrey
discovered the Balanced, Dual Life Value, which
he recounted in "The Hunting Story":
"On
weekends, the Americans would form parties to hunt
the wild boar that were destroying many of the villagers'
crops. As a party would arrive in a remote village,
the more curious peasants would crowd up behind
the truck carrying the American hunters.
The
sight of those peasants in the poorer villages was
often depressing. Many of the villages were only
a few miles off of the highways that connected the
larger cities, but they were hundreds of years behind
the cities in economic and cultural development.
When the rains came, the mud spread like wall-to-wall
carpeting in the streets throughout the villages.
As
usual, on this trip, the sight of the ragged, destitute
villagers drew comments from one or another American.
A young airman proclaimed: `Look at them; they are
like a bunch of animals. What have they got to live
for? They might just as well be dead.'
What can anyone say against those comments? They
seemed true enough.
I
sat in chagrined silence, but this day, in response
to those familiar words, the old sergeant drawled
out his answer between spits of tobacco juice. He
said, `You better believe they got something to
live for, Jack. If you doubt it, let me see you
jump down there and try to kill one of them with
your hunting knife. They'll fight you like no one
ever heard of. I have fought beside them in heavy
combat, and I don't know either, why they seem to
value their lives so much. Maybe it's them women
in them pantaloons, or maybe it's them dirty-faced
kids; whatever it is, they seem to value their lives
just as much as we do ours, even with all our money.
In fact, both in combat, and in freezing prison
camps, they hung in there after a lot of Americans
were yelling quit.'
After the grizzled sergeant spoke, all the whispering
stopped on the truck; everything went silent. I
still recall hearing the villagers' campfire crack
in the sudden stillness of the early morning dusk;
I heard the old sergeant suck and spit. I am sure
my mouth dropped open. I was both embarrassed and
excited. I thought to myself: Good God, he is talking
about the equality of life and all of these rich
Americans are buying it.
I
stashed my rifle in the truck cab and lost interest
in the hunt. I stayed close to the sergeant so I
could talk with him during the stakeout. Two of
my questions brought forth additional deep feelings
and insights.
He
told (or lectured) me that while we were looking
down on those peasants and insulting them, it really
embarrassed him because even though the villagers
didn't speak any English, they understood exactly
what we were saying. They could tell from our tone,
and had given him almost exact translations on previous
occasions when he had stayed with them overnight.
He added, `You know; when we are making fun of them,
they are looking back up at us there on the truck
and saying, `Laugh, you bastards in your fancy clothes,
but we don't care how, sweet you smell, or how rich
you are, or where you come from. We value our lives
and the lives of our loved ones just as much as
you do yours. And if you don't give us that, you
have got to go.'
Joseph
Lau at his Grandmaster's Dojo in Japan.
The Activated, Balanced Dual Life
In
Humphrey's story, it is obvious that the life value
has not been activated in the soldiers to begin
with because of their references to the villagers
as being dirty, disgusting, sub-human and having
"lives not worth living." The life value
is then activated within the soldiers when the sergeant
chastises them because of their condemnation of
the villagers' primitive living conditions as equating
to an "unworthiness to live." The sergeant
tells them of his seasoned battle and prisoner of
war experiences with the villagers mid how the local
people have shown many times a stronger "spirit
of fighting for life" than even some Americans.
Here, the sergeant also makes a point to mention
that the villagers care for their loved ones "just
as we do ours." This was an important part
in Humphrey's discovery of the life value and reveals
a key source in Humphrey's proven ability to stop
conflicts.
Through
research and observation, Humphrey's found this
life value present in every culture and people that
he encountered around the world. While universal,
it is also obvious-when asked, everyone values his
or her own life and the lives of his or her loved
ones above all else. Yet realizing how this fundamental
human principle is activated in our lives is difficult
because it is a dual value! It is both a self-preserving
value and a species-preserving value. Humphrey later
called one's feeling of self-preservation "Natural
Rights," and he called the species preservation
side of human nature "Natural Duties."
But we sometimes see an individual save him or herself
while others perish; yet we also hear of people
who give up their own lives for others, even strangers.
There is a third piece that helps resolve this puzzle.
The
life value is controlled by a third factor that
brings balance between Natural Rights and Natural
Duties: human reasoning. Reason directs decision-making
when a person is forced with the choice of self-preservation
or species preservation. If you had to run into
a burning building to save lives, and there were
two people in one room and six people in the other,
and you could only save the people in just one room,
which would you choose? Maybe the room with two
people because one of those two people was your
sister. While most of us will never be directly
faced with such a horrendous choice, this scenario
reveals how the dual-life value is activated in
every individual.
Life
Value as a Natural Law
In
order for something to actually be labeled as a
"law" it must have a reward and penalty
system in place. Webster's Dictionary describes
Natural Law as rules of conduct supposedly inherent
in the relations between human beings and discoverable
by reason; based upon man's innate moral sense.
The problem with "Natural Law" is there
are no courts, judges or juries, so how can there
be rewards and penalties? One needs to remember
that "natural" law is not a law created
by the human race such as stopping at a red light.
It is a system that is universal mid considered
a law of nature. There are rewards and penalties
from natural laws and they can be found both in
the internal world of human nature and the external
environment of Mother Nature.
Human
nature carries an internal or "psychic"
reward and penalty system that affects every one
of us mentally and emotionally to varying degrees.
To a person who has activated the dual life values,
this reward and penalty system is as powerful and
inescapable as the force of gravity I only need
to simply remind one of how good it "feels"
to help someone, and how horrible it "feels"
to have wronged someone. When a psychopath or cold-blooded
killer strikes, we are reminded of someone who has
lost his humanity. These are senseless crimes, because
with respect to the Natural Law, to morality or
dual-life value, these actions make no sense.
Mother
Nature applies rewards mid penalties in an obvious
and unforgiving, yet universal way. If you fail
to keep yourself properly sheltered, with enough
water and food, you will die. The reward to following
these Laws of Nature is to live and the penalty
is death.
Natural
Law is very hard to pin down as well because it
is "formless," something that the human
race has an extremely hard time understanding. However,
all native cultures recognize mid work environmentally
within the realm of these universal principles.
Humphrey's weapon against the ignorance of prejudice,
bigotry; cross-cultural conflict and violence was
his Natural Law Equation:
Natural
Law + Environmental Difference = Cultural/Genetic
Difference
Where, Natural law is the universal yet formless,
life value Environmental Difference is a variable
form Cultural/Genetic Difference is a variable form
that contains the underlying formless life value.
Let's
take a simple example. People from a culture who
wear certain clothing may scorn or ridicule those
of another culture who may wear other clothing or
even fewer clothes. Using the
(continued on page 14)
(cover
story continued)
Natural Law equation, and working backwards from
the cultural difference, we may find:
Life's
Body Temperature + Extreme Cold = Move and Heavy
Clothing
Life's Body Temperature + Extreme Heat = Less and
Light Clothing
Choosing
one environmental difference such as external temperature
may help us discover the underlying, universal,
life value, which in this case is Life's Body Temperature.
There will likely be other environmental differences
such as abundance of natural resources, elevation,
types of animal and plant life, geography, availability
of clean water, and numerous other things that could
lead us to the same universal life value but will
manifest in different cultural/genetic differences.
But, once one understands and can explain to others
in a n emotionally powerful way how our cultural
and genetic life-protecting differences can be comprehended
via the Natural Law, this is most likely one of
the world's greatest peacemaking tools. Humphrey
used this knowledge as an effective tool around
the world in impossible situations that included
ruthless violence and seemingly meaningless destruction.
The
Four Natural Duty Roles
Based
on extensive research from around the globe, Dr.
Humphrey found that the species preserving aspect
of human nature is stronger than the self-preservation
aspect. He based this statement mainly from his
first-hand experiences at Iwo Jima, the U.S. Marines'
bloodiest battle of World War II. He saw men, when
they believed it was their turn, volunteer for the
next (suicide) mission as casually as if they where
going out to get a cup of coffee for everyone.
Even though it likely meant sacrificing one's own
life, those men who believed it was their turn KNEW
that they were the individuals qualified with the
possible knowledge, skill and experience necessary
to complete those life-and-death assignments. This
can be a rather difficult environment to comprehend
unless you are a war veteran, but even "normal"
everyday life has its similarities.
Depending on how much work-life experience you have,
you might have seen this phenomenon occur. Maybe
people in your organization used to do certain "little
duties" that just made the work "flow"
better, but they ended up leaving. Then without
even really realizing it or being asked, someone
or even you might have started to take over those
little duties! Why? How is it that someone "feels"
the need to take over those aspects in order to
help the work situations of everyone? Dr. Humphrey
labeled these "feelings of duty to others"
as Natural Duties.
Performing Natural Duties is a powerful way to activate
the dual-life values in everyday life. After 15
years of study in primitive, native and wilderness
skills; martial arts and medical training, I have
clarified four main "duty roles" that
have always existed in the human societal species.
I call them, for ease in memorization, the Preserver,
Protector, Provider and Perceiver. These Natural
Duty Roles have physically manifested and can be
seen in all cultures around the world. This should
be a clear scientific observation: that because
these roles arise from quite obvious life needs,
then theoretically they spring from universal principles.
The
Preserver
I
call the Healer's duty role, the Preserver, a preserver
of life. Herbalists, medicine people arid shaman
performed these roles traditionally. Medical personnel
and therapists now perform these same roles in modern
times. The role of the Healer is to understand the
"natural laws" that the body needs to
"obey" in order to keep functioning properly.
The Healer also needs to be able to practice the
skills necessary for helping somebody's ability
to obey these laws. Not that everyone needs to be
a doctor, but everyone should be yell aware of local
hospitals, emergency numbers, and basic fast aid
knowledge. If you truly care about the people you
are around on a constant basis, both at work aid
at home, you will train in the preserver role. A
life threatening emergency is not the time to go
looking for telephone numbers or to read a book
to assess someone's condition.
The
Protector
I
call the Warrior's duty-role, the Protector, a protector
of life. The definition of "warrior" used
here is not the same as the one used for a mercenary
A warrior is one who defends the lives of others
(with his or her own life.) The vocation of warrior
is one who defends other people from other people.
(This is different than a fireman who saves others
from a fire.) The primitive warrior society was
a necessary role in the security of tribal cultures.
Today, we have the military and police as their
modern counterparts. The importance of this duty
is to not "repel" everyone you come in
contact with. People should instead feel "attracted"
to the aura of safety you bring. How do people feel
about you at work when conflict arises? Do you remain
silent, avoid, hide or lash out aggressively? Do
you ever train on skills that can assure protection,
of yourself and
your own group as well as those who are the aggressors?
The
Provider
I
call the Hunter/Gatherer's duty-role, the Provider,
a provider of life. Traditionally, men were always
scrutinized as to how good of a "provider"
they were before even being considered for matchmaking.
Today that goes for both men and women. Whether
it is
Maybe
people in your organization used to do certain "little
duties" that just made the work 'flow"
better, but they ended up leaving. Then without
even really realizing it or being asked, someone
or even you might have started to take over those
little duties!
shelter,
water, fire or food, how well can you sustain your
family for the rest of their lives until they themselves
are ready to do the same? We can see this role readily
in the modern day era, in the world of business
and commerce. How much training do you maintain
to keep advancing your ability to succeed in your
line of work?
The
Perceiver
I
call the Scout's duty-role, the Perceiver, a perceiver
of life. The traditional Scout was a critically
important duty-role. The Scout had the responsibility
to be the eyes and ears of the tribe. The information
gathered by the Scout was life preserving. Information
was collected about the migration of hunting game,
edible plants, water sources, and especially potential
dangers such as enemy tribes and war parties. The
Scout BECAME the message. If the Scout did not make
it back to the tribe, the people might perish. Information
gathering today has become very easy in some ways.
Through the Internet, computer technology and the
media we are awash in data. Yet we can fail to adapt
and grow by taking action on information. Thus an
organization could end up as a video only store
in a DVD world.
An Apache elder who was a Hunter/Gatherer, Warrior,
Shaman and Scout for his people, who was also very
well traveled, found in the course of his teaching,
the Seven Honors. In performing our daily roles
as Preserver, Protector, Provider and Perceiver,
we can rely upon the Seven Honors as criteria for
evaluating our preparation for the long-term sustainability
of future generations. They are the "roles
between the roles" and provide for the transmission
of true knowledge based on real experience.
The
Seven Honors
The
Seven Honors have been extremely important in my
ability to be an effective transmitter of knowledge.
Are
you ready?
The
dual life values represent a universal value that
can be found in all cultures and peoples. By activating
the dual-life values within oneself, and in others,
you will find a proven solution to some of the most
vexing and difficult problems in life.
Don't
wait for either a traumatic life experience or adversity.
Instead, activate the dual-life values daily by
training, preparing and performing the Natural-Duty
Roles. These Natural Duty-Roles are not only noble
and honorable, but a benefit to one's own happiness.
Dr. Humphrey believed the Duties are important to
one's own personal (mental) health. Are you a "survivor"
or a "hero?" A "survivor" saves
himself, a "hero" saves others. What are
the attributes of the role model in your field that
you admire? Some day; another generation will look
to you as the role model. Will you be ready?
Living
Large
Joe
Lau lives what he writes. Setting an example of
how to activate the dual Life values in day-to-day
living, Lau is constantly training as well as teaching
what he has Learned. As the senior instructor at
the Tom Brown Tracking, Nature and Wilderness Survival
School in New Jersey, Joe passes on survival and
scout skills to thousands of people annually, exemplifying
the role of the provider and the perceiver. As a
certified EMT, Joe trains to be ready to provide
support in case of illness or emergency. To refine
his protector role, he trains and instructs in Bujinkan,
in the tradition of the ninja and the samurai.
The process is simple but takes a lifetime commitment:
to learn well enough to be able to exhibit and defend
the dual-Life values and then to pass this knowledge
on to others. At the 2000 ASQ Annual Quality Congress,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. challenged the audience by
questioning of one's life role: are you a community
builder or a Liquidator seeking personal wealth
at the expense of future generations?
At the 2001 ASQ Annual Quality Congress in Charlotte,
come listen and learn from Joe Lau about how each
of us can become the role model, the hero, the community
builder and the person others Love to be around.
Learn how to build your personal quality from the
inside out as he explains more of this fascinating
and life-enriching knowledge as speaker for the
HDL Division's presentation of Real Skills to Bring
Life Values to Work on Tuesday, May 7, at 10 a.m.
Joseph
Lau is the Senior Instructor at the Tom Brown, Jr's
Tracker School; a Shidoshi Instructor at Jack Hoban's
Bujinkan Buyu Dojo; a certified instructor for Dr.
Robert L. Humphrey's Life Values Institute; a certified
and nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician;
and the founder/instructor of Natural Duties. You
can reach Mr. Lau at PO Box 90, Asbury, NJ 088022
or www.NaturalDuties.com.
DIVISION
NEWS
Special Presentation at AQL:
Real Skills to Bring Life Values to Work
HD&L's featured speaker to highlight the natural
duties that activate the Life Values
What
does it take to be the role model, the hero, the
community builder and the person others love to
be around? Joseph Lau, a senior instructor at the
famed Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracking, Nature and
Survival School, will explain the universal values
held by every culture and the roles that can boost
your attitude, advance your leadership, and improve
the quality of your working life. Join us on Tuesday,
May 7, at 10 a.m. for a special HDL Division session
during the Annual Quality Congress in Charlotte.
Lau's
presentation, "Real Skills to Bring Life Values
to Work," will focus on applying Life Values
in the workplace. Life Values, formulated by one
of his mentors, Dr. Robert L. Humphrey (1919-1997),
proved effective in overcoming Ugly Americanism,
connecting U.S. and Southern Vietnamese forces during
Vietnam and creating new approaches to educating
youth gangs. The Life Values theory helped create
better human relations in situations where bad relations
were interfering with or preventing the accomplishment
of a mission of strategic significance.
Based
on his interaction with Humphrey, years of training
in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu martial arts and in-depth
research and practice as a senior instructor at
the Tom Brown School, Lau has created a process
of activating the Life Values through the Natural
Duties of Provider, Perceiver, Protector and Preserver.
Join us for a fascinating discussion and demonstration
of life-critical roles that can help you set a meaningful
example, transfer values and leave a legacy at work
and in life beyond the quarterly financials.
For
more information, contact A.J. Deeds at ajdeeds@tgd.com
or (810) 629-4976.
