Let me say from the outset that this and recent versions of the “Handbook” have been extensively re-written during 2024-26 to reflect of more overtly “Christian” take on the 1250 steps for living recorded in here.
So why title this volume, “My Living Manual – Systematic Steps Towards Following the Quest of Jesus in Helping to Facilitate God’s Kingdom of “Shalom””?
Let me take each of the terms in this title and sub-title to explain the main concepts that have shaped my thinking and then outline how I plan to present these ideas in this volume.
Applying This Manual To “My” Circumstances.
This book is called “My” Living Manual because the advice in here is essentially for me. These pages form a place where I can collect and order my thoughts on how best to live my life in response to the inspiration or “call” of Jesus of Nazareth to help facilitate “Shalom” or the “Kingdom of God”. I have no intention here of providing anything like a comprehensive manual of advice for most people. I will not touch on topics that are not or have not been a direct part of my own life experience. However, whilst this is a manual for me, if any of the steps listed here prove useful to others on their journeys, I will, of course, be grateful and glad, and that is why I am making this volume freely available for download on the internet and to anyone who wants a copy.
Ensuring This Manual Is A “Living” Document.
This manual is a “living” document in two ways. Firstly, the steps in here are all designed for living – to be practically implemented on a day-by-day basis in my life. Secondly, the manual itself is also “living” in the sense that it will always be changing and evolving. My plan is to continually update the text with better strategies and steps, or new ones based on life’s experiences and insights from fellow travellers. For this reason, I plan for there to be very few, if any printed copies of this title – it is intended to be an online or digital reference that can be revised and republished quickly and easily.
Setting Out The Book As An Instruction “Manual”.
This book is set out as a “manual” because I am one of those strange people who actually enjoys reading instruction manuals. Whenever I get a new device, I like to sit down and go through the instructions on how to use the thing properly, not damage it, make best use of its features or qualities, and ensure it is used to serve my intentions effectively. In a way, that is what I want to do with my life. I want to use my life properly, not damage it, get the most out my life’s features and qualities and ensure it is used to serve the “Divine intention” or quest of Jesus effectively.
Developing Systematic Steps To Maximize Successful Outcomes.
The steps in this manual need to be “systematic” to maximize the chances of them producing successful outcomes. I have always been intrigued by systems and have come to value them greatly. As soon as I find myself doing the same task twice, I find myself thinking of ways that the process could be turned into a system that would make it more effective and efficient to realize a successful outcome. Each systematic step in this manual, whilst being a separate item, is also designed to complement as far as possible the other steps in the book, and form, to the best of my ability, a whole, coherent system for living.
The steps themselves need to be designed to maximize the chances of them being implemented successfully. They need to address what I have listed as the essential conditions for successful change mentioned in Spiritual Pathway, Goal 6 (“Launch Your Creative Quest for Success Into the Unknown World”), and as part of the “Rider, Elephant and Pathway” metaphor outlined in Spiritual Pathway, Goal 1.
Accordingly, there are three different types of steps: “setting up” steps to ensure that the environment in which I operate is conducive to successful outcomes, “creative customs” or easily remembered habits that are repeated regularly to help me live a “good” life or facilitate shalom as defined below, and “reminder” steps which are designed to keep me on the right path or get me back on track when I lose my way. These three kinds of steps can be remembered with the acronym, “SUCCESS”.
S – Setting…
U – Up steps
C – Creative…
C – Custom steps
E – Engaging…
S – Substantiated…
S – Self-talk steps
SETTING UP STEPS
Setting-up steps include setting myself up with and maintaining an “ultimate concern” or vision and set of goals to provide me with a clear destination or direction in which to head – so I have a clear sense of purpose and direction in life.
They include setting myself up with an understanding of the key wisdom or essential knowledge of the Divine intention in the areas within which I am working and of the key terms used in those domains.
They include the process of setting up and maintaining an environment that is conducive to effective work including surrounding myself with the most helpful people, support groups, spaces, tools, resources, and organisational systems to keep me on track.
“Setting up” steps also include the setting up of pathways that are as short or as efficient as possible and clear from obstacles.
“Setting up” steps typically start with the words, “Set up …”, or “Understand …”.
CREATIVE CUSTOM STEPS
Creative Customs are small, manageable habits, routines, rituals, and systems related to the achievement of my vision and goals which are all oriented towards facilitating what I understand to be the “Divine intention” of shalom.
By being small and manageable, they save me from being overwhelmed by change.
These types of steps focus on specific behaviours and actions that directly address problems to be solved in helping to facilitate shalom along the pathways of life.
They ideally include “built-in” rewards to keep me motivated along the way.
Customs need to be “creative” in the sense that they combine or bring together my personal skills, interests, experiences, and capacities with the needs of the goals being pursued in my current environment or situation.
Whilst customs are designed to reduce workloads and improve efficiency, they need to be employed consciously.
Creative customs start with the words, “Create a custom of …”.
ENGAGING, SUBSTANTIATED SELF-TALK STEPS.
Engaging, substantiated self-talk steps are reminders I give myself of where I am going, and why I am going there so that I stay on the pathway towards shalom.
Essentially, the reminders will represent what I understand to be the Divine intention in each situation, or what I can do to best enable all things to work together for good.
They may include reminding myself of how others and my future self may benefit from the behaviour – to keep me motivated.
They may include reminding myself of how to avoid obstacles, pitfalls and temptations that could lead me off my path to disaster.
They may be used to remind myself of what to do when I do actually stray from my intended path.
They may include reminders of how to think about the nature of the world and of people so I can make wise decisions about how best to respond in certain situations.
They may involve reassuring myself that I can cope when facing doubts or unexpected barriers.
Wherever possible, these reminders need to be “engaging” by directly engaging my emotions, so that I not only “know” but feel their effect or power.
To the best of my knowledge, the reminders will also be “substantiated” with appropriate, peer-reviewed research.
Engaging, substantiated self-talk steps start with the words, “Remind yourself…”.
Following the Quest of Jesus
Each of the twelve hundred or so steps below is devised to help me to follow the way or “quest” of Jesus of Nazareth who came to this world over two thousand years ago to implement or bring about the “Kingdom of God”, or in other words, the state of “shalom” for human beings on this planet.
Understanding God’s Will or Kingdom Of “Shalom”.
“Shalom” is the word I use to summarize what I understand God “wants” or intends for our world and the life of every being on this planet. God’s will or the Divine intention is that all things work together for the ultimate good of our world, its people, and its creatures. It is a state of “Goodness” known as the “Kingdom of God” where all things are growing towards wholeness or fulfillment and interacting in such a way that all good things thrive. Pursuit of shalom embodies the “Divine Intention”, “God’s Will”, the “Way” of Jesus and the ultimate values that I associate with God, namely goodness, truth, wholeness, love and beauty. It is what Jordan Peterson calls the “highest possible good”, and for me, it is, to use the term made famous by Paul Tillich, my “Ultimate concern”.
I heard about the concept of shalom from the key-note speaker at a Christian education conference in Ballarat, Victoria on April 9th, 1977, and that talk changed my life. Jim Punton, the former Education Officer of the Frontier Youth Trust in the U.K. introduced “shalom” as a Judaeo-Christian word that is usually understood as “peace”, but he said the word means much more than that. Punton explained that shalom is an ordinary Hebrew word for growing towards wholeness or coming to completeness on four interacting levels of human interaction: the personal, inter-personal, community and wider world levels.
In a state of shalom, each of these four levels works in harmony with, and complements the other three levels across time – in the present moment, in the near future and into the distant future to help reduce unnecessary suffering and promote optimal development or growth towards a state of goodness and wholeness for all concerned – a state where all things are working together for good.
Furthermore, in a state of shalom, the various elements or facets within each level, work together for the ultimate good of the whole.
THE PERSONAL LEVEL
At the personal level, shalom refers to a state where the various facets of my life (spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, vocational etc.) are working and developing effectively as separate facets, but also working together for good with all the other facets to help me grow in personal wisdom or in my understanding of God’s will, in gratitude for what I have, and as a result, towards wholeness as an individual. As I grow towards wholeness, I am better able to help facilitate the wholeness of those people around me – in my family, my workplaces and wider community. With the physical facet of my life for example, elements such as effective eating plans, fitness routines, sleeping habits and personal hygiene practices etc. will work together for the good of not just my physical well-being, but ultimately my total well-being and in turn, the well-being of those around me and in my local community – now, and over time.
THE INTER-PERSONAL LEVEL
At the second level of inter-personal relationships, shalom refers to a state where each individual is growing in their ability to enrich their interpersonal relationships with unselfish love, attention, honesty, and forgiveness to help reduce unnecessary suffering and facilitate growth towards wholeness for their family members and close friends. This, in turn, will have positive spin-offs for the wider community and the world into the future.
THE COMMUNITY LEVEL
At the third level of the community, shalom refers to a state where all people in their local area endeavour to unselfishly or sacrificially serve each other with loving sacrifice, diligence, integrity, kindness, compassion, respect, generosity, courage, and humility using their understanding of God’s will along with their expertise, experiences, effects and efforts to help reduce unnecessary suffering and facilitate justice with mercy, freedom, hope, and growth towards wholeness for their fellow citizens. This, in turn, will help to promote honest work practices, transparent, honest, governmental practices and caring, supportive volunteer practices that all work together for the good, and reduced suffering of not only the local community, but the wider world – now, and over time.
THE WIDER-WORLD LEVEL
At the wider world level, shalom refers to a state where each individual as well as nation states strive to better understand and implement the Divine intention for goodness in the wider world and natural environment. This will, in turn, help to reduce suffering and facilitate beauty, balance, harmony, and peace for the ultimate ongoing good of the planet and its nations.
SHALOM IS AN ON-GOING PROCESS
It is best to not think of Shalom as a utopian state that is or will be fully achieved at any specific moment, but rather as a process within which individuals and communities may participate whenever they consciously and even unconsciously orient their lives towards the “good”, the “Divine intention” or God’s will. People start to experience shalom whenever they are on the way towards it.
SHALOM EQUATES TO “GOODNESS” AND “GOD’S WILL”
As indicated above, it is the assumption of this book that shalom is synonymous with both the concept of “goodness” and what is meant in Judaeo/ Christian teachings by “God’s purpose”, “God’s will” or the “Divine Intention”. In St. Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, it seems to me that he describes the state of shalom perfectly when he says, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 – New Revised Standard Version)
Orienting my life towards the Divine intention whilst growing towards personal wholeness and fulfillment would seem to be the essence of goodness on an individual level. To relate to others with honesty, openness and truth would seem to be the absolute best way of relating on an inter-personal level since I am engaging with reality itself. A community based on justice and fairness, freedom and hope would seem to give its inhabitants the best chance of thriving. A world in harmony would seem to be the best kind of world one could imagine since it would be at peace, and its inhabitants would operate in harmony with the natural environment. Ultimately, beings in harmony with the Divine would seem to give themselves the absolute best chance of thriving.
FACILITATING SHALOM IS THE “WAY” OF JESUS
The concept of shalom is found at the very heart of Jesus’ teachings. Many Biblical scholars agree that when Jesus talked about seeking the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” (See Mat 6:33), he was talking about the state of shalom. Jesus’ double commandment to “love God and one another” (John 13:34–35) was essentially to establish God’s Kingdom or reign of Shalom. That reign may be understood as having come into being during first century Palestine for the followers of Jesus, and for those who follow the way of Jesus today. Of course, many of those looking on from first century Palestine to the world of today might struggle to see evidence of the reign of Jesus in our world. That is understandable because the Kingdom of God is not a kingdom based on outward power but one of inner goodness that generates millions of small, often unnoticed acts of loving kindness giving purpose and meaning to the lives of those who follow the Christian quest.
SHALOM EQUATES TO JUNG’S “CHRIST” ARCHETYPE
In psychological terms, the idea of shalom aligns with the concept of “the self”, developed by Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, and described by some of Jung’s followers as the “Christ” archetype. This is the part of the human psyche that seeks wholeness, peace, and balance. Jung also developed the idea of circumambulation where he argued that each human being has a potential future self – everything that one could potentially become – and it manifests itself moment by moment in my life by drawing my attention to things that would help me to, restore balance in my life and develop me optimally – a state I would understand as the state of shalom. As a result, there is a continual circling in my life about who I could be across time, and I keep coming back to this concept and getting closer and closer to my potential future self – i.e., myself in an ongoing state of shalom.
SHALOM IS THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE
Working to implement the Divine intention, the Kingdom of God, or the facilitation of the state of Shalom may helpfully be considered as the ultimate purpose of every human life. Jesus tells the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven, or Shalom, as being like the pearl of great price that should be sought more than anything else (Mat 13:45-46). He also said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “(Mat 6:33) It is the central, unifying quest of every life journey. It also represents what I understand to be the underlying essence and fulfillment of such common quests or phrases as “living a good life”, “striving to be a good or better person”, attempting to live “a life of loving sacrificial service to others”, struggling to “reduce the suffering in the world”, “trying to make the world a better place”, or “aiming to make a positive difference in the world”.
SHALOM IS PURSUED ALONG “PATHWAYS TOWARDS SHALOM”
In this manual, I have so far compiled over twelve hundred objectives or action-based steps to help me facilitate shalom on my life journey. The steps have been collected from books and articles I have read, videos and podcasts I have watched, talks or advice I have heard from wise mentors and from my own interactions with my conscience, the Judaeo-Christian Scriptures, and the Christian Church. The steps are arranged in twelve key areas, or aspects of life that I refer to as “pathways towards shalom”. The pathways can be remembered with the acronym, “SHALOM ADVICE”.
S – Spiritual Pathway
H – Healthy Body Pathway.
A – Affective Well-being Pathway.
L – Learning Pathway.
O – Organizational Pathway.
M – Money Management Pathway.
A – Aesthetic Pathway.
D – Delight and Play Pathway.
V – Vocational Pathway.
I – Inter-Personal Pathway.
C – Community Pathway.
E – Environmental Pathway.
Here is a brief summary of each pathway towards shalom.
S – SPIRITUAL PATHWAY.
The first nine pathways are personal, and of these, the Spiritual pathway is the most important because it provides the motivation and a context for all of the others.
The spiritual aspect of my life has to do with my understanding of who I am as a person and what I believe – particularly what I believe to be most important in life, and what gives me purpose and meaning. It is also about understanding my “spirit” or soul and my relationship with the Divine or God.
Seeking or facilitating shalom on the Spiritual pathway is to travel towards a state of self-understanding, clarification, purpose and meaning by developing what I call my “heroic spirit” – a particular way of thinking about and tackling the challenges of my life as explained above.
Heroic spirit thinking is encapsulated in the twelve goals of the spiritual pathway, and expressed in the development of my personal philosophy of life that will include my own vision and mission statements.
My philosophy will be based on answers to twelve sets of “big” spiritual questions that arise from the twelve goals of the spiritual pathway.
The twelve goals have been based on common tasks, goals or stages found in typical heroic journey stories through the ages – as also explained above.
This pathway challenges the traveller to develop a working understanding of the concepts of God, the Divine intention, and the transcendent value of “goodness” – all necessary to make sense of shalom – where “all things work together for good”.
H – HEALTHY BODY PATHWAY.
Seeking shalom on the healthy body pathway is to travel towards a state of physical well-being where all the systems of my body are working together for good – so that I may be better able to facilitate shalom or the Divine intention.
Physical well-being can also directly affect other aspects of my life like my affective well-being.
A – AFFECTIVE WELL-BEING PATHWAY.
Seeking shalom on the Affective Well-being pathway is to travel towards a state of inner peace, mental health and emotional wellness.
My level of Affective well-being can also have a profound effect on how well I work for shalom in other areas of life.
L – LEARNING PATHWAY.
Seeking shalom on the Learning Pathway is to travel towards a state where I have the capacity to effectively gather, learn, evaluate, produce, and present information to enable me to better facilitate the Divine intention of shalom along the other pathways.
O – ORGANIZATIONAL PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Organizational pathway is to travel towards a state where I can maintain order and work more efficiently and effectively in my day-to-day life – so that I am better able to facilitate the Divine intention or shalom in other areas of life.
M – MONEY MANAGEMENT PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Money Management pathway is to travel towards a state of financial sufficiency so that I may secure the necessary financial resources to facilitate shalom along other pathways of life.
A – AESTHETIC PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Aesthetic pathway is to travel towards a state where I am able to effectively appreciate art and express myself creatively so that I am better able to facilitate shalom in my life. Art can help to provide me with the inner strength and motivation to work for shalom, whilst providing me with a creative outlet that I can use to inspire and assist others on their journeys.
The concept of beauty, at the centre of the aesthetic pathway, is a symbolic embodiment of shalom, wholeness and a state where all things are working together for good.
D – DELIGHT AND PLAY PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Delight and Play pathway is to travel towards a state of sensual rejuvenation and fun whilst avoiding addiction so that I am better able to recreate myself and facilitate shalom, especially when the going gets tough.
V – VOCATIONAL PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Vocational pathway is to travel towards a state of fulfilling and meaningful employment or volunteer work wherever possible directly focussed on helping me to facilitate shalom.
The Vocational pathway is, in one sense, the culmination of all the individual pathways and a crucial component in maintaining an ongoing sense of spiritual meaning, financial sufficiency, and emotional well-being.
I – INTER-PERSONAL PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Inter-Personal pathway is to travel towards a state of honest and loving relationships that will both assist me and support me in my attempts to grow towards and facilitate shalom in other areas.
C – COMMUNITY PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Community pathway is to travel towards a state where I am working honestly for reduced unnecessary suffering, justice, freedom, fairness, good governance and management in my community, my country and ultimately, the world.
E – ENVIRONMENTAL PATHWAY.
Seeking Shalom on the Environmental pathway is to travel towards a state of facilitating environmental harmony and sustainability, where all things work together for the good of the planet.
THE VALUE OF THE “PATHWAYS” METAPHOR
Thinking of each area or dimension of life as a pathway that intersects and interacts with other pathways reminds me that the Divine intention or “working together for good” in one area or pathway of life needs to be considered in relation to other areas or pathways. For example, I might strive to become physically fitter or maintain physical health on the healthy body pathway so that I am better able to work for my spiritual purpose which, at the same time, might help to remove obstacles I face on my emotional or affective well-being pathway etc.
The concept of a pathway also serves as a reminder that upon whatever pathway of shalom I may travel, I am in a state of process, or on a journey towards the state of shalom. I may not successfully or fully arrive at the “state”, but in another sense, I will participate in the state of shalom by simply being on the pathway or journey – and that will provide a sense of fulfillment in itself.
The pathway concept also reminds me that it is quite possible to, and quite likely that I will stray from my current pathway and get “off track” or lose direction from time to time, but the Divine intention or pathway will still be there waiting for me to resume my journey.
The image or symbol of “a pathway” also helps me to make sense of the problems or obstacles I will inevitably face in life. Like obstacles on a pathway, life’s challenges will get in my way and hinder my progress. To successfully facilitate the Divine intention for each life quest, I must negotiate with such obstacles and either remove them, work around them, or work with them.
ULTIMATELY, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE DIVINE INTENTION
I need to emphasize that throughout this manual, whenever I write about facilitating “shalom”, I am essentially talking about my understanding of what it means to implement the Divine intention or God’s will whatever I currently understand that to be. Facilitating shalom is my starting point for identifying what God’s will might be for my life in each moment and situation. When I include, for example, creative customs or habits for implementing some aspect of shalom, I am assuming with the best of my intentions and knowledge that such a habit is a good and efficient way to fulfil God’s will in such a situation. Of course, at certain times, I may feel convinced that another way of behaving may in fact be the Divine intention rather than diligently following the habit. I may, for example, be heading out the door to fulfil my custom of going to church when I receive a message from a friend in need that “calls” me to visit and support them rather than attending church on that day. Every strategy or step in this manual needs to be implemented with this proviso in mind. Attempting to do God’s will or following the Divine intention is my ultimate concern – the various aspects of shalom are good starting points for working out what that might be along the twelve pathways outlined in this book.
My Living Manual 