VALENCES AND IDENTITIES

HOW THEY RELATE TO THE GAME SPHERE RUNDOWN

2 APRIL 1996

IDENTITY (noun) 1. A set of characteristics that together comprise a general personality.

Example: a person who wears fireman’s gear, lives at the Fire Station while he is on duty, and fights fires has the identity of a fireman.

Example: a person who uses oil paints, a palette, paint brushes, wears a smock and beret and paints pictures has the identity of an artist.

An identity is a label that designates what a person is.

VALENCE (noun) 1. The set of characteristics of a specific individual, whether real or imagined.

Example: Joe Jones wears fireman’s gear, lives at the fire station while he is on duty, drives a fire truck, and fights fires; he is a fireman. He is also a tall, strong man who is married, likes to Bar-B-Que on the weekends, loves his wife, and so on. All his characteristeristics together comprise his valence. The valence of “Joe Jones” means all the characteristics that together make up who he is. He does have the identity of a fireman but he is also has other identities, such as, “a loving husband, “a person who likes to Bar-B-Que,” “a tall, strong man,” and so on. All these “identities” together comprise who he is; the identity of a “fireman” is only a part of what makes up his whole valence. In this lifetime the name he uses that represents who he is as an individual, his whole valence, is the name “Joe Jones.” There are thousands of firemen but Joe Jones is a unique individual; there is only one of “him,” whether he calls himself “Joe Jones,” or any other name, or no name at all.

Example: Betty Boop is a cartoon character who sings and dances, wears short skirts and says “Boop-boop-EE-doop” a lot. She is an imagined but, nonetheless, specific individual. She is not just any cartoon character; she is the cartoon character known as “Betty Boop;” there may be other characters like her but none exactly like her. In other words, she is a unique individual. Who she is, her valence, is “Betty Boop.”

A valence designates who a person is.
The following are some examples of Valences and their corresponding Identities:

VALENCES (WHO)	IDENTITIES (WHAT)

Elmer Fudd	a famous cartoon character

My sister Nancy	a sharp businesswoman

Mother Teresa	a Saint

Bruce Springsteen	a well-known Rock-n-Roll Star

Referencing the above list of examples, notice that, while the valence is fairly well “fixed,” the identity could be whatever one said it was, or called it, so to speak. For example, who Elmer Fudd is - is Elmer Fudd. Period. Not much room for debate. But if one asks what Elmer Fudd is, one could come up with any one of the following answers, (or any other answer): “a famous cartoon character;” “a bald hunter who stutters a lot;” “a person who is easily fooled;” “someone with a speech impediment.”

One can see that, when assigning an identity to a valence, the answer is purely subjective; in other words, it comes out of the person’s own memories or experience. There are any number of possible answers, and the “correct” one is only correct because the identity relates to some part of the person’s individual experiences in life. Therefore it makes one laugh and produces good indicators. And it does so because in some way, known or unknown, it fits in the person’s frame of reference.

PROTOTYPE (noun) 1. An original type, form, or instance that serves as a model on which later stages are based or judged.  2. An early, typical example. [Greek: prototupon, meaning original model.]

ARCHETYPE: 1. The original model or pattern from which copies are made, or out of which later forms develop; a prototype.  2. A player in a Game Sphere whose characteristics perfectly represent an aspect of the Game.

After one has chosen a Game Sphere and a Theme, one finds “Archetypes” to represent various aspects of that Game and Theme. In all, six different Archetypes will be processed. They are found and addressed one at a time.
Ideally, when looking for an Archetype, one would find an identity, rather than a valence. As an example, let’s say that a person has chosen for his first Game Sphere, “Truth,” and the Theme of the Game Sphere is “Seeking Truth.” When looking for the Archetype, it is better to find an identity rather than a valence. In other words, it would be better to come up with the Archetype, “A Spiritual Master,” rather than to name a specific person, such as “Jesus,” “Buddha,” etc. One is looking for a what, not a who.

The theory behind this is simple: whenever one uses a general personality rather than a specific person, one will automatically clear more charge, as the general personality covers so much more of an area than just one individual person would. Once one says “Jesus,” for example, one is limited to that period in history, that location on the planet, that particular religion, and so on. If one uses a general type of personality, such as, “A Spiritual Master,” then all times, all locations, all religions, etc., are included.

However, when one goes looking for an Archetype, one is drawing on personal experience, so quite often the first thought that comes up concerns a specific individual that one knows, has known, or knows about. One should not discount this answer, just because it is a valence, but rather, use it to find the identity. It is a clue  that will lead to the general identity. As an example, using the Game of “Truth” and the Theme of “Seeking Truth,” one comes up with the Archetype of “Mother Teresa,” a specific person. One can then think about Mother Teresa and describe her to the Clearing Practitioner. This can lead to a general Archetype, such as, “A Nun,” “A Saint,” “A person who loves unconditionally,” “A person who has devoted her life to helping others,” etc. An Archetype does not have to be a one-word or two-word answer; a short description, such as the last two examples, works well also, and can sometimes work even better!

Also, one can convert the valence into an identity by saying, “a Mother Teresa.” If one said, “the Mother Teresa,” then one is referring to a specific person, but if one said, “a Mother Teresa,” one has generalized the personality; one means, “any person who is like Mother Teresa.”

The archetype is a very important aspect of this rundown. When one understands valences, identities and archetypes thoroughly, prior to beginning the Games Sphere Rundown, the process flows easily, and the wins are greatly increased.