Revere, Massachusetts – Admittedly, completing a Moral Inventory is a daunting task, which is a huge hurdle for those in 12-step programs attempting to complete Step 4. Indie developer James Hollender’s Life Inventory apps guide users, step-by-step in completing their own Moral Inventory, which can provide greater self-understanding of personality, strengths and weaknesses leading to a better quality of life. These apps, one for the iPad and another for the iPhone or iPod touch, allow the user to learn more about themselves than ever thought possible and at only a small fraction the cost of a single visit to a therapist.

Most everyone has heard the phrase, “Know Thyself”, but what does it mean? To begin with, to “know thyself” means you must become conscious of your thoughts, your likes and dislikes, your prejudices, habits, memories, etc., because the more you understand yourself, the greater is your understanding of humanity as well. Completing a Moral Inventory is one of the best ways to accomplish this. It definitely isn’t a simple task, but either of the Life Inventory apps help make it considerably easier than ever before … and it isn’t just for those in 12-Step programs. Anyone can benefit from completing one.

Knowing your true self is when you learn to step outside of your thinking – in other words, to be the “observer” and not caught up in your emotions and all the above mentioned aspects that make up your “persona” or “personality” as we see it here on earth.

The process of completing a Life Inventory does not directly address anyone’s specific problems, habits or addictions, but rather helps the user examine in detail events that have transpired in their life. The Life Inventory apps gently assist the user in probing into not only what happened, but also why it happened. The questions asked help the user delve into areas often never considered before, like:

* What did I want?
* Why did I want it?
* What am I not admitting?
* What lie did I tell myself?
* What did I leave out or not say?
* What lie did I tell others?
* Have I ever done the same thing?
* Was it any of my business?
* Were my expectations reasonable?
* What was the real truth?
* What was I not seeing?
* Did I fail to see the facts of the situation?
* What actions did I take to get what I wanted?
* What actions did I omit to get what I wanted?

Life Inventory guides the user through six different steps, each with its own activity grouping, for making a Life Inventory:

* Build Lists
* Causes and Effects
* My Part
* Fears Analysis
* Fear Questions
* Sex Relations

Throughout the process, users are encouraged to enter data into their Inventory, be completely honest about themselves and take advantage of encouragement and support.

The Inventory begins by making one simple list, divided into four fixed Categories in which to file away what are broadly categorized as Incidents:

* People
* Institutions and Organizations
* Principles, Ideals and Beliefs
* Sources of Anxiety and Excitement

Each of the four Categories will contain sub-categories, with a few pre-defined, but the bulk defined by the user based on their own preferences. From there, users outline Entities and then individual Incidents related to each Entity.

Step-by-step, users complete the Causes and Effects of each Incident. Next, users determine the part they played in each Incident listed. It is not unusual to create hundreds of Incident forms, each devoted to a single incident. The app includes the ability to create and save all written lists and forms with password protection. Having completed all their Incident forms, users can refer to these forms to help list all their Fears. The app includes the following eight pre-defined fears, to which the user is free to add more if they like:

* Other people’s opinions
* Not getting what I want
* Not having control of the situation
* Financial insecurity
* Abandonment
* Physical harm
* Failure
* Success

The fifth step is examining each Fear category and answering the following key questions:

* Why did I have this fear?
* When did I first notice this fear in my life?
* How did I hold on to this fear?
* What did this fear make me do?
* What chain of circumstances did this fear set in motion in my life?
* How did I react to this fear?
* What decision did this fear cause me to make?
* How did self-reliance fail me?
* What should I have done instead?

And the sixth and final step is examining Sex Relations, where users answer all the following questions regarding each of their sexual relationships:

* How was I selfish?
* Where was I dishonest?
* Where was I inconsiderate?
* Who was hurt in this situation?
* Did I arouse jealousy, suspicion, or bitterness?
* Where was I at fault?
* What should I have done instead?
* What will I do in the future?
* Did I pray or have spiritual conversations with him/her?
* Did I pray for him/her?
* Did I enjoy his/her company?
* Did we bring each other closer to God?

“The process of completing a Life Inventory doesn’t directly address anyone’s specific problems, habits or addictions, but rather helps the user examine in detail events that have transpired in their life,” stated indie developer James Hollender. “The Life Inventory app gently assists the user in probing into not only what happened, but also why it happened.”

James Hollender is also the author of a suite of Nutrient apps based on the USDA National Nutrient Database:

* iCarbs (Carbohydrates)
* iCholesterol (Dietary Cholesterol)
* iFiber (Fiber)
* iKals (Calories)
* iPotassium (Potassium)
* iProteins (Proteins)
* iSatFat (Saturated Fat)
* iSodium (Sodium)
* iSugars (Sugars)
* Vitamin K (Vitamins K1, K1D & K2)

In addition, there is a new app, introduced earlier this year at MacWorld, called “iNutrients” that encompasses all ten of the above listed nutrients for the entire USDA National Nutrient Database, built right into the app .. no Internet connection required! It covers 8,463 different foods and 15,135 food servings. In addition it allows the users to add their own custom items that aren’t in the database.

Life Inventory Device Requirements:
* “Life Inventory” – iPhone and iPod touch
* “Life Inventory for iPad” – iPad only
* Requires iOS 5.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
Life Inventory and Life Inventory for iPad are each $9.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the iTunes App Store in the Lifestyle category. A Lite version of each app is $1.99, which supplements the main app by providing a mock Moral Inventory from which the user can learn by example and experimentation. The Lite version is optional and provides only an allowance for an extremely small Moral Inventory and is not meant to, nor is it capable of completing an individual’s complete Moral Inventory. Review copies are available on request to qualified organizations.

James Hollender
Life Inventory
Purchase and Download (iPad)
Purchase and Download (iOS)
YouTube Video (Quick Look)
Screenshots

Based in Revere, Massachusetts, Indie developer James Hollender is a well seasoned Information Technology professional who has been familiar with Apple products since the days of the first Macintosh computer and has been involved with object oriented programming since the introduction of Java, culminating most recently in writing apps in Objective C for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. His innovative ideas have resulted in numerous suggestions and other awards including a commendation from The President of the United States. James Hollender has been involved writing iPad apps with Foliage, Kronos, Olympus, Cross Country Automotive Services (now Agero), and Valmarc Corporation. Copyright (C) 2010-2013 James Hollender. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.