It is a painful and necessary stage—to clarify the limitations of “doing” a thing over “being” a thing.
Recognizing the Ego-bias Limitations
Part 1 ended with:
Until the next article, take three minutes each day to ponder these words:
- I am humility.
- I am gratitude.
- I am compassion.
- I am harmony.
How Ego-bias Conditioning Co-opts Spiritual Practice
The continuum of sensory information (observations) functions as a perpetual sequence of causal pathways for initiating ego-bias driven emotion energy patterns. When an individual engages in the four qualities instead of ego-bias filtering, the causal relationship between observation and emotion undergoes a structural transformation. The primary cause is still observation; however, the receiving mechanism has undergone a fundamental restructuring.
The early going in actualizing the four qualities is not without challenges in the presence of the ego-bias brain barrier environment.
The Authenticity Problem
Doing Humility
Initially, an individual practices humility through conscious self-referential effort; attempting to speak humbly, act with deference, suppress ego-bias reactions. At this stage (similar to mindfulness methods), the ego-bias default mode is running the practice, creating a subtle form of spiritual pride. The very attempt to be humble strengthens the ego-bias context.
A critical shift occurs when a practitioner comprehends how the attempts to practice humility reinforce separation. We see how the ego-bias framework co-opts the practice, turning it into performance. The emotional energy behind our efforts becomes visible—the indirect pride in being “good at humility,” the discomfort in our humble acts. The practitioner realizes humility isn’t something they will achieve through practice. Frustration leads to inconsistency in the practice discipline.
Doing Gratitude
Forced or contrived gratitude practices subvert the spontaneity and authenticity of the energetic expression of gratitude. Self-induced or peer pressure to “perform” gratitude, often results in cognitive dissonance, manifesting as frustration with not achieving perceived expectations. Nevertheless, it is clear that gratitude energy cannot be manufactured. Gratitude energy is and will only be a consequence of expanded consciousness engagement.
Doing Compassion
“Doing” compassion increases the risk of inadvertent judgment or inferred superiority over those we intend as beneficiaries of our compassion. If there is a selective filter applied (intended beneficiaries), then arguably, our compassion is not unconditional (given freely to the collective). The duality in the “doing” framework underscores the complexity of compassion intent, particularly when dealing with demanding individuals or groups. Recognizing the difference between compassion as an ego-bias construct and compassion as an expressed energy, or “being” compassion, is a pre-requisite that must be engaged at some point during the inner work journey.
Doing Harmony
The idea of “spreading peace and harmony” is driven by a desire to create future state societies or communities that function without conflict. Individuals and groups initiate and participate in activities such as peace demonstrations, collective meditation events, and similar grassroots efforts to raise awareness and collaboration for harmonious existence amongst ourselves and with nature. But these efforts do not recognize harmony as an energetic expression. Instead, the “doing” of actions are perceived as the path to peace and harmony. Without an understanding of “being” harmony (expressing as the energy of harmony), the effort is at risk of being overshadowed by ego-bias influence.
Become the Energy
In the early stages of an individual’s desire to become “spiritual,” mindfulness type practices are often used for expressing humility, gratitude, compassion, and harmony. Humility is pursued through deliberate acts; gratitude through journaling and appreciation mantras; compassion by generating kind thoughts and acts; harmony by carefully monitoring the quality of interactions with others.
Beneath these intentions there is a problematic theme: the ego-bias framework co-opts and orchestrates the calculated practice, transforming those intentions into roles that reinforce ego-bias interference. It is a tricky and necessary stage to clarify the limitations of “doing” the four qualities as opposed to “being” or becoming the expressed energy of the four qualities.
Leave a Reply