The Extremes of Ekos

I seek to lay a conceptual foundation, with practical applications, that serves a worthy and desirable life of substance with style that ultimately resolves an ultimate question of purpose. In addressing lesser questions of purpose (e.g., what would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?) in relation to the ultimate question of purpose, I believe it would be instructive to consider both the extremes of Ekos and the extremes of Eros.

First, the extremes of Ekos.

Ekos is about your place in space: you might choose to be a perpetual wanderer, without ever having any sense of place or any sense of being in-place. Or, you might choose to be a reclusive householder, without ever having any sense of progress or any sense of being progressive.

Somewhere in between lies your sacred place and your sacred sense of being in-place.

Of course, it might be fun to be a perpetual wanderer - but only if you know you can return home. And it might be fun to be a reclusive householder - but only if you know you can leave home. Home is common to both extremes of Ekos: this is important to know because, in our encounters with each other and with the objects of our interest, it resides at the heart of what is most worthy and worthwhile.

A home requires a structure that is comprised of three elements: a house (or apartment), a homestead, and a household. The first is physical: in essence, it serves to contain subjects and objects of interest. The second is geographical: in essence, it serves to bridge subjects and objects of interest with other subjects and objects of interest; and the third is social: in essence, it serves to mirror what is more or less worthy and worthwhile.

In my next post, I will elaborate on these notions.

Cultivate Ekos Sacred

Cultivate Ekos Sacred? What does this mean?

By way of explanation, I might begin with the term Ekos, which is a variation on the spelling of Ecos, found in such terms as ecology and economy.

The ecology of a habitat and the economy of a nation, for example, both imply systems - one natural, the other contrived. With systems, we can talk about the totality of a system, with its interactions and exchanges - interactions and exchanges of organisms (in the case of ecologies) or interactions and exchanges of information (in the case of economies).

On a smaller scale, we create more personal systems in miniature, relative to larger systems like habitats or societies, such as residential areas, places of worship, areas of business, and centers of information or entertainment. The scale most amenable to cultivation on the individual level, however, is one that allows cultivation of body, home, office, and mode of transport.

For my purposes, I wish to concentrate on the most personal, and potentially, the most sacred of these objects: the body and the home (whatever or wherever that might be for you), each of which have their own Ekos, their own ecology of ends and economy of means.

The catchphrase, Cultivate Ekos Sacred, is really just a shorthand way of saying, "cultivate quality of soul through body and home as if they were sacred". In light of this statement, we might say that a neglect of soul shows up as a neglect of body and home or that a neglect of body and home are reflections of soul in neglect.

With the cultivation of attractive bodies and homes, we see significant degrees of personal worth invested in body and home. From a universal, evolutionary perspective, this makes a great deal of sense. When we treat body and home as sacred instruments of soul, soul can make a healthy appearance, suggesting both quality and fitness.

When we treat body and home as sacred embodiments of soul, not only can soul be nourished, but personal worth can be expressed peacefully through these projections of soul, providing places of stability for soul to acquire meaning, manifest its purpose, and provide the required weight for spirit to set its direction in harmony with soul.