Ekotic Elaborations

Ekos is my place in space - in my body, in my home, in my world. I can wander perpetually with only a fleeting sense of place and no sense of being in-place, or I can withdraw from the world and stay at home, in my body, separate from the world, with no sense of purpose, promise, or progress. My body is a vehicle that carries my sense of what is divine when I follow my bliss to express my vitality, but as a temple, my body is also a sacred vessel that serves to contain value and quality so as to make it possible for me to know what is valuable and desirable, and what is worthy and worthwhile.

The world is a container for all that I need and desire. The mind and the senses serve as a bridge to this world, and the world serves as a mirror of my every need and desire. In essence, when I give my will to X, and in return, I receive X, then I know that I can only be given what I am willing to receive. When I know what I want, when I know what I want to be, when I know what I want to do, and when I know what I want to give, having and becoming follow in their wake. In between the extremes of Ekos lies a delicate balance of power that forever seeks a stable equilibrium - a balance between soul and spirit.

The body is a vessel of sanctity for soul and a vehicle of divinity for spirit. The bodily urges of soul alert me to my needs and the bodily impulses of spirit announce my desires. The urges of soul would have me satisfy my needs, whereas the impulses of spirit would have me fulfill my desires. Urges would have me settle down, stay put, and keep my place in space. Impulses would have me move forward, onward, and upward to obtain, retain, and sustain a sense of purpose, promise, and progress. Potential conflicts between soul and spirit make it possible for me to know what it is I need and want.

In my next post, I will introduce the extremes of Eros in light of these elaborations.

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.

A Question of Purpose

A practical, conceptual foundation that would have you build a desired, desirable life of substance with style is ultimately a question of purpose. One might begin by asking these standard questions: what would I do if I knew I couldn't fail? If I were financially free, where would my interests lie?

More specifically, in terms of desire, what do I want to do? In terms of ability, what can I do? In terms of purpose, what should I do? In terms of need, what must I do? Obviously, such questions as these are best answered when one feels rested and relaxed, refreshed and restored.

Sentence prompts can also help: e.g., the seven things I most want to do in this life are ... the five things I can do most easily are ... the three things that I feel I should do are ... and the one thing I must do is ... These prompts need not be completed in any particular order - only that they be completed.

Allowances in First Person

In addressing structure and purpose in relation to substance and orientation, I feel compelled to begin with these allowances for myself; perhaps these affirmations resonate with your own sense of what you need or desire as you make a life of satisfaction and fulfillment for yourself:

I allow myself ... to live, love, lead ... my life ... on my own terms ... in every way possible ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely. I allow myself ... to occupy a position ... in a place where ... I can be, have, do, and become ... whatever I will or desire ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely. I allow myself ... to bring the substance of soul and the orientation of spirit ... into harmony ... with the purpose of my life ... knowing that structure determines behavior and purpose unifies destiny. I allow myself ... to establish the structure of my life through the purpose of my life ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely.

Ekos Sacred is the realm of encounter where we cultivate quality of soul. This is where we get our substance and sense of meaning. Eros Divine is the realm of experience where we celebrate vitality of spirit. This is where we get our orientation and sense of direction. When we mindfully balance soul and spirit with heart, keeping in mind that the body is a vessel for soul and a vehicle for spirit, the result is twofold: involvement and engagement.

Whatever we do mindfully, we do purposefully. When we cultivate quality of soul through involvement with the subjects and objects of our interest, we feed soul with sacred encounters, and when we celebrate vitality of spirit through engagement with the subjects and objects of our experience, we feed spirit with divine experiences. Encounters with soul give us encounters with mystery. Experiences of spirit give us experiences of mastery.

As we'll see in subsequent posts, the ultimate mystery and ultimate mastery lie at the heart of who and what we are.

On Being and Becoming

If I forget myself in action, could anything that I say or do matter? If I move ahead without hesitation, could anything that I think or feel matter? If I move forward without any purpose in mind, could anything that I gain or keep matter? If I follow my bliss and go with the flow, could anything that I have matter?

Or must I always be aware of what I'm saying, of what I'm doing, of what I'm thinking or feeling, of gaining or keeping, of having or discarding? If I am always and forever in a process of being and becoming, in a process that satisfies my every need and fulfills my every desire, what could possibly matter?

One response might be that no one need can always and forever be satisfied and that no one desire can always and forever be fulfilled. Also, if I satisfy one need, another looms large; if I fulfill one desire, another rises to takes it place. But if I already know that more needs and desires present themselves even as I satisfy more of my needs and fulfill more of my desires, what is to stop me from wisely crafting my very own process for being and becoming? What would stop me from crafting a process of being and becoming that would satisfy any and all needs and fulfill any and all desires, even as they present themselves?

The key to crafting such a process lies in bringing the substance, structure, and orientation of my life into harmony with the centrality of purpose, keeping in mind (at least at the beginning) that harmony between the substance of soul and the orientation of spirit requires a stable and happy marriage between structure and purpose.

Structure determines behavior. Purpose unifies destiny. The time has come to cultivate Ekos Sacred and celebrate Eros Divine.