Beauty as the Source: A Framework for a Full Life
I want to share with you a simple yet helpful framework for living life, inspired by one of my favorite social philosophers, Daniel Schmachtenberger (great name isn’t it?). This frame is called The Domain of Being, Doing and Becoming. It gives three domains, all with a different orientation to reality that feed into each other in what hopefully becomes a positive cycle. This framework chooses to center around what beauty means to us because to quote the great Dr. Ian Mcgilchrist “we wouldn’t care about the good and true if it wasn’t beautiful.”With that said, let’s begin.
The Domain of Being
The Domain of Being is all about being in the moment and experiencing the beauty of life itself. This domain is not concerned with time, it is only concerned with being fully here in the now. When you’re in awe of a gorgeous sunset, playing with your kids or deep in meditation you aren’t thinking about the past or future, you are fully here and experiencing the sheer beauty of existence. We feel something infinite when we are in the domain of being that can’t be captured by words or the mind.
Some examples of domain of being activities include: meditation, listening to music, being in nature, expansive psychedelic experiences, being in flow state
The Domain of Doing
The Domain of Being mentioned above is all about experiencing the beauty of life and the Domain of Doing is about bringing more beauty into life (in whatever way this looks like for you). For some, bringing more beauty into the world looks like writing a book or sharing their art with the world, for others it might look like volunteering in their community and for others it might look like raising conscious, empathetic kids. Unfortunately a lot of people are doing things in the world that are not making the world a more beautiful place. We need more people who are consciously creating beauty, helping others create beauty and protecting the beauty that already exists here on Earth.
Some examples of domain of doing activities: purposeful work, regenerative farming, raising caring kids not shitty ones, habitat conservation, helping your community
The Domain of Becoming
The Domain of Becoming is about increasing your ability to both see the inherent beauty of life and bring more of that beauty into the world. In other words, the Domain of Becoming is getting better at being with the infinite and bringing more of the infinite into the finite. I see this domain as a commitment, it’s a commitment to both of the domains mentioned above and being someone who is constantly learning, integrating and evolving.
An authentic Domain of Becoming also involves the commitment to doing the inner work that’s required of us to help others earnestly and sincerely. Throughout my youth and early adulthood I was up close to some very influential spiritual and thought leaders and saw the way that their un-addressed wounds negatively impacted their work in the Domain of Doing. Without a commitment to consistently looking inside and doing the necessary healing work, external facing pursuits and projects can easily become a vehicle to try and get the validation from the outside world that’s lacking in one’s inside world. The source of doing becomes an attempt to fill wounds that are really asking to be healed through the power self-love. When we cultivate a loving, attentive inner space that can bring these wounds what they need we create a certain kind of inner beauty that becomes the source of our doing.
Some domain of becoming examples: deepening your stillness practice, embodiment practices so you can be more in your body and more present, deepening your understanding of the world so you can act more effectively, learning and studying about your field or interest, nervous system regulation practices, working with a therapist or healer
The Invitations
In my work I’ve noticed that different people at different points in life are invited to lean into one of these domains more than the others. There are some who feel really connected to the beauty of life on a daily basis and feel a calling to start bringing more beauty into the world through their doing. This might be a time for them to explore some fear or limiting beliefs that could be holding them back or maybe get clarity on what it is that they really want to do and create.
For others, their invitation might be to spend more time in the Domain of Being. They might be doing altruistic work but starting to feel burnout and disconnected from the why behind what they do. The work for them might be spend a little less time doing and make it a priority to spend time in the Domain of Being so they can reconnect to the real source of their doing. I think this one is very common for people who are aware of the numerous crises and have their hearts open to the pain and suffering of the world right now. It’s crucial that we not let the pain of the world cause us to lose sight of the future we are trying to create and that future is shown to us in those wordless moments where we feel fully alive and connected to the profundity of existence.
Much Love,
Trace