Life within the boundary of what we distinguish as ‘self’ is animated by the same spark, is of the same essential nature, as life outside this boundary. If life within this boundary of self is able to perceive that which lies outside the boundary as wondrous, as beautifully chaotic then, to be consistent in our appreciation of the animated spirit of life we can also rejoice in awe at the life within the boundary of self. That is to say that we can regard our own existence with the same appreciation that we regard a sweet young yellow wildflower or a reclusive fox.
As science advances in its understanding of the universe and of human consciousness, we increasingly behold the interrelationships, the interrelatedness of what the scientific process has distinguished as distinct systems. As we behold the interactions between systems, the exchanges between opposite sides of distinct conceptual boundaries, the boundaries themselves become less ‘solid’. In other words, the terms or concepts used to describe distinct entities become less representative of the processes of reality.
As this transformation of our perception of reality continues, so too will a transformation of our perception of ‘self’. As conceptual boundaries between entities and systems are recognized as an inaccurate representation of life processes, the difference between our wondrous regard for external life processes and our loathsome regard for internal life processes will lessen. This transformation is colloquially described as ‘ego-death,’ and is experienced as life no longer mediated by a mental concept of self-identity. Such ‘pure’ experience is more true to life processes that comprise reality in that it is free from the conceptual application of an ill-fitting self boundary separating internal and external life processes.
Thought of in this way, the ego or the self-esteem is a behavioral habit, a reflexive mental tendency that, once identified can be more thoroughly understood. In the same way that social cohesion is enhanced when individuals abide by social contracts which require that we temper certain natural urges like sex drive, burping, farting, violence, egoic self percetion is a tendency that too can be tempered. Unlike farting or burping which are required to bring the human system into a state of equilibrium between inner and outer exchanges, the habit of ego only serves to disrupt the equilibrium of inward and outward flows.
Self esteem is a method of self-valuation by which we assign relative value to our self-concept. Self esteem is the qualitative value that we apply to our ego and is often highly variable depending on the extent to which our qualities are validated by external circumstances. Self esteem as a method of self reflection is normative in that it assigns judgement on a scale from worse to better. Self esteem stands in stark contrast to the appreciative attitude of awe towards life’s inner processes described above because it fortifies the boundary between inner and outer life.
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