The Energy Continuum, 6

The energy continuum is one of four conframes – conceptual frameworks, ways of organizing and making sense of our thoughts, feelings and experiences, that we use every day. To help understand how these conframes work to organize and control our experiences of life, I’ve given each a unique shape to represent the quality of the thoughts, feelings and experiences it produces.

The first one, the Blob, looks like an amoeba. The second, the Dichotomy, looks like two circles side by side, not touching with space between them. The third, the Pyramid, looks like a pyramid and the fourth, the Continuum, looks like a straight line.

When using the Blob, you’ll have blah experiences and be bored. Everything will seem the same, without meaning or significance. Nothing will matter very much and no thing will be all that different from any other thing. Key word: one dimensional.

With the Dichotomy, things are experienced as two dimensional. As in: “you’re either for me or against me,” and, “things are either good or bad.” Key word: either/or. With the Dichotomy there’s no middle ground.

Key words for the Pyramid are hierarchy and scarcity. Judgments and rankings are instantaneous and automatic. Best is at the top, worst at the bottom. The moment we experience something, we judge it.

The Continuum connects. Its keyword is both/and. By virtue of its shape alone, the Continuum communicates a sense of wholeness and completeness; without barriers, levels or other forms of separation. The striving and proving of the Dichotomy and Pyramid are replaced by flow and intuition. It is the shape of the new professionalism, a relationship with customers and others emphasizing trust and cooperation instead of the strife and struggle represented by the Dichotomy and Pyramid.

Shifts between the four conframes are usually unconscious. But, as you become more mindful (Step 1) and sensitive to the quality of your thoughts, feelings and actions, you’ll know which conframe you’re using (Step 2) and which you’d like to shift to (Step 3).

Only one conframe shape represents the new professionalism and connects scientific expertise with inner wisdom and spiritual power to provide the skill, enthusiasm, warmth and creativity we want in our lives. Before going on, consider the four shapes and see if you can identify which that is. The continuum. Which conframe are you using right now?

Next time you reach the limits of your expertise or feel you’re losing it with yourself or others, shift to the Continuum. And remember, shifting begins in the easiest and hardest places -- your own heart and mind.