In the field of human psychology this is my attempt to bring out an analogy with the world of computer user interface design. At least in the case of naming two different way of being. I term these two states of being as "Exocentricity" and "Endocentricity".
Let me explain both these terms in details -
Exocentricity - I use this term to define a state of being in which a person has transcended her self importance. The person relates to her existence based on what her contribution to the external world is. Life is nothing but a sequence of actions that she is taking, the thoughts she is having, and beauty she is creating, all focussed on others. This is a state in which the only thing that comes to ones mind is what way one can be used up, from morning to night in doing something worthwhile.
It might be moments spent playing with a kid (in order to contribute to the kid's psyche), or
writing a poem to express a beautiful emotion, thereby increasing the overall beauty of the creation, or painting or sculpturing a beautiful piece of art to substantiate an intangible beauty in the mind, or doing every day chores to earn a living, or pursuing a field of proficiency, etc.
It can be anything. The common theme transgressing all these examples is that there is no self importance involved. None of these works are done for ones own self. A person finds an intrinsic satisfaction in being of some use to others in a way she feels does matter.
The actions taken might be something the person enjoys doing, or might be something that she abhors. But she continues to be perfect in her action because she has a meaning attached to her action. She feels her action is adding to the overall beauty of the creation.
In this state of being the person sees herself as a inconspicuous but significant part of the overall creation. For her, life is an impersonal process which is governed by external laws of nature.
She is like a small bead among many such beads in a rosary. She does what she can, given her circumstances, with just one aim - doing best what she can. There is only one motivation to do things - To contribute to the beauty of the rosary. Her actions, thoughts and motivations might be to add to the beauty of the other beads by sprinkling some new combination of colors, or to strengthen the string holding the beads, or to intensify or modulate the light falling on to the garland to make the scene more beautiful, or to add a refreshing fragrance to the garland to create a novelty, etc.
In this analogy it might be clear to you that what keeps the bead in discussion going is just a meaning it has created for itself, which centers around caring for others outside its own self. There is a constant selfish motivation of being used up to the fullest, contributing to something that is meaningful. For the bead, her life is a beautiful story of innumerable attempts to create value for others, and therefore contribute to the life itself. The bead is always in the pursuit of something bigger than her own life.
Being in this state, a person happily can undergo years of captivity of a concentration camp, if she feels that her experiences in the trenches are helping her to further her research in say human psyche. A person will happily slog for 12 hours every day of the work week, and also not think twice before spending even her weekends in office. She will never be tired of her work, and there will be no need of any rest or relaxation. The person will be continuously motivated to give her best, because she knows she is adding up to the beauty of the world with her work. She will have a very high esteem of what she is doing. She will be in FLOW. The whole idea is how to be fully used up, in doing something bigger than one's life.
Same stands for a home maker. She stays at home, does what all which might otherwise look mundane to say a business tycoon. She takes care of her child, does the home chores, etc. She has a meaning she is living upto - being used up completely creating beauty in this world by raising a child who will be a good human being, and at the same time taking care of her family's wellbeing. She is always in FLOW.
Such a state of being is a result of relating the world using the right brain. The state which has been esoterically defined by phrases like - "I am that", "Tat tuam asi", "Aham Brahmasmi" of the Eastern Hindu scriptures.
Another beautiful aspect of this state of being is that the person keeps becoming more and more expert in the work at hand. She increases her uniqueness, and her overall worth, not only to herself, but to the community as a whole. Every states of FLOW she enters, she evolves to a self better than she used to be earlier.
This state of being is free from fear, doubt, shame, guilt, stress, or any such debilitating human emotion. Life is a continuous shower of blessing, no matter how dire her life circumstances appear to others.
Endocentricity - In this state of being the left brain tries to maintain one's self importance, and treats oneself as center of the universe. This state of being creates emotions like hatred, hurt, jealousy, envy, fear etc. All such negative emotions arise from the sense of being centered internally, inside one`s own mind. In this state there is a past, a present and a future. Language, calculations, gain, loss, self interests etc are always at play. One is fully identified by her designation at work, her possessions, her status in society, etc. One is always different from others. Life is always I, we and they. It is always about what is mine, and what is theirs.
Some people just wait to be hurt. Anything and everything hurt them. Some people are waiting to hurt others. Everyday of their life is all about establishing their supremacy over others. Life for such people is like a race, and a cut throat competition.
There are aspects of exocentricity (right brain governed) and endocentricity (left brain governed) prevalent in every human being. The degree to which these two states of being are at play, govern ones consciousness, and gives one her personality, and quality of life.
As soon as we are able to jump out of the dungeon of the endocentrism, we find ourselves as a link, as a means, as a part of the a whole. We find ourself as a means to play our role in making the entire system more beautiful. In this state, the self is un-important. We start living for others. The world becomes one family, and every other human becomes ones own loving sibling.
The state of exocentrism has been propagated by all the major religions since ages. Now even the medical practitioners and psychologists have found after years of world wide research that an exocentric attitude not only beautifies the world, but also enhances the quality of ones own personal life - the life span increases, and the person is in the state of high energy and bliss for a large proportion of her existence in this world.
These thoughts came to my mind after having read many books on positive psychology and working of right brain. The deepest impact on me was having read and reflected the concept of FLOW explained in many books of Csikszentmihaly Mihaly and watching the jaw dropping talk by the world famous brain scientist - Jill Bolte Taylor.
Following is the link to the video, in case you want to watch it - http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229______________________________________________
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