CONTENTS
Werner Erhard's explanation
Origination and purpose
What would life look like if you were being this way?
You start where you start, then purposefully create
The indicator of being at "being cause in the matter"
Sources of learning and of refinement
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"Responsibility begins with the willingness to be cause in the matter of one's life. Ultimately, it is a context from which one chooses to live. Responsibility is not burden, fault, praise, blame, credit, shame or guilt. In responsibility, there is no evaluation of good or bad, right or wrong. There is simply what's so, and your stand. Being responsible starts with the willingness to deal with a situation from the view of life that you are the generator of what you do, what you have and what you are. That is not the truth. It is a place to stand. No one can make you responsible, nor can you impose responsibility on another. It is a grace you give yourself - an empowering context that leaves you with a say in the matter of life."
Werner Erhard
ORIGINATION AND PURPOSE
Most famously, this phrase originated from EST. (See Cause In The Matter, on Laurence Platt's site.) It is designed for one to inquire as to how one would run one's life from the viewpoint of "being cause in the matter of my life"? What would it look like? It is strictly a "stand" that one takes in life, regardless of what the circumstances are in one's life. And from that stand or viewpoint one will experience life totally differently than another person in the exact same circumstances, either current or in one's past. See Good Life, Bad Past for examples of people who have risen above their circumstances and any "life sentences" (or stories) that they could have created otherwise.
What we are dealing with here is an ontological (about "being") question, of which the answer would be an important part of one's life philosophy, and thus an important determinant of the quality of one's life in terms of how it is experienced, again, regardless of the circumstances. How do I want to be in life? What viewpoints will serve me?
WHAT WOULD LIFE LOOK LIKE IF YOU WERE BEING THIS WAY?
What would your life be like if you looked out of your eyes from the viewpoint of "I am cause in the matter of life. It is I who am the generator and creator of my life. I am responsible for everything in my life, totally in my power to respond and do the best I can to create a full, rich experience of life. This is where I stand, for my very life."?
Yes, adopting this viewpoint or just 'trying it on' to experience it, does not change a thing in one's life, but it does create openings for creating more of what you want, without stories holding you back. You won't be immediately "storyless" or transformed in all ways, but you will be transformed in your viewpoint, no longer giving away your power by being in the victim, right-wrong, fault, blame stance.
You will, from this transformed viewpoint, build, gradually, a more enlightened, clearer view of how life works and how you can make it work effectively - and effortlessly. However, it comes only a brick at a time.
And you can only be this way and reap the rewards, by proceeding to identify "what's so and what's next" and to do your best to not spend time in the "stories" of life. When you're no longer run by your stories, no longer repeating them, and when you give them up, then you'll experience full power. Part of that is that you will dissolve the false fears that you think are real, as you will no longer believe that something you "made up" (that doesn't exist tangibly in the world but only in your mind) is real.
YOU START WHERE YOU START, THEN PURPOSEFULLY CREATE
Although shifts and quantum leaps can and probably will happen in being educated about life, you are not likely to transcend the power of gravity, but you can gradually build the bricks that will have you be higher and higher up the ladder of "enlightenment" in terms of a life of practicality, one that works. Continuing education is important, to add to your knowledge, awareness, and choices, but, I think, at least as importantly, if not more, using a constant learning "from" life will build your castle, using such an approach as "The Improvement Journal."
Onward and upward, one step at a time!
THE INDICATOR OF BEING AT "BEING CAUSE IN THE MATTER"
This is worth repeating.
The absolute indicator of your having taken this position, this stand, this viewpoint, this way of being is that you would be operating in this manner:
What's so?
What's next? (and then doing it)
That's it.
SOURCES OF LEARNING AND OF REFINEMENT
It takes a bit of in-depth learning to implement this concept and to get out of the right/wrong, blame world. There is extensive training on it in the work of Landmark Education, which I would recommend for anyone who wishes to elevate their view and capability in life - but a word of caution: it could blow old nonsensical beliefs and dysfunctional viewpoints out of the water - which some people find a bit challenging.
Though not using this exact languaging, this type of thinking is what I loved about
Obviously, select and utilize elements from this site.
