Automaton
As everyone’s actions are governed by their own self-interest, we are all locked in our own narcissistic castle. We then inevitably assume that when we communicate with others, they see and understand our perspective exactly the way we see it without realising we are just enforcing our emotions onto them. A misconception that we may have would be the natural tendency to conformity. This is rooted over a variety of factors; a need to make friends out of a fear of being left out and not fitting in, listening, believing and inevitably taking part in gossip told by others, and/or doing certain activities that your peer group like to do. All of which give us a feeling of emptiness, coming from a common insecurity that is present in a weak ego.
It of course feels safe to do the same things as other people, because if everyone in your peer group is doing it then surely it must work for you. I would sadly like to call this as being an Automaton. This requires you to look at the world with a somewhat mechanical eye; you feel it is too dangerous being a Maverick to some degree, because you know you’ll more than likely be ridiculed for approaching your life more differently than others and that if you are going to reach a certain echelon of success, it’ll come through sheer coincidence while languidly waiting for what life brings to the table.
“The automaton is the mortal being, physical, emotional, and mental. When the mental faculties become developed, the innate or instinctive consciousness is usually put to sleep, and ceases to be perceptible by its owner; in that case he is controlled by the working of his organic functions and by the nervous, emotional, and cerebral reactions which their appetites provoke. The creature is an Automaton because it is controlled by the mutual reactions of its parts and by the exterior influences, which act upon it at every moment of its existence – influences such as country, family relatives, laws customs and many others” I.S De Lubicz – The Opening of the Way
The material realm of the planet underhandedly pushes us up to constantly seek for security, and we see the unfortunate consequences of not embracing the risks, i.e. not seeking that well paid job or conservatively becoming miserly with our ideals. When we eventually meet someone who seems a little bit unconventional, we are quick to judge that person as weird, out of touch - even arrogant to an extent.
A way to combat this natural tendency to seek and gain approval from others is to have a brutal and honest look into yourself. A method to achieving this is seeing you through the eyes as someone else, essentially detaching yourself from your knowledge and past. As poetic and clichéd as it may sound, ALL human beings are essentially unique. Our successes, failures and essentially our general experiences are unique to us individually. What is it about you that separate you from other people? Which activities were you naturally attracted to as a child before you were initiated into the conformist realm that we are in today?
When we begin to search on the answers to the questions above, we begin to embark on a journey of solving our own personal riddle. We can then initiate battle with the slavish, banal tendencies that society foists upon us and set ourselves up for our ultimate freedom through self-creation.
What we like to define as real are only perceptions that have been created by our immediate environment, based on the agreements that have already been made with the individual, the food and media consumed, the people we like to associate with and our daily actions and motivations. If these factors are however perverted and co-opted, by members of a dominant society, then a composite reality has been created. The individual’s everyday choices are therefore not their own, the agreements made are based on someone else’s reality – thus putting the individual in a somewhat child-like position. Overall, we can liken the actions of being an Automaton to a social conformist. At present, we can now ascertain that the modern day conformist is not one who is in control of his or her own reality.