Cultivating Reality Through The 4Es of Cognition

Learning to cultivate reality consciously and not in shadow takes an understanding of the seven facets of the construct. Our school leverages constructs to navigate and reprogram consciousness. In the center of the construct is the facet of Action. The interface between us and reality. 

But action is an incomplete label; a better word would be Embodiment. It’s how the construct interfaces with the material world. It becomes embodied. The cognitive science 4E model – Embodied, Embedded, Extended, and Enacted – provides a multifaceted view of how we perceive, interact with, and interpret the world around us. 

Embodied Cognition and Constructs

Embodied cognition posits that our cognitive processes are deeply rooted in the body's interactions with the world. We see this in the directives the mind has created to solve the massive bottleneck challenge of the brain's hardware. Embodiment teaches us that the mind and body are in relation. PHALTS show up as a symptom of embodiment. This embodiment of cognition and constructs is a continuous process where our physical reality both shapes and is shaped by our mental frameworks.

The limitations of our senses are both a symptom and a cause of cognitive embodiment. We only know what we can sense; we sense only a tiny fraction of what is… and none of what isn’t. One example would be our hands. If we didn’t have hands, the brain would have evolved differently. Rational thought would look radically different.

Embedded Cognition: Constructs and the Cultural Context

Embedded cognition emphasizes the role of social and cultural contexts in shaping our cognitive processes. Constructs are not isolated mental models but deeply embedded in our socio-cultural fabric. Our interactions are with relationships that align with the structure and patterns we operate and flow through. Different social settings offer different opportunities. Those spaces are created by collaborating with individual constructs and agreeing on meaning. Left unchallenged, this collaboration becomes a way of life that is anticipated, expected, and unconsciously defended, suffering rooted or not.

Enactive Cognition: Problem-Solving and Construct Realization

Enacted cognition focuses on cognition as an active, problem-solving process. Constructs are not merely passive frameworks but are enacted through our interactions and decisions. When encountering a situation, we unconsciously run scenarios based on existing constructs, exploring different possibilities and outcomes. This brings up the problem of affordance. A victim doesn’t have the agency to solve a problem… The structure of the construct will block the solution from being found. We are tuned into the frequency of the practicality of what we see as possible. Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing.

Each enactment solidifies our constructs, further embedding them in our consciousness and strengthening the confirmation bias. It's a dynamic process where our perception of reality is both a product and a producer of our cognitive activities.

An enactment is when we run a scenario. The more we run a victim-rooted scenario, the more our system is wired to come from the victim. The same is true for higher identities. When we run scenarios where we are enacting from a higher identity, that identity becomes a more likely choice. 

WARNING: Enacting scenes from wanting something is enacting from a wanting position. Which in turn only strengthens the identity of wanting. Therein lies the rub. The difficulty is in the authentic and conscious engagement, not in the pre-programmed yearning pattern you are rooted in.

Extended Cognition: Beyond the Mind

Extended cognition posits that our cognitive processes extend beyond the brain to include tools, devices, and collaborators. Concerning constructs, our mental models extend their influence to other areas of our lives. I believe that we are more connected than we can be aware, as attested by the work done in Shadow Ceremony and other containers of transformation. 

Mind leverages the efficiency of these constructs, applying them across various domains and interactions. As these constructs are extended and shared, they gain a sense of legitimacy and are increasingly regarded as factual or matter-of-fact. Collaboration and social interaction play a vital role in this process, as shared experiences and perspectives can reinforce or challenge our constructs. We continue to leverage these tools to research how the mind is coded and reprogrammed.

Conclusion: The Action Facet of Constructs

The 4E model provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how constructs become part of our reality. It reveals the complex interplay between our physical experiences, social contexts, active problem-solving, and the extension of our cognitive processes beyond the individual mind. The action facet underscores the dynamic nature of cognition – how constructs are not static but constantly evolving through our interactions with the world.

By integrating the 4E model, we understand how our subjective reality is formed. It highlights the fluidity of our cognitive processes and the significant role our environment, culture, and interactions play in shaping our constructs. This understanding is crucial for both personal growth and broader cognitive science, offering insights into the complex machinery of the human mind and its interaction with the world. We cross the bridge from concept to fundamental transformation by integrating these lessons into our practice.