LESSON 5
INTERNAL SCALES
The superior man is aware of righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage.
(from the Analects of Confucius)
TASK 1
FAIR DEALINGS
Many aspirants to a Hermetic way of life fail to perceive the importance of ethics simply because they associate the establishment of any ethical principles with the enforcing of dogma or some sort of politics of control. You will not make the same mistake. The development of a basic sense of justice and greater good is extremely important in Hermeticism.
As a first step towards that, you will start practicing fairness. This means that, in every interaction with another individual for the following two weeks, you will ask yourself what good can be achieved by that interaction, and what result of the same interaction could be considered fair for both parties. For example, in a commercial interaction, a fair price for the sale must be paid. Regardless of the kind of interaction you engage in, you will follow two basic rules:
(a) REMEMBER FAIRNESS. Sometimes the temptation to get ahead, to profit somehow from our interactions with others, gets in the way of our being fair. There are certainly plenty people out there willing to outright exploit and deceive others in order to "get theirs." Your ideal, however, will be to always remember what is just even when you are faced with the possibility of gaining something by "fudging" ethics a bit.
(b) REMEMBER YOURSELF. One common mistake when trying to find a good balance in social interactions is to forget oneself. Remember that fairness goes both ways, and always giving way to what others want from you is being unfair to yourself. Recognize your fair share (of money, attention, respect, etc.) and be as firm as you can about it.
At the end of each day, make notes in your journal about your search for fairness. Do not judge yourself in moral terms, but make observations about the difficulties and complexities of adopting an increasingly more ethical outlook on life. At the end of each week, revise your notes and try to refine your ethical principles a little. Remember that ethics is more a matter of negotiation towards good and fair results than enforcing rigid moral values. By doing this, you will start to develop a real sense of justice instead of just reproducing loose moral tenets you have grown up with.
TASK 2
EMPATHY
Your second practice during this period will be towards developing empathy. It is a mistake to attempt any form of spiritual development without a minimum capacity for self-criticism and ego relativization.
Practice reviewing the interactions you have from the point of view of the other individuals. Try to imagine how you came across in each interaction, and how your performance (and social interactions are performances) contributed to the good and fairness of the interaction's result. This is the first real evaluation you will make of your own actions and words, so do not be too harsh. This is not a matter of pointing fingers either way, but of being aware of your role in creating collective realities.
Make notes in your journal when you have insights or ideas about how to be more empathetic in future interactions.