Stage Five can be a very challenging stage. To complete it as effectively and completely as possible and move on to Stage Six as quickly as possible, you will have to get comfortable with other people’s ideologies as well as your own. You don’t have to agree with them. But you do need to be able to see why they might think that way. The goal is to get to the point where you can have your ideology, but not feel offended when you hear a different one. It takes practice.
Read about other ideologies – political, social, religious, etc – read it all from an anthropological viewpoint. The point of this reading is not to change your mind. The point is to become aware of the details of other ideologies…. to educate yourself about what other people believe. Just read to say, “isn’t that interesting.”
During your reading, and even during your daily life, you are sure to feel offended sometimes when your ideology is attacked or when reading something counter to your beliefs. When you feel offended, step back from that feeling and recognize that you, as a human in this stage, are prone to feel offended when you encounter something that goes against your ideology because your ideology (at this point) IS you and your mind sees it as an attack on your very self. Accept that it is natural for you to feel some offense, detach from that feeling and note to yourself that this too is human. That will help it pass. Eventually, you will not feel offended anymore. It is a liberating state to be in.
In your daily life and online life, you are likely to be tempted to lash out at those who think differently. Resist the urge to attack or be rude to others who think differently than you. It may feel justified right now, but will be yet one more thing you will have to forgive yourself for in later stages. You are not going to change their minds. All you will do is make yourself look like a jerk, setting a bad stereotype for your own ideology. A good rule is: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
While it is important to spend a little time defining yourself by your ideology (the essence of Stage Five), it is best to try and shorten your time in this stage. There are so many negative emotions here and Stage Six, just one step away, is so much more peaceful and joyous. Let’s get there quickly.
Consider that you HAVE an ideology, but you are so much more. You have a lot more to offer this world than just your belief set. Just as you HAVE needs, but you are more than your needs, you HAVE an ideology (and must have an ideology), but you are so much more. Your needs are part of being human and your ideology helps you make better choices. But you are MORE than just these things. You have contributions to make to humanity; a purpose.
Now that you have a little distance and perspective on your ideology, and awareness of other ideologies, return to your principles… based on new experiences, do they need to be updated? How will your new principles alter your ideology on specific issues of religion, politics, social/moral issues, and how you might interact with others, yourself and the world?
The answer might be that no updates are needed right now. That is OK. Or the answer might be that major updates are needed. That is OK too. Keep these questions at hand. Return to your principles regularly to evolve them as your experiences change your perspectives. Keeping them up to date will help you maintain this vital mechanism for better decisions in your own life. There is not a single ideology that everyone arrives at. There is no standard of moving from left to right or right to left. We just evolve. Our needs evolve. Our ideologies evolve; and not always in the direction that everyone else might appear to move. This too is human. The key is to consciously evolve your ideology as life evolves you.
