Being and doing come up a lot in the spiritual or consciousness space, for a good reason. Understanding the interconnection between the two is fundamental to our growth as eternal and human beings. I have personally been wrestling with it for what seems like forever. (That may not be an exaggeration.) I have, however, managed to get a bit closer, thanks to my group of advisors.

I think there are a few things that we bump up against when we try to get a handle on this vast and complex theme. I’m going to start to look at this theme by looking at some of the assumptions we have about it.

Take the phrase, “you are a human being, not a human doing.”

Whenever I hear this phrase, it seems it’s more to remind people that rest or not doing things all the time is essential. We have to allow time for being. I recently had a conversation with someone who argued that the cultural drive towards “doing” was robbing people of their essential being-ness. (Or words to that effect.) On the face of it, that seems true.

There are a couple of assumptions here that could cloud our understanding. One assumption I see here is that we equate being with non-action and doing with action. Another one is that doing does not allow being. A third assumption is that there is something negative or a problem with “doing.”

Being is non-action, and doing is action. Or is it?

That depends on how you define action. An action could be pressing pause, meditating, or contemplating. Those are still actions. “Being” or “to be” is a verb. A transitive verb, but still a verb, which means it’s an action. If I go to the beach to swim and then lie around relaxing, those are actions. Maybe I’ll read something if the sun and warmth don’t remove every ounce of strength from my arms and make my eyelids droop. Those are the actions of experiencing, enjoying, and being. In effect, they are the expression of my being. If we equate being with non-action, it also suggests that our essential being-ness is static. That being has a fixed quality about it that is unchanging. According to my advisors:

“Expression is a constant state of the unfolding of essence. Being is not static. It is, however, an internal experience. Your example of the beach is a good one of actions allowing you to connect with your inner being. In this case, others can see that you, as a being, love the ocean, sun, and beach. They can see that as a way to connect or not connect with you, depending upon whether their inner being shares that. If you do, you connect as beings in that space.”

In other words, our being is in a constant state of movement and growth. We equate non-action with being because we can’t see being, not as a vibration or an expansion. Therefore we see being as static and doing as action. However, being is a continual action. So, instead of seeing action and being as opposites, we can redefine action, or doing, as the expression of being. (At least, that was the guidance I got.)

Doing Does Not Allow Being.

So if being is an action and doing is an action, and actions help us express our essential being, how is doing robbing us of our essential being-ness?

I don’t think action is the problem when we say human doing rather than human being. Culturally I don’t think it’s enough just to do things. We have to do things that produce something.

We live in a world of form, which isn’t bad, but it does mean we tend to focus on external things or outcomes. In our Western material culture, we have to have something external to show others that we have produced something. Even something as ephemeral as a blog can be a thing because someone else can read it and appreciate it. Me lying around on the beach is not producing anything. (Just ask my mother.) While it produces a sense of calm, a connection to myself and this beautiful world around me, and a sense of peace, I can’t package that feeling and sell it on the open market. (Although if I could…) There isn’t a “thing” at the end that I can point to and say, “I did that.”

Because we are human in the world of form and measurables, we place a higher value on actions that are a.) visible and b.) create something that is also measurable. We determine that if you are not performing an action that is producing a thing, you are being rather than doing, which is considered less valuable in the world of form.

But is that always a problem? If you produce something that expresses your essential being-ness, isn’t that our purpose as human beings? That brings us to the last assumption. 

There is something negative or a problem with doing.

We are all creators in this world of form. It allows us to express who we are and to grow and expand. It is also what connects us with others. I love writing blogs, and my newsletter, coming up with training and channeling information from my advisors. And every one of those actions produces tangible things that are measurable and have value to others. They allow me to express my essential being-ness and connect with others. By sharing all of this, I am putting something that reflects my inner being into the world. All of those actions are allowing the growth of my being.

“These outward expressions allow others to see and experience you, your inner being, in the world of form. Your expression is a reflection of you. This reflection of you allows you to see yourself as part of the whole and allows others to gauge where you fit as part of it. Without this expression, there can be no way to feel connection. You naturally express who you are in every interaction you have.”

Having said all that, I think there is an issue that the human being vs. human doing phrase is trying to highlight. While the need for every action to produce something could be part of the issue, I don’t think it’s the main issue. It isn’t your actions that create or produce things in the world of form that gets in the way of your being, but the direction of your creations. Is the outside world telling you how to create you, or is your inner being authentically creating you in the world? Is your inner creating your outer, or is your outer creating your inner?