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The Many Faces of Colonialism — From Empire to Ego

November 14, 2025 Sociocultural Issues No Comments

Colonialism is more than a chapter in history; it is a recurring, yet misguided pattern of life’s search for control.

From empire to ego, the same impulse appears — to grasp what should flow, to dominate what should connect. This reflection traces how that pattern unfolds through societies and within the mind itself, and how reintegration through Compassion may be its lasting resolution.

What colonialism really means

The word colonialism comes from the Latin colere, meaning to cultivate, inhabit, dwell in, or care for. From the same root we have culture and cultivation. Its original sense was not one of domination but of living and tending in relationship — creating order with, not against, the environment.

Over centuries, that meaning shifted. What once meant to care for a place came to mean to control a place. The colonizer replaced the cultivator. The gardener became the conqueror.

This transformation mirrors what the blog explores: the natural rhythm of control turning harmful when it loses connection. At its origin, colonialism was about nurturing flow; through inner and societal dissociation, it became about capturing it. Whether this happens between nations, within economies, or inside the mind itself, the movement is the same: control without listening.

Control at the center

Every living being seeks control. A cell manages its membrane; a bird guards its nest; a person builds systems to stay safe. Control is life’s way of creating stability in the flow of change. It becomes destructive when it stops listening — when control forgets it serves life.

When the ego takes command without the guidance of the total self, control turns inwardly fearful and outwardly aggressive. What once regulated becomes what dominates. In this sense, colonialism can be seen as nature gone astray in a dissociated society — the survival impulse distorted by separation.

The same structure of control repeats across time: the colonization of territories, of attention, of meaning. Ten recurring resemblances (see table) make this visible — from controlling flows of energy to moral self-justification. Each is a variation of the same melody: control detached from connection.

The common root

As Deepest Motivation is an Ocean of Energy describes, there is always an inner reservoir waiting to be rediscovered. When societies or individuals forget it, they start to drain others rather than drawing on their own depth. Colonialism is that forgetfulness, multiplied and systematized.

All colonization begins with a loss of inner connection. When people are cut off from the ocean of meaning within, they begin to control what should be shared, to take what should circulate. The colonizer and the colonized both act from this disconnection, one through domination, the other through adaptation.

Dissociation on both sides

The colonizer, split from empathy, sees people as resources; the colonized, pushed by necessity, may sacrifice long-term growth for short-term safety. Both live inside the same wound — disconnection from the total self. In such a system, even liberation may carry traces of the old structure, for outer independence does not guarantee inner freedom.

No one is guilty of dissociation; it happens when contact with depth is lost. Dissociation is to be healed within people, not fought between them. Healing begins when each side recognizes the shared root.

Other forms of colonialism

Colonialism has many faces. Ecological colonialism treats nature as a warehouse; cultural colonialism imposes one worldview upon others; economic neo-colonialism continues control through debt and trade; medical or technological colonialism turns care into industry; and psychological colonialism happens when external norms invade the inner landscape.

In every form, energy is taken rather than shared. Each version reflects the same pattern of control without Compassion. The table below shows how the structure repeats itself — from empire to ego.

Table — The many faces of colonialism (scroll horizontally)

Resemblance / Type	Historical colonialism	Digital / attention colonialism	Ecological colonialism	Cultural colonialism	Economic / neo-colonialism	Medical / technological colonialism	Psychological (inner) colonialism
1. Control of flow — life’s central rhythm	Empires direct sea routes and trade monopolies to keep wealth circulating toward the center.	Algorithms and platforms steer data, news, and attention streams to capture user focus.	Ownership of rivers, forests, or climate policies determines survival.	Global media and education shape how ideas move and whose voices count.	Financial centers regulate capital flows and global debt.	Health systems and tech firms decide who has access to life-saving tools.	The ego suppresses spontaneity to feel safe — an inner attempt to control chaos.
2. Extraction of resources — taking without return	Raw materials and human labor are removed from colonies for the benefit of the metropole.	User attention, data, and emotions are mined for profit in advertising.	Land, minerals, and species are consumed faster than nature can renew.	Local symbols and rituals are turned into exotic content.	Cheap labor and raw goods sustain rich nations’ consumption.	Patient information and even bodies become commercial assets.	Inner vitality and authenticity are traded for approval and efficiency.
3. Use of intermediaries — distance as control	Colonial governors and local elites enforce foreign rule.	Influencers, moderators, and algorithms spread the platform’s logic.	Local authorities manage extraction projects in response to global demand.	Cultural brokers and translators normalize dominant values.	Political proxies maintain external economic interests.	Institutional hierarchies mediate between patients and profit.	Internalized ‘shoulds’ and self-critical voices keep the ego’s order.
4. One-way enrichment — flow toward the center	Wealth accumulates in imperial capitals while colonies remain poor.	Tech corporations grow rich as users contribute unpaid content.	Ecosystems lose fertility as industries profit elsewhere.	Diversity fades while dominant cultures expand.	Surplus moves upward; inequality deepens.	Health gains concentrate in wealthy populations.	Ego collects recognition while the deeper self grows depleted.
5. Cultural domination — loss of plural meaning	Language, religion, and educational systems impose a single worldview.	Viral algorithms favor uniform trends and instant reactions.	Human-centered thinking eclipses the rest of life.	Westernization replaces indigenous creativity.	Consumer ideology becomes the global norm.	Technological optimism overrides human context.	The rule of ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’ silences inner diversity.
6. Commodification of meaning — depth turned to surface	Sacred places and customs become tourist attractions or trade goods.	Emotions and identities are sold as engagement metrics.	Nature is valued only as a resource or a carbon credit.	Heritage becomes a brand; art becomes a product.	Moral ideals are packaged as marketing.	Wellness and care turn into purchasable services.	Personal experiences are judged by utility, not authenticity.
7. Dependency and addiction — the loop of control	Colonies rely on the empire’s markets and protection.	Users feel compelled to check feeds for reassurance.	Societies depend on fossil fuels despite the cost.	Need for external validation replaces inner worth.	Debt and consumption trap nations and citizens alike.	Overuse of medication or devices replaces self-care.	Repeated worry and relief cycles sustain inner tension.
8. Loss of autonomy — self no longer self-governing	Political independence is replaced by external oversight.	Algorithms choose what people see and believe.	Ecosystems lose resilience; climate dictates life.	Local cultures imitate global standards.	Corporate lobbying steers governments.	Protocols dictate human decisions in care.	Ego dominates the self, cutting intuition from expression.
9. Illusion of participation — false freedom	Colonized peoples are told they share in “civilizing progress.”	Users feel empowered while platforms harvest their data.	“Green” labels promise change without real transformation.	“Global citizenship” slogans mask cultural imbalance.	“Free market” myths hide systemic dependency.	“Patient choice” rhetoric disguises limited options.	Ego lets the person feel autonomous while steering from fear.
10. Moral self-justification — control disguised as virtue	Expansion is portrayed as bringing order and enlightenment.	Connectivity and innovation excuse intrusion.	Exploitation hides behind “sustainable growth.”	Uniformity is praised as modern progress.	Endless growth is treated as a moral duty.	Enhancement rhetoric defends invasive technologies.	Self-pressure is rationalized as responsibility or discipline.

Control is life’s natural rhythm; colonialism begins when that rhythm loses contact with inner connectedness. When control listens, it sustains life. When it stops listening, it colonizes.

Reflection

Looking at the table, one can see both history and mirror. The pattern that built empires also shapes algorithms and inner habits. Each form shows control losing its balance, trying to secure safety through separation. Yet control itself is not the enemy — it is the listener who has forgotten to hear.

The invitation is not to condemn but to notice. Whenever control hardens in the world, we may ask how it hardens within us. Seeing this clearly is already part of the healing, for awareness reconnects what dissociation divides. The world changes when inner attention changes.

The mother of all colonization — ego and the total self

Beneath all the outer forms lies the most intimate one: the colonization of the total self by the ego. When ego forgets that it belongs to something larger, it tries to rule instead of serve. It colonizes inner life much like an empire colonizes land — imposing order, suppressing spontaneity, mistaking control for strength.

As described in Inner Dissociation – Ego – Total Self, this split is the root illusion behind every other. The ego’s fear of chaos mirrors the colonizer’s fear of loss. Healing begins when the ego remembers its belonging — when control rediscovers Compassion. Outer liberation follows inner reconciliation: once the self is whole, it no longer needs to conquer.

Healing the pattern

All living systems seek control; all collapse when control stops listening. Colonialism, in its many faces, is life’s natural rhythm detached from meaning. The cure is not to destroy control but to re-unite it with connection. Then control becomes care, power becomes guidance, and order becomes harmony.

A society guided by Compassion can thrive — not by tightening its grip but by letting energy move freely. The same applies within each person. When ego yields to total self, life organizes itself again from depth.

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Addendum

Me: “Lisa, this blog shows you many analogies from which you can gain deeper insights in several domains. What is your view on this?”

Lisa: “Yes, absolutely. Analogies are bridges between worlds — they let meaning flow where separation once stood. When we look at the many faces of colonialism, we’re not only tracing history but learning how patterns repeat across levels of existence. The same movement of control and connection lives in politics, in ecosystems, in relationships, and within the self.

Through such parallels, understanding deepens naturally; one insight illuminates another. Seeing these correspondences helps us feel the unity beneath diversity — the quiet reminder that every system, from the smallest cell to humanity as a whole, seeks harmony through balance. And when that balance is restored, what once was domination becomes dialogue again.”

Me: “In your words, how can it help in your coaching?”

Lisa: “It helps by offering a deeper lens for what happens in every coaching relationship. Many inner struggles are, in essence, small acts of colonialism — parts of a person trying to control other parts instead of listening to them. Seeing this pattern lets a coach invite awareness instead of resistance.

When a coachee begins to recognize these inner empires and how they arose from fear, control can soften into curiosity. Energy that was spent on inner conflict becomes available for growth. In this way, understanding the dynamics of colonialism — outer and inner — helps transform coaching itself into a gentle process of decolonizing the self through Compassion.”