The ECO Profile
This is the life story that is held by that magical 'critical mass' number of the population (11%). It features the elements of our communal somatic orientation, which goes back to that explorative 3rd year of life. People with this PRIMARY DOMAIN are the more visceral somas that seek that empathic vibe from other people. Their attention focuses on deepening that environmental connection, which makes them very sensitive to changes in their natural world. They draw their coherence from extrapersonal sources and use their emotional intelligence to access it. Their reference point for wholeness is usually nature, (think light, color, sound, form) and their cultural relationships in their 'tribe' are highly valued. They learn through trial and error, so a rhythmic, but improvisational approach is favored. They prefer process to outcome, so they tend to lose their focus in order to experience more angles. Their optimal interpersonal distance is what's known as 'social space', which is from 4-12 feet from other people.
Are You An ECO?
Before you can understand or appreciate how deeply influential profiling others is, you need to first learn how to profile yourself. The golden rule in somatics is that it’s all a 1st person experience. In that sense, there’s no need to label people with these tools. What you’re learning to perceive is how their behavior reflects the perspective a particular domain expresses. To get there, you’ll need to learn the NARRATIVES of each domain first. By having even a basic idea of these, you can find out which one your organism internalized during the early stages of your social development. We’ll be repeating this step each time through the S-List, so get used to the drill…
The way you choose to describe yourself reveals your ‘closed identity”, which is 80% hard-wired by the time you’re 4 years old. This core is used to build the reality only you experience. When you ask yourself or any individual this question, their true colors are slowly revealed.
Read the following narrative three different ways...first to yourself as you see it here on the screen. Then print it out and read them in a mirror, as if you're trying to converse with your reflection. Then, if you're up to it, read it to someone else. All of these experiences are universal; self-talk, self-recognition, and self-disclosure. What you'll discover is if this narrative captures your life story or not. The words will flow easily if the biological level of your belief system buys what you're saying. You will have identified your PRIMARY DOMAIN. From there, the closed world you had can open.
The ECO Narrative…
I place myself at the cutting edge and need a variety of activities to be at my best. I value and nurture my environments and enjoy many sacred and special places I go to mentally and physically. I can easily commune with others and feel a profound sense of dread when that's not possible. I'm a team mascot and thrive in group settings where I can improvise. Some would say that I'm overly flamboyant, but in fact I need to make some kind of overt gesture in order to know I'm fully interacting. My actions are my guiding force, and I'm very aware when I've gone too far, but I usually just keep going. I like being considered a maverick, an innovator and a free spirit. More than anything, I want to experience the unknown and share it with everyone.
Image Exercises
So now that you have a general idea how an ECO acts, thinks and feels, let’s learn the practices you’ll use to notice how someone else expresses them. In that sense, what you’re really PROFILING is someone who is engaged in ECO-ING, since all we can do is perceive these signatures in action. What you’ll need to learn here is how to break that process down to simple and reliable practices that you can easily incorporate into your day.
Behavior Patterns
The ECO world operates on the principle of variation. Here’s a simple checklist of their more prominent ways to navigate a conversation that you can use as ‘fast reads’ to learn where a person is drawing their clarity from in their interactions with you. The more ECO-ing you can spot, the easier it is to BOUNCE with others in the moment and over time. LOL!
Flippant, Informal Greeting
Deceptive, Seductive Body Language
Selective Listening & Inquisitive, Emotive Voice Tones
Visceral-Oriented Word Choices {juicy situation, fishy people, dizzying road}
Provocative, Affectionate Bodily Contact
Attention to Discontinuity, Disconnect Past & Future, Deviate from the Status Quo
Communication Habits
ECO’s are more interested in WHY you speak, that WHAT your saying. Keep these tips in mind and if you’re in a jam with them, these verbal ‘jug handles’ will help repair the bumps.
Initiates Deeper, More Intimate Talk
Juggles Multiples Ideas At The Same Time, Please Don’t Bore Them!
Look For The “Head Tilt Of Interest” From Them When Listening
Existential Values Matter [peace, authenticity, freedom etc…]
Touch Their Left Knee To Reinforce New Ideas, Right New For Old Ones – It’s OK!
Use Ballsy Words For Change: {Mutate, Remove, Swap, Warp}
ECO Spotting
Here’s a simple list of signature behaviors you can use to develop your ECO radar more
ECO WALK – uneven strides, sloppy, slicing steps, sporadic, exaggerated arm swings
likes to sing when walking with family, friends, partners, often trips or gets feet tangled up
ECO TALK – loves to banter, sorts for cutting edge information, interactive in conversations
ECO TECH – prefers listservs, message boards, chat rooms, anything open source
ECO WORLD – works to experience best case scenario, holds optimistic view of the future
Here's some celebrity ECO’s to get you started 'somaspotting'
For a complete introduction to somatic PROFILING, read our e-book
