Abstract
This paper develops and presents a grounded theory of beyonding as unfixating from a synthesized and anonymized conversation between mentor and learner. Beyonding is a social-psychological process through which actors loosen, re-parameterize, and recompose their orientations to signs, sensations, procedures, and identities in fields saturated with rhythmic and semiotic regularities. The main concern resolved by this process is managing grasping under impermanence—that is, mitigating the compulsion to reify start, “self”, “should” while navigating patterned stimulation (echoes, copies, repetitions) and the lure of novelty. The theory specifies five interrelated conceptual processes: (1) de-centering self-view, (2) stopping as interrupt, (3) oscillating grasp/release, (4) rhythmizing attention, and (5) opening the option set (tetralemma-expansion). Conditions, strategies, and consequences are articulated with properties and dimensions, yielding propositions that link beyonding to flow, semiotic reframing, arousal regulation, and the practical alleviation of suffering. The theory is presented as modifiable and as a conceptual contribution for comparative fieldwork in various fields and micro-phenomenological inquiry.
Note
This draft is based on research in an unlikely and completely unpredicted source serving as an unrealized verbal memo library! A synthesized dialogue was then run through Grounded Theory completely isolated from literature review until after the analysis, and the theory that emerged explains a practice that benefits practitioners and lives across many domains. Use the following if a short link is needed: https://tinyurl.com/beyonding.
Citation
Space-Coyote, L. G. N. R. (2025). Beyonding as unfitting: A grounded theory of de-limiting sense-making in a master-student dialogue. Shugyokai.org. https://shugyokai.org/j5c3