In the June 11th article, "Perspectives of the Mind (in the Relative World)," and in the first tele-class, we were able to see a relationship in how the Ego with its various parts/voices within the Mind was created as a means to protect us, the self -- at first at a very early age and then continuing the 'protective mission' as we grew up and became adults.
We began our lives as Essence; and then, as part of the ego-development process, we became more and more associated with the various artifact-like identifications that the Ego creates in order to exist. Since an artifact is an object, a piece of something, we can look at it from a Kabbalistic perspective and see that an artifact is a yesh-mi-yesh, something from something, and is associated with the psychological and symbolic universe, Yetzirah.
Now Essence is not an 'object' that we find within ourselves; it is the true nature of who we are -- it is the truth of our very presence, the purity of our consciousness and awareness. It is the ultimate core reality of our soul. Essence has been given many names by different spiritual traditions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam called it Spirit; Buddhism calls it Buddha nature; Taoism calls it the Tao; Hinduism calls it Atman or Brahman. 1
In a sense, we might say that the Ego tries to imitate Essence, the essential qualities of Essence. The Ego only understands how to objectify. To the Ego everything is an object, an image, a copy of something -- 'something from something.'
Anne Foerst, a theologian who became known for her work with humanoid robots at MIT's Computer Science and Artifical Intelligence Laboratory, calls a human being homo narrandus -- the story-making animal. You see, the robots at the AI lab that best mimic human behaviors do not rely on a single big computer to solve a big problem like walking. Instead, the robot builders distribute small computers, like brains, throughout the robot, and the net effect of all those little brains working on small, separate problems is a robot that walks much like we do. We humans evolved in much the same way as the little-brained robots. Our three trillion cells have separate as well as integrated lives. We even have real brains spread throughout our bodies . . . every part of us is talking to us all the time -- even if we generally aren't conscious of the conversation.2
We often define ourselves by our personal stories which we can find deep in our flesh and bones as well as our psyche. It's not just in our heads (or Mind), the very cells in our bodies hold our personal stories as well. I find it interesting to see each part/voice as a character in our own story. In fact, the more parts/voices we're able to see, able to become aware of, the more we're able to see the complete picture from various different perspectives.
In the Kabbalistic Creation Story, the last seven vessels (sephirot) that emanated from Source, the Ayn Sof, broke -- shattering into pieces or shards. As these pieces fell, they captured sparks of Divine Light, forming shells, or husks, with a Divine inner core. It is a Kabbalistic belief that it is human-kind's responsibility to gather these sparks and free them from the shells thereby raising the sparks to rejoin the Infinite -- a Unification.
I can't help but compare these shells that cover up the Divine sparks with the Ego imitations that cover up pieces of Essence. My own experience in discovering and dialoguing with various parts/voices, both Mind and Body, is that I'm uncovering and getting closer to the bigger picture, Truth, Essence and thereby returning the sparks to their original source.
Exercise
After experiencing the parts/voices within the Mind and the Body, we need to ask ourselves questions like the following (feel free to add others). Your answers are specific to you and your own experience. All answers are acceptable; there are no right or wrong answers. Answering these questions from the perspective of the "Integrated Human Being" is helpful in synthesizing and integrating the work we've been doing together.
- How does the Mind affect the Body? Specifically, which parts/voices do you recognize affecting your Body? Explain how.
- How does the Body affect the Mind? Specifically, which body parts, functions, systems do you recognize as affecting your Mind? Explain how.
- Which voices within the Mind help and/or hinder the Body -- it's functions, health, size, shape (anything else?)?
- Which parts/systems within the Body help or hinder the Mind?
I encourage you to use the comment area below to share your experience and insights. Feel free to use your initials if you're uncomfortable using your name on this blog.
1 "Spacecruiser Inquiry" by A. H. Almaas.
2 "The Power of a Good Story," by Stephen Kiesling in Spirituality & Health magazine, November/December 2005, Volume 8, Number 6.
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