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An image of Self by qimono

‘What do we look like before we are born?’ is a famous Zen-Buddhist koan; an incomprehensible and nonsensical question designed to open our mind to the reality that we are life itself. That is to say, we are as much a part of the process called life as everything there is, and to regard ourselves as outside or above it, only leads to frustration and suffering – as is shown by the following tale:

Once upon a time, a little boy was playing in the yard when he saw a grasshopper moving about very slowly.
“What is wrong with you?” the boy asked.
“A pebble fell out of the sky and onto my leg,” answered the grasshopper, “and because my leg hurts I cannot move very fast.”
Thereupon the boy grabbed the grasshopper and began to tear off its leg.
“Ouch! Stop, please! Why are you doing that?”
“Well, if I take your sore leg off, you won’t feel pain anymore, right?”
“But now you are making the pain even worse, and without my leg I can’t walk! Please stop that and put me down!”
“No, I really think it’s much better for you if we take your leg off. Now please hold still for a moment and let me do my job.”

How would we feel if we were the grasshopper? Most likely we would disagree as much to the boys actions. Yet this is what we tend to do to others, animals, and nature, all of the time. As soon as we have convinced ourselves that we know what’s best for another,[1] we immediately disregard all reason and stuff whatever we deem necessary down their throat. Their needs and wants are from then on completely ignored, just like other potentially detrimental consequences of our actions (e.g. to the climate). How did we get there? What makes us think we’re the biblical God? And what can be done to regain reason and thereby our humanity?

Development Of Mind

When our mental faculties developed beyond the point of merely acting instinctively, the art of reflection was born. That meant that we, unlike most other animals (and vegetative life), could actually think about our thoughts, feelings, and actions. It’s like we became apertures through which the universe was looking at itself. This was the birth of mind, with which arose the realms of reflection, intellect, dream, imagination, and fantasy.

Mind: Beyond The Known. Image: Activedia

But instead of developing mind to its fullest capacity, the West became afraid of it when dreams and fantasies turned into nightmares. Subsequently mind got hijacked by exactly that institution designated for its development: religion. For even though in their esotericism Roman Catholicism, Christianity and Islam, resemble the religions of Asia, Africa and the Americas in many remarkable ways, in terms of organizational structure they resemble the hierarchy of a medieval kingdom or current nation state – complete with propaganda, oppression and punishments for those who won’t play by their rules. They’ve essentially become political organizations with similar goals: power and the biggest chunk of wealth for the top dogs. And that means for the majority of people that they are merely allowed to utilize their minds (and bodies) solely for the benefit of whoever is in charge.

People in charge never want a population capable of critical thinking, because as soon as we know that we’re being oppressed and abused like cattle, nobody would want to stay in such a situation. Yet the inevitable result of such an attitude is that both the leaders and the populace are locked in a deadly grip of anxiety; for those in charge are always anxious for an uprising and will do anything in their power to keep that from happening, and the rest lives in continuous anxiety of losing their feeling of security by being thrown out of the group and losing their livelihood. This is an accurate image of the current situation in the Western world, where everyone is keeping everyone in a tight anxiety deadlock – a situation which has pretty much existed since the Roman Empire, and accelerated dramatically since the onset of the industrial revolution.[2]

Now thinking – intellect – is an important problem solving function of mind and is predominantly engaged with the external world, but it’s far from its only function. Mind regulates all the bodily processes we hardly ever think about, but keep us going none the less. Mind feeds intuition, transcends the physical realm, can heal ourselves and others, and can make us experience oneness with our fellow human beings and the universe at large – and that’s merely a couple of functions that we know about!

Mind, The Final Frontier. Image: Alexmogopro

Yet somewhere in the development of mind we chose to concentrate solely on developing our intellect, with which we could manipulate the world outside of ourselves; but somehow the development of becoming knowledgeable about our internal world practically came to a standstill.[3] In the West we have, in other words, developed technology and industry to unprecedented heights, but spiritually, emotionally & morally, we stopped developing around the age of a toddler. Practically that means that the most sophisticated technological devices and weaponry are being handled by people with an overdeveloped intellect, but with the spiritual, emotional & moral – hence human – skills of a three year old.

It’s exactly for this reason why the little boy is convinced he’s doing the right thing by tearing off the grasshoppers leg, and why certain groups and individuals are convinced that everyone else should abide by their rules – no matter the cost or consequences. Because without proper emotional guidance, intellect by itself becomes terribly frightened as soon as it’s being questioned. That usually disguises itself as being decisive, but the more decisive one acts, the more insecure and frightened one usually is.

The East, by contrast, went in the opposite direction. Their technological developments could not match those of the West (deliberate past tense!), but their spiritual developments are far more advanced, hence why the widespread emotional anxiety in the West is unheard of in the East. That is because the East understands that peace of mind and acceptance of life as it is in its totality, can only be found within oneself.

Generally speaking; Hindus attempt to transcend the earthly valley of tears; Buddhists find the divine in ordinary, everyday life; and Taoists view us equally among all living beings as an integral part of Nature. Yet what they all understand is that we as individuals need to become knowledgeable about our internal world in order to attain our spiritual goals and hence be an active and meaningful part of life as a whole. One of their most important realizations is the fact that everything is in continuous change, and the more we try to resist it, the more we suffer.

So if the diagnosis for our inability to think, feel and act reasonably and in a human fashion, lies in the imbalance between an overdeveloped knowledge of our external world (intellectual/material/yang) and underdeveloped knowledge of our internal world (emotional/spiritual/yin), the prescription for treatment seems obvious: relax on obtaining knowledge about our external world, and accelerate on obtaining knowledge about our internal world. We need more Yin and less Yang.

Yet nothing of a kind seems to be happening. Technological advancements follow each other in rapid succession. Our systems of education are designed to spew out bank clerks, super-salesmen, industrialists, IT specialists, or diplomats; people who are technically efficient, but who lack an emotional and moral foundation on which to base their conduct, which makes them easy to scare and manipulate.

These observations are an adequate indication that the powers that be are only interested in breeding one type of humans: obedient workers.[4] That statement is reinforced by the fact that no single western state or society has ever provided education for all ages, which would be a true sign of an enlightened society: a place where people would be stimulated to keep developing themselves throughout their lives, instead of merely stimulating them into buying more stuff or convincing (or forcing) them into waging senseless wars.[5]

Nevertheless, every society is ultimately made up of individual people, and simultaneous with the development of mind arose the development of personal choice. That means each and every one of us has the ability to choose to stay in a poisonous situation or step out of it. However, the ability to choose requires a matured spiritual, emotional, and moral development, which is obviously something a toddler lacks.

A toddler is by default still completely dependent on its environment, and is therefore incapable of making mature, well informed, and free decisions about anything. Since most of us never passed the toddler stage when it comes to spiritual, emotional, and moral development, we will forever feel a sense of imprisonment in any situation that we find ourselves in as adults. If we’re lucky, it’s a situation that’s both physically and mentally stimulating. Yet the reality for most is to feel trapped either in a numbing workplace, sterile relationships, both, or worse.

Rise Of A Philosophical Itch

Be all that as it may, there is a good chance that at some point in life many of us actually get the ‘philosophical itch’ by which we begin to wonder: Is this really all there is to life? Am I really happy or am I merely saying I’m happy because that’s what’s expected of me? How do I know if and when I’m using the talents of my particular body and mind? How can I find out what stimulates me and what numbs me? Why does my environment find it difficult when I’m sad or angry? Do I find others difficult when they are sad or angry? How many opinions have I obtained through study or experience and how many were spoon-fed by my environment while growing up? And if there are not many I’ve obtained through study or experience, meaning that most of my opinions are not my own, who’s life am I actually living then?

“*Is this all there is to life?*” The philosophical itch emerges. Image: StockSnap

When that philosophical itch gets a hold of us, we can decide to follow up on it by becoming interested in obtaining knowledge about our internal world – our own mind and body. Then questions like, ‘Why do I think what I think, feel what I feel, and do what I do?’ become interesting, and the answers to them can only be found when we begin to thoroughly study ourselves. But how to do that without any experience? Here are a few tips to get started.

One of the most revealing and fun sources of information on human thought, feeling (emotions) and behaviour, is to be found in myths, legends and fairy & folk tales. No stuffy psychology textbook provides more information on our deeply hidden motivations, irrational behaviour, and daily acts, than the stories from these realms.

That is because through their symbolisms, they circumvent our intellect and speak to us directly on a visceral level, and in that way they lay bare the workings of our own subconscious in a more than recognizable way. For they show both our strengths and weaknesses, our great achievements and shameful secrets, our ability to trust and deceive, our good deeds and our rascalities, in all their human glory.

They thereby provide insight into the mystery of our soul in a timeless fashion, for otherwise they wouldn’t have survived as long as they have. And it is by those stories that we see that our ancestors had to deal with the same problems we do nowadays, and that there is always a way to overcome them.

Many archetypal characters are to be found in myths, legends and fairy tales. Image: KELLEPICS

As a tip: the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell are a sure recommendation. Not only was he a great scholar and teacher, but his writings penetrate deep into the meanings of the symbolisms of the myths he researched. His book The Hero With 1000 Faces is a great place to start, because in there he shows that The Hero’s Journey as it is depicted in many myths from around the world, all evolve around the same theme: in order to become liberated from your demons, the only way to do so is to face them head on! The knowledge that many people have done that in the past, are doing it now, and will do that in the future, can bring much solace to those of us who are on the threshold on going on the journey within, but still feel anxiety or apprehensions.

Furthermore we can learn from those stories how the characters feel emotionally about different situations, and how they deal with them. From there we can begin to investigate how we ourselves feel when our buttons get pushed, which means learning to locate where in our bodies those feelings emerge, and describing what it is that we feel. Subsequently we can assess how we usually deal with difficult situations, and ask ourselves if that is actually the way we want to deal with them.[6]

Naturally there are myriad other ways in order to obtain knowledge about our internal world. Eastern methods like meditation, yoga, qigong, or tai chi, are specifically designed for exploration of our inner worlds (mentally and physically). Participating in music, dance, writing, drawing/painting, or drama, increases our self-knowledge by means of expression. The main function of the arts and literature is predominantly to open our minds to different perspectives by challenging our current ones. If we feel to be in need of talking to someone about our current state, there are countless therapists in the psychological and psychosomatic realm offering their services to help us get started.

Naturally, every religion also still promises liberation. However, as soon as religion becomes institutionalized, usually the institution becomes more important than its members or congregation. Therefore, read as many scriptures and commentaries as you like, but if you desire council, be watchful that they have your interest at heart, and not try to ‘wheel you in.’

Whatever manner we choose to gain knowledge and understanding of our inner worlds, it only works if we make that decision completely by ourselves. The path to self-knowledge is not only the most worth-while path to travel, but also the scariest one, which is why coercion will only exacerbate our apprehension, fear, and feeling of separateness. Yet, if we wish to be liberated from our demons and anxieties, and feel in union with our fellow beings and the universe at large, it’s the only path to travel. Moreover, it is by far the most interesting and gratifying path you’ll ever encounter.

By stepping on that path, however, there is a chance that loved ones won’t understand our ‘U-turn’ and react negatively. Therefore at first sight this path might appear desolate and lonely, but nothing could be further from the truth. For whereas at the heart of our collective suffering lies a deeply cultivated loathing of ourselves (we were born in sin after all), by putting the spotlight on ourselves we open the door to start making peace within ourselves. And when compassion for our self emerges, that is extended by default to compassion for others. Not for nothing is it written in the Tao Te Ching:

“Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.”

That becomes even more apparent when you are going to meet all the amazing people who also decided to step onto the path towards self-awareness.

Jolly Exploring,
Erik

Notes:

[1] ‘Another’ being a person, people, family, company, sports club, school, university, NGO, country, the world, nature, the universe, etc.

[2] With very few exceptions when enlightened leaders were at the helm.

[3] That is why IQ tests hardly provide any information about a person as a whole, because they only provide information on someone’s problem solving skills, but say nothing about one’s skills in the fields of communication, co-operation, intuition, sensitivity, emotionality, or humanity.

[4] As George Carlin already noticed decades ago.

[5] Further reading on this: The Sane Society by Erich Fromm.

[6] In this blogpost you can find my Five Questions for Self-Examination©, which can be used as a guideline to find patterns in our thinking, feeling and acting when our buttons get pushed.

Are you open?

Dear reader, since every human being has a unique outlook on life by default, we’d love to learn about your views of the world. You are therefore invited to either leave a comment underneath this article, or contact us if you’d like to share a philosophic and stimulating article via this website.

Know Thy Self