Shells in a personality

Photo art JE

The human mind is very complex. Just like the body has senses, also the mind has them. A body gives out by moving and acting and receives by sensing. The body also keeps itself in good shape by taking in elements from the world of nature, air, water and elements in food. The senses of the body are diversified into several such as seeing, hearing, tasting, etc.

The mind is not as diversified as the body. We usually recognize as main functions of the mind those of thinking, feeling and planning. The mind gives out and receives through these functions. These are functions of ‘acting’ as well as sensing. The mind also needs to be fed, just like the body. The mind feeds itself in interchange with products of the mind, for example thoughts and feelings expressed by others as expressed in books and forms of art and the beauty of nature. The mind also feeds itself when it comes in touch with determination in someone else.

On a still deeper level of our existence there is the heart of love. The heart is commonly not anymore divided in different sections, not when we study it in its original state. The heart loves and desires to love. The heart gives out love and it also is a sense for love. Usually we don’t have many words for love. Love is. The heart ‘acts’ love, ‘senses’ love and ‘feeds’ on love.

On the deepest level of our existence, still deeper than the heart, there is what we call the Source, God, the Creator, Cosmic Consciousness. On this level of existence we don’t even have a word to describe the functions. When we do try to do this, we get it all wrong because what we describe are expressions of God but not the original source.

Imagine the original condition of man. God lives in your heart of love, which expresses through your mind and then into various actions. Such an original person is entirely unified and all he or she does comes from the Source. There are no hidden levels in such a person, no contradictions in the mind, no doubts whether the love deep inside is trustable.

From a psychological viewpoint there is no subconscious or unconscious there and even the ego must be seen as entirely good. Self-centeredness of such a person is centered on the deepest core of the self, which lives in unity with God and therefore self-centeredness means also to be living for the sake of all and everything.

All problems in humans come from the separation from the Source deep inside. Something else has come here, something that is not united with the entire cosmos, something that is smaller and has desires to make that what is smaller stronger. This is what we commonly call self-centeredness and it makes that the mind splits into a part that thinks truth and goodness and another part that wants something not good and therefore produces untruth and what by some is called evil.

The result is confusion. Contradictions cannot co-exist harmoniously inside of us. Either the truth wins or the untruth, but as long as neither one is entirely controlling, there is confusion in the mind. Sometimes the untruth wins in a person and such a person expresses this untruth in most of his or her thoughts, feelings and actions, temporarily or for longer.

What mostly happens is that the mind and even the heart form layers. In the deepest layers there is what is hidden because it is ugly and dark. But hiding what is ugly and dark also hides what is good and original in those deepest layers of the self. Then a person begins to live estranged from the deeper self and life feels like acting. There is no direct channel anymore from the deepest love into a smile or a friendly word. Many people are not so aware that they do this. Their entire existence plays in these more external shells of the self.

Wishing each of you very much courage in the search inward where you find your deepest love but also your deepest ugliness and when the ugliness is recognized and overcome then all that remains is the Source inside which then can express unlimitedly through all what you are.

February 21, 2008