"We are all part of the continuous whole" – an insight that came to me many years ago while out walking on a sunny spring day in Jeziorki. Is consciousness an individual phenomenon, reality as we experience it subjectively by ourselves, to ourselves? Is this the only way we experience consciousness? Are our biological bodies vessels into which consciousness is poured, and then filtered through and flavoured by our egos?
It certainly feels that way. There's the I, the pure consciousness, and the ego.
Let's separate the two. Consciousness – the simple act of being aware – is more than just the sum of our five senses acting upon our neurons at any one moment in time. The depth of our conscious experience is intensified by memory, by understanding, by longing, by feelings of satisfaction and anxiety, by aesthetic preference, by familiarity, by emotion.
This is not to negate ego. It has an evolutionary role to play in the earlier stages of our journey through life, in particular, socialisation (the third of seven). The ego is a suit-and-mask ensemble worn by the biological self. It helps with establishing our place in the status hierarchy (or ladder of authority); this plays a part in mating and natural selection. In other words, the ego is closely linked to our biology.
Only once material comfort has been achieved and the kids have left home (to quote the rabbi), our strictly biological duties carried out, can life truly begin. However, 85% of people, according to developmental psychologist Robert Kegan, are stuck at that third stage. Held back by their ego, the principal driver in their lives, they continue to scrabble for a higher position in the status hierarchy, wanting more material possessions, which signal to other human their relative place on the ladder. It is a treadmill that has nefarious side effects for society and for the environment.
The ego should, with maturity, be relegated to lesser duties, while consciousness – driven by curiosity and a thirst for understanding – should come to the fore.
I certainly feel that this is the case with me; I have a 'Dilligaf' attitude these days when it comes to projecting status or any desire to show off. Far more important is staying content, experiencing a positive balance of joy over sorrow, no money worries, because I've learnt to tell needs from wants, let those wants wither away. Key to this is establishing primacy of consciousness over the ego.
Too many of us are still in jobs they don't like, earning money to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't know. Once materially comfortable, all basic biological needs assured, it's better (and healthier) to step back, consume less, take it easier, and focus on making the most of your human potential.
But isn't that an introspective and self-centred way of life?
If consciousness pervades the universe, ultimately uniting the entire cosmos, where is the place for the individual?
That's what I shall explore over the next days.
Lent 2023, Day 21
Intuition, Inspiration and Creativity
Lent 2022: Day 21
The perennial question - how much spirituality do we need?
Lent 2021: Day 21
Where is your soul from?
Lent 2020: Day 21
Finding a symbol for your religion
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