The passing of the baton
The elders who set the rules for civilized behavior -- church and state -- were rock solid through 19th century agrarian hard times and 20th century industrial hard times. Until, around the time that Berlin’s Wall went up, theirs and civilized behavior’s supremacy began to come down. Post-war “peace and prosperity” turned habitat-friendly conservation imposed by hard times to the habitat-unfriendly greed and excess of good times. From trusting others’ judgment and goodwill to set the rules to each individual trusting their own.
The passing of the baton from community- to self-rule that occurred in the1960s and 1970s, the period when Jesus channeled A Course in Miracles. From its first page in the mid-60s to the last in the mid-70s, when the book was published. Times that encouraged adolescents in particular to question Why. The question that brings the authoritarian mindset to full alert with the terrifying sound of cracks in its foundation.
Jesus in his own words
The significance of those times for changing human perception pales in comparison with the significance of the Course. Marking a great leap forward in Mind-Child’s progress toward Self-Awareness through its projections. The Tao’s wisdom in The Chinese Book of Changes, classical sixth-sense Greek philosophy, Jungian intuitive archetypal psychology, and Jungian / Myers-Briggs personality type theory, brought progress forward by getting right some of the What of explanation. What they were unable to intuit was the Why and the How.
Until Jesus could put his message into his own words through the Course. Until then jammed by “Christianity’s” authoritarian mischaracterizations, delivered to harmful effect through rigid, one-sided Church doctrine, its “Bible,” and its gruesome symbol, the crucifix. Jesus’ message now communicated in the clear, through the metaphysics of Reality and unreality and the psychology of Mind-Child’s unreal “separation” from Reality. Through the mental and emotional mechanics of self-delusion. Delusion by its own opposite, a reflection detected in a mirror by Mind disabled and disempowered, stripped of judgment, boundaryless and defenseless.
Baseline: the “here” for where to go from
A reflection about to give Mind-Child a lesson in how to stay true to who it is by becoming painfully aware of who it isn’t. Whereas Mind-Parent Self-Awareness, on the growth end of Creation, could define itself through spontaneous Relationship between two functions of what is – Logic and Love, -- Child Free Choice’s version of Self-Awareness, at its end of Creation, had to define itself through a temporal-illusory encounter between who it is and who it isn’t.
A metaphysical-psychological paradigm that advances explanation from What’s happening to Why and How it’s happening. On a level of significance with the transition of cosmology’s paradigms from Newton’s to Einstein’s. Fitting into place, in this case, the dimension missing from explanation that had gone before and providing the metaphysical and psychological baseline for further progress. By intuiting from insights shared by Guidance an essential for analysis: awareness of where we’re at – the baseline condition – that enables the measurement and evaluation of change. By combining the What with the Why and How.
Finding motivation to choose again
In an essential for motivation beyond doing what we’re told to do or think we “should” do. In a context where self-unawareness is recovering independent judgment and asking questions, when service to “Me," the self-centered demands of a one-dimensional impersonator, become more insistent, motivation can’t rely any longer on satisfying someone else’s idea of being “right” or “righteous,” “innocent” or “guilty,” “good” or “bad,” “nice” or “mean,” “proper” or “correct.” It must be satisfied internally, within itself. It must become what conscience was always meant to be, not an angel speaking softly in one ear while the “devil” bellows into the other, but its own motivator. With a case to make for listening that the voice in the other ear can’t make, Explanation. Why and How to listen.
Why, so that the peace, truth, and sanity of Self-Awareness can be recovered and Mind-Child Free Choice can get back to its real function. To the work and play of Creation – where the real fun is. How, by being aware of the choice between guides, one a misperception in a mirror -- tribe teaching us who we aren’t, tribes -- the other helping us as individuals to correct our misperceptions, get context right, and make the right choice.
Disorder founded on misunderstanding
If the old ideas of “authority” tremble at the sound of their foundation cracking it would be because they forbade questioning Why. Why should voices of “authority” be heard and not the voices of their “inferiors” – their docile subjects? Why is theirs the only perspective, the only version of the Big Picture, allowed?
Think the author of The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie, paragon of business acumen, philanthropy, and statecraft, pilfering from his employees’ paychecks by misrepresenting his companies’ capacity to pay. Rationalizing that he “knew better how to spend their money than they did.” A brazen confession of theft from arrogance proud of its Machiavellian “morality.” Evidence that only one version of the Big Picture is allowed because the old one-sided ideas of “authority” are still around. Incapable of logical explanation or making a persuasive case because they can’t.
“Authority” continues not explaining itself with the result that “order” founded on avoidance of explanation becomes disorder founded on misunderstanding. The whirlwind reaped from misidentification with a dummy in a mirror programmed by a code. Not to be the absolute best and brightest but to be the absolute worst and dumbest. A mindless beast. Willful “action.” That can’t stand questions because it has no answers.
Echoes from a past that’s still here
Asking Why requires explanation from Guidance connected to Logic-Love. With Mind-Child’s loss of Self-Awareness came loss of awareness of its Relationship with Mind-Parents. With Logic-Love. Leaving it to function as its Self – Choice – without its other half. Without functions essential to Choice that’s Free: reasoning, evaluating, and judging from context that can’t make sense without Logic-Love. Thus, when the impersonator in the mirror is asked Why, it responds with silence demanding silence. Or like an escape artist, a magician, disappearing behind change of context in a sudden puff of smoke, a cloud of obfuscation. Or predatory menace baring its teeth in a snarl, replying to “threat” with threat. An ostrich making the question go away by making its hearing go away -- burying its head in the sand.
In the comforting protection of self-delusion. An act of psychotic denial by the Joker in the mirror, revealing that the code of opposite corrupting its captive’s mind has the “mind” of an animal. That it’s not human. And lacks the distinctly human faculties of thinking meant to enable Choice, Mind-Child’s function. It’s the animal side of human-animal, transformed by herd mentality into the unshakable will of a one-sided beast. Ein volk. Eine Deutschland. Ein Fuhrer!
Intrusion’s nemesis: Choice
In Reality, Mind on Definition’s upper side is protected from intrusion by its opposite on its underside by the boundary between Reality and unreality, possibility and impossibility, activity and inactivity. In unreality, the boundary has been compromised by intrusion, allowing human-animal to reverse itself into animal-human. Allowing underside to intrude into upper side, a consequence of Mind-Child’s misidentification with its reflection, the code defining its implied opposite on its underside. The hallucinated state we’re in: “seeing” “reality” that’s not there.
The intrusion of Mind-Child’s reflection, its underside, compromised Mind but could not deprive it of its function: Choice. Because Mind-Child and its function, Free Choice, are one and the same. Leaving Choice deprived of Free but not Mind deprived of Choice. Leaving the upper side of human-animal still protected by a boundary: between Choice and not-choice.
The only boundary still intact
The defining distinction between human and animal. Our saving grace that distinguishes us as “human.” Two-sidedness impervious to intrusion by opposite one-sidedness from our underside. Because Choice is who we are. Mind-Child, our Real Self -- Choice that’s Free in Reality, un-free in unreality. But still Choice.
Human-Choice above the boundary isn’t looking for a fight but it will defend itself. Not always by Marquess of Queensberry rules, but Choice makes it aware of the difference. Aware of the boundary. And, given a choice, it will generally try to do what’s right. Guided by principles and values, the morals of conscience, duty and accountability, and self-correction. Accessible through intuition, human Mind’s sixth sense. It’s aware of the difference between Innocence and guilt, right-doing and wrong-doing. And if choosing Innocence is asking too much it will at least choose to avoid guilt.
Extreme Makeover: Personal Edition
Degrees of contamination are reflected in personality types: less in Mind-centered types drawn toward the power of attraction inherent in Mind-Choice, inclined to resist contamination; more in body-centered types drawn toward the power of opposition inherent in body-“action,” inclined to welcome contamination. A source of conflict within the human Mind’s upper side since it’s contaminated. And the only boundary between human and animal still intact is between Choice and not-choice.
The boundary between opposite personality types is weak if it’s there at all. When types are taken as given, locked in place rather than subject to change by choice, the options for improving competence, or avoiding or reducing friction, will be limited. Perceptions and behavior, intention and action, take precedence while choice among different personalities, different selves, isn’t even a thought.
Yet Isabel Myers, in Gifts Differing (1980), says it’s possible and suggests how. For opposite personality types, working together, to identify personality components responsible for under-performance and disrupting relationships, weakened by neglect, so they can be strengthened. Suggesting that both Mind- and body-centered types can feed off of one another’s strengths to strengthen themselves. Re-engineering what they do by re-engineering who they are. Not by “re-inventing” themselves for self-marketing but by a self-awareness makeover for personal growth.
Where the “action” is
A concept that relies on variables to work, among them communication between personality types that may not work since they’re opposites. And if one supports the concept that alone would be enough for the other to reject it. But obstructions notwithstanding, the factor that makes support worth considering is Choice.
Our ace in the hole. Just as Choice can evolve from un-free to Free, just as self-unawareness can evolve toward Self-Awareness, personality opposites can choose reciprocal self-makeovers if shared purpose or other conditions make it worthwhile. The purpose, for example, of fortifying human’s defenses against its main opposite: animal. Where the “action” is.
“Action” that’s rational
Two-sidedness is Mind capable of choosing because that’s its purpose: Life-Worth and Creativity authenticated by Free Choice in Reality, the appearance of separation healed in unreality by Choice recovering Freedom -- its integrity. With the faculties of Mind needed to gain awareness of meaning and purpose, the ability to choose freely:
- introspection / self-awareness
- intuition-sixth sense / insight-reflection / connecting spontaneously with Guidance from Logic-Love for help discerning context / meaning-purpose
- thinking-reasoning / analyzing / measuring-quantifying / evaluating-qualifying / sorting-differentiating, to lay a rational foundation for choosing among possibilities
- judging-integrating / choosing-deciding / pairing the right possibility with the right context
All prerequisites for choosing freely and acting rationally.
Choiceless one-sided that’s not rational
Because Guidance that brings order to chaos is blocked by chaotic thinking. Irrational and willful. A self-centered two-year-old throwing a tantrum. Demanding gratification when the Vision of Logic, aware of choices between different perspectives, ideals and objectives, and personalities all sharing the same space, understands that yielding rational choice to willfulness opposed to choice only brings more chaos. Arbitrary, one-sided, authoritarian rule.
A mindless beast’s version of “order:” whatever it wants. To be taken by mischaracterization, domination, possession, and captivity. “Action” by animal instinct, purged of thought. One-sided, self-centered, delusional. Opposed to evolution. Deprived of the defining attribute of life: growth. Deprived of the joy and pleasure of learning and Creativity essential to growth. Lifeless. Soulless. Stuck in the mud. Unhappy. One-sided.
The self-destructive power of prophecy
The Tao’s I Ching is consulted for its uncanny relevance to the present and for another psychic talent: awareness of the future. Said to be based on numbers. A theory I don’t question, more because it’s beyond my interest than because it makes sense. Clarity about context in the present is enough.
Nevertheless, the relevance of intuition’s Guidance is validated by Logic-Love’s Vision – the power of spontaneous insight to see beyond appearances. To recognize substance with clarity beyond time, no less an appearance than the apparitions that pass through it. A talent that exists but can’t be shared with Free Choice without compromising it.
It may be the real reason why Apollo took back his gift of prophecy from Cassandra, not to deprive her of a special talent but to save humans from accessing it. So while help from Guidance can be experienced as the presence of clairvoyance it’s present only in Guidance. Help transmitted to seeker is help from clairvoyance, not clairvoyance itself. If that were not so meaning and purpose from context would be overlaid by meaning and purpose from seeker: the search for supernatural power. The self-destructive power of prophecy.
“As it was written, so it shall be done.”
Ramses (Yul Brynner), The Ten Commandments 1956)
Winner by acclamation: Academy Award for Ludicrous Pomposity
Category: Ludicrously Pompous Motion Pictures
The motivating force of Why
No prerequisite for choosing freely and acting rationally is more important than context that gets meaning and purpose right. Because getting it wrong is allowing misperceptions and misjudgments to lead humanity toward self-destruction. The point in flawed thinking where humanity falls into an open manhole. Blinded by unawareness of who and where we are. Of what put us here, when, how, and why. Unaware of Mind-Child’s story and therefore unaware of our own. Unmindful of our circumstances and therefore why and how they can be managed.
Explanation needed to detach deluded from deluder begins with questioning Why. And the first Why for the uncommitted is Why is this necessary? Because making the right choice requires Understanding, Understanding requires explanation, explanation requires questioning, and questioning requires answers. None more fundamental to motivation than the answer to Why.
The story of Free Choice
Until explanation comes up with Logic-Love’s answer our circumstances will continue to manage us. A dangerous, unsustainable condition. Incomprehensible and unmanageable, until we get all of it right: the who, what, when, where, why, and how of Mind-Child’s story. Our two-sided story. The story of Free Choice.