I've heard it said that a newborn human being is a blank slate, merely a bundle of cells, tissues, organs, systems, etc. But how is that possible? I mean, all one has to do is hold a baby and look into the eyes to sense there’s someone (and some ancient something else) in there. Oftentimes the promise, positive or negative, within and without that little bundle is overwhelming for both the newborn and the holder of the newborn! (Projection and introjection at work right away.) That being so I now present the basic idea and premise for this blog - "How I Am: Being Human." From the beginning until the end we each embody something - call it soul, instinct, character, spirit, energy, imagination, emotion, the history of the world, psyche, a daimon, Karma, temperament, an angel, Fate, genius, God, Allah, Yahweh, Buddha consciousness, the seed of ego, the collective unconscious, or whatever else you want to call it. There are and have been, always and everywhere, thousands of concepts, symbols and names all attempting to describe that which is beyond concepts, symbols and names! Therefore, I think the reality of the matter that constitutes a human being is, at the deepest center, pure potential "called" to be born within the story of being human. And because we are each mysteriously "called" into this life we must arrive already embodying an original and destined relationship, thereby making the blank slate theory utterly impossible.
Even though everyone embodies a deeper mystery that is ultimately beyond concepts, symbols and names those are still the only tools we have for understanding and relating the images of our personal and collective story. So, I now present the symbol I've created to help conceptualize and name "How I Am: Being Human." Yes, it is a mandala. Yes, it's goal is self and SELF awareness through understanding all behavior as internally motivated and purposeful. Yes, it's a map for discovery, expression, connection and finding meaning. Yes, every element is connected to every other element and nothing can change in one element without affecting all the other elements. Yes, it's a compilation of numerous ideas and open to many more. Yes, it's designed to be individualized. Yes, everything about it is intentional. Yes, it's complex. So, please take some time to look the diagram over and, if you wish, ask questions or tell me what you think. Thanks.
This is indeed a complex depiction of what it is to be human. Would you please clarify "Original" for me - if I substitute "Primal" am I tracking with you? While I believe it is true that we exist in a perpetual state of unknowing of what came before and, if you follow through the thought, what comes after this human existence. My humanness wants "it" symbolically represented here. Is that what "Original" is doing?
ReplyDeletePS - I love the design of your blog. One comment though - reading so much white text on a black background is hard on my getting-older-by-the-minute eyes. Remember getting your picture taken with flash bulbs as a child? It's the same effect - shadows on top of shadows appear and everything gets difficult to read.
ReplyDeleteYes, I use the term "original" as both an impersonal and personal state of being. Impersonal in the sense of the world's soul and the primordial beginnings of human existence but also in the sense of the deepest unknown yet particular roots of one's family tree and cultural origins. Personal in the sense of known roots of the family tree but also as an original - never before and never again to be - genetic concoction. I also think of original in the sense of a priori, meaning we each seem to have some gift that is prior to experience; innate in the mind. The original callings of personal soul.
ReplyDeleteAs for the white words on a black background I kind of like how "shadows on top of shadows appear" as those too are symbolic of what I mean with the word original. Hmm... I'll look into changing it nevertheless because I don't want to alienate my only reader. Thanks for the comments Beck.