Friday, June 11, 2010
Being and Feeling – CREDO CXI
I have a dear and insightful friend (who, despite my objection, insists on anonymity); she shared a unique thought with me just the other day. I had leaned back in my chair after a long day’s work and, with a great sigh, exclaimed, “I am exhausted!” To which, she countered, “No, you’re not! You feel exhausted.”
She then proceeded to point out the distinction: I am implies a permanent condition, and I feel implies a transitory one. Transposed to Jungian terms, the Self is and the Ego is what is feeling. What I was really saying therefore was that I was identifying with my ego, which I readily admit!
It is the Ego on the circumference of the mandala of the psyche that feels, and to say I am exhausted is to confess unconsciously that one is identified with one’s ego, and to forget the reality of who one really is. Granted, that is the Self, according to Jung, which dwells problematically in the Unconscious, so it’s a Catch 22 paradox and no wonder that we tend to misspeak! The Self is unable to be exhausted! However, I see the wisdom of my friend’s distinction, and realize that this can truly aid us in a spiritual way by helping us remember who we really are.
The steady Light of the Self can always reveal and help us watch our egos feeling happy, depressed, angry, or worried. By the same token, the Ego can turn in reflection and meditation to transcend the feeling and sometimes reach that Peace that passeth understanding!
For most of us, including myself, this is a huge challenge, but the difference between Being and Feeling opens up a huge insight for me, anyway, of what the Scriptures of all faiths are trying to teach us. To be convinced that it’s okay to feel because that’s our individuation in action, never mind our typology, but that by spending a few minutes daily visiting our Divine Guest at our center, we can derive comfort, and a source of wisdom and hidden strength – something sorely needed these days of turmoil and disaster.
To be con-scious, etymologically, is to know with! Perhaps, that’s a hint to knowing that we have an unconscious companion, that source of Light always available to us.
As an oooooooold lady now, I look back on the many times I felt lost and helpless or overwhelmed with happiness, and see that time has made most of those memories intangible. Ann Foley said it best in one of her books: Things are changed by what comes after!
lovingly,
ao
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2 comments:
Thanks again. This is an important distinction. I would also say, if you talk about yourself as an oooold lady then that is what you will feel. You are not an old lady. You are your unique Self inhabiting a body of 80plus years. What we think is what we become. There is a Japanese island where people are not allowed to refer to themselves as old until they are in their late 90's and most people live full and active lives well beyond 100. You are what you think not what you think you are. It is not about denying age or the passage of years but about what we believe in regard to age and the passing of the years.
Thanks for your words.
My dad says the same thing about being old (he is 84)yet then he laughs- tending to make fun of himself and his memory-I wish he would stop saying it and remember better!(My Saturn is the same as his Sun sign in Gemini haha) ( I see him as youthful) As for you I see you that way also :).
I hope you feel that way as well.
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