The actor and role analogy is appropriate for both psychology and spirituality.
In psychology, the analogy refers to the roles we play as humans in the world, at different times in our lives and in different situations. The actor here is our human self.
And in spirituality, the analogy includes the roles we play as a me (human being) and I (doer, observer). The actor is what we are – that which all happens within and as – taking on all these temporary roles.
This analogy illuminates many aspects of the relationship between the actor and the roles.
The roles are all temporary, and sometimes there only in certain situations.
A good actor throws him- or herself into the role, playing it wholeheartedly.
If the actor forgets he is only playing a role, he goes crazy in the ways we usually go crazy, including by taking it all far too seriously.
When the actor remember who or what he is, and recognize it is only roles, he can play the roles wholeheartedly and with lightness.
And this is only scratching the surface of this rich analogy.
For instance, if we are familiar with one role, can we become familiar with the reversals of those roles? What do these bring into our lives? How and when can they be useful and helpful? Can we find a flow and fluidity between them? Which roles holds both or all of them? What happens if I get stuck in any one role? What happens when there is more fluidity? What happens if I exclude any one possible role? What happens when I include it? In what ways can I include it that is more healthy and mature? (All of this and more is explored in different variations of gestalt therapies, and the Big Mind process.)
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outline….
- actor analogy
- actor on a stage (excellent analogy for psychology and spirituality, psychology – the roles we play as humans in the world, spirituality – also the roles we play as a me and I) (in psychology, the actor is our human self, in spirituality, the actor is what we are – that which all happens within and as)
- a good actor, throws him/herself into the role, wholeheartedly
- if forget is an actor, then go crazy in the ways we go crazy, take it far too seriously
- blinded by emotions, reactive, fixed views
- when remember is an actor, can play the role wholeheartedly, but with lightness (receptivity)
- actor on a stage (excellent analogy for psychology and spirituality, psychology – the roles we play as humans in the world, spirituality – also the roles we play as a me and I) (in psychology, the actor is our human self, in spirituality, the actor is what we are – that which all happens within and as)