Metaphorically, we have an inner community of voices and parts.
Often, it’s somewhat disorganized and pulls in different directions.
And through befriending and having a more intentional relationship with our inner community, we can help it organize and work more as a whole. We can heal our relationship with these parts of us, we can invite these parts to heal, and we can create more of a well-functioning inner community.
OUR CONSCIOUS VIEW
We have a familiar conscious view on ourselves and the world. We see ourselves and life a certain way, we have our priorities and value certain things, and we like to present ourselves a certain way to ourselves and the world. This is typically shaped, at least partially, by our culture and what’s seen as desirable.
That’s part of the picture, but it’s far from the whole picture.
The rest of us has its views and priorities as well, and they may not be the same as these.
WHAT WE LIVE FROM
In a sense, our actual priorities, values, and orientation are reflected in how we life our life and how we spend our time.
We may live in one way when we are relaxed, comfortable, and feel safe. This is typically more closely aligned with our conscious orientation, although not always and if it isn’t we struggle with it.
And something else may happen when we feel stressed, which may reveal other things going on in us. These are often the priorities our system holds as most important to our survival. And if they are different from our conscious ones, it’s a good bet that they come from a scared and hurt place in us.
PARTS CREATED TO HELP US
All the different parts of us have their own priorities, values, and orientation, and ways of experiencing ourselves and life.
They were created in response to different situations in our life, and often early in life. If they were created early in life, they often reflect a child’s way of relating to the world. They may be wounded to various degrees. And they are here to take care of us and protect us. In that sense, they come from and are a form of love.
They may be a little misguided, but they have our best interest at heart. They are here to be befriended.
EACH PART LIVES IN ITS OWN WORLD
Our conscious view is different from how these parts of us experience the world, and each of our parts have their own way of experiencing the world. We are multitudes. Which is why we sometimes feel torn, and why we sometimes act in ways not aligned with our conscious view or in a way that makes sense to us.
In a very real sense, each part of us live in its own world.
THE REMEDY
So how can we work with this? How can we get all our myriad ducks in a row? How can we live in a more whole or unified way?
As far as I know, there is only one way. And that is to get to know each of these parts of us, listen to what they have to say, befriend them, get used to being with their energies, heal our relationship with them, and invite them to heal. In that way, we can relate to them in a more healthy way, and they can function from a more healthy place.
GENERAL ORIENTATION
The specifics of how we go about this can vary, but it does involve meeting these wounded parts of us with curiosity, patience, and respect. They are us, so why not meet them as we would like to be met? We are already in a dialog with them without realizing it, so why not make this dialog more conscious, kind, and beneficial to all of us?
SPECIFIC APPROACHES
We can do this through parts work, inner dialog, heart-centered practices, inquiry, body-centered practices, and more, and often through a combination of several. And it’s not something we do once and it’s done. Just like our relationships in the world need attention and love, our relationship with ourself and these parts of us require ongoing attention and love. For most of us, it’s the one relationship we have for our whole life.
EMBODIMENT AND LIVING FROM NOTICING WHAT WE ARE
This is also a central part of embodiment and living from noticing what we are.
We can work on this before we notice what we are, in order to heal and mature as a human being.
And we continue this work while we notice what we are, as part of living from this awakening.
The more parts of us are healed and aligned with oneness and awakening, the easier it is to live from noticing what we are, and the more we will be able to do it in different situations.
And to the extent we have parts of us still operating from separation consciousness, it will color our general perception and life, and these parts of us will come out more strongly in situations where they are triggered. That’s one reason we sometimes see gurus behave badly. They too, as most of us, have parts of them that are unhealed and not aligned with oneness. And that’s one reason we need structures in spiritual organizations to prevent this.
This is an ongoing process.
OUR MULTIPLE NATURE
Most people know about our multiple nature in a general sense, and I assume people across times and cultures have known this. In our modern world, Freud was probably the one to popularize it. (A lot of the specifics from him may be a little off or reflecting his particular culture, but the essence is often valuable and insightful.)
Note: I have a more strong brain fog than usual these days, and it’s reflected in this writing. I hope to revisit it later and put it in a better shape.
OUTLINE
- Looking at what’s actually going on
- conscious view vs the rest of us
- conscious view, wishful thinking, persona, etc.
- vs what’s actually going on
- how we live our life, reflects our actual values, orientation
- all the different parts, have their own experiences, preferences, values, etc.
- both valid, part of the bigger picture
- how to work with this
- …
- ….
- conscious view vs the rest of us
….
They may be a little misguided, but they have our best interest at heart. They are not our enemy. They are parts us to be befriended.
….
DRAFT ONE
We have a conscious view on ourselves and the world. We see ourselves a certain way, we value certain things, we see the world a certain way, and we like to present ourselves a certain way to ourselves and the world.
As most of us know, that’s part of the picture, but it’s far from the whole picture.
We can say that our actual priorities, values, and orientation is reflected in our life and how we spend our time.
And all the different parts of us have their own priorities, values, and orientation, and ways of experiencing ourselves and life.
One way to see it is that our conscious view is how we wish to see ourselves and life, and our life reflects what’s actually going on.
Both are valid and play an important role, and both are part of a bigger picture.
….
DRAFT TWO
We have a conscious view on ourselves and the world. We see ourselves and life a certain way, we value certain things, and we like to present ourselves a certain way to ourselves and the world.
That’s part of the picture, but it’s far from the whole picture.
The rest of us has its views and priorities as well, and these may not be the same as our conscious ones.
WHAT WE LIVE FROM
Some say that our actual priorities, values, and orientation are reflected in our life and how we spend our time. There is some truth to that. At least, those are the priorities we live from.
These are often the priorities our system holds as most important to our survival. And if they are different from our conscious ones, it’s a good bet that they come from a scared and hurt place in us.
PARTS CREATED TO HELP US
All the different parts of us have their own priorities, values, and orientation, and ways of experiencing ourselves and life.
They were created in response to different situations in our life, and often early in life. They often reflect a child’s way of relating to the world. They may be wounded to various degrees. And they are here to take care of us and protect us, and in that sense come from and are love.
They may be a little misguided, but they have our best interest at heart. They are here to be befriended.
EACH PART LIVES IN ITS OWN WORLD
Our conscious view is different from how these parts of us experience the world, and each of our parts have their own way of experiencing the world. We are multitudes. Which is why we sometimes feel torn, and why we sometimes act in ways not aligned with our conscious view or in a way that makes sense to us.
In a very real sense, each part of us live in its own world.
THE REMEDY
So how can we work with this? How can we get all our myriad ducks in a row? How can we live in a more whole or unified way?
As far as I know, there is only one way. And that is to get to know each of these parts of us, listen to what they have to say, befriend them, get used to being with their energies, heal our relationship with them, and invite them to heal. In that way, we can relate to them in a more healthy way, and they can function from a more healthy place.
GENERAL ORIENTATION
The specifics of how we go about this can vary, but it does involve meeting these wounded parts of us with curiosity, patience, and respect. They are us, so why not meet them as we would like to be met? We are already in a dialog with them without realizing it, so why not make this dialog more conscious, kind, and beneficial to all of us?
SPECIFIC APPROACHES
We can do this through parts work, inner dialog, heart-centered practices, inquiry, body-centered practices, and more, and often through a combination of several. And it’s not something we do once and it’s done. Just like our relationships in the world need attention and love, our relationship with ourself and these parts of us require ongoing attention and love. For most of us, it’s the one relationship we have for our whole life.
EMBODIMENT AND LIVING FROM NOTICING WHAT WE ARE
On a spiritual path, this is a central part of the embodiment process. We can work on this before we notice what we are, in order to heal and mature as a human being. And we continue this work after we notice what we are, as part of living from this awakening.
OUR INNER COMMUNITY
We have an inner community. Often, it’s a bit disorganized and pulls in different directions. And through befriending and having a more intentional relationship with our inner community, we can help it organize and pull more in the same direction.
Most people know about our multiple nature in a general sense, and I assume people across times and cultures have known this. In our modern world, Freud was probably the one to popularize it. (A lot of the specifics from him may have been a little off or reflecting his particular culture, but the essence is often valuable and insightful.)