AGAPEISM-ULTIMATE ALIGNMENT In previous blogs, I am sure I have spoken at length on being aligned with one's authentic nature. It is this alignment that makes it possible for us to, not only identify what it is that we really desire for our lives, but also empowers us to attain and sustain that desired life. To lay a foundation,I would like to point out that there are two main forces at work within us. They are Love and Fear. These two qualities are diametrically opposed and I'd like to use the account of the Garden of Eden to show how. I will however insert other more contemporary terms so as to diminish the religious dogma attached to certain terms conveyed through centuries of poor use. Whether you believe this story literally as presented in the Bible , or whether you are simply willing to accept it as Myth, the meaning of the symbolism is clear and accurate for understanding the current state of the human psyche and the antidote for the "fallen", or fearful, human condition.
Put simply, I believe we entered physical form to come into the fullness of knowing ourselves as children of God/Love/Light. Rom 8 says something like this when it says "the creation was subject to frustration in hope that it would be freed from its bondage to decay".
What is exemplified in this scene (and I'm simplifying one aspect here) is that people chose becoming their own judges over living free of judgement. The two trees, or sources of empowerment and ways of living, were Life or the knowledge of good and evil. The first is powered by LOVE, breeding abundance, peace, joy and righteousness, or in general, alignment. This is the "authentic" state, harmonised to the spirit nature
The other Tree is powered by Fear and is characterised by lack, judgement and punishment, guilt, condemnation and MISalignment. It is the equivalent to what psychologists call the Ego, or Id. The bible calls it the sin nature. This word "SIN" has been SOOooo exploited that it has become totally loaded down with judgement but it simply means "to miss the mark". A person can never be fully aligned as long as any vestige of the 'sin'/ego nature lives. Fear and Love cannot co abide. The second one feels afraid, ashamed, inadequate, unacceptable, unclean, guilty, unworthy etc then one is living from their ego and not their authentic nature. It's CRUCIAL to realise, the fearful state is NOT YOUR NATURAL OR AUTHENTIC STATE. Righteousness ( or alignment) is.
The Quest So, the point of life is to make our own choice between the trees. Each one of us can choose for ourselves which of the fruits we will eat. The ego resists this ALL THE WAY, filling the soul with dread, because to choose the tree of Life is to annihilate the lower aspects of Self. It is literally DEATH to the ego. And it feels like it...until you do it. Once that whole hearted choice is made...REAL life floods the being and the old way pales away as the worthless counterfeit it is as a source of love, joy or peace or security. In ensuing blogs, I will talk about the kinds of fear/lack/guilt/shame and condemnation I've learnt to leave behind...and I'll share how I did so. My entire life has been dedicated to understanding these states and how to live truly free. It's been an ever deepening work in progress and my heart is in an ever expanding process-just like the universe from which it has been spawned. So here's to Ultimate Alignment through Agapeism. Agape is Greek for the Love that is the energy of ALL-That-Is and Agapeism is a commitment to living through Agape. This is my quest.
Righteousness and alignment are not synonymous or interchangeable concepts at all. Righteousness denotes living by an external ethical or moral standard (albeit religious or otherwise) and implies an external validation of actions/ behaviour by some fundamentalist yardstick. Individuation which I think is what you are trying to allude to in the Jungian sense has nothing to do with love or righteousness. It has to do with coming to terms with the shadow self and accepting accountability for the fact that no one will rescue you from the burden of responsibility for your life. It has absolutely nothing to do with “alignment” with some external touchstone or living righteously.
ReplyDeleteThe Biblical or Hebrew denotation of the term indicates a measure of atonement by compliance with Mosaic or Rabbinic laws. The point is this – true individuation doesn’t require fundamentalism which is nothing short of an anxiety management system to rid yourself of ambiguity. It's about integrating the shadow self and true self.
How do you equate the ID with Sin(“…it is the equivalent to what psychologists call the Ego or Id. The bible calls it the sin nature”)??? For starters Freud’s notion of the Id is that it is unconcscious and the Ego on the other hand is the compromise between the ID and the demands of reality… they are hardly the same! How is that sinful or misaligned??? It is a natural development of a broken childhood / reality – children cope with what happens to them by either being overwhelmed or internalising it as a reflection on themselves. It has nothing to do with conscious choices between right and wrong! It is certainly not sinful or morally wrong. Seriously???
When we see a person still nursing a wound, years after the fact, still blaming another for their life, years after the fact, still embittered by injustice, years after the fact, we see not only someone who is stuck but one who has never fully picked up responsibility for his or her life.
Perhaps consider other terms when describing individuation.
Firstly, this is not the place I would want to perform an exegesis or hold a debate in psychological semantics.
ReplyDeleteRighteousness and alignment are PERFECTLY synonymous for my use and in my understanding.
I base this on the New Testament concept of the term. It is an internal state not an external moral code. And it simply means "as it should be, straight, having the same traits as God" and is the GIFT of God to the believer.
To accept the righteousness that is by faith is to become utterly aligned with our authentic way of being.
As far as "sin" goes... that is ALSO an internal state describing the separateness of the consciousness (misaligned)from God's (and our authentic)way of being/seeing/thinking. It most definitely IS the Ego. The fear driven, inadequate side of an unregenerate man/woman.
It is deeper than conscious or subconscious and does not recognise its likeness with God, whilst all the while straining to attain the status of 'god' to itself.
It seems you still view "sin" and "righteousness" in archaic frameworks that refer only to actions. They are states of being. Not behaviours. I never said anything about right or wrong. Sin isn't wrong or bad...it just isn't righteousness. It is the state of a person who presumes to judge "good and evil/right and wrong" for themselves, in whatever way seems fit. And as they judge others and situations, so they judge themselves. A person who has accepted the "gift" of righteousness judges nothing and no one and lives free of self judgement, guilt and condemnation to boot.
In training themselves to change their mind (repent) and believe about themselves as Jesus' teaching suggests, all other "modifications" take place from the inside out over time as the New understanding of their identity is forged.
(I'm not sure, going by your title, that you are so equipped to discuss identity...lol sorry, that was too good to pass up!)
Jesus clearly made what was once external in the OT all about the heart and the internal condition in the NT. What we do, or do not do, outwardly does not bring a sense of peace and harmony. It is my belief that without an understanding of righteousness, a soul will ALWAYS feel "out of sync" on some level and be led back to where they can find that peace through Jesus and that gift.
Anyway, if you don't like my blog, you needn't read it. I will use whatever terms I choose in the contexts that I please. And I speak about things that are 50 years in the developing and proving in "LIVING MY LIFE". Perhaps you should write your own blog the way you feel it ought to be done. :-) I am sure you will find plenty who want to ride the "right/wrong" dichotomy. 'T'is not I.
P.S.
Why are you afraid to put your name on your comments?