We have reached a point where we can move on from the Mind and into what we want to know, Spirit. Let’s do a Mindscape recap real quick and, as promised, go over some of the symbology from the introduction to the Mind post. Prefacing that, much of the symbology will open up other topics of the Mind that I did not discuss. The reason for that is while I want to help you build a solid framework to work from I don’t want you to be overly dependent on me as a resource. I want to inspire you to be able to explore and find YOUR way of things. Which leads to a bit of a sidebar.
Before sitting down to type this, I recalled a discussion with someone on the nature of temptation. They posited that temptation was not of “god” while I countered that temptation could only be of “god.” They reasoned that “god” wants us to live by his rules so if temptation leads us astray it is not “god’s” will. My counter was first to remind them of the story of Job. Job was selected by “god” to be the target of temptation. Point 1, temptation is of “god” because “god” selects the lessons for individuals to learn. This led to the first temptation, Eve and the fruit. They decreed the serpent created temptation. My argument was that had “god” not declared a rule there would not have been a reason for the temptation to exist. Point 2, without rules there are no temptations to break said rules.
The point of all of that is that I am not writing “rules” for spirituality. I am writing a recipe for spirituality. And, like all recipes, there is the line that says, “Season to taste.” If we try to live by rules we are only going to disappoint ourselves because we will eventually break those rules. Layering rules on rules creates multiple weak points in the structure of our spiritual self. What we need is to be free form and free flow. My writings are a way to help you see the core or basic foundations found in every path of spirituality. Without them, your foundation isn’t sturdy or supportive. Have you ever tried to stack toothpicks? You have to do it just right or it will collapse. And that is what I see from many people getting into spirituality. They go strong for a bit of time and then it all falls apart. Mostly because they either focus on just one aspect of spirituality or spread themselves too thin too quickly never developing any skill into a basic part of themselves. This goes back to why Ritual is the first foundation, the consistency of ritual develops these foundational skills.
Going back to the main purpose of this post, we have a good bit to cover but I want to try and keep it brief. We explored six key foundations of the Mind. These are Intentions, Emotions, Values, Forces of the Mind, Protection, and Ego. Some symbology was also made regarding these depicting a Pirate Ship.
Intentions
The Figurehead of the Pirate Ship, intentions are the way we desire to direct or conduct ourselves. Our thoughts flow to the forefront creating actions that have outcomes. Intentions are influenced by our emotions, values, and the forces of the mind we work with. A “good” intention can go awry from conflicted emotions. A “good” intention can go awry with calm controlled emotions but lack of healthy values. A “good” intention can go awry with emotional control and healthy values because we are not maintaining ourselves with the Forces of the Mind.
Intentions are not the end all be all. We can want to do the “right” thing all day long. But those desires should be checked against the why behind those desires. What drives the intention? What created the desire to act? Before putting anything into action we should always be evaluating ourselves first.
Emotions
The Sails of the Pirate Ship, emotions are signals that propel us forward. Emotions are directionless on their own but they help us to recognize our environment and bring situational awareness. When we feel emotions we need to ask ourselves why we are feeling them. Whether they be positive or negative, when we ask why we feel an emotion we gain a better understanding of ourselves and what is happening around us.
We are not our emotions. We should be very careful to not personify or identify any emotion as a part of ourselves. They are signals only that we should allow to pass through us. When we embody an emotion we create a false self or image that others see and relate to us even when we need them to perceive something else.
Values
The Pirate Ship’s Compass, our values direct us along our lives. The fewer values we incorporate into our lives the less clarity we have on how to direct or carry ourselves. The more values we have the better conditioning we have to navigate the different events of our lives.
We adopt values into our lives and try to understand them and make them a part of who we are. People with a lot of temperance developed that value over time. Values have to be decided on and worked at to secure them in our subconscious where they can work instinctually. Just like a compass that rotates automatically to inform of the heading.
Forces of the Mind
The Crew of the Pirate’s Ship, the Forces of the Mind are external energies that we have to call on and actively utilize in our lives. They do not work automatically, they need to be consciously decided on and given orders for what you need from them.
We actively engage with the Forces of the Mind to utilize them. We build a relationship with them which helps you to see them as allied energies ready to work on your behalf. These energies are closer to the source and unencumbered by judgments. The more we work with the Forces of the Mind the more free we become from artificial constraints we and others put on us.
Protection
I never gave a ship symbol to this but we can just equate it to the bulwark or body of the ship. Protection naturally builds over time the more we operate in healthy ways of living. If we are intentional with our intentions, emotionally stable, living by solid values, and actively working with the forces then we come to see there is not that much to worry about. We learn what we need to fix for ourselves, how to repair damaged relationships, and how to be more accepting of others as they are.
Living in a stable spiritual way removes the need to feel safe from others because we learn to deal with things in the moment. The more we actively seek out external methods of protection the more we box ourselves in and create separations leading to worse outcomes. To be open is more spiritually safe than being closed off.
Ego
Your First Mate on the Pirate Ship, the Ego is the curator of memories and gatekeeper of emotions. A strong healthy ego will work from the background processing the external signals you are receiving. Those external signals are cross-referenced against your memories and then emotions are sent to your conscious mind to signal you for response to the stimulus.
An unhealthy ego is an ego that is either ignored or used as a scapegoat. This occurs when we ignore the signals the ego provides and blunder through without reflection, introspection, or understanding.
A healthy ego will help to deter you or forewarn you of things that could potentially cause you pain. If all the external signals align to be a recurring event, you will experience a deterrent. If the signals are similar but have enough differentiators, you will experience a forewarning. The healthy ego will also help to direct you to what can challenge you constructively for growth or enrichment of life.
The ego will not cause you to exhibit unhealthy behaviors because behaviors are something your conscious mind learns and then programs to run in the subconscious. Unhealthy behaviors/habits create a wall separating your conscious mind from your ego’s signals and guidance.
Those are, again, what I view as Foundational concepts for the Mind. The Mindscape is as vast and varied as the very planet we live on. And each person will experience their particular mindcape completely different from another person. I wanted to make that clear before we go into the symbology I used in the introduction post. Because even my symbology changes and differs as I continue to grow and change.
In the introduction post, I wrote:
“We have come to the threshold of the Mind. This is a daring place where many wish to walk but only so far as their inhibitions allow. Here there are palaces to tend and vistas to be explored. Dungeons and caverns lead into unknown depths. Monsters and heroes create scenes of war or camaraderie pending their chosen actions. How will the adventure unfold as you explore your personal world of the Mind?”
The symbols I used were palaces, vistas, monsters, heroes, dungeons, caverns, war, and camaraderie. That is eight symbols representing different concepts than the six used in the “pirate ship.” Let that show just how complex the Mind is. These symbols represent the following:
Palaces
We store things in our mind and those things become our treasures. They can be experiential memories like the ones the ego curates. They can also be skills, knowledge, and even miscellaneous. For example, I and a few of my acquaintances get called, “walking books of useless knowledge.” We tend to soak in random factoids about things very few people are going to care about unless they have us on their trivia teams.
What I call palaces are the different sections of our minds in which these things are categorized and compartmentalized.
Vistas
No, we aren’t talking about the computer operating system. We are talking about beautiful expanses of scenery. A city skyline from a tall building. Looking out, over a stretch of land from a mountain or treetop. Those kinds of vistas. In the mindscape, I am describing the places where what we know comes into contact with what is possible.
When we reach the “known” boundaries, the Mind has a wonderful ability to dream of possibilities. Vistas are where we meet wonder and imagination but also worry and trepidation. Because we want to take in the beauty of the scenery and we want to explore it but that small voice says, “What if this or that happens?” These are usually breakthrough moments for us though and shouldn’t be ignored.
Monsters
The obvious symbol for something like our fears right? But it can be so much more than that alone. We have unhealthy behaviors and habits. We have programmed trauma responses. We have people we villainize from our memories.
Monsters come in all kinds of forms. The key takeaway about them is that we don’t have to battle them. At least not all of them. For example, fears. We should learn to work with our fears and understand them. Being brave means acknowledging those fears and learning how to push through. Monsters in our minds are challenges that help us grow. Rather than “overcoming” them I like to try and “befriend” them creating powerful allies. I guess you can think of it like Pokemon.
Heroes
This symbology lends itself to our role models or authority figures. It is also our achievements and accomplishments. Heroes in our minds can form from acquiring knowledge and skills that we can employ in helping us through our daily lives. There is a pitfall to heroes though.
Sometimes we can over-glorify these aspects of ourselves which can lead us to take on more than we can handle. Or we create these fantasies of our heroes fighting our monsters. This goes back to my post about the ego where we are only fighting ourselves and denying parts of who we are. Denial of who we are, even our “negative” aspects, is more detrimental to our overall mental health. Befriending your monsters and taming your heroes creates a balance where you do not deny yourself but you know your limits. That is the healthy way of viewing the force of humility (another widely misunderstood or misinterpreted energy) and monsters and heroes together help us understand that Force of the Mind.
Dungeons and Caverns
Dungeons in the mind are what we are bound by. Usually, these prisons are created from limiting beliefs, societal constructs, and disappointment from our failures. Dungeons are places in the mind we need though. We need to be able to sit in those moments and learn that there is a better way. Dungeons in the mind are where we can find hope despite the sorrow. If everything is perfect all the time we don’t grow. The dungeons remind us that every step back is a chance to reevaluate and reassess where our energy is going. Then break free and try again.
Caverns are a lot like vistas just less “beautiful” when we first discover them. While vistas inspire that sense of awe, caverns inspire a sense of dread. I encourage people to explore their caverns more though because through that dread we find depth and meaning in our lives. We can find purpose and fulfillment. Think of it like this, you don’t find diamonds at the top of mountains; you find diamonds in the depths of the earth. Caverns are great places in the mind to discover those super-important Values and what makes you tick.
War and Camaraderie
Wars in our mind are fought against others, sure, but mostly against ourselves. We fight wars against our impulses. We pit our Heroes against our Monsters. We battle between the subconscious and conscious minds. Wars in our minds are turning points for us. These are those moments when we need to make sometimes monumental decisions that change our course in life. Remember this though, in the wars we fight against ourselves we are always both the victor and the loser. I would encourage stepping back when you feel conflicted and examining the source of conflict. It more than likely will be a limiting belief pulling the strings from afar rather than the different combatants.
Camaraderie, on the other hand, is when we connect parts of our minds to work congruently with each other. Again we can use the example of Heroes and Monsters. If we befriend our monsters to better understand our fears and tame our heroes to not overtax ourselves, then we can make them work together to chip away at obstacles we come across. Camaraderie in our minds is when we find healing for our minds. We create neural pathways that are stronger together than they are individually. If you try to rip a sheet of paper you will succeed pretty easily. The more sheets you try to rip at the same time though the harder it becomes. Camaraderie is the layering of different pieces, like when I said Values support Forces of the Mind. Or how Intentions need Emotions, Values, and Forces of the Mind to become healthy. You can also find camaraderie between different components of the same “categories” like layering multiple values to create a check and balance system between them.
Again all of these are just a handful of topics we can explore in the Mind. Working on the Foundations I have been writing about inevitably leads you to explore each of these concepts and beyond. Connecting first with the Body will lead you to the Mind. By first focusing on the Body we can quiet the Mind long enough to soften it. The Body is a little more straightforward than the Mind but prepares you for the task at hand.
Then when you have a firm grasp on how you operate physically you get to tackle your mental capabilities. As you grow in your mental acuity you develop a connection to something beyond your mind. Something that sits at the periphery and begs to be seen and connected with. The part of ourselves that is most commonly missing. Our Spirit. Most “spirituality” content I read or see lately isn’t even geared toward connecting with Spirit. It's mostly a mashup of Body practices and Mental practices disguised as Spiritual practices.
Body and Mind are important FOR spirituality which is why I have been writing about them myself. But Body and Mind practices are not inherently Spiritual practices. They assist and help with general spirituality and spiritual lifestyles. Spiritual practices transcend this because when we go into our Spirit we go beyond the physicality of the Body and the thoughts of the Mind into a realm of energy and connectivity.
Being silly is the Body’s access point and Forces are the Mind’s access point. There is a commonality between these access points. They are both something we have to consciously choose to engage with. That’s what makes them such potent access points because your Spirit self is not going to passively come into your life and just be there working. We have to consciously engage with it. The Body and the Mind can both go on autopilot and run just fine. We do that every day as we go through the motions. Spirit is different because there is no autopilot for it. It is what it is and it will always be there as it is. Unless we choose to connect with our Spirit it will happily sit back and wait. It does not interject or impose. It waits for us to reach out to it.
And just like the Body and the Mind, Spirit has a few components to cover as well. Which we will be introducing in the next post. Until then, happy adventuring as you explore your Mindscape. See you next time and thanks for reading.
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