Think of yourself on a bicycle. Think of the front wheel as your mind, with your body and emotions being the rear wheel. As you ride the bicycle, try to shed your depressed feelings. Now, come to the source of your depression. When the front wheel turns full circle, try to generate a new thought, one that leaves behind your depressions
The power and energy from deep within and without that we all experience are related to the unconscious self. This also includes certain archetypal explanations of the self and their myriad interpretations. From time immemorial, our sages, philosophers and thinkers have experienced such connotations, including the essence of the conscious, or conscious-awareness - one that celebrates the 'connexion' between the divine and our (un)conscious self.
You'd call this the passage to our archetypes, conscious and unconscious, including the divine element that resides in us. It is a channel that connects the known and the unknown of our self - a spiritual boulevard to our conscious-awareness. You get the point. When a seeker of truth completes the long, meditative journey and, in so doing, reaches the summit of sublime awareness, there is no 'ego self'. On the contrary, when we are merely glued and 'cling' to fanciful ideas that do not take us deep into our conscious realm, we reach nowhere - although we may reach somewhere, without even knowing what it really, or truly, is. This is because the context of what is called as the 'knowing-feeling-self' is on the edge, grappling with all mundane, disconnected things that are only hazy, or not well-defined.
Agreed, that, there is nothing beyond consciousness, or the Absolute. The philosopher Plato knew of human 'archetypes', although he did not think of them as eternal. The psychologist Carl Gustav Jung thought of archetypes, perhaps, in much the same way, but with a different knot. While it is established that Jung did not, at any point, transgress into territories beyond his archetypes, he brought about a 'paradigm shift' in their essence, without defying the essential parameters of our true self, or its contexts. Jung thought of consciousness, or the psyche, as a distinctive avenue of knowing and experiencing in 'real-time'. This, he outlined, included all forms of knowing - from scientific knowledge to spiritual experience.
What does this connote? That consciousness is first and foremost a subjective experience. It is also the key entity for philosophical 'swot' and exploration. It is the fulsome examination of the self as an object to itself, including our apparent experiences. Jung's psychology has its limitations, just like any other area of mindful thought. This is primarily because Jung equated psychology with science - while connecting scientific objects with the self as an entity unto itself. Jung's archetypes do not bring home the essence of the Absolute - his interpretations actually avoid its usage.
Yet, what makes up for Jung's 'refined' contemplation, which represented the skin of his thought in his later years, was his avoidance of conflict. He did not affirm the Absolute, all right, because he did not want his school of psychology to be interpreted as science with a metaphysical slant. His work endeavoured to gel with the essential premise of human understanding through our repertoire of self-experience, which may also be contextualised as a celebration - of what we genuinely believe as the truth, belief and experience, but minus any religious connotation, or ritualistic inference.
Put in context, the whole idea precludes the fact that there is no need for one who is spiritual to be religious, which is the essence of philosophy - be it Eastern, or Western, thought. It also brings home the eternal detail that the whole nature, or character, of truth is for everyone - irrespective of their faith, colour, ethnicity, or conviction. This is simply because all notions and experiences of truth are, in reality, ultimate truths. Of truths that are larger than life and far beyond the perimeter of our thought.
There is yet another facet to our experience - and, the question is: 'Do behaviours influence emotions and our perception of truth?' The answer is they do; and, in more ways than one. Medical researchers evidence that certain behaviours enhance the level of serotonin, the feel-good chemical, in the brain. For instance, serotonin levels in depressed individuals are much lower than in people who are not depressed. In other words, some behaviours relieve depression; some amplify the condition.
All we need to do is keep ourselves smiling from our heart, not just on our face, and by investing in oneself, making happiness a pursuit within, and telling ourselves that difficulties don't last long, but determined folks do. You'd certainly include meditation, music and art therapy, as backups in the process - they all reduce your stress levels and also depression, or moody blues.
Well, the next best thing to do is to think of yourself riding a bicycle. Think of the front wheel as your mind, or control, with your body and emotions being the rear wheel. As you ride the bicycle, try to shed your depressed feelings. Now, come to the source of your depression. When the front wheel turns full circle, try to generate a new thought. One that leaves behind your depressed feelings and also behaviour. Move on, don't look behind. Look ahead - with hope, happiness and fortitude.
The answer lies within us - if only we reassess our emotional turns of phrase, or images, that correspond to our earlier behavioural patterns. Philosophers call it self-assessment - one that helps to shape long-lasting solutions to our behavioural patterns. Well, the point is, we can change our habits only when we bring about behavioural adjustments. In other words, whatever the mode we choose, the end result is altered behaviour. It is this - the means - that holds the key to improved behaviour, also our own truths. Once this occurs, you will be in a much better position to discard habitual patterns of behaviour that were, till recently, the symptom-complex of your distress, angst, trouble, or concern - a more superficial, rather than a deep-seated, problem you so erroneously pictured as 'truth' in your mind.
Nidamboor is a wellness physician, independent researcher and author
A version of this article appears in the print on August 24, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.