Sell All Your Possessions and Give to the Poor
You can think of yourself divided between the worldly self (WS)— which is practical, concerned with the known, and attached to the comfort zone — and the spiritual self (SS), which desires higher meaning, purpose, and the higher quality of life associated with transcendence.
The WS is dominant and has no interest in sharing the wheel with the SS, so the WS keeps the SS locked in the basement. During reality checks and other adverse events which bring forth the contemplative mind, the SS is able to momentarily gain access to the driver’s seat. Naturally, the SS is often angry and self hatred is experienced, but these feelings only last until the WS regains control and casts them back out.
Eventually, the two aspects of self must be reconciled, but before that it can be necessary for the SS to take a shot across the bow. The WS must realize that suppression is not going to be tolerated.
This is a useful context to understand Jesus’ command to sell your possessions, give to the poor, and follow him. The affects of these actions will persist beyond when the WS regains control. Further, these actions make it difficult for the WS to easily demonize the SS compared to other forms of self sabotage.
The lesson is learned when the WS accepts it must consider the SS and not just lock it in the basement. Sometimes the lesson will need to be relearned.
Of course, this teaching is not directed at the worldly self, but rather at the lurker in the background.
9 Replies
Reads almost like you've been doing some homework on me. I agree with a lot of it. It can be said, and is, that there are many selves within that "worldly self" -- aspects, parts, subselves, shadow -- all forming a dissonant and disparate self-plex primed for struggle. For the same reason that the command to give it all to the poor has efficacy, so does going to the desert. It takes away so much that we game our life up with. And we are left face-to-face with "the predicament" (Walker Percy or Percy Walker, I can never keep that straight), that is, the predicament of existing, of being, of having a self, of hosting a consciousness. Priceless, sacred stuff.
No... I dont have the ability to choose between what is necessary and what is decoration.
Nor, at this point in my life, do I care to learn about those differences... I am still in the accumulation phase.
Reads almost like you've been doing some homework on me. I agree with a lot of it. It can be said, and is, that there are many selves within that "worldly self" -- aspects, parts, subselves, shadow -- all forming a dissonant and disparate self-plex primed for struggle. For the same reason that the command to give it all to the poor has efficacy, so does going to the desert. It takes away so much that we game our life up with. And we are left face-to-face with "the predicament" (Walker Percy or P
The worldly self doesn’t think of itself as a self. It has no self awareness and thinks of itself as singular.
Self awareness implies division. There is the self and the one who is aware of and in relationship with the self.
Once self awareness has occurred, it’s about adopting the self as a son and bringing it within your care. The enemy opposes this and wants the self hidden in non-existence. The enemy is aligned with the worldly self, which is associated with unconsciousness and no self.
The worldly self doesn’t think of itself as a self. It has no self awareness and thinks of itself as singular.
Self awareness implies division. There is the self and the one who is aware of and in relationship with the self.
Once self awareness has occurred, it’s about adopting the self as a son and bringing it within your care. The enemy opposes this and wants the self hidden in non-existence. The enemy is aligned with the worldly self, which is associated with unconsciousness and no
Some more good points there in my view, such as identifying that there are different and differing (even opposing) parts of the self, and bringing the small self under the care of the overself ... your overly religious framing of it notwithstanding.
But that is just the nouveau religious thinking that has had to align itself with real psychology, so as not to be seen as an archaic embarrassment. It's a religion trying to save itself in the face of modernism increasingly not believing the ghost stories. They are now trying to weave their religious story through the realities of human consciousness. I at first was impressed with Rohr and company doing this, but on further review it looks more like opportunism and greatly giving ground to reality, trying to save the bathwater and the baby.
As far as "the worldly self doesn't think of itself as a self ... and has no self-awareness" ... their are vast schools of secular psychology based around the idea of self-awareness and parts within the self, subselves, etc. It is critical in all the modern schools. So this religious formulation that you espouse fails hugely.
And who or what exactly is "the enemy?"
As far as "the worldly self doesn't think of itself as a self ... and has no self-awareness" ... their are vast schools of secular psychology based around the idea of self-awareness and parts within the self, subselves, etc. It is critical in all the modern schools. So this religious formulation that you espouse fails hugely.
In your mind because it’s called secular psychology it must not include any aspects of the spiritual self?
Since it’s secular psychology and self awareness is included, then self awareness must be an aspect of the worldly self. This is your view?
I’ll just say it’s not helpful to blur the distinction between the worldly self and the spiritual self. If the worldly self is self aware, then is the worldly self associated with the spiritual? Because self awareness is a spiritual act..
If the WS is spiritual, then how are you distinguishing the SS from the WS?
Even if you say the WS is not spiritual, then what distinguishes the WS from the SS if it’s not self awareness?
*It probably needs to be said that awareness of your social persona or self image is not what I’m referring to when I say self aware. Self awareness is awareness of the spiritual self.
It’s the conscious self being aware of the spiritual self. It’s not the worldly self becoming aware of the spiritual self. The worldly self is associated with unconsciousness, not consciousness. It’s important to make this distinction.
The lesson is learned when the WS accepts it must consider the SS and not just lock it in the basement. Sometimes the lesson will need to be relearned.
I made a mistake here, as I clarified in the previous post. The lesson is not for the WS since the WS is incapable of identifying with and considering the SS.
The lesson is for the conscious self to learn. The conscious self originally aligns itself with the WS for the sake of socialization. As a human, we of course must first learn how to live in the world.
Still, the conscious self must eventually progress by identifying with the SS. This is a betrayal of the WS from the perspective of the WS.
I made a mistake here, as I clarified in the previous post. The lesson is not for the WS since the WS is incapable of identifying with and considering the SS.
The lesson is for the conscious self to learn. The conscious self originally aligns itself with the WS for the sake of socialization. As a human, we of course must first learn how to live in the world.
Still, the conscious self must eventually progress by identifying with the SS. This is a betrayal of the WS from the perspective of the WS.
What is actually happening is the conscious self is divided against itself.
Most of the conscious self is aligned with the WS which oppresses the SS. A higher level of consciousness is aligned with the SS.
When the SS gets control of the wheel, the higher level of consciousness says to the consciousness associated with the WS, “What are you doing dummy? Progress is this way.”
In between the consciousness aligned with the WS and the higher consciousness associated with the SS is a consciousness in between the two, trying to decide which side to believe. For all intents and purposes, this is where “you” are located.
You are the one in between with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. You follow the angel but first must decide which one is the angel..
You can think of the enemy as the one who resists you in the journey to become the best version of yourself.
I’ve associated the enemy with the worldly self, but to think that you no longer have to deal with the enemy after you align with the spiritual self is a mistake. The enemy gets nastier and trickier once you align with the SS.
In this way, not only is there division between the WS and the SS, but there is division within the SS as well. To overcome the enemy, you align yourself with the side which has the higher level of consciousness.
all this is a load of rubbish.
Simply Trust in God. In God we Trust. The motto of the USA. USA USA! God bless you and God bless America.
