Point of Contact: The Ripple of Concentric Self-Identity
What is an adult?
I dont see adults. When do people become grown-ups?
I was so sure it kept going, and was so surprised to see them all just stop,
stop the inward growth, the "growing up" of self-identity, genuineness, knowledge and compassion
stopped.
"These cant be grown ups." I remember telling myself at age 7 as I observed.
"There must be more than this... Where are the real grown ups? The mature ones?"
It was more...there could be more! Self-development need not stop with physical development!
How can I improve my life, and set an example of true maturity for my children?
What is True Maturity?
That is a difficult question as it really forces one to decide "true" success, which is really an ideological construct with a great deal of cultural influence in its definition. It would not be uncommon for an individual in an American(ized) culture to define success in terms of income, and the ability to provide necessities and comforts directly proportional to his degree of success. A beautiful car or house, in this case, is representative of success; the West-born notion of the "status symbol."
This is the crudest and outer-most definition of identity, surrounding one's self with ego
Body is mature,
Mind is more
Soul is better.
Ground of being is best.
If the layers of self-development could be thought of as a progression of maturity, that progression would be an inward one. Graphically, this could be seen as a set of concentric circles, as if the boundaries of the layers were rippling outwards from "center," self. The point of conception is the connection point, that SPLASH! when we touched the surface of that fluid medium and entered physicality, our life below, in the denser medium. The further you return back to that point of impact, the closer you get to True Maturity, perceived as more and more advanced and genuine understanding of identity.
There is an outward and an inward type of identification with the body. The Yogi strives to improve his body, its health, flexibility, and sensitivity or "openness." This is a very inward direction of focus. Yet, plastic surgery, fashion, and beauty-enhancement could be thought of as a very outward direction of bodily focus -- an often obsessive attention to surface and image...
SURFACE AND IMAGE
To integrate these two areas of self-focus, "surface" and "image," into our previous graphic model, the ripple on the surface of water, each concentric band, radiating out from that "conception" point, could be thought of as having an "inner" and "outer" type. Each measured ripple waveform has a crest and a trough, a positive and a negative slope, one rising above flat line, "zero," and one falling below. In this way, the outward type of identification with the body would be a crest, the inward a step closer to center and the outward crest of mind.
I dont see adults. When do people become grown-ups?
I was so sure it kept going, and was so surprised to see them all just stop,
stop the inward growth, the "growing up" of self-identity, genuineness, knowledge and compassion
stopped.
"These cant be grown ups." I remember telling myself at age 7 as I observed.
"There must be more than this... Where are the real grown ups? The mature ones?"
It was more...there could be more! Self-development need not stop with physical development!
How can I improve my life, and set an example of true maturity for my children?
What is True Maturity?
That is a difficult question as it really forces one to decide "true" success, which is really an ideological construct with a great deal of cultural influence in its definition. It would not be uncommon for an individual in an American(ized) culture to define success in terms of income, and the ability to provide necessities and comforts directly proportional to his degree of success. A beautiful car or house, in this case, is representative of success; the West-born notion of the "status symbol."
This is the crudest and outer-most definition of identity, surrounding one's self with ego
Body is mature,
Mind is more
Soul is better.
Ground of being is best.
If the layers of self-development could be thought of as a progression of maturity, that progression would be an inward one. Graphically, this could be seen as a set of concentric circles, as if the boundaries of the layers were rippling outwards from "center," self. The point of conception is the connection point, that SPLASH! when we touched the surface of that fluid medium and entered physicality, our life below, in the denser medium. The further you return back to that point of impact, the closer you get to True Maturity, perceived as more and more advanced and genuine understanding of identity.
There is an outward and an inward type of identification with the body. The Yogi strives to improve his body, its health, flexibility, and sensitivity or "openness." This is a very inward direction of focus. Yet, plastic surgery, fashion, and beauty-enhancement could be thought of as a very outward direction of bodily focus -- an often obsessive attention to surface and image...
SURFACE AND IMAGE
To integrate these two areas of self-focus, "surface" and "image," into our previous graphic model, the ripple on the surface of water, each concentric band, radiating out from that "conception" point, could be thought of as having an "inner" and "outer" type. Each measured ripple waveform has a crest and a trough, a positive and a negative slope, one rising above flat line, "zero," and one falling below. In this way, the outward type of identification with the body would be a crest, the inward a step closer to center and the outward crest of mind.