THE EXPANSION OF THE SELF
‘Self-expansion’ and ‘Expansion of THE SELF’ are two different aspects.
When one expands the material existence of SELF’, it is Self-expansion and it is a limited approach; when one expands the SELF-IMAGE, it is the ‘Expansion of THE SELF and it does not have any limit. The expansion of the self is a combination of Connectedness and Individualism. It is an outcome of the deeper understanding of LAW OF UNITY as well as the capability to listen to THE VOICE OF THE ORGANISM.
GROW GROW GROW. The other day, I was watching a nursery rhyme with my two-year-old daughter, Montage, on YouTube – Grow-grow-grow… It sings as:
“Grow grow everyday/ Grow well everyday / living things on our earth, growing everyday/ Foals grow into horses/ Fawns grow into dears/ Calves grow into cows/ Infants grow into monkeys/ Joeys grow into kangaroos/ Chicks hatch out of eggs/ So do the caterpillars grow into butterflies…” [YouTube Link: https://bit.ly/2H5zaVv] It further continues: “Seeds grow into seedlings/ Seedlings grow into trees/ Trees grow big and tall/ Give us a lovely breeze/ Buds grow into flowers/Flowers grow into fruits/ Grow from small to big/ Into yummy tasty fruits…”
It is indeed a fun song which gives an indication of the natural reality of this universe.
GROWTH IS A PERPETUAL TRUTH – it is an effect of neutrality.
Everything grows naturally in its neutral-state, we need not push anything for growth. Growth is a programmed phenomenon in every organism.
FURTHER PONDERING
This rhyme perhaps talks and portrays the physical growth of the organisms. But when we ponder deeper over all the aspects of growth, we cannot stay limited to physical growth only. So the growth phenomenon expands not only in the bodily factor but the overall growth including the obvious expansion of our mind.
The expansion of the mind is the extension of the awareness.
Awareness is not limited just to the gathering of information but the processing capability that it acquires in the process. Hence the expansion of mind is not limited to the KNOWLEDGE but the APPLICATIONS OF THE KNOWLEDGE.
This article will be in multiple parts to explain an applicable strategy to expand the ‘self-image’.
‘The idea of self’ is the ‘self-image’. It means, whatever I think about myself in exact quantum is my self-image. Self-image is formed out of continuous conditioning since our conception. It starts at the mother’s womb itself. But it has a potentiality to choose to be further better and modified at any point of life with the rational approach.
“How BIG am I?” is answered by my self-image. It is an awareness of self. It means, I know myself in my own interpretation and that interpretation leads me in every path of my life.
EMPATHETIC PROJECTION OF SELF-IMAGE
We have a sense of understanding which is blessed with a sense of feelings. We have the capability to sense the joy or pain of others. We easily do it with our closely related people around – our family members, primarily – we call them RELATIVES. The people who we can relate with!
Relating with somebody is an expansion of self-image.
We would not be able to feel the exact emotion of a person unless we project ourselves at the psychological level to the very exact situation of that individual.
We can easily understand this if we relate this explanation with the empathy that we feel with our own children. Perennially, we consider our children as our own parts and we RELATE with them very easily. Sensing their joy or pain exactly is so spontaneous due to this psychological play of transporting YOURSELF at their exact state, easily. This is pleasurable and this exercise gives us the pleasure of EXPANSION OF SELF.
Upcoming parts of this article will cover the connections of Nature Cure science and philosophy with this psychological mechanism and also how we can strategize this phenomenon for our growth and expansion of self.
While diving deeper into the understanding of the phenomenon of EXPANSION OF SELF, let’s revise the basic parameters of understanding Nature Cure.
Listening to THE VOICE OF THE ORGANISM
How well do we respond to our own senses? Our senses are the indicators or alarms to lead a healthy and happy life – a neutral life! Honouring our own senses is the first condition to align ourselves with Nature. The sensitivity is to be nurtured in this natural route.
If we can respond to our senses well, we do not need any other specific dependencies in our lives. The sensitivity of our senses is often spoiled by artificial human interventions. We need to heighten our intelligence and wisdom to overcome this intruding phenomenon.
Collectivism Vs Individualism
Collectivism is the principle of considering a common philosophy of a group which can supersede individual philosophy.
Individualism is a social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective control of a group.
The interpretation and assimilation of these two philosophical ideas matter a lot in the pursuance of Nature by mankind. If we explore the actual meaning of philosophy, it is the foundation of the outlook or viewpoint of an individual. Our unique patterns of existence make this clear that the individualS of a group cannot have exactly the same viewpoints.
The viewpoints may sometimes coincide but point to point congruence is a myth. Hence a common philosophy of a group cannot exist, logically. If we blindly insist on having a common philosophy of a group of people, that would amount to enforcing ideas without convincing the individual. That would definitely initiate violence, sooner or later.
Violence is anti-nature! Individualism supports the paradigm of listening to THE VOICE OF THE ORGANISM.
Hence, if one embraces Nature Cure in its true sense, she embraces individualism.
LAW OF UNITY
Just now, I defied the existence of a common philosophy of a group of people. But in this portion, I am emphasizing the importance of togetherness! It might sound contradictory, but it is not! Let’s go to the next layer.
Our body is a replica of this universe. The holistic wellness of my body cannot be defined only by how my heart is functioning. If my heart is functioning well but my lung is not, I am not holistically well, and vice versa. Because the blood which feeds one cell of my body does feed every cell of my body. A toxic blood is a state of illness and a healthy blood is the indicator of holistic harmonic health. All organs of our body are connected via the same blood. This connectedness cannot be ignored for holistic wellness.
Similarly, all organisms of the universe have a scientific connectedness. The medium of this connectedness is some other forms of fluid instead of blood. The atmosphere feeds me, feeds everybody. That factor cannot be ignored if we talk about our harmonious existence in Nature.
Secondly, ingredient-wise everything has got everything. If I take out one cell from my heart and another cell from my lung, those cannot be distinguished scientifically! So all the cells which make an organ and ultimately my body are the same.
So are we! We are the cells of this vast universe, functioning differently but are not different. It is our incidental understanding that we are different. This is what is LAW OF UNITY
Connectedness Vs Self-Centeredness
We develop our philosophy uniquely which is different for sure but ingredient-wise we all are connected and we all are the same.
If we choose to disregard the fact of connectedness and opt the path of non-harmonious importance to ourselves, we drift from Nature. Nature Cure is nothing but choosing Connectedness over Self-centeredness while choosing Individualism over Collectivism.
The understanding of this combination of Connectedness and Individualism is the route towards the strategic expansion of self, that I am trying to explain in the next part of this article.
In the previous parts of this article, we found the beauty of actual growth in neutrality and we did analyse the self-image and its empathetic projection. We also explored the correlation between Individualism and The voice of the organism, and the correlation between the Connectedness and The law of unity.
Now, in this concluding part, let’s connect the dots of philosophy and practice. Philosophy crosses the theoretical limitation with its practice, in reality.
While practising Connectedness and Individualism, simultaneously, the initial confusion is an obvious experience. Empathetic projection often suffers irrational emotional impulses.
For example, suppose you connect with a person suffering from deep pain. If the connection is with strong empathy, you would experience similar sufferings. This act would trigger pain in you without a ground reality and rational connection to the actual cause of the pain. The similar irrational connection can happen in case of empathetic projection with a person in ecstasy. You might experience ecstasy without rational connection to the actual cause of the high. In both cases, you tend to lose your neutrality!
Maintaining neutrality organically is the true practice of Nature Cure. Hence it is an obvious requirement for us to practice connectedness with a conscious strategy so that the connection is stronger but we do not lose our neutrality.
Here is a proposed step-wise strategy to achieve the connectedness while maintaining the individualism and its neutrality.
STEP 1: ‘I am You’ (Mental Transportation)
Choose a person who you don’t relate to, in a familial way. A person who you don’t know at all would be the ideal one. Observe the behavioural pattern and attitude, keenly.
Try and explore mentally, the dispositions of the specific pattern. Export yourself mentally and try to UNDERSTAND the pattern of behaviour of the individual. Do it, even if you personally do not like that particular behaviour pattern.
For example, suppose the person is angry which you do not prefer to become ever! But for the sake of this exercise, try and justify the anger as if it is your own emotion. Do this, with a few dozen people. Try and record your experience.
STEP 2: ‘I am somebody else’ (Reverse Mental Transportation)
Practice observing yourself as somebody else. Pick up any of your emotional instances. Try to understand how a different emotion (other than yours one) can be created by that person. You can reverse transport multiple people for your single emotion.
For example, pick up a moment of your anger. Try and understand how different levels of anger or not-anger can be generated in the same situation by multiple people. Do this, with a few dozens of your emotional instances. Try and record your experience.
STEP 3: ‘Everything is me’ (Crafting Emotions)
Choose an object (a lifeless object) or a visibly emotionless organism (e.g. tree). Export yourself in the exact position of that object or the organism. Try and imagine the past and future of that object or the organism. Imagine the possible emotional impulses of that object or the organism. Observe the neutrality of that object or the organism Vs your imagination.
For example, take a table. Observe its shape and how that might have been crafted. Also observe how it is going to decay in future.
Imagine if it would have emotions, how that would impact its experience. Be aware of the present state of neutrality of the table. Do it, with a few dozens of objects. Try and record your experience.
STEP 4: ‘I am the observer – the nobody’ (Going beyond emotions, without suppression but with understandings, Rationally)
Look at everything around as a non-reactive observer while being aware of the current situation and possible emotions around. The situations may be your own or others. Just being an observer which you practiced so far, is your objective of this particular step.
For example, you have fought with any of your beloved persons. Instantly, become a third person and explore the emotions of those two people, fighting. Be aware of their individual justifications of the situational emotions. You would end up with a deeper understanding of the reality that both sides can be justified. In this scenario, you would find the neutral state is the most joyful state. Repeat it, till you find the real calmness and tranquility within you.
This would conserve a lot of vitality of yours. Which otherwise would enervate you, thought-wise.
In this practice, you end up expanding your self-image to infinity.
Because you are now easily transporting yourself to anybody or anything and acquire a deeper understanding of their state and their self-image. You can also mentally transport anybody within you and recreate your own emotion.
This is a mathematical add-on to your own self-image.
You were just one, earlier and you had the self-image of that one person – YOU!
Now, with your mental transporting exercise, you have numerous experiences and a multiplied self-image, created in the process.
The ‘new-you’ is AN EXPANDED you!
