Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OF
These bodies are perishable; but the dwellers in these bodies are
eternal, indestructible and impenetrable. - The Bhagavad Gita
Phillip, Emma, Mendelson and Spatia have been roommates for
many years and are continually learning how to live together in
peace and cooperation. Each is a very strong-willed individual and
has well-defined agendas, passions, abilities and desires. It is the
beginning of spring and all four roommates want to throw a party.
This is a perfect chance for each of them to demonstrate creativity
and genius. The challenge they face is how to pull off a successful
party for their guests, while still allowing each other full creative
expression. You see, Mendelsons idea of good music is classical,
softly played in the background, so the guests may talk and discuss
interesting topics. Emma wants to play music that stirs the
emotions and draws people to move and dance. Phillip, who tends
to dominate, believes its important to show their guests the
abundance and good taste they have, while Spatia likes to keep it
simple. As you can see, each roommate has his or her own opinion
about the best party to throw. Can these four diverse personalities
join forces and pull together a party that satisfies them all as well
as their guests?
You, too, have four very unique, individual aspects that together
compose who you are as a total being. You have an Emotional Self,
Mental Self, Spiritual Self and Physical Self. Full Self-Integration
requires all four aspects to be recognized, satisfied and respected.
They all must be honored and given what they need to become and
remain healthy. This integration brings balance into your outer and
inner life. The emotional, spiritual, mental and physical selves are
like legs under a stool. If out of balance with each other, the stool
topples over and anything resting on its seat is overturned. A party
designed by a group of conflicting, disjointed roommates can result
in discomfort for all involved.
A person who allows her Emotional Self to dominate her life is
ungrounded and may consistently create drama and chaos in her
life. Something is always wrong with her. Her personal challenge
is neutrality and focus. A person who is allowing his Mental Self to
dominate his life may experience a lack of warmth that prevents
friendships from forming or he may worry excessively and focus
predominately on the future. His challenge is judgment. A person
who allows his Physical Self to dominate may be underdeveloped
mentally and emotionally and finds his body to be his only concern.
He may love the material and become obsessive or despondent
when his body ages or fails to operate the way he expects. His
personal challenge is greed. A person whose primary focus is upon
the non-physical or spiritual aspects often has a difficult time
understanding the ways of the world and relating to others. The
needs of the body, mind and emotions may be neglected and
ignored. Isolation is this persons challenge.
Another way to imagine these aspects is to recognize they represent
the four quadrants of your brain. Dr. Paul MacLean, former head of
the Department of Brain Evolution at the National Institute of
Mental Health, refers to the r-complex, or reptilian cortex, as the
portion located at the brain stem. It is concerned with survival,
territory and procreation. This is also called the Lizard Brain by
Glynda-Lee Hoffmann in The Secret Dowry of Eve. It is where your
Physical Self lives.
The limbic system or mammalian cortex is located on top of and
surrounding the r-complex and is the home of the Emotional Self.
The rational mind, or neocortex, is the familiar, convoluted mass of
gray matter. It is where the Mental Self lives and is the intellect,
analyzer and reasoning center. The prefrontal cortex is located
directly behind the forehead and is also called the frontal lobes. It
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.