Thursday, February 21, 2013

Expression is the Purpose

As an infant, you are not entirely a clean slate to begin with. Every infant already contains, encoded within its DNA, a unique personality and karmic blueprint. No two infants are alike, even from the get go. Ask any new parent and they will testify to this. As a society, we tend to perceive infants from a very limited perspective. We see the infant as a brand new instance of life with no real history of its own. This is a fallacy. Encoded within the DNA of each child is the history of the entire Universe. This is not meant figuratively. It is literally true. 

From the primary elements, metals and minerals that were formed in the first explosion that created the Universe, to the primitive cells that represented the earliest life forms, to the animal and reptilian instincts for survival that propagated life, to the primitive man who first discovered fire, to the early agrarian peoples that formed the roots of civilizations, to the ancient plunderers and barbarian hordes that swept across continents, to the civilizations that created mathematics, art and culture, to the medieval kingdoms and their struggles for power, to the imperial powers and colonization, to the industrialization and explosion of the human intellect - all this history of chaos, bloodlust, power and enslavement, of cooperation, creativity, symbiosis and progression is encoded within a single microscopic strand of every infant's DNA. In other words, rather than being a clean slate without a history, an infant is the cumulative expression of the entire Universe seen from a single unique perspective. Every newborn contains the same primordial soup of elements, influences and events. Just like all snowflakes are essentially comprised of the very same elements, yet each flake is unique in the patterns in which it crystallizes, so too is every infant absolutely unique in the crystallization of its expression - its karmic blueprint.

The Purpose of Unique Expression

As human beings and as members of society, we all have some purpose to fulfill and this purpose is defined  according to the various functions and uses we serve. It is the purpose to survive, to provide for ourselves and our families, to contribute to society, to collaborate with one another, to compete against each other, to find our partners, to create families and propagate our bloodlines, to maintain order and harmony, to find and develop an art, skill or trade, to be law-abiding and moral members of society, to work for the benefit of society, to aspire to personal and professional success, to contribute to progress and innovation, just to mention a few. 

For most of us, this becomes the overarching purpose of our lives. We inherit our sense of who we are based on the values we derive from society. Even though, we pride ourselves on own individuality and believe that we are unique in our thoughts, opinions and actions, we are subconsciously programmed to perceive and value ourselves through the eyes of society. As a result, in searching for our own unique purpose we inadvertently end up searching for just another function or use that we might serve. 

As an adolescent or young adult, you may have asked yourself the question: what is the purpose of my life? And in an effort to answer this question, you may have found yourself thinking about what career will fulfill you, what kind of mate might fulfill you, what greater ambition or path of altruism might fulfill you, what cause or belief system might fulfill you, what philosophy or spiritual path might fulfill you, what amount of wealth, power and influence might fulfill you, what journey of exploration and adventure might fulfill you. The only answers you can come up with are those that arise from the perspective of function and use. The only solutions your mind can think of are just versions of the statements: "how can I enhance my own value, how can I be perceived by others and what use can I be to society." This is how the human brain has been conditioned to think, to value itself and others.         

Why is every snowflake unique? What is the purpose of this unique design? After all snow is snow and if snowflakes were identical to each other it would hardly make any difference. And yet, no two snowflakes are alike. This leads to another question: what is the individual snowflake's purpose? After all if it can be identified to be so unique it must have an equally unique purpose attached to it. And yet, the only apparent purpose of a snowflake is to be born, to descend to the ground and to eventually dissolve. This is a perspective that associates purpose with function or use. And from this perspective, since the individual snow flake seems to lack any unique function or use it cannot found to have a unique purpose that is separate from the purpose of snow in general. However, there is a deeper perspective that goes beyond the notions of function and use, which reveals an entirely different reality. And from this perspective:  The expression is the purpose.

The Influence of Outer Authority

The dictionary defines authority as: "the power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior". From a very young age we are encouraged to recognize and to obey authority. This authority comes in many forms as we evolve as individuals. In the beginning our own parents are the primary voices of authority in our lives. They lead us, inform us, influence and command us. They instill upon us their own sense of values, morals and beliefs. They project upon us their own perspectives of reality, of what is beneficial and what is harmful, of what is important and what is trivial, of what is worthy and of what is useless.

As we grow older, the range of authority figures increases to encompass our teachers, our friends, our peers, our superiors, our bosses, our law enforcers, our governments, our courts, our leaders and our state. Yet none of these figures of authority offers anything unique or original. They, just like us, have inherited all their value and ideals from the authority figures in their own lives, who in turn have inherited it from those in their lives and so on endlessly to the beginning of humanity. And while the values we live by evolve and transform from generation to generation, the process of how we derive our own sense of personal value stays the same. As a result, we become nothing more than derivatives of the times and circumstances in which we live. And though, there may be slight variations in how we express ourselves, it all fits in very nicely within the paradigm of function and use which is how society perceives the individual.

In the system in which we live, we are accustomed to attributing value to individuals based on their functions and contributions. As a result, someone like Einstein or Gandhi is perceived as being of greater value than your tax accountant or the postman, who in turn is of greater value than a homeless man or an unemployed bum. A beautiful model or talented celebrity is of greater value than a plain housewife or lowly insurance salesman, in turn of greater value than a prostitute or a drug addict. It always ties back to function and use. The greater the function and use the greater the value of the individual. And this is the approach we inadvertently take when attempting to discover our own unique purpose. We begin with the mistaken assumption that value is something you earn, rather than something that is inherent. The voice in our own heads is really the cumulative voice of all the authority figures in our lives, the voice of outer authority. We adopt this voice and make it our own, moving forwards with our lives believing that we are expressing our own unique purpose. Yet, as long as we continue to evaluate who we are based on what we do, we will not have begun to even scratch the surface.

Return to the case of the human infant, the newborn, once again. From the perspective of function and use, an infant is the most useless form of human on the planet. It literally is incapable of anything other than breathing, wailing and flailing its arms about. And yet it takes a very cynical perspective to look into the eyes of a newborn and to see anything less than a miracle of nature. One might argue that an infant represents a future potential for function and use within society, and this is where its value comes in. But this is a limited viewpoint. Look into the eyes of an infant and you will find yourself hypnotized by something only infants possess: The ability to be complete in their own uniqueness.

No infant has any concept of value or purpose. Yet it is expresses itself with utter uniqueness, effortlessly. The infant is not confused. When it is hungry it will let you know. Without regard of what anyone thinks about it, without a care of how it will be values by others, without concern about what purpose it must serve within society. When it is hungry it will let you know, when it is tired it will let you know, when it is happy it will let you know. Its expression is entirely unimpeded by any derived sense of value. And still, it displays an authority. The authority that demands to be fed, to be held to be recognized and attended to, to feel joy, to feel indignation, to feel love. What is this authority and where does it come from? What is the infant's purpose if it has no concept of function and use? 

The expression is the purpose. And the authority that ensures the expression is an Inner Authority.     

The Voice of Inner Authority

The voice of Inner Authority is a silent one. It is silent in the sense that it does not make itself heard through any mental activity. It does not express itself through the intellectual or emotional mind. It is only sensed as Intuition. As we progress from infancy, our intellectual and emotional minds begin to dominate. We are sponges, soaking up everything from the environment; from the basics of how to walk and chew to how we come to perceive and value ourselves. Everything is soaked in, filtered and distilled to form our sense of self identity. And the primary tool we use to perpetuate this self-identity is our intellectual and emotional mind. 

The mind expresses itself predominantly through thought and emotion. It perpetuates an incessant internal monologue (the voice in our heads) that is an amalgamation and derivative of the voices of Outer Authority. Early in our childhood, we are still tuned in somewhat to our deeper intuition, our unique expression, to the silent voice of Inner authority. This is why young kids still appear so unique, creative and unabashed in their expression of life. But slowly, over time the balance between the Inner Authority and Outer Authority begins to shift. More and more we find ourselves trapped in our own heads trying to sort right from wrong, trying to project future outcomes, trying to grasp for fulfilment. 

Does a three year old worry about creating a secure future? Or about being of value to others? Or about finding happiness? Or about expressing itself more uniquely? Some might say the two year old is too stupid or ignorant to grasp such concepts, but this again is a limited and cynical view. The two year old expresses itself constantly and effortlessly because it is still grounded in its own nature, in its own Inner Authority.

And yet, its "fall from grace" is an inevitable one, because that is the nature of the process. The voice of Inner Authority never enforces, never commands, never explains, never cajoles or convinces. This is unlike the voice in our heads, which is forever explaining, rationalizing, comparing, evaluating, defending or blaming. The voice in our heads is nothing more than a power struggle, a hunger game between competing voices of authority - the voices of our spiritual beliefs, religious doctrines, political parties, moral police, justice system, family values, parental influences - all in flux all competing to control and dominate who we believe ourselves to be, how we will survive and how we will be of use. 

Inner Authority does not control, it accepts. It does not command, it whispers. It does not condemn, it permits. It does not dominate, it acquiesces. Even as the balance shifts within our beings to an externally derived sense of self, it does nothing to obstruct the purpose. Because experience and expression is the purpose.   

Reconnecting with Inner Authority

As long as you continue to determine the value of individual existence based on function and use you will remain estranged from your own Inner Authority. Because Inner Authority does not place any value on these attributes. Rather the existence of Life itself is the only value there can ever be. That you exist in this moment (your being) rather than the functions you satisfy (your doing) is what is of primary value. From the perspective of Inner Authority all individuals that exist are of equal value by simple virtue of the fact that they exist. Their own existence is the only thing of value, everything else is contrived.

This is difficult for the intellectual-emotional mind to wrestle with because it is accustomed to differentiating between people and things based on their perceived value. After all if everything is of equal value how can there be anything unique about it? And so it is confronted with the same paradox of the snowflake and its purpose. As long as you turn to your own thought processes to provide you your sense of value you will inadvertently be misled, because your thought processes are not unique to you, they are derived from the voices of Outer authority.

Turn your attention inwards instead and catch a glimpse of the world that is inside. It is just as real, just as vital and just as ancient as the one outside. A single strand of your DNA contains the entire history of the Universe and still it is completely unique from any other. Contemplate this mystery. Meditate on yourself and try to delve deeper. Use your intuition to try and get a feel, a sense of your own unique reality, your own karmic blueprint. Your inner world needs and requires as much attention as does the outer. And in exploring this world you will fall prey to the same tendencies that you do in your outer reality. The voices of Outer Authority will influence you here as well. Your intellectual-emotional Mind will attempt to dominate this process too.

But you can and will revisit again and again to that place of Inner Authority, that waits patiently and unperturbed for your return. As you develop a deeper, more intuitive sense of yourself, one that does not rely on your thought processes and rationalizations to perpetuate it, you will begin to exhibit it more and more in your outer world as well. The balance begins to shift again and the pendulum begins its return journey.

As you grow in recognition of your own true nature and inherent self-worth, so will you perceive the same in others around you. It happens simultaneously in tandem. The one cannot happen without the other and if it does it is only another indication that you have been misled by your thought processes. Because the outer world and inner world are only reflections of each other. The voices of authority, of power, of aggression, of obedience, of morality and righteousness, of control and fear that you perceive in the world outside are none other than the thoughts and emotions fleeting through your Mind. And yet, in moments of great clarity, when the silent yet deeply grounded sense of your own Inner Authority becomes so very palpable, what you are simultaneously sensing is the beauty and infallibility of the spirit of Creation.

Your own unique existence is the only thing of value in this world. And to be here, exactly as you are in this moment, is the greatest purpose you can ever serve.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lovely and utterly inspiring. Please let us know the right way to meditate