The archetype of wholeness

If one is true to oneself and follow it's teaching, who need be without a teacher.
Chang Tsu - fourth century B.C.

I'm very fond of Jungian psychology and their concept of the Self which is at the center and the entire periphery of the psyche. As you may observe from the quote above, the concept of Self is at least 600 years old. Jungians characterize the Self as the archetype of wholeness. It includes everything and excludes nothing.

We cannot think like our inner Self because it's truth is paradoxical. We can get glimpses of this outlook in images of balance, combinations, holistic approaches and wheels. We speak of these images in moving through all four seasons, covering all four bases and facing all four directions.

We are listening well to our inner Self when we learn to see the value in "both/and" and the inherent problems in "either/or" approaches. Here are a few examples:

• There are two kinds of positive thinking: one kind is only positive about positive things and negative about negative things. The other kind is positive about positive and negative things. To be positive about negative things sees that anything that appears negative is good for something and thus good and bad.
• There are two ways to see the passage of time. One way sees it's only real and speaks of losing time, wasting time and running out of time. The other way sees time is both real and illusory. The passage of time is a real practical experience but not really happening when we are minding the eternal Now moment.
• There are two kinds of teachers: one kind is only on the outside and the only source of reliable expertise, valid information and useful solutions. The other kind is inside and outside us, in what happens and what comes to mind, in people how inform us and what we learn upon reflection.

That includes this post, or perhaps begins the next one, by appearing right now to create an ending in a continuity of writing by me and reading by you.