Intuition and the Collective Unconscious

"You are special, and not like anybody else," we are told when we are young. However, as we grow older, we realize that "every man is created equal," that sharing is caring, and that everyone is part of a community. These two ideas of individuality and community seem to contradict each other. But, as part of the collective unconscious--the universal energy that brings everything together as a whole--each of us has a unique channel that our Intuition tunes in to to inspire us. We are part of the whole, yet each different from one another. So now that there is a distinction that the individual exists as part of the whole, what is the "gatekeeper", or filter, to the access of the universal essence?
: )

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Hi Proey! 

Although we are all, on the most rudimentary level, connected to a Higher Being, we still possess our own individuality. Look at our body, for instance, our liver cells and brain cells clearly have distinguishing functions and characteristics. Yet, on the DNA level, they are all identical because they are all part of us. Similarly, everything in this universe is a component of a greater community, but they still have their own separate and unique entities. As you have previously stated in a class discussion, there would be no purpose in having a community if everyone in there expressed the same ideas, wore the same clothing, listened to the same music, etc. It is our individual predilections that serve as the basis for the community itself. Therefore, our individuality is greatly needed in order for the community (or the Greater Being) to function as a community. Therefore, the idea of individuality and community is not contradictory.

As for your other question, what is the “gatekeeper” to the access of the universal essence…hmmm…In our previous class discussions, we have labeled the mind as “egotistical” when put into overdrive. However, we have also clarified that when it has not been overused, the mind can be a useful tool. In a way then, I think that it is our ego mind that defines us as individuals. The ego mind is our personality. Our being is already part of a greater truth; it therefore innately knows all the secrets of life. When we are infants, our ego mind has not yet been contaminated by the pollutants of society. Thus, there is a balance between the dominance of our inner being and our ego mind. When we are young, our ego mind has not yet become so self-centered. Because of this, it is more prone to notice our surroundings. It is more curious. Then, the inner being’s fervor to unleash a certain truth will stimulate it to present the truth to the mind. The mind can then interpret this truth in its particular way. I like to think of everyone’s mind as a hole covered by different colors of paper. When a light (the truth) is shone through the hole, the holes each reflect different colors of light. And this is where our uniqueness as individuals comes from – the different color paper on our “hole” or “filter.” However, as we grow older and start to mingle in the confines of society, dust and trash start to accumulate on this hole, and the light that is shining from the inner being becomes dimmer and dimmer until we barely notice its existence. When the “filter” becomes too dirty, there is no longer an equal distribution in the power of the mind and the inner being. The ego mind is then free to go around being narcissistic and self-centered. Okay, so I guess my answer to your answer is that our mind is the gatekeeper to the universal essence. It decides whether it wants to clean out that year’s worth of junk and start letting the inner being’s light to shine through in order to feel the Universal Essence.

Ohhh wow…I think I typed too much. Haha….so…I guess now I’ll wait for a reply.

Oh hoh hoh, I can't restrain myself from replying

I would use the cell example as it is exemplary at answering your question. Look at all the various types of cells that are in our bodies: red blood cell, white blood cell, t cells, muscle cells, brain cells, etc. They are all different, similar to how we are all different. However, even if the cells are all vastly different, all of them possess the same general function: to keep the whole (body) alive. This sometimes require the cells to become entirely dependent on the other cells (red blood cells cannot protect themselves from viruses, muscle cells cannot get oxygen on their own). This is similar to the interconnectedness between all of us. Quoted: "We are all pieces of puzzles that fit perfectly into the whole picture."

Allow me to get straight to the point now: I would say that the filter to the collective unconscious would be the mind, or the ego mind, as Vicky pointed out. Why? Well, consider why most people don't connect to the collective unconscious often, or even at all. It is because of the ego mind, the ego mind sees only physical shapes, and thus physical boundaries. It is this belief in non-interconnectedness do we cloud the way to the collective unconscious. This may explain why after meditation our ability to concentrate gets better, because focus on something is basically just another way of saying 'connecting to the collective unconscious.' Just look at Einstein, why did he obtain the famous e=mc^2 first? Why him?

The ego mind is our personality

I'm sorry, this quote I have to disagree. If the ego mind is our personality, why is it that the ego mind is so predictable? Why is it that stock analysts can predict the movement of the stocks? It is because they know how the ego mind works. It is (correct me if I'm wrong) the basis of sociology. If everyone's ego minds were different, the whole basis for sociology would collapse because there would be no predictable pattern in the human thoughts. It'll all be random (remember what we did for random numbers in math today).

proey wrote:"You are special, and not like anybody else," we are told when we are young. However, as we grow older, we realize that "every man is created equal," that sharing is caring, and that everyone is part of a community. These two ideas of individuality and community seem to contradict each other.

As part of the collective unconscious--the universal energy that brings everything together as a whole--each of us has a unique channel that our Intuition tunes in to to inspire us. We are part of the whole, yet each different from one another. What is the "gatekeeper", or filter, to the access of the universal essence?
: )

So, how are we different yet the same as everyone? I think the filter to the universal essence is - like vicky said - the mind. I think it's through our minds that we are able to interpret and understand and portray essence in a way that is unique. We're merely "passages" of the universal essence - if we merely let it pass through us, we wouldn't be different because we wouldn't be labeling it as anything. We'd just be acknowledging its existance as a part of us. But our feelings towards something is what makes us different from each other, like how we all see different things in an abstract painting. So it may be mostly about perception - our emotions are our truest reflections of what we "think" as a part of the universal essence. We're all part of the puzzle, so, like a diamond, maybe we all reflect on essence a little differently when apart, but when we're pieced together, we're just one big flat mirror that reflects essence as it really is.

We, as individuals, are unique and possess unlimited potential for growth and development. In a sense we are like cells, going about our individual lives but working together toward a united task. On the higher level of Being, we are one. We are interconnected with the rest of the universe because our beings are able to transcend physical boundaries and to expand into the world of the intangible – the world of essence and unity of all. “Every man is created equal” because the transcendentalist beliefs show the significance of each and every individual because every individual possess unlimited potential for growth. No one is better than anyone else and no competition is necessary because why compete when potential is everlasting? It is like fighting for something that has no end. Every second of life contains great significance because every second of life contains growth and a chance to bring out change. The concept of community and individuality may seem contradicting, but if we analyze it from a spiritual domain, from a higher level of awareness of our being (the quiet being that is often dominated by our loud ego minds), we will realize that community and individuality simply coexist. It is like codominance, where they both exist and share equal importance. It is the uniqueness of each and every individual that contributes to the everlasting growth of the community. It is the essence and Being of each single individual that allows for change to occur. Life offers us many chances to act, and it simply depends on our choice of action. But ultimately, it is the power of the community that allows us to collectively bring out change.

We are all connected because of the universal energy and being that bonds us together. But what is it that “gatekeeper” to experiencing universal essence and oneness with all? Perhaps we should start by taking a step out of our ego minds. Our ego minds brings in reason and limits our growth and expansion into feeling one with the being because that requires stepping into the world of the unknown, a world that is not tangible. Once we are able to break free from the “forever ranting” ego mind, we may start to experience essence with the universe by simply raising awareness for our beings. Our beings are interconnected with the Universal Being, therefore, if we are able to see this and allow flexibility for a shift in our perspective, the world may seem like a complete different place to us due to seeing the world without the classicist mind of reason. There is no reason why we are part of this great universal being. It is unexplainable in words because we simply have to experience this essence. Perhaps the key lies within oneself. Once one raises awareness of the being that is actually in control, rather than the ego mind, one will be able to dive into the world of the intangible, into the world in which we call universal essence. It is like getting rid of a "block" that restricts us from inner potential and growth.

To Phil: I guess I wasn’t clear enough in my expression of the ego mind being our personality. What I actually meant is that the ego mind only truly reflects our personality when it is cleansed of all the contaminants from society. As I’ve stated before, everyone’s ego mind has a different filter on the “hole” in which the Truth shines through. Therefore, I believe that everyone’s perspective, or personality (because it determines how we react to things), is a result of different filters. However, society has one purpose only – to conform all ego minds into thinking the way it wants it to think. Thus, what it tries to use to poison our ego mind is advertisements, whose main goal is to make us feel like losers and follow the trends that society wants us to follow. It makes sense, then, that since our ego mind are all polluted by the “same brand of poison” inflicted by society, that our ego mind would end up “predictable” as you put it. Back to your stocks market example. The way that society has contaminated our mind with fear effectively contributes to its goal of manipulating us. Society has taught people to stop relying on themselves (self-reliance) and to follow trends. Similarly, when the stock market goes into depression, people blindly follow the trend that is cultivated into them (to sell all their stocks) – a reaction that society wants them to have so that the more “powerful” can use this chance to gain more riches. So, hopefully I’ve cleared up the misunderstanding.

Hello Proey
Anyways, the answer to your question seems to be that while everyone is created equal, there is something withen everyone that makes us "unique". Its like, we must function as a community, but without individuality, there is no community.
I believe that being an individual is what gives each community its own special qualities. In a community, people still think of different ideas than people in another community, and communities on a whole function differently from each other. Its like Emerson believes, a idea of being individual for the society.
In a body, cells create a micro community. There are then small communities within this big community. However, each little community, while each cell has the same function, each one does something different. Its like how....i think its a muscle cell has 12 different functions. If each cell only performed the same function, the body would break down. This is an example of individuality within the community.
Therefore, i believe that your idea of community and individuality is not contradictory.
To answer your second question, i believe that the "gatekeeper" of filter to the access of universal essence is a combination of your mind and being. To access universal essence, i believe that we must keep our "ego" minds from going into overdrive, as well as combine the mind with our being. When we do this, i believe that we can access universal being. Universal being, at its deepest point, comes from the same source, as Emerson says. Therefore, when we use the beings feelings, and use the mind with the being, we have accessed the universal essence.
So, the answer i guess, would be that both our mind and being is the "gatekeeper" to universal essence.
Hope this is clear

Just like what vicky was saying, in a sense our ego minds are manipulated by society. Our ego minds want to feel comfortable by holding onto something tangible, something is known and has reason behind it. Perhaps the reason why people tend to conform to society is because their ego minds are dominating. The society tries to conform all ego minds into thinking a certain way. Perhaps this is stability, but it also directly limits growth. It sets a boundary for the physical world. We are therefore trapped from transcending physical boundaries into the spiritual domain, the world where there is interconnectedness between one and all. This is where the self-reliance from Emerson comes in. We have to develop confidence in our being, rather than relying on our ego minds, because like what Emerson said “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” Our beings or the higher self will simply be locked up…the unlimited potential will be restricted from expanding towards it unlimited capacity.

ROAR, something happened and i was not able to post my reply. so i'm retyping [knew i shouldve copied it first]
ok so it seems like the first part of proey's question is answered, so i'm just gonna focus on the latter half, about the gatekeeper/filter. and i'm actually gonna start with replies to other people's posts and then i'll come to what i think about the answer. so
- i need some clarification. is the ego mind different from the mind we discussed at the beginning of the year? i remember Ms. Kay saying how once you understand your own mind and how it creates conflicts for ourselves, we can also understand other people's minds and their conflicts because the mind is the same in everyone, and which is why we called it "the mind" and not "your/my mind." doesnt that mean that the mind is the same [and possible therefore predictable]? so unless the ego mind is different from this "the mind"...please correct me if i'm wrong. this is just something that's been confusing me for a while and i want to make a clarification
- so, say the ego mind is the filter, what happens when we disidentify with it? the filter is gone and essence shines in its true, pure form. what does that mean? if we all got rid of the mind filter and essence is essentially the same in everyone, wouldnt we be shining the same thing? how's that different from when we conform to whatever it is that society wants and are no longer unique? i make it sound like we actually need this filter if we want to stay unique. so dont disidentify with the mind? and at least dont let it go into overdrive.
- continuing with the previous point, if the mind is the filter, what does it take to realize we have this filter? specifically to angela's reply, what makes us become aware that being is/should be in control? vicky said that the mind reazliese thsi filter. but why would the mind want to do that? why would it let essence shine through in its pure form? doesnt it want control? realizing it's a filter might lead to its destruction, definitely something it doesnt want. so maybe it's like the little man searching through the memory. there's something else that realizes this filter, if the filter really is the mind. is it the being?

so my conclusion is similar to luoh's. the mind may be part of the filter, but i feel like there's something more to it, that this isnt the whole picture. whether or not it's essence/being, i'm not too sure. but then again, other than mind and being, what else is left?

Hi Joycie!

Okay, so here is my attempt to answer your questions. Haha.

I think that the ego mind that we are discussing here is also the mind. So those two words are analogous. Ms. Kay said that when we understand our minds and its incessant complaining, we can then predict what other people’s minds are thinking. However, she also said that the incessant ranting of the ego mind is a result of societal pressure. Therefore, I think it is what society generates into us – the fear and anxiety – that make the ego minds identical.

So this leads to your second question, I think that the “filter” is always on our ego mind. It’s just when the filter becomes “dirty” that the ego mind is not able to perceive/interact with the being, so it starts to become self-centered and arrogant. (Along with the societal cultivation that having fame and wealth is the “cool” thing to do) Therefore, our filters are different to begin with, so when we are able to cleanse away the “dirty society stuff,” we are able to view with our “clean and unique filter” clearly.

On to your third question, I think that the mind’s greediness for power is put into us through values from society. This is a result from the separation from the being for too long that the mind forgets how to “share.” Also, along with the pressure and expectations applied by society on to us, and the frivolous idea that money and popularity is “totally in” the ego mind starts to go into overdrive. And we all know happens when the ego mind goes ASDKFJALSDFJASDFSa – it loses all rationality. The mind only wants control because all the “poison” accumulated on the filter has fogged its vision from the truth. It doesn’t know what to do, so it does what it is most familiar with – to conform to the society that it has been a part of for a long time.

Hope I answered your questions!

vicky: What determines what our ego mind is, considering that people have different personalities? For example, like you said, some people want to be in the "in"-crowd. Is that an effect of ego-mind? What about those who really don't care? Do they not have an ego-mind, ergo, do they not have a filter?

We all have an ego mind, and we all have a filter. If we are truly unique at any level, I believe it would have to be our control over our ego mind. Those who submit to wanting to be, as you guys put it, "in," are people who have lower control over their ego mind: they cannot resist the temptation of the benefits of climbing up the social ladder. Those who do not feel the temptation to be "in" are those who are able to ignore/overpower the ego mind's screams for satisfaction instead of succumb to it and live by its demands.

Contrary to what most people have said thus far, I do not believe that the ego mind is shaped by society. Take the example of a new born baby and a toy. When they are bored of it, they throw it to a side and demand another. That is the ego mind, and it is within us at birth. What the society is doing is simply exploiting the ego mind by presenting to it one enticing element after another. This incessant source of desires that society presents to our ego makes it harder for our being to control it (as with each desire is one mental scream that needs to be attended to). As many people lack the will to be able to ignore these undying screams, they submit to them to shut them up temporarily, which basically results in the ego mind dominating instead. When the ego dominates, the corporations make money.

That is the ego mind, and it is within us at birth. What the society is doing is simply exploiting the ego mind by presenting to it one enticing element after another.

I think that you raised an interesting point with the example of the baby and the toy, Henning. However, by saying that “screaming” seems to be an innate quality of the ego mind rather than one that was cultivated, are you suggesting that the ego mind is innately evil? That it already has the foundations that will lure it towards temptation? People are good-hearted have only gained temporary control over its evilness – they have managed to tame its reins only for the time being – until a stimulus from society once again allows its “selfishness” to resurface?

vicky: What determines what our ego mind is, considering that people have different personalities? For example, like you said, some people want to be in the "in"-crowd. Is that an effect of ego-mind? What about those who really don't care? Do they not have an ego-mind, ergo, do they not have a filter?

Come to think of it, I think that I’ve been throwing around the term “the ego mind” too freely. It seems to me that the ego mind is the product of the mind that has gone into overdrive. Therefore, when we are born, I think that we all possess a mind, and this mind contains the “filter” and “colored paper” that gives a person his or her unique qualities. When we first arrive on this planet, our mind has not been pressurized or fed by the “poisons” of society. Because of this, it is able to respond to both external and internal things without much cynicism. Then, the ego mind starts to emerge when an individual starts to spend more and more time in society. The mind is put into overdrive with all the expectations and rules of society. A coat of dust starts to accumulate on the “filter” until the “pure mind” has been blocked from the beams of light from the inner being. The ego mind starts to take over after that. So, I guess my answer to your first question is that: I think that the ego mind is a product of societal condition. That is why it is so similar. That’s why we respond to certain circumstances alike – we become consumed by fear. So what makes us unique individuals is not the ego mind, but the “pure mind.”

Yes, I also think that the will to be in the “in” crowd is an effect of the ego mind. Like I said in the last paragraph, the ego mind is the product of society, so it feds on the poisons of society. It also seems to be controlled by society.

Finally, I think that people who don’t really care about following the trends set by society are not as “conditioned” by its values. Their “pure” or “real” minds are not as clouded by the materialistic visions presented by society. However, there might a possibility that their ego minds have deluded themselves into thinking that they don’t care, but in actuality, they actually do care. But still, even if they genuinely didn’t care, I still think their “pure minds” have somewhat been contaminated by society still. Because they still are not acting upon the light shed by the inner being. A person who is not acting upon their intuition is not really “free from pollutants.” Only one who is truly able to use the “clean filter” of their pure minds can be considered “not affected by society.”

You seem to be missing my point.

I am not suggesting that the ego mind is innately evil. I am saying that the ego mind is simply the mind that governs all of our desires. It is what makes us do things we want instead of things we do not.
Let me change my example of the baby then, seeing as the toy may be a little unclear.
Picture a baby in front of a box maze. This maze splits into two roads, A and B. At the end of road A is an object that appeals to the baby, at the end of the road B is nothing. Which road do you think the baby will take?
Obviously, the road with more appeal, A.
Why is it that the baby (who should be free from societal conditioning) wanted to satisfy his desires and take the road that appealed to him/her more? I wouldn't call it intuition. There wasn't a sudden flash of insight that told the baby to take road A. The deciding factor was the object of appeal, and the ego mind. The ego mind is what told the baby to take the more appealing road, because the ego mind governs our desires and sends the message that it needs to be satisfied. Upon seeing the object of desire, the ego mind sent a message telling the baby to go towards it, to satisfy his desires. Seeing no reason not to, the baby complied. In that sense, it isn't exactly evil. It is selfish, however, in that the ego mind will continuously send messages telling us that it needs satisfaction regardless of the situation (such as the greed in people that drives us to rob a store in the midst of a chaotic condition, such as say, terrorists attacks or natural disasters). That's why I say it screams at us.
What society does is it creates new objects of appeal. It creates many seemingly desirable things, and by using marketing tactics and social conformity, it attracts the ego mind with a great force (thus it is able to make us want things we normally wouldn't have wanted; e.g. we only want certain things because they are whats "in"). For each object that society has managed to promote to the ego mind, the ego mind screams to us its need to be satisfied. This incessant flow of screaming is hard for most people to overcome, thus we succumb to the will of the ego mind, and it dominates us instead.

Over here, I'll organize the process of the society promoting desires to the ego mind.

1. Social conformity is established (Our ego mind, and perhaps a bit of our being as well, can not stand being left out or insulted because we are different, thus we conform with others)

2. Within conformity, trends form

3. In order to remain acceptable to the others, our ego is obliged to follow the trend

4. The desire to follow the trend leads to the desire to buy the things that are trendy (name brands, pop music, etc)

In this process, one desire leads to another. Once society is able to establish a fundamental desire, it is able to promote other desires, which sprout from the will of the ego to stay satisfied.

Those who can overcome their desires, overcome their ego, are able to become non-conformists. Being free from the ego, there is no longer a need to conform to others, as the conformity is nothing more than a system based on desires.

So, Henning, you think that everyone's ego mind pretty much wants the same thing? If the ego mind wants to conform to society, then it wouldn't be the defining factor for our personality... right? Then, what would be? Our Intuition?

Basically, how are we different from each other, considering that everyone is part of this huge collective energy field AND everyone seems to have that same sometimes overbearing ego mind?

Thanks for clearing that up! 

So basically, you’re saying that the ego mind is governed by vanity and selfishness. It is its inherent tendency to want to find something that will satisfy its greedy need. This is when society comes in with its manipulative techniques. It first establishes a sense of conformity into our ego minds by coming up with objects that we desire. Slowly, this feeling of want evolves into something that is part of us. That is why when new trends are formed, our ego minds feel “obligated” to follow the trend and buy the objects. It also manages to delude itself into thinking that it needs the object in the process.

Hopefully, I’ve captured what you mean. If not, please correct me.

Thats a great point!
People who have taken a step out of their ego minds (the mind that is a “control freak” and wants to dominate the Being), are able to allow their soul to grow, expand and interconnect with the Universal Being. The society has trends due to the fact that society wants conformity. Trends are simply boundaries that set the limit to individual growth and development. If a society had no trends, perhaps the uniqueness of each individual and inner growth would be enhanced (unlimited potential can be expressed)? I have never really thought about the points that Henning brought up earlier. We conform to such societal trends in order to quench the thirst of our ego minds, its desire to dominate. Once its in control, when our Beings are hidden by the “loud” ego mind, our lives become chaotic because all the ego mind is doing is bringing itself to overdrive and suppressing our “quiet” Beings from releasing its unlimited potential. Great that there was clarification made!

@proey
Actually no, in my previous posts I was referring the ego mind as a collective, not as everyone's ego mind. Our ego mind alerts us of our desires and their need to be fulfilled, but what actually sets the basis for our desires, such as in my second example, what the appeal object is, may or may not be the ego mind. I personally believe that it is more likely a higher being that sets the personality, and the ego mind, a component of it, adopts its beliefs and preferences and generates a list of desires. In this sense, there are many people that may be completely unaffected by social conformity in that they simply see nothing desirable about the idea of it to begin with.
@vicky
Yea, you almost got it, just a bit mixed up about the last part. Society establishes things that likely appeal to desires of our ego mind already (such as the need to be a part of attention, which society takes and changes into social conformity) and then uses that fundamental desire to create new ones. Taking the example of social conformity as the fundamental appeal, in order to stay acceptable and a part of the society, one must keep up with trends. If one can not keep up, they may be left behind. In a sense, all of the new desires are different forms and branches of the fundamental desire, as we desire to be part of the trend mainly (or only) because we want to be part of the "cool kids."

hey all,
good conversation in here, vicky henning and proey, particularly. But all of the responses are reflective of some strong questioning and thinking about our reality, and I am impressed, as it helps with a sense of personal identity, which is key in high school, particularly when third culture or bicultural.

enough of my teacheresque commentary. Proey I like how you redirected your question today, and it's a really poignant one. I am refraining from responding to it - as i am in all the moderators' discussions - and seeing where you all take it. I am also excited to see what happens in the other forums you reached out to.

i gotta go home and exercise, so i'm signing off. have fun and c u all tomorrow.
cheers!
ms k

I actually agree with henning on the part when he says "What society does is it creates new objects of appeals." Throughout all the research, including in the research of what makes a person happy, i learned that when a person doesn't follow what his/her ego mind wants, they have a higher level of happiness. I believe this happens when we are all able to quiet down our "ego" mind. However, because of what society shows us, through t.v., movies, everything, many people believe what society tells us is "happiness", but in truth, this is actually all just fake happiness, manufactured happiness.

To answer Proey's question, i think that what makes us different could be the choices we make, the inspirations we recieve from that "Fountain" that Emerson talks about. If we're all part of the same energy field, then what makes us different comes from the choices we make.

If we're all part of the same energy field, then what makes us different comes from the choices we make.

How do we make those choices then? What chooses? I mean, it probably is NOT only one thing that we utilize to decide what to choose. But imagine yourself cleared of all the societal influences and ego mind and whatnot--if you have a beginner's mind, how do you choose/make decisions? (Please be specific? )

Just as Vicky said above, the beginner’s mind takes in information without filtering chuncks out that may hold importance, therefore allowing us to clearly see the whole picture, rather than just focusing on a part of the whole. The beginner’s mind occurs before the ego mind acknowledges its existnce, before judgment and criticism can be made.

The filter on that mind (or the “hole” to the being) is different for everyone.

The beginner’s mind holds its uniqueness. Just as vicky mentioned, the filter on the mind is different. Another way to think about it may be to think in the context of biology. Every human cell possesses the same DNA. Why then, are the cells able to carry out different tasks and synthesize different enzymes and proteins that serve in distinct metabolic proccesses? It is due to the expression of different parts of the DNA, where some parts are expressed while others are hidden. Leading back to the mind, every individual has the ability to see thorugh the beginner’s mind, only that the perspective and inspiritaion is unique for each individual. Perhaps it occurs at the virtual domain, where pure potential blosoms from the life source. This is a basis from which we can proceed and expand into the quantum domain, where the collective consciousness is reached and where the universal reliance may be grounded. When we drop back to the level where pure potential is freely expressed, perhaps we are clearing out the tunnel to intuition – the intuition that is spontaneous. After all, the ego mind and its foolish consistency will shut all means of inution out. The primary wisdom that Emerson calls intuition is perhaps seeing through the beginner’s mind and developing a channel of intuion through which the rays of truth can pass.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M THINKING OF VICKY. yay someone's got my drift. Exactly. We know that there is a "filter." But, let's say we do not use an analogy, and we just determine what IT IS.

So far what I think: religiously speaking, I believe that it may be the choice of God, or say, the higher power, to give us what entity and what certain shade of color to be. It's like when you mix paint: it is hard to attain the same color twice. There is a certain shade, a certain amount of a particular color that we all are.

We do not cut out our own filter holes--like what Victoria said, someone may have horizontal lines, someone may have diagonal lines. It is the higher power that cuts the holes and shines the light from behind it. Then it is up to us where the light beams extend to--however far we extend our unlimited potential. The ego mind is like a dust catcher--it takes in things that we do not need in order to live fully. I say dust catcher because it is not necessarily the dust: it has its good intentions, its critical thinking.

Comments and criticism on these thoughts?

Well, being bored, I drew a diagram based vaguely on the one Ms. Kay drew on the board. (If I got anything wrong, please tell me. My notes are a little too messy to comprehend.) However rudimentary it may look (I drew it on paint), it asks my basic question which I am still yearning for an answer to.