The Identity, Values, and Self-image of the Ego and of the Being
Dear brothers and sisters, friends, fellow students: let's talk a little. Certainly, through these disquisitions, we all intend to seek a solution to many intimate concerns. I do not claim to know more than you, nor do I think you claim to know more than my insignificant person. We just want to bring you together, to share our concerns; and that's it! Sincerity encourages us.
We need an integral well-being. We all suffer. We all have bitterness in life. We all want a change.
Self-respect
In any case, I think, and you will agree, that an integral well-being is the result of self-respect.
This would seem quite strange to an economist, to a philosopher, etc. For example, what would self-respect have to do with the economic issue, or with problems related to work, or with the labor force, with capital, etc.? I am going to tell you the following: our level of being attracts our life.
We lived in a very beautiful house in Mexico City. Behind that house there is a large piece of land that was empty. One day, a group of "parachutists" (as we call them in Mexico) invaded that land. They soon built their cardboard huts and settled there. Unquestionably, they became something dirty within that so beautiful neighborhood. I don't want to underestimate them, but really, if their cardboard huts were tidy, none would object to them. Unfortunately, there was a frightful slovenliness among these people.
From the roof of our house, I carefully observed the life of those people. They insulted each other, they hurt each other, they got drunk, they did not respect themselves, neither did they respect their fellows. Their life was horrifying in misery and in abominations.
If before the police patrols were not seen there, later, they were always visiting the neighborhood; if before that neighborhood was peaceful, then it became a hell.
Thus, I was able to verified that our level of being attracts our life; that's obvious! Let us suppose that one of those inhabitants resolved overnight to respect himself and respect others. Obviously, he would change!
What is meant by "respect yourself"? Leave delinquency, do not steal, do not fornicate, do not adulterate, do not envy the welfare of others. Be humble, simple. Give up laziness, become an active, tidy, decent person, etc.
When a citizen respects himself, he changes his level of being, that's logical! And by changing the level of being, unquestionably, he attracts new circumstances, because he would relate to more decent people, with different people, and possibly, that reason for relationships would cause an economic and social change in his existence.
Therefore, this would fulfill what I am saying that integral self-respect comes to cause social and economic well-being.
But if one does not know how to respect himself, one does not respect his fellow neighbors either and condemns himself to an unhappy, unfortunate life.
Self-image
The principle of integral well-being is in self-respect. Do not forget that "the exterior is only the reflection of the interior." That was already said by Mr. Emmanuel Kant, the philosopher from Königsberg.
If we carefully study "The Critique of Pure Reason", we certainly discover that "the exterior is the interior" (quoted words of Mr. Emmanuel Kant).
The image of the exterior of people and the circumstances that surround them are the outcome of self-image.
We all have a self-image. That word, “self-image” (composite), is profoundly significant.
Precisely, a photograph of Fernando comes to mind right now. There is a photograph of our friend Fernando, and as a curious thing two Fernandos appear in the photo: one, very still, firm position, with his face forward; the other appears walking in front of him, with a different face shape, etc. How is it possible that two Fernandos appear in a photo? I believe that this photo is worth enlarging, because it can be used to show it to all the people in these studies. Obviously, I think that the second Fernando is the self-reflection of the original Fernando; that's obvious! Because it is written that “the external image of man and the circumstances that surround him are the result of the self-image”. It is also written that “the exterior is only the reflection of the interior”. And the people, and the things that we meet in life, are the reflection of ourselves, because “what is outside is what is inside”, said Mr. Emmanuel Kant, the philosopher from Königsberg.
So, if we do not respect ourselves, if the inner image of ourselves is very poor, if we are full of psychological defects, moral blemishes, unquestionably, unpleasant events will arise in the outside world, economic and social difficulties, etc.
But let us not forget that the external image of a person and the circumstances that surround us are the outcome of one's self-image.
We have a self-image. Outside there is the psychological image, which can be photographed, but inside, we have another image: the self-image, or to better clarified we will say that outside we have the physical, sensible image; inside we have the image of a psychological type, hypersensible.
If outside we have a poor, miserable image, and if this image is accompanied by unpleasant circumstances: a difficult economic situation, problems of all kinds, conflicts whether at home, on the street, at work, etc., this is simply because our psychological self-image is poor and defective, horrifying. In the environment we reflect our misery, our nothingness, what we are.
If we want to change, we need a total change: image, values, and identity must change radically.
Values
I said in one of the talks here that each one of us is a mathematical point in space, which agrees to serve as a vehicle for certain sums of values. Some serve as a vehicle for "great values" and others may serve as vehicles for "mediocre values." Each one is each one.
Most human beings serve as a vehicle for the values of the ego, the I, the myself, the self-willed. These values can be positive or negative.
So, identity, values, and image are a single whole.
I say we must go through a radical transformation. I affirm, emphatically, that identity, values and image must be totally changed. We need a new identity, new values, a new image. That's a psychological revolution, intimate revolution.
It is absurd to continue within the vicious circle in which we currently move. We need to change completely.
Do not forget, then, that one's self-image gives rise to one's external image. When I say self-image, I mean that psychological image that we have.
What is our psychological image? Is it wrathful, greedy, lustful, envious, proud, lazy, gluttonous, or what? Whatever image we have of ourselves, or better said, our self-image, will naturally give rise to the external image.
The external image, although very well dressed, could be poor.
Is the image of a proud person beautiful, of someone who has become unbearable, who does not have a grain of humility?
Is the image of a lecher very pleasant? How does a lecher act? How does he live? What does a lecher look like inside its bedroom? What is his behavior in intimate life with the opposite sex? Maybe he is a degenerate?
What would be the external image of an envious person, of someone who suffers because of the welfare of others, and who secretly harms others out of envy?
What a horrible image a lazy one presents! The one who doesn't want to work, dirty, abominable...
What shall we say of the glutton?
So, indeed, the outer image is the outcome of the inner image; that's obvious! If a man learns to respect himself, he changes his life, not only within the field of ethics or psychology, but also within the social and economic field, and even political. But one needs to change!
That is why I insist, my dear friends, that our identity, image, values must change.
Our current identity, our current values, the image that we currently have of ourselves, is miserable. Because of that, our social life is full of conflicts and economic problems. Nobody is happy today, nobody is happy.
But could we change the image, the values, the identity that we have? Could we assume a new identity, new values, new image? I clearly state that it is possible.
Unquestionably, we would need to disintegrate the ego.
The Ego
We all have an “I”. When we knock on a door and we are asked, "Who is it?"
We answer, “Me!”
But who is this “me”, who is this “myself”? Who is that “ego”? In truth, the ego is a sum of negative or positive values.
We could disintegrate the ego, put an end to all the positive and negative values that we have, and then, we could serve as a vehicle for new values: the values of the Being. But in this case, we need a didactic, if we want to eliminate the values that we currently have, to cause a change.
First of all, it indeed would be really necessary to appeal to intimate psychoanalysis. When one appeals to intimate psychoanalysis to discover one's psychological defects, a great difficulty arises.
I want to refer emphatically to the force of countertransference. One can self-investigate, one can "introvert", but when you try, the difficulty of countertransference always arises. [Editor: Countertransference occurs when the observer becomes attached to the observed phenomenon. Thus, when we are attached to a defect, it is very difficult or even impossible to comprehend it.]
It is about transferring our attention inwardly, with the purpose of exploring ourselves to know ourselves, and eliminating the negative values that harm us psychologically, socially, economically, politically, and even spiritually.
Unfortunately, I repeat, when one tries to introvert to self-explore and know oneself, countertransference immediately arises, which is a force that hinders introversion.
If there were no countertransference, introversion would be easier. Unfortunately, countertransference completely hinders introversion, and we need intimate psychoanalysis, we need intimate self-investigation to really know ourselves.
Let us remember that phrase of Thales of Miletus: “Nosce te ipsum” (“know yourself,” and you will know the universe and the gods). When one knows oneself, one can change. As long as one does not know oneself, any change will be useless to one. But first of all, my dear friends, one needs of self-analysis.
Self-analysis
How would one overcome the force of countertransference, which makes intimate psychoanalysis, or self-analysis, difficult? This indeed would only be possible, really, through transactional analysis and structural analysis.
When one appeals to structural analysis, one knows those psychological structures that make intimate introspection difficult and almost impossible, or impossible. By knowing such structures, we understand them, and by understanding them we can then overcome the obstacle.
But we would need something more: we would also need transactional analysis. There are the banking, commercial transactions, etc. There are also psychological transactions. The various psychic elements that we carry within us are subject to transactions, exchanges, struggles, position changes, etc. They are not something immobile, they always exist in a state of movement.
When one, through transactional analysis, knows the different intimate psychological processes, and when in addition to that one has also known the various structures, then the difficulty for psychological introversion ends, and the self-exploration of myself, of the itself, with full success.
Whoever achieves a full self-exploration, on this or that defect, now to know anger, now to know greed, or lust, or envy, or pride, or laziness, or gluttony, etc., can make formidable psychological progresses.
We would have to start first by segregating the defect that we want to eliminate from ourselves, and later, we would dissolve it.
A disintegrated defect releases some percentage of soul essence. As we disintegrate each of our false values, that is, our defects, the psychic essence bottled up within them will be released.
And finally, the totally liberated psychological essence will totally transform us. That will be the precise moment in which the eternal values of the Being are expressed through us. Unquestionably, this would be wonderful, not only for ourselves, but for humanity.
When someone has managed to disintegrate, or completely dissolve negative values, unquestionably, one respects oneself, and by respecting oneself, one respects others; one becomes, let's say, a source of goodness for everyone; one becomes a perfect, cognizant, wonderful creature.
That mystical self-image, let us say, of an awakened person, will originate by sequence or corollary, the perfect image of a noble citizen, whose circumstances will also be beneficial in every sense; it will be a golden link in the great universal chain of life; it will be an example for the whole world, a source of happiness for many beings; an enlightened person in the most transcendental sense of the word; someone who will enjoy a continuous and delicious ecstasy.
Mental Dynamics
Do not forget, my dear friends, that in mental dynamics, we need to know something about "how" and "why" the mind works.
The mind, unquestionably, is an instrument that we must learn to use consciously. But it would be absurd to suppose that such an instrument was efficient, if we do not first know the "how" and the "why" of the mind.
When one knows the "how" and the "why" of the mind, when one knows the diverse functionalisms of it, one can control it; it becomes a useful, perfect instrument, a marvelous vehicle through which we can work for the benefit of humanity. A realistic system is really needed if we really want to know the potential of the human mind.
Many systems for mind control abound these days. There are those who think that certain artificial exercises can be magnificent for the control of the understanding. There are schools, there is a lot of theory about the mind and many systems.
But how indeed would it be possible to really make something useful out of the mind? Do you think that if we do not know the "how" or the "why" of the mind, we could make it perfect? We need to know the various functionalisms of the mind, if we want it to be perfect.
How does it work? Why does it work? That “how” and “why” are definitive.
If we throw, for example, a stone into a lake, we will see that waves are formed. These are the reaction of the lake, of the water against the stone. Similarly, if someone says an ironic word to us, this word comes to the mind and the mind reacts against such word; then come the conflicts.
Everyone is in trouble; everyone lives in conflict. I have carefully observed the discussion tables in many organizations, schools, etc. They don't respect each other. Why? Because they don't respect themselves.
Take a Senate, a House of Representatives, or just a school "table." If someone says something, someone else feels alluded to, gets angry and says something worse; the members of a board of directors quarrel with each other. This indicates that the mind of each one of them reacts against the impacts coming from the outside world, that is very serious.
One has, indeed, to appeal to introspective psychoanalysis to explore one's own mind; it becomes necessary to know ourselves a little more within the intellectual.
Why do we react to the word of a fellow person? In these conditions, we are always victims. If someone wants us to be happy, all they have to do is pat us on the shoulder and say a few kind words; if someone wants to see us upset, all they have to do is say a few unpleasant words to us.
So where is our true intellectual freedom? Where? If we completely depend on others, we are slaves.
Indeed, our psychological processes, really, depend exclusively on other people; we do not command our own psychological processes. This is terrible! Others are the ones who rule in us, and in our intimate processes!
A friend suddenly comes and tells us that he is inviting us to a party. We go to the friend's house, he offers us a drink, we are sorry not to accept it, we drink it. Another drink comes and we also drink it, and another, and “we continue drinking” and finally we finish “drunk”. Thus, that friend was owner and lord of our psychological processes.
Do you think that such a mind can be used for anything? If someone rules us, if everyone has the right to rule us, then where is our intellectual freedom? Where is it?
Suddenly we find ourselves before a person of the opposite sex, we identify a lot with that person and in the long run we end up involved in fornication or adultery. It means that that person of the opposite sex could do more: that one initiated our psychological process, that one controlled them, that one submitted us to their will. Is this freedom?
Values of the Being
The intellectual animal mistakenly called "human", in reality, really, has been educated to deny his authentic identity, values and image. What will be the authentic identity, values and intimate image of each one of us? Is it the ego, or the personality? no! Through introspective psychoanalysis, we could go beyond the ego and discover the Being.
Unquestionably, the Being is our authentic identity, values, and image.
The Being, in himself, is the K-H, the Kosmos-Human or the human-kosmos. That is our authentic identity, values and image.
Unfortunately, as I have already told you, the intellectual animal falsely called “human” has educated himself to deny his own intimate values; he has fallen into the materialism of this degenerate age; he has given himself over to all the vices of the earth; and walks the path of error.
Accepting the negative culture subjectively instilled within us, following the path of least resistance, is absurd. Unfortunately, people, at this time, enjoy following the path of least resistance and accept the false materialistic culture of these times, leave or allow it to be instilled in their psyche, and this is how they come to deny the true values of their Being.
I want you to reflect very well tonight, my dear friends, on these things!
Remember that up there, in the infinite space, in the starry space, every action is the result of an equation and an exact formula. Likewise, by simple logical deduction, we must affirm emphatically that our true image, the intimate, Kosmic-Human, is beyond the ego and false values, and is perfect. Every action of the Being, unquestionably, is the outcome of an equation and an exact formula.
There have been cases in which the Being manages to express through someone who has achieved a change of image, values, identity, and then, that "such" has in fact become some prophet, some enlightened person. But there have also been unfortunate cases in which the one who has served as a vehicle for his own Being has not really understood the intentions of the divine.
When someone who serves as a vehicle for the Being does not work selflessly in favor of humanity, unquestionably, that one has not understood what the equation and the exact formula of every action of the Being is.
Only the one who renounces the fruits of action, who does not expect any reward, who is only motivated by love to work for his fellow people, has certainly understood the activity of the Being.
We need to go through, I repeat, a total change of ourselves. Image, values, identity, must change, and instead of having the poor image of the earthly human, we must have a spiritual, heavenly image, right here and in flesh and blood.
Instead of possessing the false values of the ego, what must be in our hearts and in our minds are the positive values of the Being.
Instead of having, then, a rude identity, we must have an identity placed at the service of the Being. Let us reflect... ...until we become the living expression of the Being. "The Being is the Being and the reason for the Being to be is to be the Being himself."
Let us clearly distinguish between expression and self-expression: the ego can express itself, but such expression will never be self-expression. The ego expresses itself through the personality and its expressions are subjective: it repeats what others told it, it narrates what others narrated to it, it explains what others explained to it, but the ego does not have an evident self-expression of the Being.
The real objective self-expression of the Being is what counts. When the Being expresses through us, he does so perfectly.
It is necessary to disintegrate the ego, the I, the myself, based on intimate psychoanalysis, so that the verb, the word of the Being, expresses itself through us.
So end my words for tonight.
Inverential peace!