On having an Enemy
Jeroen
Not all those who wander are lostNetherlands Veteran
I wanted to talk about this phenomenon that welled up in me, the spiritual Enemy… it began with a small voice asking for the powers of the imagination. Then other things began to manifest, and they began to talk about taking things, thieving. Then other voices began to look for ways to stop them, and I devised a scheme of collecting things that manifested power - weapons, money, abilities. This became an arms race, to see which voices could have the most, and eventually the cleverest and his clan became a kind of dictators, taking things from within my energy. At that point they became my Enemy.
This was a story that manifested itself on the edges of sleep over a number of months and years. It had many recurring elements, but it seemed to touch on something primitive within my mind, this idea of having an Enemy. It became a kind of fixation, like a hypnosis. Whenever I would wake up out of sleep elements of the story would resurface. In the end I had some very clear dreams, showing me that this idea of having an Enemy was running counter to liberation, that it was forming a prison for my mind.
On the whole, it was a very interesting series of encounters. It reminded me of Buddhist admonitions to guard the senses.
Comments
Most stories we're drawn to revolve around conflict. We imagine being heroic to save someone so we'd feel good about ourselves, but at the same time we also imagine the danger, the threat they're in for this very purpose. We give it a different face and name to keep it separate, but it's us, just like while dreaming. Sometimes we imagine ourselves to be the heroes so we could "get away with" also imagining nasty things that way. Wishing others to feel hurt just so they'd understand us being hurt and would keep us company in our traumatic memories. There is no other people, these roles and stories like stage plays are only tools which we use to embrace parts of us we otherwise struggle to, because we don't have the words to express them or are not conscious enough. I think it's a deeply human quality and I am sentimental about such, but perhaps a more spiritual practictioner like you are talking about completely different things here that you wouldn't describe to be emotional experiences in those hours or minutes between sleep and awake.
That is certainly one way to look at it, that it is all just part of you and that these things are like elements of a stage play. That is perhaps more comforting than a more metaphysics-based explanation. I think it is the more Buddhist explanation to consider it as all in the mind.
It reminds me of this…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa
Perhaps I have created a thought-form out of mind-stuff, through being present with my desires and neuroses on the edge of sleep. The persistence of these experiences puzzles me.
There's also a framework in modern psychology that's similar called internal family systems. It kind of says we're made up of these different parts. In my limited understanding some of the practical therapeutic methods often treat these "parts" as entities in themselves as an effective way of healing any disfunction.
Yes, I’m a little familiar with IFS, a friend is a therapist in that tradition.
The mind can be one’s worst enemy or one’s best friend, the choice is up to us.
When we believe every thought, the mind becomes an enemy. When we learn to observe our thoughts, question them, and choose which ones deserve our energy, the mind becomes a trusted friend.
The most essential method which includes all other methods is to behold the Mind.
The Mind is the root from which all things grow.
If you can understand the Mind, everything else is included.
~Bodhidharma~
Thanks for your insight. I think it is true, that where you choose to pay attention you strengthen certain thought trends. When that becomes observing and questioning, it’s a very different way of living with mind than just living in trust and acceptance.
For me trust and acceptance is a long habit, and imagination too is a long habit. These things together become the realm of a dreamer, a baby mind who is continually projecting. Maybe I should use more of my natural inquisitiveness to examine exactly what goes on, without projecting.
Making changes in response to examining is more troublesome, when you come to an action point. Ultimately accepting things often does lead to more truth. There is an adage, that what you reject you reinforce, but sometimes you have to deny something at a low level in order to prevent bigger conflicts further down the line.
Understanding the mind is no easy task.
Indeed.
The mind in dharma includes 'the instincts', body mind, 'emotions' (neurons in the heart are now science) and even habitual speech patterns.
In a sense, the Clear Mind is transparent or Nothing. Allowing us to be more from and at peace...
https://studybuddhism.com/en/essentials/what-is/what-is-mind
The concept of having an external Enemy also comes up in the books of Carlos Castaneda. It seems to be something shamanic, related to the spirit world.