FOURTH FALL FROM GRACE
Wilber (1977) relates the fourth duality to the
rise of the philosophic bands: "[I]n many cases the philosophic bands
are instrumental in the generation of the quaternary dualism-repression-projection,
and in all cases they are instrumental in its maintenance" (p. 150).
Concerning these bands, he quotes Erich Fromm (1970):
[I]n addition to the social taboos
there are individual elaborations of these taboos which differ from family
to family; a child, afraid of being 'abandoned' by his parents because
he is aware of experiences which to them individually are taboo, will,
in addition to the socially normal repression [of the Biosocial Band],
also repress those feelings which are prevented from coming to awareness
by the individual aspect of the filter. (Wilber, 1977, p. 150)
The end-result of this fear of parental abandonment
that pushes the philosophic bands is what Freud calls the resolution of
the oedipal conflict. This splitting and consequent repression/projection
corresponds to the rites of passage of puberty and adolescence.
At this point, the child no longer identifies
with God (pre-conception), with mother (pre-birth), with body (pre–primal
scene), or even with his or her best idea (one's philosophic
ideal); but identifies instead with the same-sex parent, the representative
of the social order. Thus he or she becomes totally Other: totally
separated from his or her own mind (pre- puberty rite); from his or her
body (pre- primal scene); from his or her destiny, karma, dharma, duty,
and purposiveness (pre-birth); and from God (pre-conception).
This pattern — this doomed and illusory "atman
project" wherein the parent seeks to immortalize him- or herself and to
redeem his or her life — is of course obvious in the situation of the son
"following in his father's footsteps" in taking over the family business
and in the daughter's emulation of her mother, traditionally, in the role
of wife and mother. But there are many subtler versions of this "identification,"
and it happens even in situations where it seems it most definitely does
not.
For example, Keniston's (1968) study of young
radicals of the Sixties — the epitome of rebellious youth, you say — were
found to be very much in agreement with their parents' values. In
fact, their rebellion was essentially in seeking to put into practice and
actually live out what they saw as unlived values and philosophies (hence
the charge of "hypocrite") in compromised and compromising parents.
Note again the theme of living out the unlived dreams of the previous generation
— here, even in spite of the conscious stance of those youth.
Cross-culturally and traditionally, however,
we see this pattern in perhaps its most rudimentary and clearest form.
In a great many cultures, the rites of passage into adulthood embrace the
function of bestowing upon and initiating the recipient into the social
roles and functions as decided by the tribe and family. For
most, then, there is little of self in the decision of who to be; it is
decided outside of oneself. Corresponding with this, in relation
to the marital role, in many cultures the choice of spouse is also decided
by others.
One doesn't have one's own mind. One
takes up the "mind" of the parents, and of society. One continues
their dream, society's dream. One's Divine uniqueness fades
into insignificance in the pattern of the social consensual reality.
At any rate, the upshot of all this is that
at the quaternary dualism, the self is split again. It is required
to give up even "its own mind," its own concept of itself.
Originally one's divinity was given up; then one's deepest transpersonal
directives and organismic unitary awareness; then one's biological rhythms,
one's sense of flowingness and inner-directed purposiveness; then one's
feelings about self and other; and finally one is required even to give
up the best possible ideas one can have about oneself and one's
relationship to and actions in the world. One represses one's own
decisions, initiatives, evaluations, and self-images in conformance to
other-directed wants and needs, the result of others' unfulfilled ambitions
— which are presented to one by one's parents but represent by extension
the other-directed wants and needs of the collective, of the prevailing
fear-pushed and desire-pulled economic constraints . . . of the socially-constructed
reality in general.
Raheem (1991) describes the result:
When the soul becomes so covered over
by conditioning that it cannot shine through, when personality completely
dominates, a "darkness" develops within the person, characterized by mental
or emotional dullness, physical deterioration, accidents, depression, or
"bad luck." Such a person seems asleep or unconscious while walking
around; she has gotten off her own soul path. (p. 31)
KITTY-DROWNERS AND BUTTERFLY-MASHERS
And what happens to these repressed dreams, aspirations,
initiatives, and values is that, as at previous levels, they are repressed,
then projected outside of oneself. Thenceforth they are seen in the
world as the "Shadow." Unfortunately, to the extent that we disown
and fight these potentials in ourselves, we fight and hate them when we
see them outside ourselves. This accounts for the fury with which
people will attack and seek to suppress certain individuals and groups
who may represent, for example, disowned artistic or creative potentials,
disowned aliveness and "charisma," disowned sexuality, disowned intellectual
or bohemian dreams, simple disowned "feeling" in general, and anything
that smacks of an idealism or freedom or joie de vivre that needed
especially to be slain in the self in order to make the identification
with another's dreams. Creating in this way the kitty-drowners and
butterfly-mashers of the world, the quaternary dualism is complete and,
with it, a fourth fall from grace.
At this point, then, there is very little Self
left. In discharging the life that remains — so totally other-directed
and other-programmed — one may as well have commissioned an android. Thus
we have the endpoint of the spectrum's "evolution"—from divinity to machinery,
from pure-Bliss-Consciousness to cybernetic control.
CHAPTER NINE REFERENCES
Fromm, Erich., Suzuki, D. T., & DeMartino,
R. (1970). Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis. New York: Harper &
Row.
Keniston, Kenneth. (1968). Young Radicals:
Notes on Committed Youth. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Raheem, Aminah. (1991). Soul Return: Integrating
Body, Psyche & Spirit. Boulder Creek, CA: Aslan Publishing.
Wilber, Ken. (1977). The Spectrum of Consciousness.
Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House.