The practical implication of the Course’s topography of the mind, as I presented it in Thursday’s class, was what I called the reinterpretation of impulses. I’ll briefly summarize what I said about this.
The question is, which impulses are from within and which are from without?
In regard to our lower impulses (physical and ego impulses—which come from the upper unconscious), we tend to see these as coming from within, as natural, as authentic, as issuing from “me.” They are therefore sources of pleasure. They are the “get to” rather than the “have to.” Maybe we can’t act on them because of obligation to others and to society, but it would be great if we could.
In regard to our higher impulses (the pull of God, from the superconscious, and miracle impulses, from the miracle level), we tend to label these as something we have internalized from without. Our obligation to God and others leads to certain “shoulds” that, over time, we take into ourselves, so that they seem to be our own impulses. These impulses, then, ultimately come from without. In the final analysis, they are “not me.” We need to go with them in order to fulfill our obligations to God and others, but doing so is a chore, a sacrifice. It’s hard work with little payoff.
This labeling—of the lower impulses as natural, as “me,” and the higher impulses as internalized from without, as “not me”—flies in the face of experience. Our expression of the lower impulses leads to constant disappointment. It’s never as good as we hope. But our labeling of these impulses as natural leads us to disregard that constant experience.
Likewise, our expression of the higher impulses regularly leads to a more genuine happiness than the lower, yet our labeling of the higher as “not me” leads us to disregard this experience, too.
What we need to do is relabel the lower impulses. We need to see them as coming from without—from the ego, which is outside our nature. They are therefore the “not me.” They are not natural. They are artificial. They are distortions of our true natural impulses.
And we need to relabel the higher impulses. They are coming from within, from our actual nature. They are the “me.” They are the truly natural impulses. They are the “get to” rather than the “have to.” They are our true desire. And when we don’t act on them, they don’t go away. Rather, the pressure simply builds. The tension grows. Until we finally release that tension by expressing the impulses.
If we can actually pull off this reinterpretation, the lower impulses will be reconverted, back into the higher impulses of which they are distortions. And the higher impulses, rather than seeming like threatening sacrifices and chores, will seem wholly desirable.
This will then solve what the Course calls the “behavior-will conflict” or the “split-will” problem. This is where we feel torn between the lower and higher impulses, so that no matter which way we turn, one part of us will be frustrated and we will remain saddled with a mind in conflict. The only real solution to this is the reinterpretation of impulses, so that the lower impulses get reconverted back into higher ones, and the higher ones seem wholly desirable.
Let’s continue the discussion here. Questions? Comments?
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