The Poet of the Mind
“Knowledge of that which is vulgarly called mind is widespread.”
This, as Jung explained, refers to the conscious mind of everyone — in contrast to the One Mind, which remains unknown, i.e., unconscious. These teachings are sought by ordinary individuals who, not knowing the One Mind, fail to know themselves.
Self-knowledge, in this context, is identical with knowing the One Mind — meaning that awareness of the unconscious is essential to understanding one’s own psychology. The desire for such knowledge is widespread, as evidenced by the rise of psychology in our time and the growing interest in matters of the psyche and spirit.
Even when one wishes “to know the mind as it is,” Jung observed, one fails — for it remains unconscious. The One Mind is that which is eternal, unknown, not visible, not recognized — and yet ever clear, ever existing, radiant and unobscured. The more one concentrates on the unconscious, the more it becomes charged with energy, vitalized as if illuminated from within.
The “seeing of reality” refers to Mind as the supreme reality. The “seeing of Mind” implies self-liberation. The more weight we attach to unconscious processes, the more we detach from the world of desire and duality — and the closer we draw to the state of timeless unity. This is truly the liberation of the self from its bondage to strife and suffering. By this method, one’s mind is understood.
I came upon this passage early this morning while reading Jung’s Commentary on The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation. I felt as though the Poet of the Mind himself had come to my aid in my ongoing attempt to explain what the Mind/mind truly is — a continuation of last night’s reflections.
Lately, I find that the knowledge I seek comes to me ever so readily. I try not to get too excited about these small coincidences or what I sometimes call little miracles. I am no researcher, and I do not go hunting for information before I write — I allow it to come, or not.
Still, I would highly recommend Jung’s Psychology and the East to those who wish to understand more deeply the bridge between Eastern and Western views of the soul. It is especially valuable for Western seekers who wish to grasp the difference in spiritual perception — and perhaps use that understanding to cultivate Right Understanding for themselves.
I will not venture too far into Jung’s work for now. I have yet to fully grasp its depths, and I prefer to move slowly and carefully lest I fall into confusion or misinterpretation. Yet, I know I have been gifted a small realization — a glimpse into what I have long been aiming at: understanding the workings of my own mind.
Mine is a mind that has embraced both East and West — not by theory, but by life itself. I do not consider myself an Eastern or Western thinker, but rather a bridge between the two. Years of living, learning, and wandering in both worlds have dissolved that dichotomy within me. My time in Japan, in particular — those three years — was a pivotal transition before I returned to the East after twenty-one years in the United States.
Perhaps my mind was destined to be an experiment in contrast. Born a twin, given away at birth while my brother remained with our parents, I was raised by my uncle — a Buddhist — in a household of Muslim relatives. To fit in, I secretly practiced Islam while living as a Buddhist. My childhood was a spiritual labyrinth, filled with contradictions and concealments.
At the risk of repetition, I will say no more except this: I am who I am because I was exposed to faith, religion, and spirituality from a very young age — not as abstract teachings, but as living realities I had to navigate, hide, and reconcile.
As I read Jung’s words this morning, I remembered his famous declaration: “I’d rather be whole than good.”
It resonated deeply, for wholeness demands that we embrace every fragment of ourselves — the seen and the unseen, the sacred and the shadowed. To know the One Mind is not to escape the world, but to integrate it — to live fully conscious of both our humanity and our divinity.
In this light, the path toward understanding one’s own mind is not a journey toward perfection, but toward wholeness — the sacred reunion of all that we are.
#CGAJung #PsychologyAndTheEast #TheOneMind #TibetanBookOfTheGreatLiberation #SelfKnowledge #Wholeness #EastMeetsWest #SpiritualAwakening #CheeseburgerBuddha #Mindfulness #InnerJourney #Awareness #Liberation #ShadowAndLight #RightUnderstanding #PoetOfTheMind
“The bridge between two worlds — East and West, mind and Mind.
Golden Gate, San Francisco, 1989.”
Looking back, I realize that each crossing was more than a drive — it was a passage between two states of being: from the world of becoming to the quiet presence of being itself. The bridge still stands in my memory, not of steel and cables, but of awareness and awakening.
No comments:
Post a Comment