Benjamin de Aguiar by the Spirit Eugênia.
(Spirit Eugênia) – The human mind is made up of active powers, though subliminal, which few creatures on Earth are able to access, in a normal state of consciousness. Nightmares, emotional outbreaks of anger or jealousy, falling in love, getting intrigued with someone, worshiping a public, historical or even domestic figure, etc. – all of them are ways to project the forces, the layers, the unknown (but not necessarily asleep) mental patterns that claim for manifestation, although the mind’s conscious level does not understand the reason for them to be, when it – at least – knows of their existence. Myths, stories, legends, the pursuit of the art as a mean of expression and channeling of those powers – that is what we came here to talk about.
(Benjamin Teixeira de Aguiar) – And what would you have to say about this?
(SE) – I would like that, for a few moments, our reader thought about how bizarre and absurd the behavior of Islamic fanatics seem, and how they show off their weapons, proudly and happily, in videos recorded just moments before suicidal terrorist attacks. They seem to face death with joy, preen of their act of savagery and folly, as if they were doing something good to mankind, in the condition of martyrs. To which extent could our readers say they are superior in autonomy of thought and opinion, in relation to those unfortunate young people? How can one guarantee that, having been born in that environment, in that precise socio-cultural context, one would not assimilate and unfold, in that same proportion, similar tendencies of ideology and radical positioning, before the issues life brings on? Who would be naive enough to consider one truly self-sufficient intellectually, emotionally and spiritually, to the point of not suffering and not being today a resultant of vectors of cultural and genetic influence, in a perhaps frightening percentage? There is the free, eternal spirit that undergoes specific organic and social contingencies to develop itself, either by absorbing their influences or reacting to them. But what percentage is there of authentic creation or of genuine free will of the individual? How many times what seems to be a strictly personal impulse is nothing but the end of a long and complex web of cause-and-effect, in the individual’s familial and cultural interactions, with his historical and even biological context (the body also influences the spirit, as much as the spirit influences the body)?
On Earth, people do not consciously create – with honorable exceptions – the narrative of their lives. They are not the owners of their destinies; they let themselves be dragged, especially when they have the illusion that something “has got to be” or that “it has always being that way” or that “there are no alternatives or solution for it”. It is true that common sense frequently reaches conclusions formulated on similar statements, but, often, what is seen as the voice of common sense, is actually the introjected voice of consensus, the opinion of the majority, the voice of the traditions, the local, familial and national culture, the standards of expectation to which someone feels compelled to correspond, although they have never stopped to ask themselves whether any of these match their higher ideals, their own nature, their way of being, their most basic needs and even the most rudimentary principles of logic and direct observation of facts. That is: it is common to see people living in a universe of fantasy, forgetting to observe reality, fascinated by the elaborated way of these cultural fallacies, myths constructed with specific purposes, under certain historical circumstances, almost never suitable to the interests, values and necessities of the individual.
(BTA) – What to do in face of that?
(SE) – Fight the status quo. No one should submit to the tyranny of convenience, normality and routine. Let’s break the habits, fears and the need of not contradicting real or imaginary figures of power. The father, the mentor, the idol, the lover are not divine figures. It suits well, here, the reminder of the biblical condemnation of idolatry. It is common for people to value symbols of status and belonging to a community above their most sacred, deep and true impulses. Authenticity, then, is sacrificed in the name of the integration to the social group, and the individual goes on like a robot, feeling like an outcast of himself, to avoid being considered an outcast of society.
In a post-modern and post-industrial civilization, in which many nations have already entered today, this perversion of values no longer makes sense, because if it’s always been reproachable to appreciate more the external than the internal, today it is simply unnecessary (at least in more organized societies), since there is space for all types of subculture, within the dominant culture of majorities. Hence, with a little effort of courage and transparency, the individual can safely manifest his originality to the world, therefore giving his unique contribution to humanity, as a legacy of a well lived life, always useful to the existential “travelers” of future times, including himself, in a future life, in a higher level of consciousness, structured upon the complexity of the previous level, in a more advanced and subtle stage of organization and meaning.
(BTA) – Impressive concepts.
(SE) – Accurate, at least for the level of understanding of today’s humanity. Therefore, may each one strive to dissect the deeper layers of oneself, doing a psychological work of mining, similar to an archeology or even a paleontology of the soul, discovering, thereby, relics of past “cultures” (past reincarnations) or even the evidence of deep cultural roots (of vices, paradigms and tendencies still in force, but rooted in past experiences), and, finally, fossils of great traumas and anguishes of this and other physical or extra-physical lives (intermissive periods between physical lives, in the astral dimensions of the planet).
(BTA) – People tend to consider this kind of reasoning, at least, mystical or vague.
(SE) – They should sound out their tendencies and tastes. The order of books and films they like. The type of cultures they feel attracted to; and, in a reverse way, what causes them spontaneous or compulsive repulsion, hatred and aversion. Not in a literal sense of these suggestions, but assuredly, in a figurative sense, since that their likes and aversions are clues to the underlying nature of the inner being. Therapy, the study of dreams, the reading of distinguished authors and to seek advice from experts and specialized consultants will undoubtedly be indispensable tools, along with meditation and prayer: indispensable.
(BTA) – There is no short way for a work of this scale…
(SE) – No, there isn’t. If the body consumes twenty years to reach adulthood, how someone, in good conscience and with subject knowledge, will assume that, in just a few years, all the enigmas of one’s soul will be solved? One must understand that this is an endless work, yet gradually compensatory, as one progresses in its development.
(Dialogue held on May 2, 2004.)