In our exploration of the psyche, our attention is drawn to what I will refer to as the Instinctual Self.  This is an aspect of the Self that can only express itself at a level of primal consciousness, and therefore we need to metaphorically return to the womb and subsequent birth process… in order to revisit our primal experiences, as we are exposed to the world in our vulnerability.  At this early stage of life, we can only experience things physiologically.  Our parents, indeed everything and everyone in our outer world, is perceived as an extension of oneself.  There is no concept of individuation or separation.  We feel omnipotent, and at the centre of our universe.

In metaphysical terms, the positive aspects of this valuable resource can be integrated into the awareness as and when it is needed.  It is significant that in terms of crisis when one’s survival is being threatened, there is a tendency for most people to revert, or even regress to this primal state.  Although in pathological terms this can be expressed as controlling, even Machiavellian behaviour, this extreme reaction of the instinctual self stems from a primal fear of annihilation/death.  On a conscious level, the key is in the prevailing aspects of the instinctual self; which are about being ‘at one’ with nature, feeling connected with others, experiencing harmony in our relationships, and being empowered in our own sense of identity… as we share and recognise our value in the whole scheme of things.

This sense of peace and contentment can be accessed by acknowledging the fear and thereby releasing any power that it has over the self.  It is, after all, only the unknown that poses any threat to the newborn.  In consciously engaging with what appears to be our demons, we are laying them to rest.  What was originally intended to be a natural and protective instinct is now redundant.  What we do need to consciously harness in our quest for wholeness is that aspect of our instinctual self that seeks to merge with others, in the realisation that this is not threatening to one’s sense of identity.  On the contrary, our instinctual self is enhanced and expanded as we dissolve into the blissful state of union.  In unconditionally giving – so we receive, and in returning to the instinctual self – so we are reborn into the new and evolved consciousness.

Namaste