“OUT” - SOURCED
From the time of Ur forward, civilizations were established around Zigguarts. Through time, the Zigguarts have simply taken different shapes and forms. All the subsequent shapes and forms, however, have maintained the original purpose of a towering structure, and the towering JUDGEMENT (of the gods) associated with it - which is to make the ordinary person feel small, POWERLESS, helpless, inadequate, less than, insufficient…not good enough…
In the beginning there was no separation of Church and State. The Church was the State. The State was the Church. Hence, both government and society have been born with roots reaching back to the premises upon which Organized Religion was established, namely Hierarchy and Judgement, and thereby, DEPENDENCE and powerlessness.
“OUT”- SOURCING (EXTERNALIZING), hope (creating the Hope of Expectation - The Vendor’s Fable), help, healing, solution, and salvation - cemented in mandatory genuflection with bowed head (becoming smaller still) - forcing people to look upward and outward (to towering structures, soaring ceilings, pulpits, icons, statuary, and people in power) - keeps the ordinary person DEPENDENT, powerless and small.
AGENCY
This DEPENDENCE upon an External Source (OTHER) obviates the development of INTERNAL Re-SOURCEs. It eliminates AGENCY.
Thinking along these lines, it becomes very interesting that a critical goal of psychotherapy is the creation of AGENCY. It is one of the keys, if not the key, to the restoration of the integrity of the human psyche.
Agency: Agency is one of the central issues in psychotherapy. Generally, it refers to the clients' ability to attribute thoughts, feelings, and actions to themselves as well as their capability to take initiative and responsibility for their own actions in everyday life (Avdi, 2005; Etelämäki et al., 2021).
If you are branded as sinner - you are now bound to your past and fettered to a belief system — YOU (the integrity of your psyche/SELF) have been “OUT” - SOURCED. Sinner is a designation of permanence. You can’t wake up one day and not be one. It guarantees never being good enough. It guarantees both obligation and submission to the External Source…permanently. How much POWER do you have when you can effectively deny access to Agency…permanently?
AN EPIPHANY
It was a few years after my run to freedom, that I read a couple of books that helped me to understand Agency in a way that resonated deeply. These two books completely changed my perspective on how to navigate life. The first book was The Life of Pi (Yan Martell) and the second was Lone Survivor (Marcus Luttrell). The Life of Pi is not mere fiction. It is deeply metaphorical, as it is written by someone who is a student of philosophy. Lone Survivor is a true story.
Both are stories of the struggle for survival. Both tell the tale of the painful, brutal, hard, agonizing, insufferable struggle to survive. In contemplation of these books, there grew a dawning epiphany that slowly started to blow my mind. Who saved Pi? Pi saved Pi. Who saved Marcus Luttrell. Marcus Luttrell saved Marcus Luttrell. The earth moved. Who saved me? I saved myself.
CONDITIONED BELIEF
Conditioned belief, established millenia ago, that we need help - from OUT side of our SELF (DEPENDENT on OTHER) - cemented by entrainment of powerlessness (our salvation is OUT side of the human realm or capacity - you cannot fix/save your SELF) - keeps us beholden to OTHER (the church, the therapist, the medication, the external validation of OTHER) and powerless to help/save our SELF.
“IN”- SOURCED
Agency is becoming “IN”- SOURCED.
The power that we hold withIN our SELF is extraordinary!
We possess the power and the ability to save our SELF. We possess the power and the ability to CHANGE the trajectory of our own life.
We can do that only when we stop looking OUTside of our SELF for validation and salvation. We can do that only when we explore the deeply generous well of our own “IN”-SOURCES.
COME HOME
Come “IN” from the “OUT”side . Come home to your SELF. Cease Efforting towards and for things that are unattainable. Habit your own skin, your own body, your own SELF. Let go of outside approval. Let go of Efforting towards things that are unachievable. Choose your SELF. Choose YOU. Choose AGENCY. SOURCE your own INternal Power. Breathe - IN.
Psychological Freedom is not something that you can find OUT there. You will not find it trying to wear clothing with the right label, wearing the right makeup, driving the right car. You will die by inches, and by degrees, in the Exhausting Efforting of seeking it OUT side of your SELF.
You do not have to Effort seeking Psychological Freedom. It is immediately accessible upon releasing ALL that is OUT side of your control (TOTAL CONTROL). Psychological Freedom already lives withIN your SELF. It already exists inside of you, waiting patiently for discovery. Waiting patiently for you to come home to your SELF.
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The White Tiger is written sequentially. To gain the greatest understanding it is recommended, and helpful, to read The White Tiger beginning with the original post forward. All preceding posts can be accessed by clicking this link https://substack.com/@thewhitetiger