The Sandbox of My Mind… Redux…
(This is adapted from the original which appeared September 18, 2005. I think about my sandbox from time and how it has morphed
over time, shifting shape and size and texture to accomodate my needs du jour, and doing so quietly in the background with no conscious effort on my part. Having a savvy, intelligent, broad based audience , I thought it would be an interesting time to trot this out, clean it up a bit, and cast it on the waters to see what floats, what sinks, and what swims away under its own power.)
Regardless of what activity engages us at any given time, there is a piece of us that drifts back and forth between our conscious existence and the mysterious realm of the subconscious. It is there, grinding away at varying speeds, doing what it does, day and night, whether we realize it or not. We spend most of our waking hours and some of our sleeping time (dreams) noodling around in the sandbox of our mind.
The sandbox of our mind helps keep most of us reasonably sane and able to function in the reality of a world turned upside down by natural disasters, greedy politicians, idiotic bureaucrats, militant religious nuts intent on self-destruction, sports heroes on steroids, and entertainment superstars whacked out on drugs and booze. In the sandbox we are safe. There we can do and think whatever and be whoever we wish at the moment. There we can play games, make plans, have secret loves, you name it.
Much of what happens there is different from the reality outside the sandbox. Some of what happens there becomes reality. Our individual codes of conduct (moral, ethical, legal) balanced by our individual priorities (needs, wants, desires) determine what stays in the sandbox and what emerges to become a component of reality. The ability to maintain that balance determines in large part our sanity and functioning as members of our culture and society.
Consider…what determines our ability to maintain that balance? Genetics? Vitamin E? Regular flossing? Comment with your ideas…
8 Comments so far
I think you have a great thought here which I won’t be of much help in how to sort out. This last week I had a similar feeling– I am living mostly a life internal, not external. Right now, most of what happens to me that matters most (to me) is what is happening in my head, not in my ‘reality.’ I haven’t decided if that’s bad or good but am pretty sure in the view of the world, that’s bad. I never thought of it as a sandbox but good imagery.
The variety of playmates (ideas) we allow in our sand box? Or mayb anti-depressants?
Thought provoking post, Winston… Like Rain, I spend a lot of time - maybe too much - in my sandbox. The boundary becomes blurred, sometimes so much so that there’s a kind of role reversal - the sandbox feels more real, more true, whilst the outside world plays out like scripted TV show.
I think the critical factor - which may be what you mean by balance - is how well we maintain that connection between inner and outer worlds. And blogging, of course, is a darn good way of doing that
Oh, I’m definitely in my sandbox a LOT. Sometimes I don’t realize there’s another place BUT my sandbox. As a practical and realistic being, I have learned to balance my time between the haven of my sandbox and the realities of the world around me…but, I am basically a sandbox kid at heart.
For me, blog=sandbox. But it’s a sandbox that’s in the virtual front yard of the house, as opposed to the back yard: I do invite others in, such as my students–obvious real-world presences in my life–and some of the ideas that become preoccupations in the blog find their way into the classroom. And vice-versa, of course. So, it’s a permeable membrane between my interior and exterior lives. Given the fact that I’m introverted by nature, I figure the blog is actually a healthy thing to be keeping.
I actually remember this post from those posts ago….and just went back and read my response which was “no idea”!
So perhaps it’s been burbling away in the background for all those months and perhaps I’ve found some possible explanations on the way.
As you may know I’ve been reading a bit of Gurdjieff over the holidays and I recall this saying of his or A.R. Orage who ran his “American School” in New York. It basically goes like this. “Man inhales impressions and exhales behaviours.” Take that as you will.
Modern propaganda and psyhological warfare is basically playing on this concept. Where behaviours are expressed in the formation of opinions.
Reading Gurdjieff further, he describes the formation of the personality (from these outside impressions) and how it acts as a buffer zone against our true self which is buried deeply in the subconscious. This part he says is atrophied to the nth degree. But occasionally surfaces as the “prick” of conscience.
And I think conscience has a lot to do with it, whereas those at the top seem to possess none of this sometimes annoying charateristic. A conscience in the world of business, politics and the military is a dangerous thing.
Societal morality and individual conscience can be two distinct things.
Gurdjieff also encouraged “pondering” heavily and this seems to match your noodling thoughts. It’s a safe house in there of sorts.
There’s also a book called “The Zelator” which I’ve read which describe a “master” drawing a circle on the desk and asking the “adept” what he sees. The adept answered everything outside the circle… or something like that.
Thanks to all of you for your probing comments. That is the kind of introspective feedback I had hoped for on this post. No concensus, nothing conclusive, but plenty of food for further thought and exploration.
Johnno - Woah, some heavy stuff there. You have definitely added some new reading material to my stack. I particularly like this one: “Man inhales impressions and exhales behaviours.”
Start with PD Ouspensky, “In Search of the Miraculous.”