The tension between the individual and society is a very interesting topic. It has many threads - individual ambition, the desire to conform , the tendency to fall for demagoguery the seeming wish of many to be slaves in return for security ....
In my opinion we're as far away from understanding this as we've ever been. This should have been a major goal of psychology but seems to be too hard a problem for it. Perhaps screen writers have deeper insights than psychology professors.
My own belief is that solving the problems of society is inevitably a painful and testing process. Contrary to what the elites (and I don't like that word either) would have us believe there is no easy answer to the problems of being an individual in society.
Yes! Absolutely. Being an individual is a process that is ever changing and requires us to struggle, wrestle with ourselves and the moment we find ourselves in, to learn and strengthen our capacity for that. The absolute lack of institutional interest in helping individuals understand themselves, the special power the individual possesses, and how to get stronger, is interesting for sure. There’s a dissociation afoot, which can also be seen as dualism. Either/Or. Greater/Lesser. Ultimately, Disintegration vs Integration. My takeaway that I have yet to publish here, which I plan to correct on my week off this coming week, revolves around the resulting fear associated with dissociation from the ground and center of your own self experience. We can also talk about it through the lens of embodiment, or the loss of it, which impedes the individual from knowing him or her self directly in a moment, aka in context. That context shines a light on the distinction between your authentic being and the stuff you are experiencing. You become identified with the stuff. A loss of integration results when being becomes a chronic problem for one and so you resort to “doing” it, a management strategy vs actually being with yourself in a smooth, continuous fashion, that allows you to discover your ability to respond to your internal experiences fluidly and in an ever increasingly sophisticated manner. That all gets rolled together into a relationship with yourself ( a healthy and empowered one, as evidenced by your ability to move yourself forward., capable of moving toward your goals, pursuit of happiness especially).
The Strangers among us (estranged to themselves), lack immediate access to their inner space, the result of embodied knowing. Not intellectual analysis. 2 different stuffs. For as long as I lacked embodiment, I needed to feed my brain. I was a walking brain, intellectually proud, yet not ever truly happy or satisfied with anything.
To govern your own authentic, individual self experience, to be responsive (to yourself) in an effective way, to navigate the dilemma of living in a world fraught with conflict, is the Hero’s Journey, which is the spiritual journey of humanity.
Disempowered, you become afraid and seek a group identity to gain a false, aka conditional, sense of security/safety. That mode also depends on control of everything around them, especially the individual. You have to control threats out there if you don’t know how to respond to them effectively. Then freedom feels threatening. Difference is not tolerated because it is a reminder of what is missing within. And will revolt against conformity at some point. Authenticity and freedom to be yourself, so you can learn and grow, are part of our birthright and a need.
I am not being judgmental here. I understand how that happens and how to address it because I had to figure it out myself. And actually coming out the other side, I see the principle issue as one of “not knowing what you don’t have and what that means”. Dissociation rupture’s you from what you need to be with yourself in an interior way. It is a lack of the ability to experience something (a crucial thing) so “nothing” is what you perceive. I was dissociated for many years, decades actually. But I was progressively working on it and gradually recovering capacity but it wasn’t until I was fully in touch with my body, as a somatic (sentient) fundamental ground of being, that I was able to appreciate what I didn’t have access to and how I compensated for it. I understand the dynamic, and what I understand isn’t just through me but a joint project involving all my friends, clients, people who have touched my life. That both informed my own personal experience and I was able to test my hypotheses of what actually is missing here, and what works to lead forward. To heal, transform, vs adapt to in a stuck way. Part of it is that you don’t see things in yourself initially, if you don’t have those eyes to see, but you become finely tuned to seeing it in others or out there. That’s because needs press for resolution, to restore oneself to oneself. So we become sensitized by what’s missing within by finding it everywhere we look, out there. If we stop there, we stay on the surface of things. We don’t complete the circle so we stay stuck in the matrix.
Anyhow, this primal estrangement seems to have permeated society so profoundly that it will be a while before individuals can live in a world that is based on the principles of individuality. In the meantime, we need to really come to know ourselves, gain ever more empowerment, rather than enflame and perpetuate the Matrix in our own way. The latter is why I have been quiet here, realizing how my perceptions of things were influenced by the raging duality all around. I feel comfortable enough now, for the time being.
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. There are so many threads that it is much easier to dialogue pieces of it at a time. I think I will post this convo as my wrap up of Dark City, for now, before moving on to other waters. Collaboration is how we will grow together so thank you again.
The tension between the individual and society is a very interesting topic. It has many threads - individual ambition, the desire to conform , the tendency to fall for demagoguery the seeming wish of many to be slaves in return for security ....
In my opinion we're as far away from understanding this as we've ever been. This should have been a major goal of psychology but seems to be too hard a problem for it. Perhaps screen writers have deeper insights than psychology professors.
My own belief is that solving the problems of society is inevitably a painful and testing process. Contrary to what the elites (and I don't like that word either) would have us believe there is no easy answer to the problems of being an individual in society.
Yes! Absolutely. Being an individual is a process that is ever changing and requires us to struggle, wrestle with ourselves and the moment we find ourselves in, to learn and strengthen our capacity for that. The absolute lack of institutional interest in helping individuals understand themselves, the special power the individual possesses, and how to get stronger, is interesting for sure. There’s a dissociation afoot, which can also be seen as dualism. Either/Or. Greater/Lesser. Ultimately, Disintegration vs Integration. My takeaway that I have yet to publish here, which I plan to correct on my week off this coming week, revolves around the resulting fear associated with dissociation from the ground and center of your own self experience. We can also talk about it through the lens of embodiment, or the loss of it, which impedes the individual from knowing him or her self directly in a moment, aka in context. That context shines a light on the distinction between your authentic being and the stuff you are experiencing. You become identified with the stuff. A loss of integration results when being becomes a chronic problem for one and so you resort to “doing” it, a management strategy vs actually being with yourself in a smooth, continuous fashion, that allows you to discover your ability to respond to your internal experiences fluidly and in an ever increasingly sophisticated manner. That all gets rolled together into a relationship with yourself ( a healthy and empowered one, as evidenced by your ability to move yourself forward., capable of moving toward your goals, pursuit of happiness especially).
The Strangers among us (estranged to themselves), lack immediate access to their inner space, the result of embodied knowing. Not intellectual analysis. 2 different stuffs. For as long as I lacked embodiment, I needed to feed my brain. I was a walking brain, intellectually proud, yet not ever truly happy or satisfied with anything.
To govern your own authentic, individual self experience, to be responsive (to yourself) in an effective way, to navigate the dilemma of living in a world fraught with conflict, is the Hero’s Journey, which is the spiritual journey of humanity.
Disempowered, you become afraid and seek a group identity to gain a false, aka conditional, sense of security/safety. That mode also depends on control of everything around them, especially the individual. You have to control threats out there if you don’t know how to respond to them effectively. Then freedom feels threatening. Difference is not tolerated because it is a reminder of what is missing within. And will revolt against conformity at some point. Authenticity and freedom to be yourself, so you can learn and grow, are part of our birthright and a need.
I am not being judgmental here. I understand how that happens and how to address it because I had to figure it out myself. And actually coming out the other side, I see the principle issue as one of “not knowing what you don’t have and what that means”. Dissociation rupture’s you from what you need to be with yourself in an interior way. It is a lack of the ability to experience something (a crucial thing) so “nothing” is what you perceive. I was dissociated for many years, decades actually. But I was progressively working on it and gradually recovering capacity but it wasn’t until I was fully in touch with my body, as a somatic (sentient) fundamental ground of being, that I was able to appreciate what I didn’t have access to and how I compensated for it. I understand the dynamic, and what I understand isn’t just through me but a joint project involving all my friends, clients, people who have touched my life. That both informed my own personal experience and I was able to test my hypotheses of what actually is missing here, and what works to lead forward. To heal, transform, vs adapt to in a stuck way. Part of it is that you don’t see things in yourself initially, if you don’t have those eyes to see, but you become finely tuned to seeing it in others or out there. That’s because needs press for resolution, to restore oneself to oneself. So we become sensitized by what’s missing within by finding it everywhere we look, out there. If we stop there, we stay on the surface of things. We don’t complete the circle so we stay stuck in the matrix.
Anyhow, this primal estrangement seems to have permeated society so profoundly that it will be a while before individuals can live in a world that is based on the principles of individuality. In the meantime, we need to really come to know ourselves, gain ever more empowerment, rather than enflame and perpetuate the Matrix in our own way. The latter is why I have been quiet here, realizing how my perceptions of things were influenced by the raging duality all around. I feel comfortable enough now, for the time being.
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. There are so many threads that it is much easier to dialogue pieces of it at a time. I think I will post this convo as my wrap up of Dark City, for now, before moving on to other waters. Collaboration is how we will grow together so thank you again.
Dorothy- It’s been a minute since I revisit this film, so this is a refreshing reminder. I appreciate it. 🙌🏼
Thanks for the movie reference. Sounds quite Kierkegaardian. All is lost without the solitary individual.