I’m currently reading ‘Fantasia of the Unconscious’ by D H Lawrence, and if anyone else has read it, you know what I mean when I say it is another one of those mind blowing reads.
I won’t deny… I do get lost in his anatomy at times. But, I truly believe that mind blowing books should be read more than once, so I find it excusable to let certain concepts fly over my head. Sometimes certain knowledge just isn’t ready for you. Have you ever re-watched a movie from the past? From when you were very young. And re-watching it as an adult, the visuals, the script, the foundation of the story makes sense in a completely different context. Well, that’s how I feel about mind blowing books. They have to be read more than once and at different intervals in your life.
I just started the sixth chapter and I’ve barely made it through the second paragraph when his words just started speaking to me.
“The goal is not ideal. The aim is not mental consciousness. We want effectual human beings, not conscious ones. The final aim is not to know, but to be. There never was a more risky motto than that: Know thyself. You’ve got to know yourself as far as possible. But not just for the sake of knowing. You’ve got to know yourself so that you can at last be yourself. “Be yourself” is the last motto.”
By the forth sentence I was almost holding my breath to see what he was leading up to and then I devoured the rest. It resonated with me strongly about psychology. See, I’ve never been a big fan of psychology, as you may have gathered from my previous posts. It is interesting, no doubt. And it’s every mans temptation to have a science that explores the self to limitless ends. But I’ve always thought it a little pointless. Or perhaps better said, too much psychology does more damage than good.
And truly, to what end does this science go? And where does it lead? And is it entirely necessary for our existence?
The point is, we have to be. We have to live and act and exist in the world. Delving deeper and deeper into knowing ourselves, although has many benefits, its a study that one easily gets lost in. And at the end of the day, you always come back to the same conclusion… “Now that I know how I am. Now that I know who I am, what am I to do with myself?”
It’s exactly like he said… The end isn’t Know Thyself. The end is Be Yourself.
I don’t know if I’m explaining myself well, or if this particular sentence struck a cord with anyone else on the same note as it did for me. But quoting Lawrence again, a paragraph which I thought very adequate for the introduction of this particular book – Considering its rather rhetorical yet, supposedly un-rhetorical style. Haha. I’m laughing while I write this – everyone will digest his words in their own way.
“You are not me, dear reader, so make no pretentions to it. Don’t get alarmed if I say things. It isn’t your sacred mouth which is opening and shutting. As for the profanation of your sacred ears, just apply a little theory of relativity, and realize that what I say is not what you hear, but something uttered in the midst of my isolation, and arriving strangely changed and travel-worn down the long curve of your own individual circumambient atmosphere. I may say Bob, but heaven alone knows what the goose hears.”
Those last sentences though!! Brilliant.
A Silly Little Something 