Our two sides
As we mentioned in previous entries, clarity and an integrated workable model are urgently needed when talking about the “mind”. The subtle system that is the base of our human structure provides that and has stood the test of time for thousands of years. It helps us fully understand and organize this intangible but very powerful reality of our para-material nature.
Essentially we distinguish 2 separate sides: a cognitive, calculating and ego-oriented “right side” that lives mostly in our left brain, and an emotional, relational, imaginative and integrative “left side” that lives mainly in our right brain. The distinct nature of our left and right brain functions have been known for some time and a few very popular TED talks have brought that to a larger number. This being said, the fact that indeed we can and should see those parts of our being beyond the brain substrate and relate to them as 2 parallel pathways of existence is nowhere near actuated.
Those 2 sides sometimes completely monopolize our attention and sometimes allow us to jump from one to another. When we are completely engulfed in one side, we can then keep sliding far from the middle path into frankly damaging territory. On the “left” it becomes depression, anxiety, habits, substance use etc and can end up in psychosis. On the “right” it eventually becomes aggressive and it can go to extreme dryness and domination and aggression of others, manic behaviour, substance use to relieve some of the inner tension, etc. One added feature is that moving to the “right” proportionally weakens the emotional side and if there are sudden challenges it can cause dramatic swings and a complete fall in the “left” side.
What is equally important is the logical consequence of our natural inner movement. As Shri Mataji explains, in its good state our personality manifests in an ascending spiral. It starts on the left - we desire first. It then moves to the right - we act on it. It then has to move to the centre - balance and detachment - so back towards the left from the right side perspective. And that movement has to be upward, to a higher awareness, and to stop in the middle. When things are not well, we sometimes cannot move out of the left; or we keep sliding from the right backwards in the left; or we get stuck on the right and keep pushing farther and farther...
Those are very different situations that require a different combination of subtle solutions. And this cannot be found out without the higher awareness of Self Realization. And even if the person giving advice has that awareness, it is extremely difficult to sustain the solutions without the power and balance of the Mother Kundalini being awakened. This is why, when inner imbalances reach a clinical stage, it is very rare that anyone can go back to a state of balance and remain there indefinitely. The vast majority of the time, permanent life-long intervention is needed, sometimes the trouble morphs from one into another, etc. But once the central evolutionary path becomes a solid reality through the flow of the Kundalini, our awareness is naturally drawn to balance and away from the extremes. Because true transformation is triggered, we develop the ability to always go back to a state of balance, as well as to keep a pleasant, positive but detached attitude towards life.