Being Inside Us

 

The block diagram to the right shows the eight major functions that produce what is like being inside us. Your block diagram represents a profound interplay of various elements that shape our inner and outer experiences. Below is an explanation based on your description, structured to integrate all eight blocks cohesively:

The Eight Interconnected Functions of Our Experience

  1. The Sensory System
    Our sensory organs—eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue—serve as gateways to the external world. These inputs provide the soul with information about the physical environment, enabling interaction and perception. The senses anchor us in the material world and serve as the primary interface between external stimuli and internal processing.

  2. The Soul: The Experiencer
    At the core of our being lies the soul, the unchanging observer. The soul experiences life by witnessing sensory inputs, thoughts, emotions, and energy flows. It uses God (or an inner sense of right and wrong) as a reference point to guide actions and decisions. The soul transcends the chatter of the mind and the turbulence of emotions, serving as a silent, wise observer.

  3. God: The Moral Reference
    In this context, God represents the ultimate guiding principle, whether defined by religious faith, common sense, or personal ethics. It acts as a compass, informing the soul's discernment of right from wrong and providing a framework for living in alignment with universal or individual truths.

  4. The Ego: The Identity Lens
    The ego filters our experiences, providing a sense of self and identity. It shapes how we interpret sensory inputs, emotions, and thoughts. While the ego helps us navigate the world, it can also obscure deeper truths by creating attachments, fears, and aversions. Balancing the ego with the soul's wisdom fosters freedom and clarity.

  5. The Mind: The Inner Voice
    Constantly active, the mind processes information through inner dialogue. When unengaged, it produces aimless chatter, but when focused, it generates insights and problem-solving abilities. The mind serves as both a tool and a potential barrier, depending on how it aligns with the soul's awareness.

  6. Emotions: Energy in Motion
    Emotions arise from the interplay of thoughts, sensory inputs, and chakra energy. They reflect both our inner states and our responses to external events. Allowing emotions to flow freely without resistance brings harmony, while suppressing them creates tension and suffering. Emotions are dynamic energies that guide personal growth and transformation.

  7. Chakras: The Energy Centers
    Chakras are the body’s energy hubs, influencing physical, emotional, and spiritual states. Each chakra governs specific aspects of life, from survival and relationships to intuition and universal connection. The chakras mediate the energy flow that fuels emotions and connects the physical and metaphysical dimensions.

  8. The World: The Outer Environment
    The external world, as experienced through sensory inputs, shapes our perceptions and reactions. It serves as both a mirror of our internal state and a stage for growth. Understanding how the inner world influences our interpretation of the outer world reveals the interconnected nature of existence.

Block Diagram of the Brain

How the Diagram Works

 

Our daily experiences emerge from the interplay of these eight components:

  • Input Flow: Sensory information from the world enters through our senses and is processed by the soul, which interprets it using the moral guidance of God.
  • Energy Dynamics: Chakras generate energy that is expressed as emotions, fueling our responses and motivations.
  • Mind-Emotion Interaction: The mind processes these sensory and emotional inputs, generating thoughts and dialogues that shape our perception.
  • Soul Awareness: The soul observes this entire process, offering clarity and guidance, while the ego filters these experiences through the lens of identity and attachment.

 

Balancing the Inner World

 

Balancing the inner world involves cultivating practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and self-awareness, which help shift our sense of identity away from the mind and ego and toward the soul. These practices enable the chakras to align, emotions to flow harmoniously, and the mind to quiet, creating a space where the soul’s inherent wisdom can guide us. This alignment fosters a life imbued with balance, clarity, and deeper meaning.

 

Michael A. Singer, in The Untethered Soul, presents a framework for understanding our inner experience as a continuous flow of thoughts, emotions, and sensations. He suggests that much of what we perceive as the "self" is the activity of the mind—an incessant inner dialogue that narrates, evaluates, and judges everything we encounter. This mental chatter often dominates our awareness, creating distractions and emotional disturbances that detach us from the present moment. Singer advocates stepping back from this inner dialogue to recognize that we are not the voice we hear but the conscious awareness observing it.

 

This awareness allows us to see how past experiences shape present reactions. Singer identifies these imprints, or samskaras, as unresolved emotional and mental patterns that influence our perceptions and responses. When left unaddressed, samskaras become blockages, perpetuating cycles of discomfort and resistance. By observing these patterns and choosing to release them, we free ourselves from the constraints of the past and open ourselves to life's natural flow. This process of witnessing and releasing is central to achieving inner freedom, fostering peace, and realizing our true essence as the observer of all experiences.

 

The inner voice, as Singer describes, operates on multiple levels. On the surface, it manifests as a constant stream of thoughts—a mental narration that reacts to and frames our perceptions. This chatter is often analytical, judgmental, or reflective, shaping our immediate interpretation of the world. Beneath this surface lies a deeper emotional layer, where the voice reflects fears, desires, anxieties, and joys tied to our emotional states. At the most profound level, the inner voice is influenced by subconscious patterns and unresolved samskaras, connecting past experiences to present narratives. These deep-seated beliefs about ourselves and our place in the world form the foundation of the inner voice, subtly guiding its tone and content.

 

Singer emphasizes that the richness and complexity of this inner voice do not define who we truly are. Instead, we are the silent observer, the conscious presence witnessing this mental activity. By learning to observe the voice without identifying with it, we can transcend its constraints, discovering the freedom and peace that come from aligning with our true nature. Through this realization, the interplay of mind, soul, and emotions becomes clearer, offering a pathway to harmony and self-understanding. 

The Inner Voice

Singer in The Untethered Soul, explores the complexity of the inner voice we hear, suggesting that it operates on multiple levels. On the surface, the inner voice manifests as a constant stream of thoughts—a mental narration that comments on everything we experience, from our surroundings to our actions and emotions. This surface-level chatter is often reactive, judgmental, or analytical, framing our immediate perceptions of the world.

 

Beneath this surface lies a deeper emotional commentary, where the voice reflects more personal feelings such as fears, desires, anxieties, or joys. This layer is tied to our emotional states and how we feel about ourselves and others. Deeper still, the inner voice is shaped by subconscious patterns and unresolved emotional imprints, or samskaras.

 

These deeply ingrained influences subtly guide the narrative of the voice, connecting past experiences to present interpretations. At its core, the inner voice is influenced by our most fundamental beliefs about who we are, what the world is, and our place in it. These beliefs form the foundation of our identity and profoundly shape the tone and content of the inner dialogue.

 

Singer emphasizes that despite the richness and complexity of this inner voice, it does not define our true self. Instead, he suggests that we are the silent observer behind all this mental activity—the conscious awareness that witnesses the voice without becoming entangled in it. By learning to observe rather than identify with the inner voice, we can begin to experience the freedom and peace of our true nature.

 

Letting Go of Samskaras

Samskaras, as described by Michael A. Singer, are deeply ingrained emotional and mental impressions formed from past experiences. These impressions are stored within us and influence how we react to the present. They act like emotional scars or energy patterns, often triggered by events that resemble the original experience. For example, if someone experienced rejection in the past, they might feel a surge of anxiety or fear when faced with a situation that reminds them of it. Samskaras can block the natural flow of energy within us, creating emotional resistance and recurring patterns of discomfort.

 

According to Singer, samskaras are created when we resist or cling to life experiences rather than allowing them to pass through us. This resistance traps energy, leaving it unresolved and stuck within. Over time, these blockages accumulate, shaping how we perceive and respond to the world. Singer argues that these blockages prevent us from experiencing life fully and freely.

 

To remove these blockages, Singer emphasizes the practice of letting go. When a samskara is triggered, instead of resisting the discomfort or suppressing it, we should become aware of it and allow ourselves to fully experience the energy without attaching to it. By observing the sensation and remaining open, the trapped energy can release naturally. This requires a willingness to let go of the mental and emotional clinging that reinforces the blockage.

 

Meditation and mindfulness are powerful tools in this process. They help us develop the awareness necessary to recognize samskaras and the discipline to stay present with them without reacting. Over time, as we consistently let go of these blockages, our energy flows more freely, and we experience greater clarity, peace, and connection to our true self. By releasing these patterns, we transcend the limitations imposed by our past and move closer to living in harmony with the present moment.