The Human Trinity
I love philosophy, history, and epics with larger than life characters, so naturally religion appeals to me. Specifically, I enjoy studying and learning about it. Buddhism, Christianity, Ancient Greek, it all catches my attention. A concept that I was always interested and confused about was the holy trinity in Christianity. God the father, God the son, and God the holy spirit.
Well, this topic is not that trinity. The idea that I am going to present is the result of a statement made by a buddy of mine describing a high moment: “I thought this must be like what a crazy person feels like.”
At that moment, I thought it was very interesting because even in his abnormal state, he was still able to reflect upon himself. He was able to step out and see himself as crazy. Not only that, he was able to compare himself against his definition of crazy. Do you see the three people involved in this single thought? Lets call this guy Bobby. So Bobby sees himself, that’s one person. The person looking at Bobby is another person. The person Bobby is being compared to is the third person (to make any statements you need relativity).
Now this trinity is in ALL of us. Us, the reference, and the observer. Naturally, the next step is to define the three, and that is where I believe that we can all draw the most insight.
The first person is ourselves. Its how we see ourselves and how we define ourselves. That’s our current state, in the mind. This is the real us, or technically, what you believe as the real you.
The reference point is what we are comparing ourselves against. This is the measuring stick. Who we have in this position will determine whatever statement or thoughts we make or have. For example, if someone talks about how wealthy they are, who are they comparing themselves against? Johnny Smith working down at burger king, or Bill Gates. Johnny Smith and Bill Gates both serve as our reference points, therefore, occupies one of the position of the trinity. This is very important factor in how we see ourselves in the end.
The final person is the observer, and essentially, the judge. This guy passes the final judgment on all of us, and in turn, becomes how we feel about ourselves in the end. To be able to identify this figure is so important in how we develop ourselves and mature. I think, often, seeing this figure is the most difficult part of our mental development. I would not say this is the most important figure in the trinity, but the most difficult to grasp, therefore if this misunderstood, the entire concept falls apart. The observer has no feelings, no character, no bias. He just compares the two, and draws the conclusions.
I find this concept interesting because it allows anyone to dissect their own emotions or thoughts into a more manageable form. It reaches to the fundamental layers of their mind. I also find it interesting because Freud’s concept of the the ego, the superego, and the id, is also a mental concept of three’s, as are many concepts in religion. I believe this is so because to understand, we need to see things in more than black and white. We need at least a third element.
But what I appreciate most about this concept is that it allows us a greater and boarder perspective on issues, which is the cornerstone of critical thinking. I included a picture of the Sanskrit symbol for om because it is made of of three letters, the dot, the boat the dot is riding on, and the one that looks like a 3. It represents wake, dream sleep, and deep sleep. I have also seen it translated as birth, life, and death. The om symbol itself represents completion (entirety, not accomplishment) or everything. The trinity is all around us.
