21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

Conflict lies not just within ourselves. There is also conflict between us and the mystery that lies beyond us. Psychologist James Hillman suggests that our soul has her own purposes and merely uses us as her host — a bit like an extreme version of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. So, there will always be a conflict between essence and personality.

Three things are needed — seeing, humility and acceptance. By looking, I mean keeping careful watch on what’s happening in the world and not being led along by campaigns and newsreels that are really just flouting their opinions about how the world needs to be. But looking also involves studying people and what really motivates and inspires them — all the unconscious and semi-conscious desires that make up the real story of a person’s life.

And it also means looking at nature. For let’s face it, the world’s full of crazy creatures — crazy animals, crazy birds, plants and bugs – and of course, crazy people. So, hence, humility! I need to remember that I too am crazy! I need to know that I might be horribly wrong in my assessment of humanity and the way the world is heading. And so — no preaching. But that’s it. I’m not offering solutions. Because even if everyone in the world took up the ideas expressed in this book then no doubt another weird paradox of human nature would spring up, and another, and another.

And so, hence, acceptance! I can only live my message up to a point. It’s the nature of a paradox that it cannot be solved. If it could, it

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