More To What Meets the Eye
written by Beverly Law February 2007
Symbolic Interactionism and Spiritual Enlightenment Origin
In a world of material goods and physical interactions, it is hard for most to put their faith or ideas in spiritual beliefs. Many are unaware of the fact that spiritual guidance attaches hidden meaning through everyday interactions. There are no coincidences. Everything around you has spiritual meaning, and spiritual lessons to teach you.1 You are meant to be here, and are always exactly where you need to be to learn from what confronts you.1 The mind has hidden powers and abilities , such as the ability to attract their desires into their consciousness, which have a spiritual significance. There is a cosmic goal.1 There is a belief that all entities are (willingly or unwillingly) cooperating in some cosmic goal of achieving a "higher" or more complete coherence with a cosmic "consciousness" (or some other goal state of "goodness"), often described as an evolutionary process or simply to learn.1 This underlying cosmic goal gives direction to all events, reducing the concept of coincidence to one of ignorance of hidden meaning.1 How does society contribute to this cosmic goal? How are individuals of society lead to spiritual enlightenment?
Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the subjective meaning of human behavior, the social process, and pragmatism. Herbert Blumer (1969), who coined the term “symbolic interactionism,” and put forward an influential summary of the perspective: people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.3 Symbolic interactionism is a social constructionist approach to understanding social life that focuses on how reality is constructed by active and creative actors through their interactions with others.3 Symbolic interactionist researchers investigate how people create meaning during social interaction, how they present and construct the self (or "identity"), and how they define situations of co-presence with others. This essay will raise the possibility of symbolic interactionism interrelating to spiritual enlightenment origin. This essay will provide evidence that this connection exists for the following reasons:
1 New Age believed in spiritual enlightenment as: there are no coincidences and that everyone has the equal ability as any higher energy, such as Jesus or Buddha. Interactions among society have underlying meaning due to the cosmic goal of love, giving symbols developed through interactions a spiritual significance of hidden meanings and lessons.
2 Symbolic interactionism is the study of human interaction mediated by the use of symbols, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning of one another's actions.3 It focuses on how reality is constructed by active thought, and that individuals construct the self (or "identity") on how they define situations of co-presence with others.
3 Societies develop reality through the law of attraction everyday and are unaware of the meaning of each everyday interaction and symbols one produces.
4 Subjective reality states interactions are projections self , displaying symbols developed by the “self” that is constructed through social interactionism.6
5 Interactions have spiritual lessons aligned with subjective reality and law of attraction5 to lead an individual on one’s personal path towards the cosmic goal.1
Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the subjective meaning of human behavior, the social process, and pragmatism. Herbert Blumer (1969), who coined the term “symbolic interactionism,” and put forward an influential summary of the perspective: people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.3 Symbolic interactionism is a social constructionist approach to understanding social life that focuses on how reality is constructed by active and creative actors through their interactions with others.3 Symbolic interactionist researchers investigate how people create meaning during social interaction, how they present and construct the self (or "identity"), and how they define situations of co-presence with others. This essay will raise the possibility of symbolic interactionism interrelating to spiritual enlightenment origin. This essay will provide evidence that this connection exists for the following reasons:
1 New Age believed in spiritual enlightenment as: there are no coincidences and that everyone has the equal ability as any higher energy, such as Jesus or Buddha. Interactions among society have underlying meaning due to the cosmic goal of love, giving symbols developed through interactions a spiritual significance of hidden meanings and lessons.
2 Symbolic interactionism is the study of human interaction mediated by the use of symbols, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning of one another's actions.3 It focuses on how reality is constructed by active thought, and that individuals construct the self (or "identity") on how they define situations of co-presence with others.
3 Societies develop reality through the law of attraction everyday and are unaware of the meaning of each everyday interaction and symbols one produces.
4 Subjective reality states interactions are projections self , displaying symbols developed by the “self” that is constructed through social interactionism.6
5 Interactions have spiritual lessons aligned with subjective reality and law of attraction5 to lead an individual on one’s personal path towards the cosmic goal.1
New Age Beliefs
In the current generation, there is a booming movement derived from the 20th century and contemporary Western culture known as New Age, characterized by an eclectic and individual approach to spiritual exploration.1 Recent surveys of U.S. adults indicate that around 20% of Americans hold at least some New Age beliefs.1 New age practices and beliefs often have some spiritual dimension such as conceptual integration of mind, body, and spirit. Their many beliefs include: All humanity – indeed all life, everything in the universe – is spiritually interconnected, participating in the same energy; “God” being one name for this energy.1 The fundamental premise of the Law of Attraction being that each individualized conciousness is in essence an identical creator as the universal Creator is, and thus has the same power to create through the same powers of focused thought and applied emotion. Through this focused thought and symbolic interactionism, active and creative actors through their interactions with others construct reality.3 Societies develop realities through law of attraction everyday and unaware of the underlying meaning of everyday interactions. Individuals denote interpretations symbolically in symbolic interactionism and treat the actions and those who perform them as symbolic objects ; which in subjective reality, this constructs symbols in self identities.7 Many adherents of belief systems characterised as New Age rely heavily on the use of metaphors to describe experiences deemed to be beyond the empirical.1
Law of Attraction
The law of attraction is a controversial theory commonly associated with New Age theories. It has its origins in the 4000 year old Hindu monistic theory of the universe; the theory that One is All, and All is One; that one Substance manifests itself as the seeming many elements of the material world.11 The statement means “I am the Creator” – the fundamental premise of the Law of Attraction being that each individualized conciousness is in essence an identical creator as the universal Creator is, and thus has the same power to create through the same powers of focused thought and applied emotion.9 “You get what you think about; your thoughts determine your destiny.” The interpretations of the thought itself is impartial to its nature of the process of the movement of conscious thought vibrating and resonating and resulting an effect of attracting manifested interpretations of the original thought. Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World by William Walker Atkinson, affirms that the law of Attraction states, in a nutshell, that ‘like attracts like.’
The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest. But the Law of Attraction gives rise to some tough questions that don’t seem to have good answers. However, these problems aren’t caused by the Law of Attraction itself, but rather by the Law of Attraction as applied to objective reality. Here are some of those problematic question:
• What happens when people put out conflicting intentions, like two people intending to get the same promotion when only one position is available?
• If I intend for my relationship to improve, but my spouse doesn’t seem to care, what will happen?
These questions seem to weaken the plausibility of the Law of Attraction. I’ve never been satisfied by others’ answers to these questions, and they’re pretty important questions if the Law of Attraction is to be believed. Some books hint at the solution but never really nail it. That nail, however, can be found in the concept of subjective reality.7
Subjective Reality
Subjective reality is a belief system in which (1) There is only one consciousness, (2) you are that singular consciousness, and (3) everything and everyone in your reality is a projection of your thoughts. In subjective reality there’s only one consciousness, and it’s yours. Consequently, there’s only one source of intentions in your universe — YOU. While you may observe lots of walking, talking bodies in your reality, they all exist inside your consciousness. You know this is how your dreams work, but you haven’t yet realized your waking reality is just another type of dream. It only seems solid because you believe (intend) it is. It’s important to correctly define the YOU in subjective reality. YOU are not your physical body. This is not the egoic you at all. I’m not suggesting you’re a conscious body walking around in a world full of unconscious automatons. That would be a total misunderstanding of subjective reality. The correct viewpoint is that you’re the single consciousness in which this entire reality takes place.
The idea that other people have intentions is an illusion because other people are just projections. Of course, if you strongly believe other people have intentions, then that’s the dream you’ll create for yourself. But ultimately it’s still an illusion. Since you’re the only intender, this is entirely an internal conflict — within YOU. Here’s how subjective reality answers these challenging Law of Attraction questions: You’re holding the thought (the intention) for both people to want the same position. But you’re also thinking (intending) that only one can get it. So you’re intending competition. This whole situation is your creation. You believe in competition, so that’s what you manifest. Maybe you have some beliefs (thoughts and intentions) about who will get the promotion, in which case your expectations will manifest. But you may have a higher order belief that life is random, unfair, uncertain, etc., so in that case you may manifest a surprise because that’s what you’re intending.7
The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest. But the Law of Attraction gives rise to some tough questions that don’t seem to have good answers. However, these problems aren’t caused by the Law of Attraction itself, but rather by the Law of Attraction as applied to objective reality. Here are some of those problematic question:
• What happens when people put out conflicting intentions, like two people intending to get the same promotion when only one position is available?
• If I intend for my relationship to improve, but my spouse doesn’t seem to care, what will happen?
These questions seem to weaken the plausibility of the Law of Attraction. I’ve never been satisfied by others’ answers to these questions, and they’re pretty important questions if the Law of Attraction is to be believed. Some books hint at the solution but never really nail it. That nail, however, can be found in the concept of subjective reality.7
Subjective Reality
Subjective reality is a belief system in which (1) There is only one consciousness, (2) you are that singular consciousness, and (3) everything and everyone in your reality is a projection of your thoughts. In subjective reality there’s only one consciousness, and it’s yours. Consequently, there’s only one source of intentions in your universe — YOU. While you may observe lots of walking, talking bodies in your reality, they all exist inside your consciousness. You know this is how your dreams work, but you haven’t yet realized your waking reality is just another type of dream. It only seems solid because you believe (intend) it is. It’s important to correctly define the YOU in subjective reality. YOU are not your physical body. This is not the egoic you at all. I’m not suggesting you’re a conscious body walking around in a world full of unconscious automatons. That would be a total misunderstanding of subjective reality. The correct viewpoint is that you’re the single consciousness in which this entire reality takes place.
The idea that other people have intentions is an illusion because other people are just projections. Of course, if you strongly believe other people have intentions, then that’s the dream you’ll create for yourself. But ultimately it’s still an illusion. Since you’re the only intender, this is entirely an internal conflict — within YOU. Here’s how subjective reality answers these challenging Law of Attraction questions: You’re holding the thought (the intention) for both people to want the same position. But you’re also thinking (intending) that only one can get it. So you’re intending competition. This whole situation is your creation. You believe in competition, so that’s what you manifest. Maybe you have some beliefs (thoughts and intentions) about who will get the promotion, in which case your expectations will manifest. But you may have a higher order belief that life is random, unfair, uncertain, etc., so in that case you may manifest a surprise because that’s what you’re intending.7
Symbolic Interactionism
Interactionists focus on the subjective aspects of social life, rather than on objective, macro-structural aspects of social systems.6 One reason for this focus is that interactionists base their theoretical perspective on their image of humans, rather than on their image of society (as the functionalists do).10 For interactionists, humans are pragmatic actors who continually must adjust their behavior to the actions of other actors.10 We can adjust to these actions only because we are able to interpret them, i.e., to denote them symbolically and treat the actions and those who perform them as symbolic objects.6 This process of adjustment is aided by our ability to imaginatively rehearse alternative lines of action before we act.6 The process is further aided by our ability to think about and to react to our own actions and even our selves as symbolic objects.6 Thus, the interactionist theorist sees humans as active, creative participants who construct their social world, not as passive, conforming objects of socialization. Ethnomethodology, an offshoot of symbolic interactionism, raises the question of how people who are interacting with each other can create the illusion of a shared social order even when they don't understand each other fully and in fact have different points of view.10
In Subjective Reality, Projections are Symbols Developed by the “Self” through Social Interactionism:
These emphases on symbols, negotiated reality, and the social construction of society lead to an interest in the roles people play.3 Erving Goffman (1958), a prominent social theorist in this tradition, discusses roles dramaturgically, using an analogy to the theater, with human social behavior seen as more or less well scripted and with humans as role-taking actors.10 Role-taking is a key mechanism of interaction, for it permits us to take the other's perspective, to see what our actions might mean to the other actors with whom we interact.10 (Similar to the looking-glass theory)3 Role-making, too, is a key mechanism of interaction, for all situations and roles are inherently ambiguous, thus requiring us to create those situations and roles to some extent before we can act.10 At other times, interactionists emphasize the improvisational quality of roles, with human social behavior seen as poorly scripted and with humans as role-making improvisers.10 In subjective reality7, the different roles one takes on or perceive from other actors suggest these are intentions or illusions7 the 'self' creates.
In Subjective Reality, Projections are Symbols Developed by the “Self” through Social Interactionism:
These emphases on symbols, negotiated reality, and the social construction of society lead to an interest in the roles people play.3 Erving Goffman (1958), a prominent social theorist in this tradition, discusses roles dramaturgically, using an analogy to the theater, with human social behavior seen as more or less well scripted and with humans as role-taking actors.10 Role-taking is a key mechanism of interaction, for it permits us to take the other's perspective, to see what our actions might mean to the other actors with whom we interact.10 (Similar to the looking-glass theory)3 Role-making, too, is a key mechanism of interaction, for all situations and roles are inherently ambiguous, thus requiring us to create those situations and roles to some extent before we can act.10 At other times, interactionists emphasize the improvisational quality of roles, with human social behavior seen as poorly scripted and with humans as role-making improvisers.10 In subjective reality7, the different roles one takes on or perceive from other actors suggest these are intentions or illusions7 the 'self' creates.
Conclusion:
Spiritual Enlightenment can be achieved through the pragmatism of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the subjective meaning of human behavior, the social process, and pragmatism. 3 When rightly understood, Blumer’s summarized theories of symbolic interactionism point to spiritual principles8:
• People act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.13
• This is how active and creative actors through their interactions with others construct reality. People create meaning during social interaction that present and construct the self (or "identity"), and how they define situations of co-presence with others becoming symbols of self.6
due to the fact that everything in the universe – is spiritually interconnected. The human mind has deep levels and vast powers, which are capable of overriding physical reality2, displaying spiritual significance. “You create your own reality.”1 Nevertheless, this is subject to certain spiritual laws, such as the principle of the Law of Attraction and subjective reality. Ultimately, every interpersonal relationship has the potential to be a helpful experience in terms of our own growth1. We learn about ourselves through our relationships with other people by getting to see what we need to work on ourselves and what strengths we bring to the other party in order to help them in their life.14 All our relationships are destined to be repeated until they are healed, if necessary over many lifetimes.14 As souls seeking wholeness, our goal is eventually to learn to love everyone we come in contact with.8
There are no coincidences.1 Everything around you has spiritual meaning, and spiritual lessons to teach you.1 You are meant to be here, and are always exactly where you need to be to learn from what confronts you.1 All entities are (willingly or unwillingly) cooperating in some cosmic goal of achieving a "higher" or more complete coherence with a cosmic "consciousness" (or some other goal state of "goodness"), often described as an evolutionary process or simply to learn.1 This underlying cosmic goal gives direction to all events, reducing the concept of coincidence to one of ignorance of hidden meaning.1 The individual has a purpose here on earth, in the present surroundings, because there is a lesson to learn.8 The most important lesson is love.8 We have a responsibility to take part in positive creative activity and to work to heal ourselves, each other, and the planet.1 Could you be the hundredth monkey to our (r)evelution?
• People act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.13
• This is how active and creative actors through their interactions with others construct reality. People create meaning during social interaction that present and construct the self (or "identity"), and how they define situations of co-presence with others becoming symbols of self.6
due to the fact that everything in the universe – is spiritually interconnected. The human mind has deep levels and vast powers, which are capable of overriding physical reality2, displaying spiritual significance. “You create your own reality.”1 Nevertheless, this is subject to certain spiritual laws, such as the principle of the Law of Attraction and subjective reality. Ultimately, every interpersonal relationship has the potential to be a helpful experience in terms of our own growth1. We learn about ourselves through our relationships with other people by getting to see what we need to work on ourselves and what strengths we bring to the other party in order to help them in their life.14 All our relationships are destined to be repeated until they are healed, if necessary over many lifetimes.14 As souls seeking wholeness, our goal is eventually to learn to love everyone we come in contact with.8
There are no coincidences.1 Everything around you has spiritual meaning, and spiritual lessons to teach you.1 You are meant to be here, and are always exactly where you need to be to learn from what confronts you.1 All entities are (willingly or unwillingly) cooperating in some cosmic goal of achieving a "higher" or more complete coherence with a cosmic "consciousness" (or some other goal state of "goodness"), often described as an evolutionary process or simply to learn.1 This underlying cosmic goal gives direction to all events, reducing the concept of coincidence to one of ignorance of hidden meaning.1 The individual has a purpose here on earth, in the present surroundings, because there is a lesson to learn.8 The most important lesson is love.8 We have a responsibility to take part in positive creative activity and to work to heal ourselves, each other, and the planet.1 Could you be the hundredth monkey to our (r)evelution?
