Martin the “I-Thou” … “I-it” guy
Martin Buber, is a great scholar and author. He introduced the perspective of “I-Thou,” “I-It,” in his book I and Thou" 1923 [1]
I would like to suggest that “I-it,” leads to high anxiety and all kinds of spirit dysfunctions (pick any of the psychological nomenclature of various illness) that can dominate a person’s life style.
The “I-Thou,” perspective leads to Dr. Maslow’s Self Actualization persona.[2] Dr. Maslow was another great thinker and psychologist. Dr. Maslow believed everyone has the potential to self-actualize. He proposed that a person had to invest in themselves and be willing to explore and grow. A Person had to move through and not accept the negative energies that tempted them to stagnate. His beliefs about the power of self-actualization were not received well in the psychotherapeutic community. His ideas did not lend themselves to the concrete physics that require “group compliance” to believe that an idea or approach were valuable.
Buber and Maslow’s ideas are consistent with the mystics of various religions, with Jesus’ message, and with Buddhism. These ideas are at the root of the Breathing meditation with its focus on the breathe. They are important elements to the process of self-awareness, connection with Source, connection with all that exists. They are kingpins[3] in self-creating one’s life.
With all this talk about mindfulness … being conscious in the moment ~ the yuppie version seems to forget who is this being that is supposed to be mindful. A recent news article hinted that mindfulness without a sense of spirit is hollow. It is an exercise in intellectual buffoonery. (The author of the other article expressed this idea more kindly.) In a state of mindfulness without spirit, without Consciousness, the essence of breath, connection and source are left out. Sometimes society pushes us to the “I – it” experience.
The I-it level seems to acknowledge that I am on a primitive level. It doesn’t go deep into who I am. From I-Am, it reduces physical relationships including to the self, to a variety of “its.” The “its” are something that can only be found with the use of the five senses (vision, hearing, smelling, touching, taste). Usually the ‘its’ correspond to Freuds ego ideal, i.e. being well thought of in the community rather than being true to self.[4] For the I-its, to go beyond that which has physical reality that can be measured and weighed, is to induce anxiety; to get freaked out by the unknown.
Both human, and animal relationships can be reduced to I-it connections. I-it connections are used to codify reality. They permit each of us “I’s” to use other “I’s” as “Its” for our own use and gain.
The “I-Thou” raises the uncomfortable question – Who is the “Thou”? This dam “Thou,” whether within the self or the other, is not so easily discovered. The essence of Thou is not discoverable from the five senses. “I-thou” can only be discovered within the quiet of the self. The I- Thou is discoverable thru the 6th sense; the sense of spirit, of vibration. To wander out of the comfort zone and into the world of spirit, the world of vibration seems not to be for the faint of heart. Yet the spirit and vibration of the “I-Thou” relationship, with the self and with others, is the source of strength, actualization, happiness and fulfillment.
“I-Thou,” requires looking into the psychic mirror. Looking beyond the makeup, beyond the jewelry, the fancy clothes, the amount of cash falling out of your wallet. It requires looking beyond the skin, into a Thou’s eyeballs to experience the very spirit within.
If we make it this far, the “I-Thou’ reveals itself through the breathe, through the stillness, through the whispers.[5] It is like a precious, priceless jewel. It reveals the value of the self as an independent, interconnecting vibrating, sharing spirit.
It also reveals a deeper level of mindfulness. It reveals the intimate connection with the Source of the Universe. The Source is loving and giving. it is not punitive or judgmental. The notion that Source is Judgmental and punitive was invented by religions, political posturing and communities seeking to control people.
At this level, the self becomes an “I-thou.” This I-thou” is a vibrating energy field of the self, the “I” connected to the “Thou”. The “Thou” is a vibrating other spirit of equal value. The “Thou” can be another human, animal, even a tool that we use to create our purpose.
At this level a person can experience an “I-Thou” with the tools of talent and purpose of who they are. When I use a computer or my camera, they are no longer isolated “its.” They become one with me, an extension of myself. Even though the computer or the camera are physical objects, when I work with them, they enter the dance of an “I-Thou” relationship with me, with the creation process.
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