Dr. Thomas Maples

Inspiration

A Father’s Guide to Wisdom

Universal truths exist. Yet, oftentimes they seem as infinite as there are human beings on the planet. The idea of an independent floating Ego is not a new phenomenon, for this ideal goes back to the early beginnings of psychoanalysis when Freud said, “Rather than living our lives, we are ”lived” by unknown and uncontrollable forces.”

What are these unconscious forces that dictate our lives, and how can we become consciously aware of their presence so that they may not dictate the outcome of the most precious commodity we are ever afforded… Life itself?

The majority of our life is spent below the surface. What was once the present moment is now below the surface of time’s past. These memories store themselves in the unconscious recesses of the mind. Only certain events take the forefront as core memories that yield the capacity to shape our daily lives. The attainment of love, the birth of a child, the achievement of some degree of merit, these memories stay with us, like the lasting scent of a flower fills the air far beyond the presence of the individual bud that created its fragrant beauty.

However, Universal Truth’s are oftentimes a delicate flower that find themselves polluted by the underlying currents that govern human nature. This ideal became paramount in a family discussion my son brought to the dinner table last night. He was bothered, and needed his parent’s take on a topic to which he had never been exposed.

He had seen a YouTube video. 5 Things Sea World does Not Want You to Know. I am a firm believer that we are stewards for the natural beauty we are afforded, but after hearing the story he told, it reminded me of the true evil that lurks in the recesses of the human mind. Watch at your own risk.

The nature of what he explained shocked me but it was not surprising. I too have always held a position that we are part of a greater universe, and our capacities towards consciousness should be used to create lasting beauty in its presence, or as Joseph Campbell states, to match our nature with Nature. Jung would call the journey Self realization, where small (s) self gives rise to big (S) Self, or a realized state that transcends the paradoxical nature of consciousness. However, by engaging this form of consciousness, we must address the very capacity the human being has to engage in acts of evil, head on, if we are to transcend its grasp.

Evil does exist, and we should expose it for what it is. Individual decisions based upon ill intent. But this need not be the only way; for shadows are only cast in the wake of light. It is in the light that darkness subsides and universal truths can give direction for a life well-lived. With intent, we can rise above the petty paradoxes that drive division, and engage the mending nature of the soul.

If everything is perfect, even our desire to improve the universe, then the lessons this video depicted have value, even if it shows acts of cruelty so common to our human story. But to what end? It showed a child the evil nature of greed and willingness people have to engage in acts of evil. Even in its horror, it opened the door for a father and son to have a dialogue, which allows for the passing of values of higher purpose, or those universal truths we must teach our children in order to create harmony within a universe of natural beauty.

What is a Father’s Guide to Wisdom? Here, I explore the lessons that prompt the individual psyche towards a state of values-based growth. My vision… to explore, expose, and to create avenues from which family values and ethics direct a well-informed life to unfold upon itself with loving kindness, loyalty, mindfulness, and willful intent to steward our world to greater heights.

Let us match our nature with Nature, our self with the Self. With Many Prayers and Blessings My Friends. Believe… Achieve… Advance Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams.

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