WHAT IS THE "PSYCHE"?

 WEBSTER'S tells us this, regarding "psyche":

1. The soul or spirit as distinguished from the body. 2. The mind functioning as the center of thought, feeling, and behavior. [Gk psukhe, breath, life, soul.]

  Then, regarding "mind"... it says this:  n.1. The consciousness that originates in the brain and directs mental and physical behavior.   The problem with these definitions is... they are mistaken.

BUT...  we should expect these words that focus entirely on the visible dimensions of Man, since they are shared with us by people who operate in and are dedicated to the physical brain and thinking.

My old sketch: 

 Shows the divisions of brain - MIND - [in two parts], and Soul [or Spirit, or Consciousness] as four separate elements or dimensions of the Whole Human Being.  The only one we can perceive using the brain and thinking is #1, the physical dimension of Man. #2, 3, and 4 are all invisible to the brain.

 

And due to what is illustrated in the sketch, it is the rare person, especially in the West, who believes that #2, #3, and #4 are all invisible to the brain and our physical senses. 

What is the Psyche?  Well, as the ancient Greeks noted:  "Breath, life, and soul."  These terms were meant to convey those parts of Man that are present in Man, but breath is more than simply air, life is certainly more than thinking and moving one's body, and soul has yet to be found in Man at all. 

The Greeks intended to convey the "Esoteric" aspects of Man in their use of the term "Psyche".

The term "Esoteric"?  Again from Webster's:  esoteric adj.1. Intended for or understood by only a small group. 2. Confidential; private.   NOTE the use of the term "Intended".  As though a small group was keeping a secret from others. Thing is this "secret" is unknowable except to the limited use of our faculty of "Intuition".

The fact is... The term Esoteric  is often used as a substitute for the term Invisible. The Soul, MIND, Truth, and Consciousness all exist, and yet they remain hidden from Mankind.  They are assumed to be known by using the term "esoteric".[ small group in possession, or assumed so].

In my sketch, #2, #3, and #4 are all separate realms of existence.  Of course they are invisible to #1., which is confined to the physical realm only.  What can provide Man subtle elements of what are normally invisible dimensions of the Whole Human Being is what we refer to as "Intuition" [which I believe is an aspect of one's Consciousness, which is an aspect of one's Soul].

And the term "Psyche" is simply one of how many terms that we "think" we know because we can spell the term and use it in a sentence?  English is filled with "abstract terms" that people believe they know because they can spell and write these terms.

We in the West have not been well-served from a Spiritual perspective by our system of education.  But that simply conveys how compelling is our need to learn how to properly spell words and use them in a sentence.  So that we can intellectually communicate with one another the "terms" the existence of which we do not actually know?

Knowing One-fourth of who and what we are as human beings is  hardly something to be proud of in my humble opinion.  But then, I'm simply an old man.

Peace, 1 BroJames, esodoc [James W. Patterson, Ph.D.].