The Bhavachakra of the Spatial Psyche
In my eternal unpacking of the secrets hidden in the ancient Buddhist Bhavachakra symbol comes a universal model of the human psyche & self, utilizing the instinctual stackings in conjunction with the Bhavachakra symbol as a lens into the workings of the mind by delineating the ‘locations’ of aspects of our psychological self.
This model is equally pertinent to everyone of every instinctual stacking. As a kind of hologram of the psyche, it exerts its structure, arrangement, and dynamic on us all, as opposed to indicating a more acute issue with what’s described in a given one of these six segments in a person of the corresponding stacking.
~ Hell is behind us. Our unconsciousness is represented in the graphic here as outside of our line of vision, we don’t see it (obviously), it’s the thing behind our thoughts and actions, and (per the original Buddhist conception of the Hell Realm, where there are hot Hells and cold Hells) an aspect of unconsciousness is the characteristic of splitting abstractions into binary options – hot and cold, ‘un-integrations.’ In Buddhist scripture (or in certain interpretations of it), the entire six-segmented Bhava-Wheel is ultimately six different iterations of Hell. Hell here represents the ‘root system’ of our neuroses burgeoning and ‘crawling up’ from our unawareness. We keep creating Hell in and from degrees of unconsciousness. The temperature ~ the spectrum of hot to cold.
~ The self-destructive addictive frustrated part of us (Hungry Ghosts) – among other things, represents the realm where we’re ‘hooked on’ our own psychological patterns. It sits, spatially in abstractia, behind and to the left; the passive/receptive, easily-affected side. We’re susceptible to all the narcotics of the mind here, including those machinations generated from our hurt and our inner ‘story’ or narrative around our individual personal history and/or our sense of ourselves, where we have, for example, a ‘wounded hero’ story about ourselves. This is, however, where surrender and self-awareness potentially sit as well. Surrender of the grip of our patterns and to everything we never wanted to see or know about ourselves.
~ The right rear is the self-preservational animal and its instinctual responses, appetites, self-protective reflexes. This is, we could say, the location of our instinctual stacking, residing on the righthand side in the dominant hand (right-handed being used here as a ‘universal’ condition), but again to the rear, in deep unconsciousness. And like an animal in the wild, our instinctual stacking mainly gets no rest. But also here is the potential to harmonize with Nature, in this context, with our own natural rhythms, timelines, and processes, per animals’ organic relationship to cycles of existence and the intuitive instinctual self. So, on the ‘high/healthy’ side, with practice, when the animal finally relaxes its instinctual over-alertness, it can recognize its spirit-presence as safe and cared for in the animal sanctuary of our body.
~ The left-front is our receptivity to human connection; the non-dominant (left-hand), non-combative or de-weaponized arm. But also, our susceptibility (again, problematic receptivity) to the next bouncing red ball that comes into our view – all the external distractions we’re prone toward. The need for the personality to express itself over and over, the need to interact with other personalities to reiterate our own personality. This realm is toward ‘the front’ of us and our consciousness where external stimuli and other people, objects, the things that capture our minds from the outside. This is the (left-hand) receptivity to (and titillation and agitation around) personalities and our urge to connect with or be taken with/by and to influence certain people or personalities.
~ Right-front is the psyche’s right arm ready to take up arms and fight or to outwardly state/express what our superego sees as correct, preferable, right or wrong. This is the critic of the outer realm, opposite to the receptivity of the Human Realm. Could also be seen as the ‘capable’ right-hand side of the personality – the strength of the personality, both neurotic strength and healthy. The sword hand exerting personal power. The individuation and assertion of the personality itself.
~ Front-and-center are our gods, the things that have crystallized in the mind as ideals, abstract objects, characteristics to set our eyes directly upon; the outer things in people or conditions in life that we look upon with admiration, respect, worthiness, as having an expensive gem-like value. In our minds, these things are worthy of the affection and worship of the mind’s eye – we ‘should’ be going toward them, placing them in front of us, or us following them (as ‘religious followers’). We want these things for ourselves, in some way, and worship them deeply. But since they’re ‘gods,’ they also seem out of reach and unattainable. On another level – ‘As above, so below’ – these are crystallizations of our own unconscious hellion insectoids (from the Hell Realm) set in front of us, ‘stuck’ in gem form, but entrancing like the ricochet of light from emeralds and diamonds. Among other things as well, this Realm represents how we make a shining religion of our typological perspective and revere it as a god to be followed and obeyed; the gemstone prisms (and prisons) through which we interpret, project onto, look at the outside world.
