Show Thyself: The Curious Art of Revelation
From the PanTimes talk on 20 May:
Seeing and being seen. Behind the masks that everyone wears, now literalised, what we see are the eyes. Our eyes are windows into the world, from the inside out, and also the window into our soul, from the outside in.
What is seen, is seen both with and through the eyes. The biology of the eyes and the consciousness of sight arrive together. When we look into the world, we feel we are more in control. It is our way of a making sense of ‘out there’. More of the physical brain is used in processing sight than all our other senses together.
We are born with the ability to look into the world. But when we are consciously witnessed, that is something we are unused to. We are exposed and vulnerable. Allowing ourselves to be seen is an art we need to learn. Of the two, looking at, and allowing ourselves to be seen, it is the latter that brings us to a place of trust, in ourselves and with others. And the gods, who are never asleep, are always watching.
We are taught we are made in God’s image. Coming to see myself as an image of God, would be the same as discovering the face I had before I was born. In the mirror of the world, I exist only when I am seen. For this to be true insight, we must develop the ability to notice what is in the shadows, find beauty in what is broken, and be revealed in our own weakness.
The previous PanTimes, we turned to inferiority and insecurity. Our needs. Now we look at insight and self-exposure. ‘Know thyself’ will only get us half way. ‘Reveal thyself’ becomes the way forward of love and loving.