Whom do you serve?

You've got to serve somebody, yes indeed.

Bob Dylan, 1979

 
Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them.
Deuteronomy 11:16, 7th Century, BCE
 
The moment you separate yourself from God, you are worshipping idolatry.
R. Israel Baal Shem Tov, c. 1740
 
From Moses to the Baal Shem Tov to Bob Dylan, the message to theists and atheists is the same -- we are in service to someone/something in every moment. The question simply is, "whom do you serve?"
 
In the last few decades we've been given some practice tools that can help get at this question, tools that come from most notably from Roberto Assagioli, Hal and Sidra Stone, and Genpo Merzel. The idea is this: each of us carries a host of inner voices who both compete and collaborate as we navigate each moment. 
 
Merzel has identified over 2,000 such voices. They have names like Controller, Protector, Wounded Child, Seeker, Desire, and Anger. Just about any name you can think of will evoke a distinct inner voice.
 
Some voices have a broader and deeper expanse than others. While at the purely egoic, psychological level we can find Fear, Hunger, Power, we also can move upward into more inclusive voices. We can even find within us vast, almost cosmic voices like Boundless Mind and Boundless Heart.
 
Typically, we don't notice the functioning of these voices. They often operate "behind our eyeballs." Each voice has a contribution to make, a rightful place in the constellation of inner voices. Sometimes, however, one or two of them will take control, guiding our actions, our words, sometimes without input from the other voices. Our Fear, for example, can take the wheel and drive us for a while without us even noticing. When one of these voices take control, we can find ourselves serving it as though it were our master.
 
For our purposes, there is great value in bringing consciousness to the operation of these voices in our being, moment-to-moment. This awareness comes with many gifts, not the least of which is to provide just enough distance between this moment and the voices to give us some choices around which voices get to have their hands on the wheel.
 
Merzel's technique, which he calls "Big Mind," involves engaging in a dialogue with each voice. The key is for the participant to speak as the voice, not about the voice. While it is often done with a facilitator, an individual can do the process quite effectively. Naturally, formal training helps, but is not necessarily a prerequisite.
 
Try this:
  • Begin this closed-eye meditation by calming your mind a bit, perhaps with a following-the-breath meditation.
  • Say, inwardly, "I'd like to speak to the voice of …" then select a voice. Start with some easy ones (e.g., Controller, Fixer, Skeptic).
  • Then, as that voice, speak about yourself, most importantly, what your function is, what your gifts are, what you need.
  • After a couple of minutes with one voice, move to another. Then another. Take your time with each voice. Be curious along the way -- ask, then answer, the questions that engage you.
  • As you get more fluid in moving from one voice to another, you can experiment with the more expansive voices. Use your own language to name these voices: All-Inclusive Love; Infinite Compassion; Vast Wisdom. Remember, speak as each voice, in the first person, not about it, in the third person. Don't worry about knowing what to say -- once you step fully into a voice and its perspective, the words will flow automatically.
  • Once you have a feel for these voices, you can start to feel into the choice you have about these voices. With consciousness, we can get just enough distance, just enough perspective, to have a say as to which voice or voices take the wheel for each moment.
With practice, with time, this consciousness can arise throughout the day. In each moment we can ask these two essential questions:
  • Which voice am I serving?
  • Whom do I want to serve?
As Dylan might say, we've got to serve somebody. Might as well choose whom we serve.
 
[The image, used here with permission, is of a painting, "Chalice from Above," by Georgeanne Jud, http://gajud.com.]
Submitted by Tom Goddard on January 3, 2012.
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