A brief discussion of the mirror as a tool of discovery, experience, and being.
This past week’s grandpa day with my 10-month-old grandson inspired this post. He is at the stage of “mirroring.” Mirroring is unconsciously copying other people’s actions and expressions. Refers to a natural phenomenon that plays a role in learning, social communication, and learning. Basically, copying body language, facial expressions, speech patterns, or even posture. At one end of the spectrum, sometimes excessive or involuntary imitation can be a symptom of a neurological or psychological condition. Such as echopraxia, which is a feature of Tourette syndrome, autism or schizophrenia. One can view trauma as being trapped in a mirror. Re-enacting a traumatic experience.
The grandson is now mirroring what is going on around him. He is watching, listening and mirroring. Whether it is smiles, laughs, making sounds, etc. His little body and brain reflect his environment. And subsequently, his behavior reflects this. This basic copying helps sets-up fundamental physical neuro-muscular development. This programming is laying the foundation for his basic operating systems. He is adapting and learning from his environment.
Toddlers parrot what is in the environment. They learn actively by investigating their environment. It is striking to see that at a very young age we set up the foundational influences that will follow them the rest of their lives.
The first seven-year developmental period. A child learns from his or her family environment. The second seven years is learning from their social or peer environment. In the third seven years, they are learning from their internal environment or relationship with themselves. In the fourth period, they are really learning about the larger social, cultural community. Which is about connections with their relationships, work, recreation and entertainment, etc.
Life as a Reflection
A person’s life is a reflection. Yet is also an influence on their close social group and sphere of influence. It is a reciprocal interaction of what they do and who they are. Warren Buffet notes that a person’s most important financial decision in life is who they marry.
Being in my mid-60s, I clearly see mirroring reflected in many aspects of life. I first encountered the mirror metaphor in my late teens during a dive into Buddhism. The mirror metaphor exists throughout interactions in our culture, social interactions, and psychology. Whether at the level of Snow White, narcissism, and observation of nonverbal dating interactions.
The tales of the mythic hero/heroine’s journey, command of “Abracadabra,” the Holy Grail, a genie in a bottle and the granting of three wishes. Myths, Taoism, and serpent symbolism have interesting parallels regarding creation and rebirth.
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Creation of Adam” has various interpretations. Or in the movie ET (1982, Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison), Elliot and ET touch fingers. Is it a metaphor of a mirror, a connection and the experience? Is the mirror an opportunity for awareness? Does a touch make a connection that creates an experience? And experience becomes the gnosis or knowing? Just wondering, does history change, as well as us… as we look into the mirror.
As above, so below: Metaphysical Concept of Reciprocity
Whether we call it karma, manifestation, or the idea of the divine discovering itself for itself, through itself by itself. In Jungian psychology, experiences are all reflections of our being. The issue is decoding or understanding the symbols, meanings and what to do with the insights? Underlying the mirror metaphor is that it is merely a tool for discovery. Discovering of what? The discovery and experience of the self. And subsequently one’s existential meaning and purpose. It is the idea of discovering itself through the machinations of itself, for itself, and through itself. But what is itself… and who determines this self?
Two sides of the mirror: the external and the internal.
First is the reflection. Looking at the state of our planet is an opportunity to examine ourselves and what we might see. Second is the opportunity to consider and investigate “who” looks into the mirror? Seeing what we were, are and might become. Does the seer determine what they see, thus determining what the mirror reflects? Is this the heaven and hell of it?
Free Will
What about free will? One side of the argument stems from not recognizing that it is the seer who looks into the mirror. On the other side, if one presumes he or she is the one who looks into the mirror. Then, they can choose what reality the mirror reflects.
Act and React
Reacting is moving from the outside in. And to act is moving from the inside out. Being able to do both well… you are a being. And being well, one can distinguish between being in the world and yet not of the world.
As we sit on this planet, an extraordinary mirror of creation. What we look at is and what we see. Are we looking (focusing) on the external world? Or the internal world of who we are? Whatever you determine, you will discover and experience who you are.
In summary, the mirror is a multi-use tool of reciprocity in which we get to choose and create our reality. What shall you choose?
Blessings,
Tim