Out of the One, Many

John R Lucy
4 min readApr 8, 2021

“from the many to the One; from the diversity so obvious to the senses, to the unity which is the fruit of inward realization: such is the general trend in religious thought.” — Phirozshah Dorabji Mehta, Indian-born writer and lecturer on religious topics

When we work our way backwards to first principles, we arrive at the One, the ground of our being. This source might be conceived spiritually or scientifically, depending upon whether the nature of this ground is assumed to be subject or object, animate or inanimate. These different metaphysical perspectives divide us and impact the assumptions we make about how life and consciousness may be connected.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Regardless of unifying first principles, existentially we experience a world of many pieces. Mind functions like a prism and separates the rudimentary singularity into legion.

“The forming of wholes, or categories, is what the brain does best, and the effect is powerful. A real world and a constant self depend on it.” — Jason W. Brown, M.D,. neurologist

At a fundamental level, creating categories is what mind does. Its organizing process tags the created categories with feelings, leading to a subjective experience where all knowledge is both categorical and emotional. We experience a world split into objects that differ in their value for satisfying our needs. Feelings provide us feedback about the world we perceive and vary in the extent to which our needs are anticipated or met. They are part of a complex system that values what we encounter in terms of its worth or threat.

The precision and complexity of our evaluations can be measured in part by the extensiveness of our categories and the extent to which we can see their dimensional nature. Dimensional thinking allows us to see the metaphorical “gray” between the black and white and points to the unifying connection at the ground of our being. Simple black and white judgments reflect fundamental emotionally based categories, such as good or bad, right or wrong, approach or avoid, fight or flight. These intuitive judgments are often necessary for the quick decisions needed to ensure our survival and to reduce the cognitive load and time required for complex thinking. Often referred to as heuristic techniques, these quick approaches to problem solving are shortcuts which can aid rapid decision making.

While mental shortcuts hard-wired by natural selection are necessary for quick decisions, over-reliance on them at the macro-level (of a complex, inter-connected, and overpopulated world) and micro-level (of a more intimate interpersonal relationships) easily leads to conflict. Even though we have evolved the capacity for more intricate and complex thought it is not instinctive for us. Shifting from reflexive judgments to a more contextual and dimensional approach is demanding and takes intention; however, conflict resolution usually requires it. Accessing this more evolved level of thinking requires expanding our accessible categories and managing the intensity of our emotions.

“In emotional turmoil, the upward influence of subcortical emotional circuits on the higher reaches of the brain are stronger than the top-down controls. Although humans can strengthen and empower the downward controls through emotional education and self-mastery, few can ride the whirlwind of unbridled emotions with great skill.” — Jaak Panksepp, Estonian-born American psychologist, psychobiologist, and neuroscientist

Given that nothing stings like being misjudged, criticized, and rejected and nothing soothes like empathy, understanding, and acceptance, practicing a style of discernment that is rooted in an intricate and more compassionate evaluation seems well advised. Unresolved conflict divides us and often results in feelings of disconnection. If we are connected at a fundamental level, especially if that connection is at the level of our consciousness or essential being, then one would expect feelings of disconnection to be painful and feelings of connection to be pleasurable. Achieving harmony is a process of connecting through discovering and experiencing our unity. All the king’s horses and men were unable to put Humpty Dumpty together again, but could they still see Humpty Dumpty in the pieces?

Brown, J. (2000). Mind and Nature: Essays on Time and Subjectivity. London: Whurr Publishers, p. 7

Mehta, P. (1956). Early Indian Religious Thought. London: Luzac and Co., p. 347

Panksepp, J. (1998). Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., p. 301

John R. Lucy, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice at Decatur Psychology, LLC.

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John R Lucy

I’m a curious person trying to make some sense of the human experience in relationship to the bigger scientific/spiritual picture.