Chapter TWO — Double Vision

“The Toltecs believe that every human is an artist, and the art we create is our lives.” — Don Miguel Ruiz

… Dualism operates at a subconscious level in the human psyche. A number of years ago I observed that most people seem to have a kind of schizophrenia. There exist two distinct identities in everyone: an adult self and an inner child. These two personas develop as a kind of coping mechanism during the process of attaining maturity.

The child is the more natural, original self; it started at the birth of the individual. For a time during childhood it is the only person. Its response to the world is pure and direct in its approach. The child persona, alternately called the inner child, is where the pure creative spark of inspiration resides. This self never grows up or dies; it exists in a kind of timeless state.

The child self may be further divided into two distinct personalities, reflecting childlike or childish qualities. The adult is the self that develops as a necessary result of the pressures of socialization. In this person is found two sides as well: the rational and the irrational.

The adult personality is usually modeled upon the adults we had around us as we were growing up. In a real sense the parent person that develops inside us replaces the parent outside at some point in our lives — usually long before the death of our parents.

Just as our parents are our natural guardians, so the original purpose of the adult personality is that of guardian as well. This self grows as a kind of shield to protect and nurture the natural self, or inner child.

It is in the child self that all true creativity originates, not in the adult. The adult self merely provides a safe place and a structure for creative expression. It is from the inner child or inner spirit that creativity naturally flows.

— excerpt from the book Parallel Mind, The Art of Creativity

Copyright 2007-2008 Aliyah Marr