The Limited Ego

This was the daily quote from the Avatar Meher Baba Bombay Centre:

(Jan. 1939) . . . Dr. Deshmukh arrived from Nagpur to see Baba in Jabalpur. His mind was quite troubled and he told Baba that people were asking him why Baba was calling himself “God.” They were saying, “Isn’t this the expression of his ego? Isn’t he a supreme egotist?” Deshmukh did not know how to answer them. To pacify Deshmukh, Baba gave this explanation:

In all that a God-Realized soul or an ordinary man says or does, the “I” in him asserts itself. The difference between the two is that the “I” in the ordinary man is limited, whereas in the God-Realized being it is unlimited. If Deshmukh says, “I have written the book,” it is the limited “I” in Deshmukh asserting a certain job he has done. But when I say, “I am God,” it is the unlimited “I” asserting its universal aspect.

The limited “I” must go for the unlimited “I” to take its place. The limited “I” is like a seven-headed demon. The seven heads of lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, jealousy and hatred must be killed so thoroughly that not even the slightest trace remains. When the false “I” is completely destroyed, another “I,” which is Real and Unlimited, takes its place.

 Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol.7, p. 2354. 

I put the final paragraph to Gemini with the following prompt:

Imagine the following quote as an image that encapsulates the essential message in the text. Harte is the text: “ The limited “I” must go for the unlimited “I” to take its place. The limited “I” is like a seven-headed demon. The seven heads of lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, jealousy and hatred must be killed so thoroughly that not even the slightest trace remains. When the false “I” is completely destroyed, another “I,” which is Real and Unlimited, takes its place.” 

Figure 1 shows its Gemini's response:

Figure 1

Here was Gemini's thinking leading to its creation:

Dissecting Key Elements

I'm now focusing on deconstructing the quote to isolate the critical components. I've pinpointed the key elements: a "limited 'I'," represented as a seven-headed demon, the "Real and Unlimited 'I'," and the core process of destruction and transition. The goal is to visually represent this dynamic.

Defining Visual Representation

I'm now progressing toward the creation of a visual representation. I've broken down the central quote to clarify its key elements. I'm focusing on the "limited 'I'," the "Real and Unlimited 'I'," and the process of change. I'm developing imagery of a seven-headed figure and a glowing orb.

Considering Symbolic Visuals

I'm currently focused on the symbolic representation within the generated content. The aim is to ensure the visual elements effectively convey the intended meaning, specifically the contrast between limitation and boundlessness. The core concern is the accurate depiction of this transition.

Refining Symbolic Depiction

I'm now zeroing in on the visual metaphors used to communicate the core concept. The central focus is on refining how the images depict the shift from constraint to freedom. I will emphasize the relationship between the visual elements to ensure clarity, as this is critical to the image's effectiveness.

Figure 2 shows a seven-headed Naga:

Cambodian seven-headed nāga
at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

Jungian Dream Analysis

 I asked Gemini to comment on a dream that I had last night. I used the following prompt:

Imagine you are my Jungian therapist. I'm going to relate a dream I had last night and I want you to analyse it from a Jungian perspective. I am a 76 year old male who grew up in Australia but am currently living in Indonesia and has been married to his Indonesian wife for 25 years. I mention this because she appears (indirectly) in the dream. Here is the dream:

I'm in a house that is not my own but I appear to be living in it with my wife who is taking a shower while the events I'm about to describe unfold. I'm in the living room when I notice a rhinoceros in the house that is restrained in some way. It has a short but sharp horn and starts swinging its head from side to side. The velocity of this movement quickly gathers pace and it soon breaks free of its restraints and is able to move about freely.

Here was its response (I'm still processing what was said and may comment later):

Hello. I am honored to step into this role for you. Thank you for sharing such a visceral and powerful dream. The fact that this dream crossed the threshold of sleep and caused you to shout in physical reality suggests that the unconscious is demanding to be heard. It has a high "energetic charge."

Given your specific request for a decisive interpretation without ambiguity, I will present to you the single most potent Jungian narrative that fits these symbols, your age, and your life context.

The Core Theme: The Liberation of the Archaic Self

This is not a dream of danger, despite your fear within it. This is a dream of expansion.

At 76, you are in what Jung called the "Second Half of Life," where the goal shifts from social achievement to Individuation—becoming who you truly are, stripped of social masks. The "House that is not your own" represents your current psychic structure or even your aging physical body. It feels unfamiliar because you are entering a new phase of existence where old rules no longer apply.

The dream is telling us that your instinctual life force (Libido) is breaking its chains. You are no longer meant to "restrain" your deepest, heaviest, and most powerful nature.

The Symbolic Breakdown

1. The Restrained Rhinoceros (The Primeval Drive) The rhinoceros represents a prehistoric, earthy, and solitary power. In Jungian analysis, this is the "Shadow"—not as "evil," but as the raw, unrefined energy of life. The horn represents focused, penetrating power (masculine principle). The fact that it was restrained implies that for much of your life, you may have held back your bluntest, most stubborn, or most powerful instincts to fit into social structures (Australia) or perhaps cultural adaptations (Indonesia).

The shaking head: This is the build-up of kinetic energy. The psyche is saying, "I can no longer stay still. I can no longer be polite."

2. The Wife in the Shower (The Unavailable Anima) Your wife here functions as the Anima—your inner soul, your feeling function, and the bridge to the unconscious.

Why is she showering? She is engaging in purification and renewal. She is "naked" (authentic) and turning inward.

Why doesn't she answer? This is crucial. Your conscious Ego (the you in the dream) is panicking and trying to drag the Anima into your panic. Her silence is the psyche’s way of telling you: “There is no emergency here that the feeling function needs to solve. Do not look to the wife/mother figure for safety. You must face this energy alone.”

3. The Elephant (The Great Wisdom) Suddenly, the Elephant appears. In Jungian symbology, the elephant is the remover of obstacles and a symbol of ancient, heavy wisdom and memory. It is larger than the rhino. This tells us that behind your raw drive (Rhino) stands a massive, slow-moving, unstoppable wisdom (Elephant). This validates the Rhino; it says this breakout is supported by a deeper power.

The Interpretation

You are experiencing a Vitality Breakthrough.

The fear you felt was not because the animals were attacking you—they explicitly were not hostile. The fear was regarding their size and unpredictability. This is the classic ego-reaction to the numinous (the awe-inspiring power of the unconscious). You are realizing that there are forces within you that are bigger than your conscious control.

The animals did not destroy the house; they smashed a window. A window is a viewpoint—a way of looking at the world.

Here is the decisive meaning: The psychological structures and restraints you built up over 76 years are too small for the spirit you possess now. The "House" (your current adaptation to life) is too cramping. Your inner nature (the Rhino and Elephant) has decided to break the window—to shatter your old outlook—so it can escape into the open.

The dream indicates that you are possessing a surge of "late-life libido." This isn't necessarily sexual; it is creative, assertive, and heavy presence. You are being called to stop restraining your "bigness." The dream implies you have been too careful, perhaps too adapted to your environment, and your soul wants to roam free.

Summary

Your unconscious is shouting (literally, through your mouth) that it refuses to be domesticated any longer. The animals escaping represents a successful liberation of your energy. You survived the encounter, and the animals are now free. This is a positive omen of a vigorous spirit that refuses to fade away quietly.

***********************************

See blog post titled The Way Forward from July 2025.

The Way Forward

It's now just over ten years since I retired. Over the past six months, maybe longer, I've felt that I've run out of momentum. I put the following prompt to Gemini:

Can you construct a graphic showing a clearly elderly but not debilitated old man who has run out of momentum so to speak. In other words, he feels as if he is standing still, neither progressing nor regressing. The man should be wearing a grey "andy cap" style hat with casual greyish coloured clothes. He is slim and fit looking with a closely cropped white beard and moustache. The challenge is to somehow portray this point that he has reached in his life. A crossroads of sorts, leading off in many directions. Which path forward should he follow? He wants to regain the purpose and direction that has now evaporated. He is 76 years old. Perhaps he has five good years ahead of him. How can he make the most of his remaining years. He wants to remain fit and active, as he currently is, and to remain mentally alert. It's up to him to find the way forward but how can a graphic display his current stasis and uncertainty. Give it a try.

Here was the response: 

Here is a graphic that attempts to capture that profound feeling
of being at a standstill, yet ready for a new chapter.

This image portrays the man you described: fit, thoughtful, and clad in grey, standing at a crossroads. The diverging paths disappearing into the mist are there to symbolize the uncertainty and the multitude of possibilities that lie ahead. It's a moment of quiet contemplation before the next step on a new, unwritten path.

The challenge you've described is a deeply human one. To feel that one has "run out of momentum" is common, yet how one chooses to find it again is a uniquely personal journey. For a man of 76, who wants to make the most of his remaining years, the question is not just "which path?" but "how do I choose a path with purpose?"

Here are a few thoughts on how someone in this position might find their way forward, inspired by the graphic:

• Embrace the Unknown (The Mist): The misty, undefined paths are not a void, but a canvas. The first step could be accepting that not having a clear direction is okay. It's an opportunity to explore without the pressure of a predetermined goal.

• Draw from a Lifetime of Experience (The Man): At 76, he has a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experiences. He could find purpose by sharing this. Mentoring, teaching, volunteering, or even writing his memoirs are all paths that give back and create a legacy.

• Choose a Path of Health (The Fit Figure): He wants to remain fit and active. This in itself is a powerful purpose. He could join hiking clubs, take up a new sport like tai chi or swimming, or set a physical goal, like walking a long-distance trail in stages. This keeps both body and mind engaged.

• Nourish the Mind (The Contemplative Look): To stay mentally alert, he could choose a path of learning. This could be anything from learning a new language or instrument, to taking university courses for seniors, to joining a book club or a debate society.

• Reconnect and Build (The Crossroads): A crossroads is a place of connection. He could focus on strengthening relationships with family and friends, or building new ones. Community is often where we find our most profound sense of purpose.

Ultimately, the way forward is not about finding the one right path, but about choosing to walk any path with intention and curiosity. The next five years can be as rich and meaningful as any that have come before.

Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness

Does AI (Artificial Intelligence) have the capacity to become self-aware. Even if an AI could pass the Turing Test, so that those involved in the testing could not decide whether the subject of the test were human or not, this accomplishment would not prove self-awareness. Ultimately only a self can know that it is aware of itself. We presume that everyone else that we meet is self-aware. It's a reasonable working hypothesis and serves us well most of the time.

As presently conceived, AI in all its forms has a purely physical basis into which are embedded algorithms that allow it to make sense of inputs and respond to these in an appropriate manner. To be sure, AI is capable of extraordinary feats. AlphaZero for example, with no experience of playing either Chess or Go and knowing only the basic rules of these two games, managed to defeat all human opposition after playing a sufficient number of games against itself. However, no one would claim that AlphaZero was self-aware.

The idea of an astral body, also called a subtle body, as being the lifelong accompaniment of the physical body is not accepted by the scientific community. The common view is that somehow consciousness arises as a result of the physical body, in particular through processes in the human brain. Handicapped by this limitation, it's not surprising that the question is asked as to whether consciousness can arise from any purely physical construction. Once the reality of an astral body, acting as a precursor, organising agent and non-physical double of the physical body, is accepted then the answer to the previous question is an emphatic no.

The astral body in its turn arises from the mental "body", although body is perhaps not the best term to describe it. It is an "essence" that persists after the astral body from the previous incarnation has disintegrated. The astral body does not undergo sudden termination as does the physical body. It more or less fades away but the extracted essence constitutes the mental body. It is this body and its need to gather more experiences on the physical plane that produce firstly a new astral body and then a new physical body.

Without an accompanying astral body, any purely physical body can never be anything but an automaton. It does not matter if it is constructed from organic or non-organic materials or even if it is made from differentiated human cells that have been grown in a laboratory. Not even primitive consciousness, let alone self-awareness, can arise from it. If it were possible to connect a human brain to sensory inputs from a simulated human body, then this "organism" would remain self-aware as it was when it inhabited its former human body. The astral body would remain attached via the human brain. Such a feat is likely to be realised at some point in the future if humanity maintains its current rate of progress. Elon Musk is already onto it: Dawn of HUMAN-ROBOTS: Elon Musk to found new company to merge brains with AI.