I talked about the 5 major dogmas I think everyone ought to follow in one of my previous posts. Today, I would like to talk about the rest, the personal and individual ones, unique to my special quirks and traits. These Dogmas are things I have identified to be good and worthy of reaching for based on my own persona and values, and there is a little bit of leeway for them to change during my lifetime, should I find more things to strive for.
How to determine the Minor Dogmas?
For me, this was a sort of simple, happy little accident. You see, I had already done a self-inventory based on a video I watched, and it yielded terrifying results. I actually found out that I was an incredibly cowardly person among other things. I found that the inventory worked for me in finding all the currently perceivable weaknesses of my character, and thus set me on an incredible path to finding out my minor dogmas. A word of warning though: Do not take on the self-inventory where you ponder on all of the traits and habits of your own self if you are not fully prepared. If you can’t look at your shadows without judging them and starting to beat yourself up instead of sort of just observing their existence and marking them down, you probably should not attempt it. It can be a crushing experience, and I admit it could’ve turned out badly for me as well. Luckily I was in a good mental state and in a mode of curiosity.
So, how does identifying your flaws help you with things you could be doing to be aiming higher? Well, once you have your shadows, you can now find out what would be the corresponding source of light. With cowardice comes the potential for courage. With pride comes an opportunity to practice humility. With frustration comes the option to become patient. All the things that are opposite to my identified shadows are the things I now strive for in my life. They are the virtues I am determined to achieve.
I speak in another post about using the method of creating avatars for the Minor dogmas as a tool for remembering them, and the following is an introduction to them and in essence, the virtues I strive for, the dogmas.
Dogmas of Control – Nilgrant
Nilgrant was a creature in the Great Matron’s Court, her butler, in a way. He was the epitome of calm, reason, and logic, never wavering no matter what came his way. He was always able to run the show behind the scenes, making sure everything was tip-top for the Great Matron and her people.
As such, he became the avatar for the dogmas of vigilance and courage in face of chaos, discipline and self-restraint, as well as a more stoic way of looking at life. Whenever I was unsure of what to do in the past, I would conjure up my ever-reliable servant and he would speak to me. These days he serves me still, as a reminder of the virtues that lead to being in control of my own chaos (and the chaos outside of me) without fear or uncontrollable rage, even if I have been wounded.
Dogmas of Wisdom – Regulus
Regulus, in the world of delusions that eventually became the third realm of my epic fantasy world that I need to get on writing, is the Keeper of Knowledge. He is an ancient dragon dedicated to knowledge and wisdom, and can sometimes get a bit full of himself because of all the things he knows, which is why he needed Aleiron as a counterforce.
Seeing that he is pretty much the hierophant of my inner self, I can call on him as a reminder of virtues related to growth and development. His image helps me remind dogmas about not being so darn assuming, practicing positive optimism, doing what I can to gain experience and foresight, as well as remaining aware and flexible in the world around me. After all, a stagnation of the self is not really a desirable state in my opinion.
Dogmas of Humility – Aleiron
As a counter to the occasionally egotistical Regulus, I summon forth the incredibly loyal and humble Aleiron, one of the arctic wolf twins. She was there, in the court of the Great Matron, as a personal servant, follower, and companion. She never left the Great Matron’s side, following her everywhere she went, and thus her presence bore arguably more influence on her nature than Regulus, who was always hauled up in his library of life.
As Aleiron is an image of an extremely tame creature, she can be called on to remember dogmas like patience, courteousness, humility, respect, devotion, loyalty, and attentiveness. While these might seem like traits that are not inherently media sexy, since we are supposed to be more or less hard-headed donkeys these days, toiling away and not following anything (even if we have been brainwashed into all the ideologies around), I have found Aleiron to be exceptionally useful in keeping me on the ground level.
The world in my opinion could use more humility and respect. It is not that I don’t think respect needs to be earned, but certainly, it is also true that we must all behave in a manner that is worthy of our own self-respect. It is an unfortunate fact, that despite our willingness to pretend that we know best, we are but human beings, limited in our capacity. We ought to treat people courteously, keeping in mind the fact that they are much like us – flawed and floating in chaos.
Dogmas of Femininity – The Great Matron
The Great Matron, the former goddess of creation, serves her people as the empress of the realm. Where she steps, the ground sprouts into vibrant life. Where she goes the light follows, warming everyone in its wake, lifting the sorrows, and offering comfort to the wretched and pained. The Great Matron is the epitome of goodness.
In my life, I have been known to be toxic, crude, and entirely not a pleasant little lady to be around when I am consumed by chaos. I also spent most of my childhood with my father, doing all sorts of boyish stuff – albeit my natural inclination started to sway me to the pretty things like skirts and makeup eventually.
The Great Matron is the avatar I call on when I need to remember the call to become benevolent and kind. When I am in need of encouragement to continue exploring and refining my femininity. Who knows, perhaps one day I will also be able to bring light where ever I may roam. Perhaps my creations will shine light in the darkness as well.
The dogma of Imagination and Enthusiasm – Chazian
For a while, I was wondering why this one trait, this one particular virtue, was left in its lonesome. After all, the rest were bundled up into the previous avatars. It dawned on me during one of my morning meditations that Chazian, the Cloud Puff as I tend to call him, is the key to everything and anything that I need to motivate me. He is the Vaporous serpent that forevermore glides on the border of the Chaotic Ocean and the Void of Order.
The one thing I can say about myself with some amount of humble confidence is that I am extremely imaginative. There are worlds living inside my mind at this very moment. And as I have become to understand, the creative power and potential of the chaos have to be reined in and tempered with order so that something magnificent can come forth. Chazian, with his endless potential, is the key to remembering that seemingly true thing, so I can call upon him whenever I am feeling uninspired or stuck with anything. Although, I am happy to let you know that I am usually pretty dynamic, I mean, my mind never stops showing me all the glorious, bizarre, grotesque, and divine things it can conjure up! My imagination is an endless source of wonder that provokes enthusiasm, which in turn energizes me.
Conclusion
Wild, isn’t it? But in the end, this is how I make sense of the world, and to be honest, I think it is bloody brilliant. Beautiful also.
Not only have I managed to create a worthy Path for myself to use as a frame for the rest of my life, but I have also figured out the tools that can help me succeed in it. I feel as though this is some of the human ingenuity that always gets so much clout among our kind.
While I have to state that by no means am I professional, nor some sort of a religious or authoritarian leader of ethics and morals, I must say that by going through the trouble of really looking into myself and becoming a bit of a Jungian explorer while at it, doing all this has given me meaning and a clear direction. And If I’ve learned anything from my struggles with the chaos of Borderline Personality Disorder, is that we as humans can not thrive on chaos alone. We need the order to bring forth brilliance.