Together, these six roles show the Gut as both mirror and motor:
- A mirror reflecting the health of the entire system.
- A motor, generating energy, driving change, and keeping processes in motion.
Healthy biological systems require not only intake and generation, but also filtering, integration, and elimination. The Gut teaches us that survival and renewal are inseparable: you cannot grow without also clearing space. Perhaps Daniel needs a bit more clearing or space in her Gut. The healthcare system might be treating him ineffectively when he is under stress. With the assistance of Dr. Freud, Daniel might have to clear himself of outmoded assumptions, fears, and expectations that might be twisting up his Guts.
With a focus on the psychic functions of human beings, psychoanalytically oriented theorists such as Solms and Turnbull (2002, pp.106-108) are particularly interested in the presence and influence of emotions. They note that emotions are a perceptual tool that is directed solely to our internal state. While other people can see what we are seeing, hear what we are hearing, and perhaps even feel what we are feeling, they have no access to our emotions. While other perceptual tools point us to what is happening outside ourselves, our emotions are all about what is happening inside ourselves. And our Gut and other organs in our visceral system have much to say about the emotions that we are “experiencing.”
In alignment with our survey of the Committee of the Gut, Solms and Turnbull (2002, p. 91) would probably suggest that the indicator and mirror functions played by the Gut are particularly important, at least concerning the operation of internal psychic functions – such as emotions and what they would consider the unconscious processes of the human psyche (and what I am about to identify as the peremptory ideational train of the psyche. We look to the Gut for an assessment of our internal reality, much as Dr. Freud suggested that Daniel could gain a better understanding of his emotional state by examining the status of his own Gut.
Lesson Five: Deep Causes of Our Life Pattern
Dr. Freud is not gliding across the surface of Daniel’s life. He is inquiring about Daniel’s family, about his marriage, and about his feelings, both coming from his childhood and his adult life. While Dr. Freud is not engaged in psychoanalysis with Daniel, he is engaging in some depth of analysis. With his love of archeology, Sigmund Freud finds it appropriate to dig into the many layers of Daniel’s life, uncovering important treasures (memories, emotions, narratives) that can be of benefit as Daniel engages in life planning.
For Dr. Freud, it is not just a matter of appreciating the lessons to be learned from the past; it is also a matter of determining how past events and people in Daniel’s earlier life have “caused” the person who Daniel is today. Furthermore, Dr. Freud is looking for similar events and similar interpersonal interactions that reinforce existing beliefs, feelings, and behavioral predispositions. He is looking for beneficial patterns that can be reinforced in Daniel’s future, as well as patterns that block Daniel’s progress toward a life filled with clear purpose and enriching interpersonal relationships—to mention Dr. Freud’s own biases regarding the importance of love and work (Smelser and Erikson, 1980).
