Brugh Joy (1990, p. 160), who is on a twice-born journey, writes this about the “once-born”:
“As I have lived more and more of my life, I have begun to realize that some individuals are destined to live out., almost exclusively, the good and “acceptable” side for the collective”
Under the conditions of being on a single spiritual plane, there is an abiding sense that this plane is where we find all guidance. The dominant Monad of religious and spiritual belief provides the pathway. A noted psychologist, O Hobart Mowrer (1961) noted many years ago that feelings of Anxiety might indicate that we have somehow strayed from this religious pathway. Blending his religious beliefs with his behavioral psychology perspectives, Mowrer would identify anxiety with a personal sense of sinfulness. While this sense of being an anxious sinner might drive the twice-born to a conversion experience, it would drive the once-born to an “adjustment” in their life choices.
There is also the Jungian sense of the guiding pathway. While Carl Jung and his followers portray the journey forward as somehow “nudged” by the Dyadic tension between two completing forces or entities, he also often portrays a strong Monad in his Red Book and counsels a focused movement toward what he calls “individuation.” The Monad is often represented by the Mandala, while individuation is often coupled with a dyadic portrayal of late life development as an integrating of conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche. According to Jung, this final integration is preceded by a transformation process (a bit like a conversion) in which one’s sense of Self takes on a new set of characteristics that leave one looking quite different from the Self of an earlier time in life.
The Monad not only provides simplicity and offers guidance. It also in many ways, yields a profound sense of Innocence. The simplicity and guidance lend themselves to an image of someone being eternally childlike (Jung’s puer eternas). We see this image conveyed in the story of an innocent Prince (de Saint-Exupery, 2000) and even in the frolicking tales of Peter Pan. The images of innocent, childlike beings flourish. There is nothing so subject to pure projection (ink blots) as the blank slate (ink blots) of innocence. There is also the counter force: a violent reaction to innocence.
We see this disturbingly portrayed in Herman Melville’s novella about Billy Budd (Melville, 1924/2017). Melville tells the tragic story of Billy Budd, a handsome and innocent sailor aboard a British warship. The narrative explores themes of innocence, moral ambiguity, and the conflict between individual morality and institutional authority. When Billy is falsely accused of mutiny by the malevolent Master-at-arms John Claggart, he inadvertently kills Claggart in a moment of rage. Despite Captain Edward Vere recognizing Billy’s lack of intent, he feels compelled to follow the law, leading to Billy’s execution. The story ultimately reflects on the nature of good and evil and the harsh realities of justice. Monads are powerful, but fragile. We live “on the edge of our beliefs” and form protective bubbles around these beliefs (Weitz and Bergquist, 2024). We join with other people in creating collective bubbles of belief. Yet, we remain vulnerable to disconfirming evidence, the creation of cognitive dissonance involving our beliefs and “the real world,” and the dismantling of “alternative realities.”
