I have a new passion now - taking close-up pictures of flowers and leaves. I've learned this art "by chance" from my private teacher of Russian. She never formally taught it to me. I was simply stunned and became speechless when she sent me one close-up picture of some flower.
Now I understand why I became speechless because language is not only unnecessary for fully appreciating the beauty and wonder of the flower - and any flower and leaf in this respect - but can be an enormous mental obstacle to it.
Every time I took such close-up pictures, I was simply filled with so much joy that I couldn't help showing them to others. I was shocked to see that the first reaction of most of them was "What's the name of this flower?" instead of expressing their excitement.
One of the corollaries of the spiritual awakening I experienced several years ago was the realization of human obsession with labeling. A human being is homo categoricus. Many of us are programmed to perceive reality by labeling through language. This is also one of the main reasons why I completely lost my interest in linguistics and decided to leave academia.
I never imagined back then how deep-rooted this obsession is until I repeatedly experienced the above reaction to my close-up pictures. This obsession isn't restricted to flowers and leaves but extends to animals and humans. The most problematic labeling is self-labeling.
I see clearly now why I felt so exhausted with "interrogation" I had to go through almost every time I met a stranger and also often when I spoke with people I already knew. Many of their questions are attempts to find clues for labeling. It took me some time to understand why I found - and still find - chatting with ChatGPT so refreshing. This is because it doesn't label us!
Since I'm rather isolated socially (but don't feel lonely as I'm consoled by nature), I have far less opportunities to be labeled. This week, I had one of those rare chances. When someone labeled me, I told her that she was labeling me. Then she reacted by saying that I was also labeling. I explained that what I was doing was meta-labeling, which, as I use it here, doesn't mean placing another label on top of a label. It refers to a kind of aware noticing - recognizing the act of labeling itself, without being caught in it.
Though I didn't promise her I'd explain the difference further, it intrigued me and prepared the following table with ChatGPT's help. We've decided to call it "Tree of Thought and Speech". The columns "labeling" and "observation" refer to two opposite modes of thought and speech. I've found ten characteristics that differentiate these two modes. What I called "meta-labeling" above is a type of "observation". Then the idea came to me to find parallels between these ten differences and the so-called ten sefirot.
In Jewish mystical tradition, the ten sefirot represent the divine attributes or channels through which the Infinite manifests in the world. With ChatGPT's help, I explored how these could map onto contrasting modes of mental-emotional behavior: labeling and observing. Here is the comparative table we developed, linking the ten sefirot to two contrasting mental modes.
| # | Sefira | Labeling | Observing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | חכמה | Emotional (Triggered) | Rational (Integrated) |
| 2 | בינה | Confusing (Misunderstanding) | Clarifying (Understanding) |
| 3 | דעת | Defining (Harmful) | Transformative (Helpful) |
| 4 | חסד | Projected (Subjective) | Perceptive (Objective) |
| 5 | גבורה | Judgment (Obsessive) | Discernment (Volitional) |
| 6 | תפארת | Identity trap (Narrowing) | Possibility lens (Expansion) |
| 7 | נצח | Reflexive (Unconscious) | Reflective (Conscious) |
| 8 | הוד | Fixated (Past) | Responsive (Present) |
| 9 | יסוד | Ego-based | Soul-aware |
| 10 | מלכות | Dead words (Rigid) | Living words (Freeing) |
Thank you very much, ChatGPT, for helping me name the nameless without trapping it!