We have not one mind but two! They are oriented in two completely different directions, and getting them to work together is a struggle.
In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, sociologist Émile Durkheim proposed that religious ideas revolve around a central dichotomy: that of the profane and the sacred.
Whether simple or complex, all known religious beliefs display a common feature: They presuppose a classification of the real or ideal things that men conceive of into two classes—two opposite genera—that are widely designated by two distinct terms, which the words profane and sacred translate fairly well. The division of the world into two domains, one containing all that is sacred and the other all that is profane—such is the distinctive trait of religious thought.
Émile Durkheim
In fact, the entirety of our minds are oriented in these two opposite directions, not just in religion. Everyone has a sacred mind and a profane mind, and everything we do belongs to one or the other.
Sacred things are things protected and isolated by prohibitions; profane things are those things to which the prohibitions are applied and that must keep at a distance from what is sacred.
Émile Durkheim
Profanity is connected with this world, materialism, vices, sins, selfishness, individualism, and so on. The sacred, on the other hand, is connected with a spiritual realm, idealism, virtues, restraint, selflessness, collectivism, and so on. Most people are driven by their profane mind. They live for worldly things. They look at the super rich with a covetous eye. They have a practicality mindset. Many of them have a selfish mindset. Profane things are spiritually and idealistically insignificant, or evil. The profane mind has no values; it simply acts in its own interest.
The sacred is concerned with ideals, values, and altruism. It drives us to do things not because they benefit us, but because they are in line with a higher standard or value to which we hold ourselves. Whereas the self is the only domain of profanity, values are the domain of the sacred.
You either act in self-interest, or you have some kind of values you act in the interest of. All human attitudes can be boiled down to this dichotomy. When it comes to the super rich, they are always operating on profanity. They’re always looking out for themselves. They have no sacred mind to speak of. Values are just abstract to them.
The sacred is often the object of religious devotion, but it could also be something less religious, like a political ideology or a moral principle. The sacred is something for which you would lay down your life – because it’s bigger and more important than you. It’s something that feels cosmic.
Plato
Plato conceived of a three-part soul: reason, spirit, and appetite. Appetite is related to base desires; spirit is related to emotion; reason is the regulator, its job is to bring to order the other two parts.
The appetite is undeniably profane since it has no awareness of values and no desire for higher meaning. Spirit could be either sacred or profane. As for reason, that is sacred since it is by definition an ideal and cannot be selfish because it applies to everyone.
The ideal scenario is that base desires (profanity) and profane feelings are harnessed for sacred purposes. But clearly, that’s not always the case. All too often, reason (the highest ideal) is neglected, allowing profanity to run rampant.
The super rich work by appealing to people’s profane selves. Profanity must be dominant for the rich to rule. People must be selfish, divided, unwilling to work together. They don’t want you to have a cause, to have ideals to fight for. They want you relentlessly pursuing your own interests forever. That’s how they win.
The profane mind (roughly equivalent to the Freudian Id) is oriented to the here and now. It wants pleasure right now – instant gratification. It’s the animal in us. Most people are slaves to their profane mind.
The sacred mind (equivalent to the Freudian Ego and Superego) is oriented to the past, future, and abstract ideals such as morals. It’s acutely aware of its surroundings (and other people). It can command the profane mind, but in most people, the sacred mind is largely dormant, deferring to the profane mind.
Set Apart
The sacred is always set apart from the ordinary. In order to find sacred things, you must leave the confines of your ordinary life and go searching for it. It’s a quest, an adventure. You must develop zeal, passion, a fire that drives you to ever higher heights. Awakening your sacred self involves finding something that really inspires you to no end, something that motivates you. It must be something you truly believe in and are willing to die for.
A man who has nothing he is willing to die for has nothing worth living for.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Society does absolutely nothing to help you find that thing – but it should. If everyone found a sacred undertaking, the world would be alight with energy. We would no longer be slaves to lives we didn’t want. We’d all feel like we had a purpose. And the empire of the super rich would crumble.
People should never have to live a life that isn’t their own or isn’t a reflection of who they are. How many people can say they have such lives? Most people are forced to work jobs they hate, to live places they don’t like, to pursue paths that don’t gel with who they are so they can actually make money … What does a life that is truly your own look like? It’s a life that makes you happy, a life in which you get to pursue whatever you may set your mind to. It’s a life where you’re able to maximize your actuality of your potential.
Sublimation and Disinhibition
Sublimation is what happens when a profane (often dangerous) desire is elevated to serve sacred purposes. For example, competition is a sublimation of warfare. It takes that primal aggression, that profane hatred, and elevates it – that’s to say, allows its expression in a tamer form.
If sublimation – the subjection of the profane to higher desires – is possible, then might we also conceive of the opposite – disinhibition? Disinhibition occurs when a sacred principle is subjected to profane desires. It’s twisted, brought down to a base level. It’s used as justification for profanity.
Most people live in a state of disinhibition, not sublimation – i.e., the sacred is subjected to (and corrupted by) the profane. Morals are little more than justifications for profane acts. Philosophies become subordinate to their utility by bestial man.
Disinhibition and Freedom
It’s important to grasp the distinction between being free of inhibitions and being free in general. Disinhibition is all about freeing the profane mind from the grasp of principles. Freedom, on the other hand, is all about being free from the tyranny of others.
Contrary to many religious assumptions, the profane and the sacred need not be kept separate at all times. In fact, that’s impossible. The one is always being subjected to the other. The question is which is in subjection and which is in charge. If you let your profane mind take charge, expect to pursue your own desires, always changing with circumstance, and never have consistent goals.
In the great scheme of things, what matters is not how long you live but why you live, what you stand for and what you are willing to die for.
Paul Watson
So, what do you stand for? Are you willing to die for it? Or are you preoccupied with the profane?
Engage your sacred mind. Think about what matters most to you.
To live is to be willing to die over and over again.
Pema Chodron