raising your little elephant

Chapter Six- The Logos in the Flesh

There are a lot of emotional beliefs held in the world today about a man who walked the earth nearly two thousand years ago. Throughout the pages of this book, we will refer to him as Jesus of Nazareth. Whatever you personally believe about this man rests with your limbic system. You may think your beliefs are based solely on rational evidence led by sound reasoning. However, this is simply not true. If you are a Christian you love Jesus. If you are an atheist you may not trust Jesus because you don't like what he represents to your inner elephant. If you are an agnostic you may not care either way. Other religions such as Muslims and Jews may have other emotions about this wiseman of the past. So, in order not to alienate anyone from the conversation we will explore his teachings and not the full scope of his identity.

If you are a Christian then the title of this chapter may immediately remind you of the first chapter of the gospel of John. In the Greek, Jesus was referred to as the LOGOS. In the English language this word is translated as the "WORD". This LOGOS is identified as Jesus. He is also called the light. These descriptive terms reveal that there is more to this historical figure from the past than meets the eye.

As he walked the earth over nineteen hundred years ago, Jesus of Nazareth used a number of buzz words in his everyday speech. These words were not only intellectual, but they were expressions of his figurative heart. Here are a few examples: "The kingdom of God or the kingdom of the heavens". He would also spend a lot of time speaking about "his father in the heavens". He also loved to use the expression "truly". This expression highlighted how much the concept of truth meant to him. Love is also a dominant feature of this particular account of Jesus' ministry.

Jesus of Nazareth loved the truth and even referred to himself as "THE TRUTH". This is very significant because truth appeals to our sense of reason. However, in John 14:6 he also linked his identity to being "THE WAY" and "THE LIFE". Another way of saying "WAY" is path. Now the word used here is not PATHOS but "outha" and it means journey or expedition. So, this word carries the literal parallel of the Greek term Pathos. In order to gain a sense of sympathy during a conversation we will often need to go on a field trip with the orator as they tell us a story that will help us to identify with the main protagonist of the parable being given. This in turn will help us to adjust our own thinking as we explore the parallels of the story in our own personal experience.

So, that only leaves the expression "THE LIFE" to identify with ETHOS. This Greek word is Zoe. This word implies existence and in modern times has even been transliterated as a proper name. Now when Jesus said he was "THE LIFE" Christians understand that he meant he held the key to life because he possessed authority over death. So how does this expression connect to ETHOS which is largely related to our identity? Well to put it bluntly, without life we have no identity.

So, what is the takeaway from all this research? Jesus is explaining through this simple three- part description that he preserves our identity as "THE LIFE". He can also sympathize with our situation as "THE WAY". And finally, he has evidence to support his claim as "THE LOGOS" who will now reason with us about "THE TRUTH".

If this man were not all the things, he claimed to be then we should not be able to find this pattern embedded in his teachings, but as we have just explored modern psychology cannot lock this man whom we base our modern calendars on out of the room. He is actually a key player in discovering the truth about our own personal elephant. Jesus of Nazareth is much like panelist number seven from chapter one who could not only discern aspects of the elephant but could actually clearly see the big picture. We might not want to believe this though because this revelation may upset our own personal inner elephant. If you are threatened by the claims I am making in this book, please understand that we have so much potential. True growth in our life is only possible if we allow ourselves to explore every possible facet of this enormous creature that supports all our personal beliefs.

Imagine just for a moment that the Bible is not just a collection of myths with moral lessons. What if it actually holds the key to understanding our own inner workings? What if it is actually like a user manual for our life? Now don't misunderstand. I'm not talking about religion. Religion often blinds us to the reality of what we are actually riding. It often separates us from our limbic system by placing man-made devices between us and our elephant. These decorative structures often create a beautiful view of the rider but make us lose touch with our seat of motivation. This may lead us to believing that Jesus of Nazareth taught nothing more than pomp and grandiose behaviors. This is what many today believe because they see how far humanity has fallen under the guidance of these blind religious instructors.

This in turn has fed concepts and beliefs that have further divided us from our figurative heart. Doubts and cynicism have plagued humanity throughout history. However, in recent centuries the drive toward pure logic and absolute reason have led many to treat their seat of motivation as nothing more than a beast below. This in turn led to a global conquest to purge humanity of emotion if at all possible. This however would only be a thin veneer because this lovable creature that guides our every step cannot be treated so inhumanely without severe consequences.

In the next chapter we will explore how raising the rider of higher learning has brought us into our modern world with bitter results. To imagine that our inner elephant is something that can be tamed and subdued will only create conflict in our psyche. Our mind is not a zoo. You cannot suppress one part of it simply because it is inconvenient. You should never ignore your seat of motivation or try to starve it. That will only get it angry, and the last thing anyone wants is an angry elephant on their hands.