The Simpsons & The Soul

When I was coming back from a weekend trip in Maine, I discovered my car starting to slow down mysteriously even though I had a full tank of gas. The battery went dead and the car died. I was surprised because I always thought that once a car was running, the battery would keep recharging.

The mechanic told me that the problem was with the alternator, the electric generator that keeps circulating the electrical energy that charges the battery. It was then that I realized that the most essential part of the car is something that is basically invisible to us, namely, the continuously circulating energy from the alternator. This energy charges the battery so it can ignite the engine and keep it alive. Without this continuously flowing energy, the car dies and cannot be driven.

Later, after I returned home, I happened to watch The Simpsons, a television comedy with cartoon characters that pokes fun at American family life. In this episode, Bart Simpson, the school age son, who is always getting into trouble, sells his soul for five dollars to his friend Millhouse. Bart finds himself unable to enjoy life. Things that made him laugh, no longer have any impact on him. He loses his energy and power. For example, when Bart goes to the local convenience store, the automatic doors don’t register his presence and so, don’t open for him. Finally, some other boys come by and let Bart in. Once inside, he can’t even make the glass door to the freezer by the check-out counter steam up by blowing on it as the other boys had done. The other boys laugh at him, calling him, “no breath.”

These two events fit the criteria of synchronicity, which, as was mentioned in the last chapter, refers to meaningful coincidences. It is a scientific way of describing the lessons that we can learn from life or that life may teach us. From a traditional religious perspective, it is a sign from God. In the psychology of dreams, a car often symbolizes our body, that is, it is the vehicle which carries our consciousness, our spirit and soul through life.
The meaningful coincidence led me to the following observation:

A car is a lifeless mass of matter without the continuous current of electrical energy generated by the alternator. This continuous flow of energy is what charges the battery, which, in turn, provides the spark that ignites the engine and keeps it alive. And, like a car, our body is a lifeless mass of matter without the continuous current of the enduring energy of love generated by the core of our being–our heart, spirit and soul. This continuous flow of the enduring energy of love is what charges the battery of our physical heart, which, in turn, provides the spark that ignites the engine of our body and keeps it alive. [Excerpted from 8 Steps to Love. See www.drsrj.com.]

• Today, as you notice cars, think of how all that is visible (metal frame, nuts and bolts, glossy paint, rubber tires, cushy seats, and fancy dashboard) is worthless without the invisible spark and current provided by the battery. Consider how the invisible essence in you cannot be found by a surgeon cutting into your brain or heart. And, remember that it is this invisible essence or "ghost in the machine" (as it is called in philosophical circles) that determines whether what we see and touch is real or whether it is an hallucination. Ask yourself, "What does this say about my true identity? About who I really am?"