138 Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path
walk over softened ground, our footsteps dig into the
earth. We are not tempted to say that the footprints are
driven upward from below by forces in the ground. We
will not attribute tothose forces any share in the origin of
the footprints. Similarly, if we observe the essence of
thinking without prejudice, we will not attribute any part
of this essence to traces in the bodily organism that arise
because thinking prepares its appearance by means of the
body.^1
Here a significant question emerges. If the human orga-
nization plays no part in the essence of thinking, what sig-
nificance does this organization play in the totality of the
human being? The answer is that what happens in human
organization as a result of thinking has nothing to do with
the essence of thinking, but it does have something to do
with the origin of I-consciousness out of thinking. The real
“I” certainly lies in thinking’s own essence, but I-con-
sciousness does not. Anyone who observes thinking with-
out prejudice sees this is the case. The “I” is to be found in
thinking; but “I-consciousness” appears because the traces
of thinking activity are engraved in general consciousness,
as characterized above. (I-consciousness therefore arises
through the bodily organization. But let us not confuse this
with the claim that I-consciousness, once arisen, remains
dependent on the bodily organization. Once arisen, it is
- In writings subsequent to this one, the writer has shown how the
above view has been confirmed in psychology, physiology, etc. Here,
only what comes from the unprejudiced observation of thinking itself
was to be addressed. (Author’s note)
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