What is Trichotomy? Me, Us, and Them / Part 8

It has been my goal in the last few weeks to harmonize the threefold nature of man through a Christian and a humanistic perspective. I stated that understanding our makeup is an essential first step to effective and meaningful living. Furthermore, Garry Jacobs and Harlan Cleveland, co-authors of the Social Development Theory (http://www.icpd.org/development_theory/SocialDevTheory.htm) proposes that society develops in response to the contact and interaction we have with material, social and intellectual environment. The results from these contacts leads to learning on three different levels of our existence. At the physical level, it deals with our control over material processes. At the mental level (intelligence level), it enhances our knowledge; and at the social level (spiritual level), it promotes interaction between people.
I mentioned the work of Dr. Jung the founder of analytical psychology and known for his theories of the Collective Unconscious. He had divided the psyche into three segments. Jung postulated that collective unconsciousness had an unseen connection between one soul to another and additionally, it had a link to a higher order of intelligence.
Through a Christian’s perspective, I quoted scripture from the Apostle Paul in 1 Thes. 5:23;  ‘May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
It should be clear by now that we view and experience the world through three filters. We were created that way.

"Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground,[Physical - my emphasis] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life[spiritual - my emphasis]; and man became a living soul." [Mental - my emphasis]-Genesis 2:7


The authors of the bible avails themselves of the use of metaphors through out the scriptures. A metaphor is often the force that drives a message effectiveness and understanding. The user attempts to bridge two ideas that appears to be unrelated. Subsequently metaphors provide a way in understanding an abstract concept. Trichotomy is no exception.

Apostle Paul refers to man as being the temple of God (and Holy Spirit) in 1 Cor 3:16 and 1 Cor 6:19. Furthermore, in Hebrews 8:5, the Temple High Priest is said to ‘served the copy and shadow of the heavenly things.’ This verse along with others in Hebrew and Colossian suggests that the old was a temporary pattern for the new. It was a metaphor! A metaphor for understanding the mechanism of spiritual living. A sneak peek into peace and harmony.
Simply put, the physical deals with the “ME”; the Mental deals with the “WE”; and the Spiritual solely expresses its concerns for others - “THEY”.  Over-simplified indeed, but a good starting point. All three parts are beneficial in your everyday business of life. However the trio can breed disorder when proper balance is ignored.

TRICHOTOMIC TABLE
Physical	Mental	Spiritual
Instinctive	Intelligence	Intuitive
Physical Senses	Common Sense	Spiritual Senses
5 Senses	Reasoning	Conscience
Personalize	Inter socialize	Socialize
Disassociates	Interrelates	Associates
Self-Serving	Collaborates	Self-Sacrificing
Self-Reliant	Inter-reliant	Co-reliant
Independent	Co-Independent	Dependant
Pain/Pleasure	Experience/Emotions	Moral Belief
Fear	Fact	Faith
Singularity	Singular/plural	Plurality
Self Preservation	Mutual Preservation	Self-Sacrificing
Survival	Evaluates	Edifies
© 2009-2011 Copyright Unlimited Harmony - Tricotomas

We will continue with the dynamic of these traits on the next blog.

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