A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

 

Id
Idealization
Idealizing Transference
Ideals
Identification
Identity

Identity Attachment
Image
Impeccability
Impersonal Witness
Impressionability
Individual
Individuality
Individuation Narcissism
Inertia
Infant Soul
Inner development
Inner Journey
Inner Mother
Inner Realization
Inner Space
Innocence
Inquiry
Insecurity
Insight
Instinct
Instinctual Drives
Integration
Intelligence
Interference
Introjection
Intuition
Ipseity
Issues

Impressionability

Our impressionability is both our boon and our misfortune. We are beings who can soar to unimaginable heights of freedom, creativity, and development, but can also plummet to the depths of suffering and degradation. We can be higher and finer than the highest angels, but can also be lower and more brutish than any animal or devil. Human history has amply demonstrated this. And it is clear that recognizing, understanding, and taking into consideration the basic properties that give us these possibilities can help us work with our human potential, which is both a promise and a dilemma. (Inner Journey Home, pg 97)

 

 

The soul is not only malleable, giving her an infinite range and freedom of experience, but also impressionable, making her vulnerable to conditioning. Her experience can condition her; can create indelible grooves in her field that may last a lifetime. This property of impressionability is clearly a mixed blessing. It gives us the possibility of infinite freedom and flexibility, of the openness necessary to unfold and actualize the infinite potential of our spirit. Also, the capacity to retain impressions gives us the potential for learning. The human potential for learning is unparalleled by any other life form. This potential is the basis for all learning. Actualizing this potential in the form of our great capacity for learning requires the capacity to retain impressions, and this capacity also allows our learning to become growth and development, whose source is both unfoldment of the great inner potential of the soul and interaction with the world. (Inner Journey Home, pg 97)