Introduction Tertiary Expression

Initially in this work the Mental Bodies were not believed to be critical in realizing our Creative Uniqueness and Compatibility in choosing better partners because our Mental Body Expression is internalized and usually hidden except in times of stress. Over time, it became clear that the relationship between the Mental Body, the Secondary and Primary was critical because the Mental Body can either facilitate the synthesis of the three, or become an obstacle that keeps the Creative Expressions separate. What we need to understand about the Mental Body Expression is that it is the first one we develop as an integral part of our personality. In describing children, we also talk about the Bioelectric Body and Sentient Body that are then integrated into the Mental Body when we become adults. The Mental Body describes how we create safety in our family of origin. It usually coincides with Creative Energies demonstrated by our parents so we do not collapse or become enmeshed in their idea of themselves. Many times the Mental Body also has Imprinting that is the same as our Mental Body Expression. This provides us with layers where we try to differentiate ourselves from our parents by not losing ourselves in their preconceptions.

Mental Body Expression can be described in terms of characteristics, beliefs and behavior that protect us from others who do not understand or accept us. It is important that we do not confuse these perspectives with our Secondary Creative Expression. The Secondary Creative Expression is about success and our creative path to differentiate ourselves from others by being powerful in our self-expression. The Secondary is primarily where we become conscious of ourselves, while the Mental Body still contains a lot of unconscious elements that have not been synthesized. It is primarily sub-conscious and instinctive and because of this, usually generates reactions when something does not go as expected. Some suggest that the Mental Body is our identity in terms of “me” while the Secondary is our identity in terms of “I”. As we grow up, our “me” becomes integrated in an “I” which is then transformed into a “we” when we become transpersonal.

We initially become defensive about our Mental Body when our parents do not reflect it back to us. The more we do not fit their idea of how we should think and respond, the more concerned they become about our safety and security. We interpret this as their not trusting us and resolve the dilemma in one of three ways. 1) we over-do our Mental Body in a particular way that pushes others to confront us, 2) we under-do and limit the expression of our Mental Body only to situations where others are receptive, and 3) we angrily withdraw and sporadically explode when we feel discounted and denied in the same way our parents treated us. This means we can identify our Mental Body, not just by how we express ourselves, but by the unique ways we deny our power.

We use our Mental Body to protect ourselves in our family. Some would say that our Mental Body provides an optimum way to distinguish ourselves from other family members. The key issue is to have a separate way of thinking about what is going on in the family versus adopting the thoughts of others that results in an enmeshed way of thinking. What we need to remember is that our Mental Body is how we create a sense of safety in ourselves. As children, we use our Mental Body to self reflect on what is going on in the family system. Each of the seven Mental Body Creative Expressions provides a way to protect and differentiate ourselves from others. As children we learn to hold ourselves back and keep others from overwhelming us by engaging in this manner of thinking. Orchestrator and Implementer Mental Body children protect themselves by taking action independent of others. Compassionate, Investigator and Visionary Mental Body children protect themselves by thinking in a more Content focused manner as to why people do what they do. Finally, Inventor and Storyteller Mental Body children focus themselves on their Intuitive sense of what it must mean to see certain activities in the family dynamic.

As it turns out, our Parenting Style is based on our Mental Body Expression. As adults, we shift to an outward projection of what our children need to be safe, based on what would have worked for us when we were children. Hence, the birth of Imprinting unless our children happen to be the same Creative Expressions as we are (which is rarely the situation).

Validating Our Mental Body Creative Expression

We can validate our Mental Body Creative Expression by looking at our childhood, our family members and realizing what we needed to do in order to feel safe. If we understand who are parents are in terms of their Creative Expressions, we can begin to re-write our childhood from the perspective of “everyone was doing their best”. For instance, if our parents had Investigator/Visionary/Inventor/Compassion expressions, we might choose an Inventor Mental Body so we could easily “go with the flow” in that situation. Or, we could choose a Visionary Mental Body so we could be strong and independent. If we are parents ourselves, we can validate our Mental Body Expression by how we initially parented our children. As parents, we tend to parent our children the way that would have worked for us - hence we revert to our Mental Body Expression. We continue to have the support of our Mental Body Expression throughout our lives. As adults, it could become our favorite way to relax and regenerate, especially if we are feeling overwhelmed and stressed (hence the need to feel “safe”). An Investigator Mental Body might like to read books to relax where an Inventor Mental Body might like to listen to music.

When working with children who have not actualized their Secondary or Primary expressions, we take into account an expanded set of creative factors that reflect Sentient Body and The Bio-Electric Bodies. The Sentient Body, which is the combination of our Emotions and Feelings, has seven options as well. The Bio-Electric Body, which is the combination of our Sensations and Feelings, has seven descriptions that reflect how these children ground their experience physically. With effective integration into the Mental Body, most adults do not need to determine these factors. We teach recognition of these factors in the children’s Inner Seeing course.

Our Mental Body Expression ultimately supports our Secondary to be successful which supports our Primary to be who we are meant to be. How do your Expressions support you?

How do you seek to be Safe:

a) Are you protective of others, outgoing, distinct and hard to influence? Do you have a robust Action component and a sense of motivation and direction?  (Orchestrator)
b) Do you pay attention to results, and not the means for getting there? Do you seek clarity of different points of view, before you engage others? (Implementer)
c) Are you easily caught up in the needs of others, and like to be the “peacemaker”? (Compassionate)
d) Do you become rebellious when disciplined or feel trapped by others’ assumptions? (Inventor)
e) Do you pay close attention to the ability of others so you can work out optimum ways to integrate people? (Investigator)
f) Do you often project your views onto others because it is the truth? Are you perfectionistic or fixated on the Truth when you feel repressed? (Visionary)
g) Do you like to work together with others to discover the best solutions? (Storyteller)

Appreciating Our Mental Body Creative Expression

Most individuals do not find it difficult to appreciate the contribution of the Secondary energy. Typically, we begin expressing our Secondary Creative Expression as early as our teenage years which is when we start our quest for independence. As a result of our childhood we have formed ideas as to what type of lifestyle we want for ourselves, according to our needs for Survival and Success. Our Secondary Expression is the means for achieving our goals, until such time as we are ready to express our Primary Creative Expression. As previously mentioned, due to our conditioning and defensiveness, most of us do not experience our Primary Creative Expression until we are at least 35 years old. The transition from “doing” our Secondary Expression to “being” our Primary Expression, can be painful. Our Secondary does not want to let go of control. We have doubts that we can even support ourselves by doing something different, or something we love. As we continue to move forward, we need to let go of our limiting stories and beliefs.

At some point, we can begin to appreciate the beauty of our design. We realize that our Secondary is perfectly suited to support how we truly want to be in the world as our Primary Creative Expression. All of our experiences in life, work, and relationships integrate so we are able to consciously direct our path with the support of the choices we have made in our past.