“Our linguistic and cultural experience establishes a position ‘above’ our ordinary awareness. This position fulfills a variety of social and conceptual functions. It acts as a kind of “selective mirror’ of our consciousness, and inherits roles such as ‘Judge’, ‘Evaluator’, ‘Parent’, ‘Authority’, and so on. We are ordinarily unaware of its existence or functioning, and yet it is fundamental to our minds and processes of evaluation and ‘decision-making’. In most of us, it has undergone severe distortions in response to threats, trauma, or forces related to the unconscious/psyche’s transfomations over time. This ‘upper observer’ is the origin of the idea of ‘surveillance’, and is mimicked by our religions, governments, armies, doctors and police.

In beginning to consciously recognize its fictitious nature and its activities, we may become able to both reframe it, and reorganize its roles and purposes… or, potentially, dissolve it altogether — by re-uniting it with its origins in our psyche and consciousness. I was surprised, today, when I suddenly realized that there was ‘a second me-form’ that was present in an undistinguished state in the activities of my mind, and that, without it, most of my fears and tensions would have no origin. This isn’t to say that its all of its activities are harmful or toxic, but there are many conditions under which this is relatively true. At the same time, it appears to be involved in forming inspirations and creative ideas or projects. So it has both healthy and dangerous properties… yet without being aware of its nature or origins (which probably relate to coping with crisis or social necessities in early childhood), one may too easily succumb to its shadow-like aspects. This possibility, when active, denies us most or all of its otherwise potentially beneficial functions.”

— an anonymous informant