We seldom think about how we are made.  Nor do we worry about it, right? Too many things demand our attention. We probably know as much or more about the construction of our car or our cell phone.  And for most of us, that probably isn’t much. You may ask,  “What good will it do to understand more of how we are made? The concerns of life overwhelm me as it is.  Are they not more important for me to think about?” Yes.  And No!

What Do We Need to Know About How We Are Made?

Our body, they tell us, is just an automatic machine, doing its admittedly astounding functions without the need of our direction. And our spirit? Well, who knows much about that?  “Do we even have one?” some wonder.  One might say we live bravely in our ignorance, with unknown risks for our bodies and spirits. Most of what we know about ourselves is about our body. We can simply look in the mirror and form an opinion about its visible needs.  That’s easy and sufficient for most of us. However, “easy” can leave out some essential foundations for the guidance of our thinking.

Let’s Break It Down

So, how much do we need to know about our design and function?

PHYSICALLY

Well, for starters, we can’t live without our heart functioning. But most of us would be at a loss to describe the details of how it functions or, for that matter, what makes it do what it does. We think little about what it needs for us to do to maximize its functions until it flags us with that scary chest pain. It’s actually more amazing and complex than the engine in our car.  So we can’t do “too much”, thinking about it. One’s heart runs in its lifespan reliably without maintenance or oil changes for much longer and circulates more tonnage of blood than our car does of oil. To maintain good heart health we do need to know and practice healthy living.  Furthermore, the threat of that pain should cause us to be more attentive the older we get. Sometimes that pain leaves us no time to react constructively.

I recall the poem:

Life, at best, is very brief,
Like the falling of a leaf,
Like the binding of a sheaf.
Be in time.

SPIRITUALLY

And we could say the same for our non material element (our spirit or soul):  Be in time.

Here’s something you may have thought less about or maybe nothing at all: How are you made in everything about you that the surgeon can’t find?

I’m talking about what we can’t see and what drives us as a person: our human spirit. It shapes us at the core of who we are becoming. It’s what makes us different from each other as unique persons. Not physically, I mean, but what comprises our spirit, soul, psyche — whatever you like to call it. What is it that makes us self-conscious beings? What is the immaterial part of us made of?  How is it designed?

We are going to discuss that using what we know about ourselves.

The Immaterial Part of Us

The immaterial element in each of us has challenged every philosopher who has ever lived.  And they have had little to say about it over the thousands of years of recorded literature. Why?

Because it is immaterial, unseen, ethereal, and mysterious. Actually, the Bible (you know, the book that has sold more copies than any other in history) says the most about it. Am I getting religious? Yes. And no.

By no, I mean I’m just getting scientific in an area that science says nothing about. Science deals with matter, physical stuff, like our body — not all our functioning as a person. Perhaps an excursion into the Bible will be the best starting point for a thoughtful experience.

A scientist (Michael Guillen, PhD) thought so.  And he wrote about his excursion into the Bible and science in Believing Is Seeing. This is a book that might also surprise you as it is written from the viewpoint of science and his personal self-discovery.

Don’t expect to understand everything in either of these books on first encounter. And don’t make the ignorant mistake of critiquing a book you have never read. That’s the act of an empty head. You are a homo sapien — “a wise one.”

Next week we will introduce you to another important source of knowing yourself in your uniqueness.