Abruptly, Peter's loud voice shattered the tranquil mood as he announced, "That old gardener sometimes worries me with his mysterious, cryptic statements. I can't help but feel he is either the biggest shooter of the bull I've ever met or one of the smartest men I've ever met. I honestly can't make up my mind which one I think it is."
Smiling, Janet suggested that when Peter got home he should start looking at reducing his ego or the hat he'd just bought might not fit for very long.
Just as she said those words we noticed an elderly couple approaching us. "It's Andy—and that must be his wife!" Janet said with great delight.
Peter groaned and said that he felt in his bones that he was doomed to keep running into and being confused by the old gardener wherever he went.
Janet knew Peter well and was aware that he was not too sure about Andy's philosophical views, so she feared her friend's outlook was creating a little one-sided rivalry.
"Now you behave yourself," she whispered to Peter. "Leave Andy alone, and don't even think of trying any of your professional tactics on that nice old man."
When he saw us, Andy flashed an infectious smile and asked us if we were having a good holiday.
"Absolutely marvelous," Janet replied. "This is the best conference I've ever attended and Bourton-on-the-Water is stunningly beautiful. It's so English."
Andy smiled at Janet's words and introduced his wife, Emily, to us. She was a slim lady who stood about 5'3" tall. Her head of beautiful gray hair, short, thick and glossy, crowned a girlish face with a tranquil appearance.
"Where is Tom today?" Andy asked.
I explained that Tom was touring Warwick Castle and that originally the four of us had planned to visit the castle later this evening. However, Tom had felt honored to be asked to accompany a couple of English doctors who knew a considerable amount about the castle's history, so of course he had accepted.
We invited Andy and Emily to join us for tea. After they sat down, we discussed the history and age of Bourton-on-the-Water.
As Janet had suspected, Peter couldn't resist starting a dialogue with Andy, bringing up the pros and cons of the workings of the ego.
Janet gave Peter a glance that clearly showed her annoyance at his trying to trap the poor gardener with such questions, especially in front of the older man's wife.
After Andy patiently and graciously listened to Peter's interpretation of what we therapists call ego, Peter sat looking smug, believing he had outfoxed the gardener with all the psychological ramifications of the terms ego and id.
However, Peter's smugness didn't last long. The boom fell when Andy answered, "The way I see it, Peter, ego is only a self-created, insatiable delusion invented by the personal mind."
Before any of us could answer, Andy continued, "Feeding one's ego is equivalent to someone's constantly eating chocolate to slim down. Both are unproductive patterns that cause self-inflicted wounds."
"I thought you said you knew nothing about ego, and now you are telling us that it's a nonexistent entity! Isn't that rather presumptuous of you?" Peter demanded.
In a very soft tone, Andy replied, "I didn't say I knew nothing about ego. I said I didn't know how you, as therapists, define ego."
His metaphor of the chocolate seemed to hit a nerve with Peter, who immediately made it very clear that his ego was important to him. "If Tom were here," he added, "he would most definitely argue the point of whether or not the ego was important. For example, a person with low self-esteem and very little ego would definitely need a therapists help."
"Oh, I see," said Andy. "Tell me, young man, is there any limit to how much you can pump up this ego of yours?"
"Well," said Peter cautiously, "you don't want too much ego or you are very apt to become egotistical."
As quick as a flash, Andy cocked his head to one side and trying, to hide the smile on his face, asked Peter, "You mean to tell me you can overdose on ego?"
"Well, nobody likes someone who is too egotistical," Peter admitted sheepishly.
Openly smiling now, Andy said, "If anyone was asking my personal advice, I would say that instead of concentrating one's efforts on ego, one should seek the Truth that lies within. Ego and ego concepts change like the tide, whereas Truth never changes. Have you ever heard the expression, The truth shall set you free?'"
"Yes, I have," replied Peter. "But tell me, Andy, what is your personal definition of Truth?"
Andy took out an old pocket watch from his vest pocket and looked at it for a few seconds, then gazed at Peter. "How can anybody explain Truth? Truth has no form; the second you try to put a form on it, it is no longer Truth. The paradoxical thing is, it is from this very Universal Truth that all things take shape."
"Can you explain exactly what you mean by Universal Truth?" I asked.
Andy looked at Emily as if to say, here we go again. Then he smiled and replied, "Since time began the wise have tried to explain their conception of Truth intellectually, knowing their words were no different from an artist's painting of a beautiful sunset. No matter how excellent the painting or how realistic the picture may appear, it is not the sunset. Similar to the artist's painting, the words of the wise have created only a psychological illusion."
"What do you mean by a psychological illusion?" Janet inquired.
"A psychological illusion is our personal interpretation of such knowledge," Andy replied. "The knowledge you seek can only be explained as a metaphor, for the simple reason that what you seek, owing to its spiritual nature, has no form."
"I understand that using metaphors makes complex concepts and deep knowledge more accessible," said Janet. "But I still fail to see what the spiritual has to do with the psychological."
The gardener answered her with the following words: "May I suggest to you, Luv, that if you want to find the source of your psychological nature, you must go beyond the physical to your spiritual nature."
"How do you suggest we do that?" Janet inquired.
"If you can find the true nature of Mind, it is here you will find the answers to many of your inquiries into the secret of human behavior."
Janet sat very quietly, as if she was in deep contemplation, trying to figure out Andy's unconventional ideas.
Peter asked Andy if he thought the mind and the brain were the same, or whether he saw them as altogether different.
Andy smiled, saying that Peter had more questions than there were stars in the sky. Then he continued, "The way I see it Peter, the mind and the brain are two entirely different entities. The brain is biological, whereas Mind is spiritual."
"I've never heard anyone explain mind and brain that way before," Peter admitted. "Would you care to elaborate on your theory?"
Pointing to his head, Andy explained that the brain by itself lacked the power to think; just as a refrigerator must have electricity to function, so the brain must have Mind as a power source to make it work.
Peter was surprised by this answer, but his intellectual curiosity was undiminished. It was obvious that he was enjoying his discussion with Andy and wanted to continue his debate. So, returning to his starting point, Peter said he wanted to talk more about ego. He asserted that Andy didn't understand the fact that his ego was important to him and that he'd lose his identity without it.
"You already lost your identity," Andy replied, "when you split yourself in half with an ego and an id. Believe me, young man, there is only one true you. In reality, ego is a delusion. Your true identity is beyond what you are calling ego or personality."