Andy scratched his head and said, "My friends, what you have to understand is that the principles apply, regardless of the variables. After all, the variables are merely the principles in action."
Janet responded brightly, "Just like Mrs. Horner's principles in algebra!"
"That's correct, Luv, just like Mrs. Horner's principles in algebra."
With a surprised look on his face that was becoming something of a permanent fixture, Peter said he'd need a little time to think about Andy's last statement.
Janet asked Andy if she was understanding him correctly. "You maintain that all mental processes are linked somehow to the three spiritual gifts you talk about?"
"That is correct, Janet," Andy said with a warm smile. "And no matter what your creed or color may be, no matter what your station in life is, whether you be king or beggar, your personal perception of life is created through these three spiritual gifts: Mind, Consciousness and Thought."
"What makes you so sure that these principles exist?" Peter asked. "And if they do, how would psychology benefit from adopting such a theory?"
Andy smiled at his question. "I'm afraid you don't understand, young man. You don't adopt these powers. They simply exist, and they adopted both you and your psychology the second you were born."
Looking more and more puzzled, Peter said, "I just don't understand such a statement!"
Tom had been sitting very quietly for some time, listening to the conversations between Peter and Andy with great intensity. Then he asked why Andy thought there were only three principles.
"Don't you think there might be more?"
"No, that's impossible," Andy said firmly. "They are the complete trinity of all human behavior and feelings. They are the spiritual powers that allow us to function as human beings in this physical reality".
After a lengthy silence, and now bubbling with enthusiasm, Janet asked Andy, "How do our five senses fit into the picture of the three principles?"
Andy asked for a few minutes to think about the question. At last he answered her. "The way I see it, Janet, is this: Our five senses—smelling, tasting, touching, hearing and seeing—are the tools nature gave us to assist in experiencing life. However, as important as they are, they are of no value unless they are activated by the spiritual trio—Mind, Consciousness and Thought."
Andy's words took me by surprise, just as they had taken Janet, and I most definitely needed some time to think about his answer. I had a profusion of unanswered questions buzzing around in my head, and I was quite sure the others did as well. I asked Andy why he put so much emphasis on the three principles.
"Because," he asserted, "Mind, Consciousness and Thought are the psychological trinity of all human experience on earth. They are the hidden pearls that lead us to our true identity."
Janet's eyes twinkled. She asked Andy to take a minute to explain a little more regarding the importance of learning about Mind, Consciousness and Thought."
Andy bowed his head as if in deep thought. "I'm afraid, Luv, there aren't enough minutes in a lifetime to explain that question. But I can tell you this: The investigation into the workings of the three principles is endless. What I know about how they work is very little, but I can assure you that one can never come to the end of learning their importance."
Tom asserted that Andy's statements were open for debate, and declared that he felt certain many in this world would disagree with the old gardener completely.
"I have no doubt there are many who would reject my ideas, Tom," Andy replied. "That is their prerogative. The very fact that they question what is being said proves my point. Whether they be pro or con, the very fact that they had to think in order to debate is my checkmate. When you think about it, Tom, we must have Thought to even think about discussing the matter. And if this is so, it is only logical that one would have to be conscious of the existence of one's own thoughts. This tells me that the two are inseparable; you can't have a thought without being conscious of the fact. The two are one. Again, it is only logical that in order to have a thought and be conscious of the thought, one must also have a mind. Once again, you cannot have one without the other; all three are inseparable. The trinity has been born Mind, Consciousness and Thought. All three are one."
A long silence followed Andy's interpretation of the three Universal Constants. Finally Janet said, "Andy, I'm sitting here listening to you, and I'm experiencing incredible thoughts and feelings, but I still don't truly comprehend what you are getting at."
The old gardener smiled at Janet. "I can assure you, Luv, that there are some things in this world that are unexplainable, and this is one of those things. When the puzzle of the three Universal Constants starts to make sense to you, you will know. Believe me, Luv, you will know. Those feelings you are talking about are the parcel wisdom comes wrapped up in."
Then Andy turned to Peter with an impish grin. "It won't come from here," he said, pointing to his head. "It will come from here." The gardener was now pointing to his heart.
"Wow! That is quite the statement, and it's definitely an unusual premise," Peter exclaimed.
After a long, thoughtful silence, I asked Andy, "Why did you state the other day that searching for psychological knowledge without blending it with spiritual knowledge would result in a cosmic lie, or at best a half-truth?"
I could see Andy searching for a way to put his explanation so that it would make sense to me. Then he said, "What you have to try to understand, Eric, is that your spiritual nature and your psychological nature are intertwined. The more they are harmonized, the better off you will be and the more you will understand life. I can assure you that separating the psychological from the spiritual is one-sided and provides only half the answer."
Janet asked Andy if he could explain in a little more detail his concept of the spiritual reality and the psychological reality being intertwined.
The old gardener dropped his head in thought again, then answered. "Remember, Luv, I'm speaking metaphorically. Imagine this big world being a pulsating ball of energy. Then slice it horizontally, perfectly in half. The bottom half you could call the physical side of life. The upper part of the ball you could call the spiritual world, and it is in the spiritual half where all the wisdom you seek is stored.
"The spiritual part of the ball is all-important. Without it, we would cease to have the power to think, or to learn the true nature both of ourselves and the world we live in. Keep in mind that the energy can move back and forth—the dividing line is one you have drawn arbitrarily, and it is like a permeable membrane, not a solid wall."
Emily smiled throughout the entire conversation, periodically glancing at her husband in the most loving way, as if she understood precisely what Andy was trying to convey.
Janet admitted that she still didn't get the connection between what Andy called spiritual knowledge and psychological knowledge.
"Me, too," said Peter. "I'm afraid you've lost me somewhere."
"I think you are trying too hard to figure it all out," Andy declared. "I told you the other day, such knowledge can't be grasped intellectually. It is something that has to be realized and uncovered from within your own consciousness. What you have to realize is that there's quite a difference between hearing Truth intellectually and getting it from a realization."