For the presentation of the twelfth article with the title "The Form-oriented Mind and the Crisis of Identity", I am at your service. If I want to present my general perception of this article, I must first refer to the issue of identity and its meaning. Identity means "what is", meaning that which exists, and from our perspective, represents the place of settlement and the definition that every human has of themselves relative to the situation they are in. The emphasis of this article is that if an individual stops in their form-oriented mind and wants to define and express their identity based on it, they will certainly face problems. Because in the shaped world, meaning the physical and material world, forms are constantly subject to collapse and destruction, and again new forms appear. For example, when we approach the spring season, a major change of shape happens in our surroundings. The land which was gray and frozen in the winter season, with the approach of spring takes color again; flowers appear, trees gain life, and nature finds a fresh face. This change can be considered a kind of representation of form. But the spring season does not remain either. After a while, other changes occur in this form. The flower gardens, meadows, and forests that were green and full of blossoms in spring, gradually change, colors switch, and other forms appear.

The emphasis of this article is that human too faces problems in defining "what is", both in regard to the world around them and about themselves. If human looks at different stages of their own life, they see childhood, adolescence, and youth, and realize that in each stage, small and big events occurred for them. The occurrence of these events can sometimes bring about minor changes and sometimes very major changes in the definition of "what is" and in the definition shaped of the human condition.

Text of the Article

The form-oriented mind, employing the mechanisms of pleasure-seeking and harm-avoidance—as residual patterns from affirmative and negative confirmations in the process of ontological guidance—engages with the world of forms and the presence of other minds. It exerts influence and is, in turn, influenced. At every stage, a state of familiarity and habituation develops within the form-oriented mind. Yet, new experiences continually disrupt these familiar patterns and replace them with new ones. This repeated cycle of emotional attachment and habitual perception—without the achievement of inner stability or peace—gradually leads the form-oriented mind into a crisis of identity.

At this point, shaped by past experiences—namely an exclusive dependence on external forms without reaching lasting tranquility—the individual begins to question their identity. One asks: “What am I? Why do I fail to find peace and belonging in the world of forms?” This inner agitation brings about a moment of inspiration within the shaped mind. In such a moment, the person begins to reject the supremacy of their form-based identity. The innate potential of the mind is then reoriented toward analytical inquiry, creative engagement, and the extraction of meaning. This quest for identity marks the first step on the path toward self-knowledge.

Explanation of the Article

In the previous articles, we talked about Ontological Guidance and that human experiences inspiration; all humans have experienced this topic and, in that (mechanism of) guidance, by seeing forms, they acquire meanings. An interesting point raised at the beginning of this article shows the reduction of the value of that very ontological guidance. It says that when humans distance themselves from thinking, they pay less attention to that ontological guidance; that is, they reduce attention to meanings to the matter of pleasure-seeking and harm-avoidance. That is, to justify what goes on around them and to define it, they use a tool under the title of "pleasure-seeking and harm-avoidance". Why do you do that? Because it is pleasurable. Why do you not do it? Because it has such-and-such harm for me. It is interesting that the article has used the word "memorial" (yadvareh - residual pattern/token); meaning that what existed under the title of affirmative and negative confirmation in ontological guidance and was the initial guidance, due to human neglect, is reduced to a commonplace matter called pleasure-seeking and harm-avoidance.

In this shaped world, you are interacting; you receive influence and exert influence; that is, in such a space, you experience reception and influence on your surroundings. Another point is also raised here which says that at every stage, a state of familiarity and habituation develops within the mind (meaning the form-oriented mind). This can also be one of the important points to think about, because it is linked with the question of identity. That is, for a specific period of time, you give consent to what exists around you and what you have paid attention to (what exists as form, as shaped relationships), you accept it, yield to it, and habituate to it. The important point is that here there is no analysis; thinking has no specific meaning. As I said at the beginning of the article, if you ask someone on what basis the definition of their behaviors or others, or the things they do, is, they say it is a topic that is attractive and pleasurable for us, or we do not like to do such-and-such work because it has harm for us. I say remaining in this state is a habitual state; it has justification, but it has no (rational) analysis.

For this topic to be better clarified, we also have a reference to the story of the fish who lived in a pond [1]. Some of these fish had a longer life in that pond, and there is also talk of the existence of a few little fish in that pond; it can be an exemplar of this very situation that was raised. The fish wake up in the morning, move in a part of the pond that has less water turbulence, feed, and thus spend their days. But the interesting point is that a little fish asks a question there: why must we do the same thing every day? What are we looking for? Why have we never gone to that other side to see what is going on? Is all of life just this repetitive cycle in this pond?

These very words "why", "how", and "whatness", or the same discussion of quantity versus quality, can be an important point. The answer that the elders give in that exemplary story is also interesting: they say it has always been this way, our fathers lived this way, they told us we must do this. You see that a habit exists, a familiarity exists, but there is no reason and analysis. I think that story can help the space of this article; but new experiences change that previous state of familiarity and habit. That is the very story that occurs in the life of every individual. That is, you go through a new experience; for example, until you go to school, you live at home, you present a set of definitions and identity—meaning the place of settlement, the place of acceptance—for the collection of events you must confront every day. But elsewhere, when you enter the school space and that social environment, whether small or large, you see you must present a set of new definitions.

Here too it can be interesting that many children experience difficulties in going to school. Why? Because they suffer from an identity crisis: why must I not be alongside my father and mother? Here where I have fun, here where food and water and all conditions exist; why must I separate from my father and mother who are the place of my familiarity and intimacy? And no matter how much you explain to them that you will get to know other children there, you must study, you must learn science, you must accept new conditions, many children experience a crisis—we had the word "crisis" in this article too—meaning that new identity does not seem acceptable to them; there is a fear, a terror that if I lose this identity, what is the next identity?

You see that this example can sit well in your mind because you yourself have experienced this topic. So we see that our form-oriented mind is forced to accept new forms. This state that I explained—meaning the state of familiarity, habit, and custom, and the lack of stability and long-term peace—is a repetitive state. The example was school, but even when you wanted to go from primary to middle school, from middle school to high school, and from high school to university, you see that the same state of anxiety, peacelessness, and redefinition of the point of settlement exists.

So we can say that identity is that very definition you have of the shaped conditions around you; and the discussion of pleasure-seeking and harm-avoidance is only an emphasis on justifying why you have accepted that place of settlement and habituated to it. Now your crisis is almost clarified: it goes back to where is my place of settlement, after all? If home is good, then why must I go to school? Why must school turn into university? Why must I marry? Why must I have children? Because each of these changes the place of settlement; meaning you must accept new forms in your life.

So we see in the article that the human's form-oriented mind at this stage, with attention to past experience—namely absolute dependence on form—and that it does not reach settlement, stillness, or peace, must look for an identity; it must say who am I, why do I never reach peace, stability, and long-term familiarity with the shaped world around me, where is the problem that I must constantly change these definitions, why do I not find an acceptable definition for myself so that I do not experience anxiety and worry. We call this state "agitation" (eltehab - inflammation); this mental agitation has arisen for all of us, but because we do not pay close and deep attention to it, we are only in pursuit of soothing it; meaning we do not go toward analyzing, examining, and entering the space of thinking. Especially the word "inspiration", meaning placing ourselves in conditions where some help from that unconscious part reaches us; making requests, pursuing, asking questions, and being able to approach stages where the amount of this agitation is reduced and we can obtain an acceptable peace.

In this state, human denies their form-based originality; that is, someone who went, sat, and thought, realizes that they have gone the wrong way altogether; form has no originality. Form comes into being and falls apart. When I accept this, I no longer go the wrong way to want to obtain my originality from form; rather you see that their innate capability takes them to the path of analytical experience: creating and extracting meaning and receiving revelation; meaning inspiration must occur in them.

If each of us exerts this effort from now on, meaning we accept that this shaped world and the stages occurring in us must take me to a side where I do not define my identity in forms and do not remain there, even if I want to commit such an error, this shaped world itself forces me to redefine myself. In this redefinition there is no problem; I can redefine myself, but this redefinition, if a central point and a point of settlement is not defined in it, will make me suffer from behavioral dispersion; meaning in that case I cannot traverse a specific path in life. These storms of environmental shape change will sometimes shake me so much that I will traverse paths again that cannot bring me to the point of peace.

Unless, according to what we defined, we must go toward self-knowledge, we must seek the place of settlement in concepts, in abstract topics; meaning in the end I have a definition of myself that is a fundamental definition. In the shaped world, here is only the world of exemplars; meaning by seeing these exemplars I must obtain a pretext for going to the abstract world and there I must search for concepts; the more depth I give to concepts, the more I will experience that stability and that peace.

I hope with this explanation and description that was presented, we have helped you to also be able, by paying attention to concepts and avoiding a merely shaped life, to achieve better peace and a higher quality life.

Footnotes: [1] The Little Black Fish by Samad Behrangi.