A trustworthy guidance system must include some self-monitoring as part of its reality and source monitoring. This is necessary not only for consciousness but also for creativity, in order to prevent getting into endless loops or mindless ruts (Hofstadter 1995, 311; Sloman and Chrisley in Holland 2003, 157). ‘Jumping out of the loop’ is an aspect of resurrection, arising, revelation, recreation out of dead routine.
On top of that, the experience of conscious will, and the ‘autobiographical’ memory which extends self-consciousness in time as a sense of identity (Wegner 2002), form the basis of self-control, of morality and the sense of responsibility as well.
But this leads to a new problem: how to get self-consciousness to quit obstructing the spontaneous creative flow. It’s always nagging, interfering, trying to take over – like all those tyrants in myth, legend, fantasy and history who want to Rule the World. The Buddhist way is to realize that the self is just another product of conditions, it’s nothing substantial, it’s “empty.”
Like the concept of zero in mathematics, the idea of a self is useful, so long as you don’t mistake it for a thing.
— M.C. Bateson (1994, 66)
The theistic way is to idealize the benevolence and mastery of the conscious self (see Wegner 2002, Chapter 4, on the ‘ideal agent’), project it onto a transcendent Other, and surrender oneself to its Lordship. Pragmatically, both ways often depend on some exercise of authority, which can become problematic if attention is distracted to the authority figures.
If we are aware of the way the Buddha uses words, we will not be caught by any of his words. The teacher is important, the director of the practice center is important, but if the idea of being important becomes an obstacle for the teaching and the practice, then the meaning will be lost.
— Thich Nhat Hanh (1992, 70)