Who's Driving You?

First, lets think of family vacations you took as a child, all crammed in your parents car.  U want you to remember who had the power to make decisions and influence your vacation.  Who had the most influence?  Who had the least?  Now imagine your favorite spacious 5-seater.  It may be the 1979 Chrysler New-Yorker your friend once had, or that '69 Charger parked out behind the house.  Maybe it's your friend's Town & Country Station Wagon or a late model Continental, no matter, just pick one and picture it in your mind very clearly.  Now imagine that there are 5 people in the car, and that all 5 of them are you.  These are the 5 aspects of yourself that influence decisions that you make: Social, Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, and Spiritual.

Each of these 5 aspects occupies a position in your car.  Let's talk about the 5 positions in the car and the power to choose that each one has.  

• Driver.  This is the ultimate decision maker.  This person is in control of where you go or don't go.  From this position all turns, stops, reversals, and chinese fire drills are controlled.  
• Navigator.  This position exerts the most influence over the Driver, and Driver is probably inclined to take Navigator's opinion over any other.  This person can see everything the driver can see.  This person can read the map, street signs, check for clear lanes, etc.  They also have influence over those in the back.  
• Left Rear (behind Driver).  This position holds little influence, but does have a direct angle to Navigator, and the power to kick Driver's seat.   This position can also give  Driver key information about Driver's blind spot.
• Right Rear (behind Navigator).  Again, a position of limited influence, but with angles to the Driver, and within reach of Navigator.  This position can also give Driver key information about Navigator's blind spot. Both outer rear positions also have a good view of what you are passing, but limited amounts of information on what is upcoming.
• Center Rear.  The most cramped and uncomfortable position.  This one can see much of what Driver and Navigator see, and is within easy reach of both Driver and Navigator. 
  

Obviously, Driver has the most power and Navigator the next most.  I think Center rear has some power, but because it has the least exclusive information it has the least power.  The other 2 positions each have about the same.

The 5 aspects each have a different perspective based on what they can feel.  

• Physical feels hungry, tired, awake, pain, etc.
• Social feels peer pressure, rejection, envy, the need to impress, and nervous.
• Emotional feels sadness, worry, happy, joy, laughter, excitement, etc.
• Intellectual feels the influence of information (be it fact or fiction).  Intellectual is the part of you that reasons and is really void of "feeling."
• Spiritual feels the influence of the Holy Ghost.  All things that are learned through the Spirit are under Spiritual's jurisdiction. 

Emotional and Social are closely related and tend to sit near each other and hold similar positions of influence. Spiritual can have understanding and feelings that each of the others can, but it also has the ability to feel the Spirit.

I think that there are times when each aspect should be at the helm, or finds itself at the helm.  This isn't neccisarily bad, but just the way it is sometimes.   I do think that most of the time we can control where our aspects sit in the car and how they influence the choices we make.

Who is driving your car?  Where is everyone else sitting?  Do you want to change the seating arraingement?