I can. Therefore, I will. Part 2

Thomas — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:41:58 +0000

The Nature of the Human Mind

“No species possesses a purpose beyond the imperatives created by genetic history…
The human mind is a device for survival and reproduction, and reason is just one of its various techniques.”
- Edward O. Wilson (1929-present)

On Earth, man occupies a unusual position that sets him apart him from all of the entities in our planet. While all of the other stuff animate or inanimate, living or non-living behave according to regular patterns to balance nature, man appears to enjoy within definite boundaries a touch of liberty. Man controls his technique of living, speaks his very own language, perceives and learns great quantity of information, manages his emotions, and deals correctly with issues he is facing. All being unique to man only. There’s, in truth, in the infinite expanse of the universe a little field in which man’s conscious conduct can change the course of events. It is this fact that causes man to tell the difference between an external world subject to irresistible and unending necessity, and his human faculty of thinking, cognizing, and acting.

In Philosophy, mind or reason is contrasted with matter, something that’s extended in space and continues thru time. Entirely aware about the fact that his very own body is subject to the same forces that establish all other stuff and beings, man attributes his capability to think, to will and to act to an invisible and unsubstantial, yet strong, factor he calls his mind. The mind, including the techniques it carries out like thinking, learning, memorizing, recollecting, and the likes, is one characteristic that distinguishes man from any other being in the world. The character of the human mind is like that of a mirror ; having different functions and features : ( a ) open and massive, ( b ) reflects in full and actual details, ( c ) unbiased towards any impression, ( d ) distinguishes obviously, and ( e ) potential for having everything already achieved.

Open and Vast

Martin H. Fischer ( 1879-1962 ), a German-born U.S. Doctor and writer, quoted “All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.”

Isn’t it ironic how little the human brain where mind processes undergo is, and yet it encloses matters in as big as the universe? That is how open and massive the mind can be. It can consist of things as insignificant as the amount of moles you have in your body, or as essential as how many doses of cough syrup you want to take in when you’re sick. It can create illusion or fact, bring pleasure or unhappiness, trigger conflict or peace, and generate love or loathing. And most significantly, it can make you, by influencing you the simple way to be the best of who you are, or break you, by covering you with all the fears, humiliation, and shame you least need in going thru every day. The exposure of the mind to practically ‘anything under the sun’ keeps it from hiding any strategies the world unfolds from us. But again, all info that we will be able to easily gather from outside isn’t necessarily being marked off by the society which is good and which is bad, which is right and which is inaccurate, or which is divine and which is noxious. the mind, as an all-encompassing system, accesses everything and yet proscribes us from nothing. Indeed, we must agree with Fischer the world is just a lab of the inquiring mind. An enormous sector of mind exists to which we are virtually absolutely unexposed. This entire world is created by the mind. Our minds made this up and put these things together. Every bolt and nut was put in by one after the other’s mind. This complete world is mind’s world – the product of mind.

Reflects in Full and Accurate Details

In her superb book, Choose the Happiness Habit, Pam Golden writes : “Take the story of two brothers who are twins. One grows up to be an alcoholic bum. The other becomes an extremely successful businessman. When the alcoholic is asked why he became a drunk, he replies, ‘My father was a drunk.’ When the successful businessman is asked why he became successful, he says, ‘My father was a drunk.’ Same background.
Same upbringing. Different choices.”

The bros selected different thoughts regarding the matching experience they have been in.

One took the proven fact that their dad was a drunk as an example for him to imitate ; therefore, making him one too. By contrast, the other brother thought the same idea as something not to be mimicked, making him doing the opposite thing till he became successful.

Those thoughts over time formed the circumstances where they’re now. Whatever perspective they’d about the situation was reflected on how they do now. To paraphrase, whatever there is in our mind can be totally and precisely reflected thru our actions. It is thanks to the process where thinking creates pictures in our mind. These photographs, in turn, will control feelings like joy or unhappiness. Such feelings will cause us to do actions on how we might deal with every one of them.

And finally, these actions shall create results.

the mind, especially thinking, implies reflection and creation of results. This is simplified thru the common cliché “You are what you think of.”

Part 3 in this series will follow in the next few days.

I can. Therefore, I will. Part 1

Thomas — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:26:23 +0000

Introduction

Before we start, let me first ask you an easy query. Don’t be disturbed. This will not bend your intelligence nor twist your brain. It is a no-brainer, really. Ok, here goes : What do Superman, Spiderman, Batman, the X-men, and the Fantastic Hulk have in common? See, it’s straightforward, right? Yes, all of them have mystical powers special capabilities that make them ultimate, invincible and indestructible, and which cause them to be recognized as superheroes. They use these special powers to do good things to folk and defeat malevolent entities.

However sadly, they’re not real. They’re only works of man’s creative imagination. They do not exist in actuality. That’s the reason why, unlike in comic books and flicks, when our town is in difficulty, there isn’t any superhero to call to save the day. It actually looks to be too good to be true, isn’t it? Now, let us attempt to add another one in the list ; this time, a genuine person, say you, me, your teacher, my next-door neighbor, or just anyone that exists in this world. The list would now be like this : Superman, Spiderman, Batman, the X-men, the Amazing Hulk, and you. Again, same question : What might be the common factor among those in the list? Remember, it includes you now.

So before responding, you could ask another query first. Is there really something we all possess? Indeed, there is. Even changing the last entry to me, your teacher, my next-door neighbor, or whoever real person you’ll think of, still there’ll always be something common between a superhero and a genuine person like you and me, and that’s power. Ever envied a superhero for having mystical powers? I believe we all have. Try to imagine how cool and interesting it might be to become invisible even for simply a minute or 2, to fly across mountains and seas, to climb tall buildings and walls, to make fire or ice dependent on what the situation desires, or to simply have that special physical strength to be in a position to do things that standard folk can not do. But are these types of power only critical to make us superior over others? As real folk in actuality, we will be able to never possess any of these mystical physical powers.

What we have is the power to mold our personality, to shape our future, to make our destiny, and to figure out who and what we are definitely a power bigger than any other mystical powers, a power that builds fact and not mere imagination, a power which everybody has and can make him a hero in his very own ways. This is the power of the mind. Funny how we be so hooked in looking outside ourselves that we have nearly fully lost access to our inner being. We are so scared to look inward because we won’t be satisfied with what we could see. We make our lives so busy that we get rid of the slightest likelihood of looking into ourselves. we compromise on observing things outside of our own. We make comparisons, judgments, and analyses which only lead us in concluding and, worse, accepting the indisputable fact that we are inferior amongst others. What we do not know is that we’ve got the power to reverse what the outside world makes us believe in.

If it asserts that we are incorrect, we’ve got the power to make us right. If it asserts we are losers, we’ve got the power to be winners.