Rethink Thinking
Are we perfectly within our rights and reason to believe what we want about the universe? That we are, for instance, more or less on our own here, left to our own devices to figure things out? Sure. We can steady our resolve to believe there is no invisible hand behind things conspiring to help us. Certainly.
But not without consequence.
Mindsets produces certain outcomes. If we truly believe there is no outside magic in the universe, no benevolent Other guiding things, then certain layers of reality are removed. What is left is only one plain of life, the one we see and sense. This uni-dimensionality is, sadly, all that is left.
This is a free universe though. Well, maybe. You do get to choose what you believe about it. Sure. But our beliefs may not ultimately alter its reality one bit. One may believe themself a martyr, for instance, willing to fully accept the hard, cold truth that we are totally alone here. But are we?
How can we know we are not simply cooking the books to see what we want?
We can’t. And we all do it to some extent. We look for evidence to prove our beliefs. We consider ourelves unusually objective. We are not. We stack the deck. Unlevel the playing field. Start with our end. And then discount anything that is outside that end.
A great deal of this justifying is then systematized by habits and patterns. We get used to thinking in certain ways about life. Our brains “naturally” deduce things into forms and patterns. We box things up in a certain order to make sense of them. It is natural.
But not always accurate.
Our systems are flawed. And unless we push back on our automated thinking, we will keep thinking in the same ways and within the same systems. Our default here, remember, is to think of ourselves as innocent and our views as inpentetrably correct. There is a lot at stake here.
How we view the universe and our role within it matters to our entrepenuerial impulses. If our pursuits are important, even a little, our ability to question our thinking is essential. Challenging assumptions means taking thoughts captive, before they can blossom.
This is a foreign process at first. We are used to letting in only what has been approved. In a somewhat automated process we toss this one and entertain that one. But disciplined thinking takes work! Our automated responses won’t do. They can’t be trusted to know what is good and what may hurt us.
Discernment takes time, energy, and focus. Not everything is potential code or clue. Not all thoughts are worth your time and energy. Don’t let your curiosity alone drive this process, lest every random thought be given the power to steal your much needed attention.
Your will needs activated here to get us out of internal thinking cycles (the gambler begging for one more roll). We need the rational brain to give us the push we need to get to the deeper place of discernment — the realm of spirit. If we are serious, that is, about our place in the universe.
