SubscribeMind
Do we own our own
minds? How much of our thinking is created for us? In
George Orwell’s famous novel 1984 the thought
police patrolled and reprogrammed anyone whose thoughts were not in line
with Big Brothers, the unseen leader. History is written by the victors.
Being victorious makes it right. Maybe there is an unseen justice in
this and maybe not. A more accurate view of history is that which is
experienced by ordinary people assuming that their thoughts are their
own.
What influences our
thinking? There are some obvious things that we are aware of such as
advertising, propaganda, corporate culture etc but what about the
influences that we a less aware of or even totally unaware of? If
consciousness truly creates reality then control the consciousness and
you control the reality. Who controls the media and why? What are we
supposed to believe and what are the impacts of these belief systems?
Who benefits? Who has the real power and how did they get it? The real
battle is for control of our minds, achieve that and the rest will
follow.
We are living in an
age where images of war have more to do with technology than the
unimaginable suffering endured by populations in war zones, an age where
the liberator can often be the oppressor in disguise. Economics can
determine whether or not to engage and how that engagement is handled.
Keep a cold eye on the situation and take out the agitators early as
this is more cost effective than having to mount a full scale offensive
later on. And yet we have to respect those individuals who lay their
lives on the line for others and give us the room to reflect on this.
Mostly young volunteers motivated by a sense of adventure, economic
necessity or a belief that was placed in their mind early on and is now
being realized. How much do they know or understand of what they are
engaged in and the forces that drive it? The human spirit is sometimes
too rooted in a reality not of its own creation.
The world is becoming
more homogenous, less diverse tending towards a monoculture, global
market and group think. In many ways this is a good thing leading to
greater understanding, interaction and shared values. When there is a
MacDonald’s in every town on the planet serving exactly the same meals
will we have lost something? Is the expansion of the universe leading to
increased or reduced complexity? I tend to favor the former on the basis
that we are bringing new things into reality on a daily basis that
started as ideas in our minds. If this is the well from which creation
comes then we need to protect it.
What are we
collectively capable of creating given our current global mindset? More
stuff, artificial experiences, great spectacles, conflicts, systems
leading to what? Maybe onwards and upwards is the way to go as there may
be no limit to what we can create. A technological society can foster
greater understanding, greater control, greater diversity and efficient
production. What do we yearn for? Is it something closer to what some of
the cultures that the super organized, super systemized western machine
has already gobbled up? Terms in current use such as renewability,
sustainability, carbon neutral and work life balance are remarkably
close to what these cultures already had.
What makes each of us
unique? Surely it’s the part of us that no one else has, the opposite of
groupthink. This is what we need to protect, develop and share. Choose
your own thoughts it’s all you have.