From One Deluded Soul, to Another

It's fairly clear to anyone who takes the time to observe, how thoughts and emotions interplay to sustain and propel each other. An event happens, it's instantly interpreted within the context of one's personal world view, feelings arises and thoughts begin to justify those feelings. This empowers the emotions, motivating a need for further explanations, which serve to rationalize the feelings, both giving each other validity and “realness”. And these are just surface level thoughts and feelings. Upon continued reiteration they become integrated into the deeper layers of our subconscious structures and belief systems.

Choosing to deny full passage to these thoughts and feelings is kind of like taking a spoonful of a favorite desert and then spitting it out before savoring and swallowing it. It's almost as if they impose their own will to live upon us, although it's really just our deeply ingrained habits asserting themselves. We can easily be distracted from following them to their intended destinations by other errant thoughts and feelings, but we don't quite notice it happening, because we're then consumed by the vague promises of the interrupting thoughts and feelings.

But if we were to take the time to observe the process dispassionately, eventually getting to the source of these inner actions, we'd find that thoughts exists as fully developed notions, even before words are formed and lined up to solidify the notion into a form that can be assimilated by the cognitive mind. And digging a little deeper, these amorphous thought globules are sparked to life by amorphous feelings or compulsions to validate or justify the bigger picture of who we imagine we are, or are supposed to be, and how we imagine the world is, or is supposed to be.

So these subconscious beliefs, feelings and thoughts birth our surface level mental activities, which then provide the impetus for all of our outward deeds. And as the cycle works, perception filtered through preconception is slanted toward confirming said preconceptions, and actions are limited by expectations and presumed limitations, thereby reaffirming those notions. Repetition creates habits, which give the false impression of inherent permanence. This process builds upon itself throughout the course of our lives, growing ever more pervasive and compelling.

And what's astounding, is that, for the vast majority, the formation and evolution of this self supporting system happens completely arbitrarily. (Here, many will pause to consider how lucky they are to be one of the few in the minority – the delusion is powerful.)

Then division and conflict, even wars, arise from people defending their differing constructions, as though they were each the holders of the one true world view - when the only “right” view is the understanding that we're all wrong. Everyone's outlook is skewed - a partial picture, one perspective out of an infinite number, seen through a dirty and distorting window and influenced by the equally inaccurate views of those deemed important or wise.

I say this, not to be pessimistic or depressing, but in order to free us from doggedly clinging to our notions of certainty.

It makes perfect sense, in an abstract scenario, that knowingly acting in accordance with falsehoods or refusing to see the truth because it doesn't match existing beliefs or desires, is foolish, ineffectual and ill-conceived. Ergo, in our day to day activities and relations, living with an acceptance of uncertainty is far better than living a life constructed around a delusion of certainty.

Sages, mystics, clergymen and profits tell us that divine consciousness lives within us. And that we can access or merge with it, if we learn to surrender to it. That, in fact, we are it. We just lose that sense because the overwhelming din of the minds non-stop ranting drowns out the silence where peace, openness and acceptance reside. Seeing without the filter of preconception allows us to gain clearer perspective over our expectations and interpretations, as well as feel that magical connection with all of life's unfolding.

It's not that we wish to discard our memories, emotions or contemplative processes. We just need to recognize that these are not the end-all of who we are and how we can best understand our world and our relationship with it.

We naturally accept that children are just beginning to learn and understand, and still expect them to do the best they can, all the while, forgiving them their short comings. It would be best if we could accept that we are all children in a world far beyond our capacity to grasp, and be compassionate with our selves and others for being ignorant of ultimate knowledge and understanding, as we stumble through life, doing the best we can. “To err is human” - inside and out. Not to fret or judge this harshly, but to accept it as a condition of our being, and to move forward, comfortable with our shared state of uncertainty.