Self Improvement
Things To Think About
- Education or Indoctrination,
- Which do we have?Has the education system in the US failed in its mission?
What's Up With Ming
"Did you ever feel like an alien who somehow became stranded on a planet called Earth where nothing seemed to make any sense?" A quote from "Ming The Merciless"
Civilization Rehab
Recovering from civilization can be brutal but neccessary if we are to become truly free from it's influence. Kick the civilization habit here!
Being Human
The Condition Of Our ConditionArticles on the Human condition and how we might improve it.
The Automatic Human By R.E. Darby
One of the great strengths of the Human life form is our ability to establish thinking and behavior patterns that we can set and forgetand they run on automatic pilot, thereby freeing us up for other activities. But what happens when this strength becomes a liability?What if we stop using good judgement in the areas that we decide to apply this ability to? How many of us are spending way too muchtime on autopilot and focusing on who knows what?
Conditioned Behavior Patterns
Conditioning is a powerful process by which we Humans are able to change, rearrange, modify or create just about any state or condition such as beliefs, conditioned behaviors, or mindsets. What we establish through the process of conditioning over time, can become automatic when we decide to forget about it without stopping it, changing it or replacing it. It has then become the business of the sub-conscious mind which carries out all automatic functions and behavior.
So, in some situations, and under some circumstances, for a certain length of time this ability may serve us well, but given the fact that change is a function of time, any automatic response or reaction, thinking or behavior, will only be valuable for a given length of time. Also, the context in which it is used will determine its value. For example; it works great when performing a redundant activity on a daily basis but when applied to the evaluation process it can be dangerous and destructive within dynamically changing environments that require flexibility and adaptability.
Relying On Automated Thinking
The more complicated our daily lives become, the more we tend to rely on automated thinking and behavior patterns. Until before we realize it, that very reliance has become automatic because of our constant and continuous use of it (the conditioning process). Also, comfort tends to make Humans lazy and turning more and more of our responsibilities over to the auto pilot becomes easier and easier until that too becomes an automatic behavior.
Every time we abrogate our responsibility for personal awareness, thinking and making choices, we walk away from an opportunity to learn and grow. And in the absents of learning and growing, ignorance, fear and superstition will flourish.
Even more critical is the question of where is our consciousness when we turn our entire lives over to auto pilot. Do we construct a little bubble version of reality where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the sky is not cloudy all day? How many times do we have to learn the same lesson over and over again, anything carried to excess can and will become a liability. This includes any and all Human powers and strengths.
Conditioned Behavior
The good news is that there are times and places and circumstances where this ability is valuable and even of critical necessity. Take for example the Human activity of thinking. Let's say that person A has developed some automatic thinking habits in regard to critical thinking, whereby he or she automatically looks for and examines all assumptions before deciding on the quality and value of a statement someone has made to them. Whereas person B automatically accepts anything that anyone says to them as the truth without question. This ability works for person A and against person B.
The bad news is that the solution to this condition is awareness which is the very thing that this condition destroys. Automatic thinking and behavior are under constant control and command in an environment of awareness. So if there is no awareness, this ability becomes a problem and the existence of a problem will not be discovered, and therefore not be addressed, because awareness is absent.
The ugly news is that articles such as this one are few and far between and amount to peeing in the ocean. The only possible value is based on the hope that one will read it and tell two who will tell two etc.
Recognizing Automated Behavior
There are self change and personal development resources out there that are designed to help us begin and carry out the journey of self realization, the process of finding our way back to our natural selves which is how we would have and should have developed had the so called civilization not interfered with that development to further its own agenda.
But the first and possibly the biggest obstacle in our path is in recognizing that there is a problem in the first place. The very idea brings up visions of difficulty and frustration, not to mention just plain fear and anxiety in heavy doses. It always seems to get down to the same choice. Whether to live out our meaningless empty but comfortable lives never feeling the intensity of the courageous explorer of the unknown, or shaking off our comfortable prison and committing to risk and faith in the exploration of all that is possible that is waiting for us as soon as we get tired of engaging in shallow superficial activities designed to deceive us into believing that we're doing meaningful things while really we may be just engaging in some automatic behavior that we are unaware of.
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