Thankyou. Helpful. I find the slower pace of writing (compared to thought and speech) allows time to clarify and deepen questions and prayers and make space for primary thinking.
>Men become what they think; and Men can choose what they think... But we cannot think whatever we choose!
Yes. Neat and logical. But why can’t we think whatever we choose?
Because we don’t get to decide what’s true and what’s false.
Original thinking operates via spontaneous, coherent images. Following Steiner (BC post ‘Is Thinking a means, an end, or an illusion?’) these are all our own, and *falsehoods would prevent them from forming*.
Which is why the habit of speaking truth would not be sufficient to resurrect Science now, even supposing we wished to. Only *love* of truth would be sufficient, and this isn’t a legalistic rule. Rather it arises naturally from a love of thinking.
When people let the media do their thinking for them they are being guided by ideas which originated as images in other people’s minds. These are true (they must be) but increasingly are selected to be misleading, privileging certain aspects of reality over others in a strategically harmful way.
The wicked selection process occurs in the dark but rewards the selectors with a frisson. As when Dr Evil touches his finger to his lips!
I think many people now passively "default" to external sources of information and distractions when they have a break in their day, rather than defaulting to here-and-now, their own thoughts and intuition (which are far more valid and useful), especially in relation with God.
I think we can all know on a personal level where to look next and what direction to be aiming if we listen attentively enough and default to conscious real-thinking. But if we constantly seek external distractions, information and temporal pleasures then that innate knowledge is clouded and manipulated, or unavailable.
Intriguing (as always). This seems to comport with aspects of the final chapter of Iain McGilchrist's 'The Matter with Things.' Have you come across it yet? (I note you get a citation!)
@PR - No I haven't read this book of McG's although I reviewed his Master and Emissary on this blog and I have met him (in fact he stayed overnight at our house back in 2012-ish). I don't read much science since I retired from thinking about it; but in the later 90s I spent several years working on the nature of delusions - e.g. https://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/psychhuman.html#chap4
I'm aware you're understandably resistant to book recommendations but his work is really quite something. It subsumes The Master and his Emissary and in the end represents a powerful and coherent worldview of which science is but a part. The reason I mention it is that it does reflect many of the concerns you often write about.
@PR - Well maybe - 1500 pages and at least 30 pounds (on Kindle!) to buy it... It's a longer and more expensive journey than I am keen to embark on.
28 March 2022 at 18:34
Charlie said...
Hi Bruce, I thought you might find this article interesting.
Victim, Manager, Rebel, Destroyer Postmodern, Modern, Medieval, and Ancient Typologies of Villainy
The latter three map well to Ahramaic, Luciferic, and Sorathic evil, while the postmodern villains (and heroes) are people who fail the litmus tests of Christianity.
I know you don't want links in your comments, so please feel free to edit it out, I just wanted to share this with you:
@Charlie - I had already looked at this article, and found it only half right (with some examples of interpretation I disagree with - e.g. his account of Voldemort) and rather poorly constructed. The main point is should make clearer is the definition of evil - which I would say is taking a side against God and divine creation. But some of the negative criticisms are similar to those I made myself, in the From Hero to Antihero section of my Addicted to Distraction book (linked in the sidebar).
29 March 2022 at 23:25
Anonymous said...
https://sophia.sk/en As the "Sophiologists" suggest, there are to be found in all things the presence of angels, and so, knowledge of all things, however briefly one takes a glimpse at things.
Imaginative play is an excellent achievement toward causing the intuition to become normative over, and provide a greater freedom for knowledge obtained by merely human reason, rationality, and emotion. The best way to play is to direct your mind toward the nonhuman kingdoms of plants and objects. Geometries, crystals, flowers, and from forests to deserts, are all perfect to play around with in the imagination. Just go ahead and begin with that perfect circle, and soon enough let begin your rosebuds to bloom. There likely is no safer way to get your mind exercising itself, but do not spend too much time away from the real matter. :) Bless Us
30 March 2022 at 22:00
It was not always thus; but since around the millennium is has become evident that Men become what they think; and Men can choose what they think...But we cannot think whatever we choose! It superficially seems that we could think... whatever we wanted! - but this is not the case. In order to think most of the things that Mass men now think; each Man must choose to switch-off awareness of his own real-divine Self and plug-into external thought-control. This is why the masses are willingly addicted to the media - because it is the mass media that externally controls each Man's thinking, in the way that he has chosen to allow his thinking to be controlled. Consequently, Man has mostly become... whatever the dominant world power currently want him to become...One who denies his own nature as a Man, his own divine destiny - and who instead chooses to regard himself (a bottom line) as a soul-less animal without free agency; an accidental collection of chemicals doomed at death to eternal and absolute annihilation. Or a frenzied and resentful partisan for one or another of the abstract, demonic, leftist projects that drive -forward the agenda of evil. The only compensation of Mass Man is from feelings; and feelings are also (and increasingly) controlled by the same external powers - who induce fear and despair or optimism and pleasure; social isolation or purposive-belonging; idealism or pragmatism... according to Their external goals. But God desires that we each be actively and consciously responsible for our own thinking. If you decide to do this; you will find it hard to break the habit of allowing external control, and to become aware of your Real Self thinking. And (far from being able to think whatever we want, and make ourselves whatever we thus think) we become aware that this Real Self is divine, and aligned with God's creative nature and plans. Thus we can only think that which is Good - yet that Good must still be chosen if we want Good to eventuate from our thinking. (Nothing Good happens automatically or passively; God works his creation by consent and choice.) If this inner-awareness of the Real Self Thinking can be attained (albeit briefly and infrequently) you will sooner or later (if alert for it) also become somewhat aware of another external source of guidance - The Holy Ghost. This is not something we can control: for instance, it is seldom we can get an answer from the Holy Ghost to any old question we try to put to Him. This is because most questions are meaningless or wrongly-motivated. But when a real and well-motivated question is formed - it is answered instantly and effortlessly. We will get the guidance we need, the knowledge we need - and nothing else!To ask properly is to be answered. It is the asking of a proper question that is so difficult. I know of nothing more encouraging and energizing than the sense of range and positive creative value that is intrinsic to thinking from the real self (primary thinking, as I have termed it). It is that solid assurance which sustains faith. It is a knowing that dispels doubt. It underpins assurance purpose and meaning in this mortal life. It is of boundless scope, and positively-transformative value. Real Thinking, and that understanding which Thinking enables, is the most important thing we can do; and the most necessary - for our-selves and The World. Note added: The above discourse sounds as if each individual Man was isolated and alienated - but not so! Primary thinking is also what enables us to 'connect' directly with other Beings in this created universe - consisting-of Beings. Thus we can (to some extent - albeit only as frequently and only for as long as both Beings maintain alignment with God's creative will) experience direct-knowing of other Beings; including (but not restricted to) men and women (as well as the Holy Ghost).
"We become what we think - for Good and ill; but what is Real thinking?"
11 Comments -
Thankyou. Helpful.
I find the slower pace of writing (compared to thought and speech) allows time to clarify and deepen questions and prayers and make space for primary thinking.
28 March 2022 at 10:18
>Men become what they think; and Men can choose what they think... But we cannot think whatever we choose!
Yes. Neat and logical. But why can’t we think whatever we choose?
Because we don’t get to decide what’s true and what’s false.
Original thinking operates via spontaneous, coherent images. Following Steiner (BC post ‘Is Thinking a means, an end, or an illusion?’) these are all our own, and *falsehoods would prevent them from forming*.
Which is why the habit of speaking truth would not be sufficient to resurrect Science now, even supposing we wished to. Only *love* of truth would be sufficient, and this isn’t a legalistic rule. Rather it arises naturally from a love of thinking.
When people let the media do their thinking for them they are being guided by ideas which originated as images in other people’s minds. These are true (they must be) but increasingly are selected to be misleading, privileging certain aspects of reality over others in a strategically harmful way.
The wicked selection process occurs in the dark but rewards the selectors with a frisson. As when Dr Evil touches his finger to his lips!
28 March 2022 at 13:14
Very spot on. This post was inspiring.
I think many people now passively "default" to external sources of information and distractions when they have a break in their day, rather than defaulting to here-and-now, their own thoughts and intuition (which are far more valid and useful), especially in relation with God.
I think we can all know on a personal level where to look next and what direction to be aiming if we listen attentively enough and default to conscious real-thinking. But if we constantly seek external distractions, information and temporal pleasures then that innate knowledge is clouded and manipulated, or unavailable.
28 March 2022 at 13:42
@RT - A good expansion on the post!
28 March 2022 at 14:31
Intriguing (as always). This seems to comport with aspects of the final chapter of Iain McGilchrist's 'The Matter with Things.' Have you come across it yet? (I note you get a citation!)
28 March 2022 at 15:45
@PR - No I haven't read this book of McG's although I reviewed his Master and Emissary on this blog and I have met him (in fact he stayed overnight at our house back in 2012-ish). I don't read much science since I retired from thinking about it; but in the later 90s I spent several years working on the nature of delusions - e.g. https://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/psychhuman.html#chap4
28 March 2022 at 16:01
I'm aware you're understandably resistant to book recommendations but his work is really quite something. It subsumes The Master and his Emissary and in the end represents a powerful and coherent worldview of which science is but a part. The reason I mention it is that it does reflect many of the concerns you often write about.
28 March 2022 at 16:15
@PR - Well maybe - 1500 pages and at least 30 pounds (on Kindle!) to buy it... It's a longer and more expensive journey than I am keen to embark on.
28 March 2022 at 18:34
Hi Bruce, I thought you might find this article interesting.
Victim, Manager, Rebel, Destroyer
Postmodern, Modern, Medieval, and Ancient Typologies of Villainy
The latter three map well to Ahramaic, Luciferic, and Sorathic evil, while the postmodern villains (and heroes) are people who fail the litmus tests of Christianity.
I know you don't want links in your comments, so please feel free to edit it out, I just wanted to share this with you:
https://treeofwoe.substack.com/p/victim-manager-rebel-destroyer?s=r
29 March 2022 at 23:03
@Charlie - I had already looked at this article, and found it only half right (with some examples of interpretation I disagree with - e.g. his account of Voldemort) and rather poorly constructed. The main point is should make clearer is the definition of evil - which I would say is taking a side against God and divine creation. But some of the negative criticisms are similar to those I made myself, in the From Hero to Antihero section of my Addicted to Distraction book (linked in the sidebar).
29 March 2022 at 23:25
https://sophia.sk/en
As the "Sophiologists" suggest, there are to be found in all things the presence of angels, and so, knowledge of all things, however briefly one takes a glimpse at things.
Imaginative play is an excellent achievement toward causing the intuition to become normative over, and provide a greater freedom for knowledge obtained by merely human reason, rationality, and emotion. The best way to play is to direct your mind toward the nonhuman kingdoms of plants and objects. Geometries, crystals, flowers, and from forests to deserts, are all perfect to play around with in the imagination. Just go ahead and begin with that perfect circle, and soon enough let begin your rosebuds to bloom. There likely is no safer way to get your mind exercising itself, but do not spend too much time away from the real matter. :) Bless Us
30 March 2022 at 22:00