--- In [email protected], Peter Sutphen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The mind always projects "its own stuff." The mind has > its own agenda which is primarily bending experience > to fit a priori concepts.
Which for the most part is quite useful and enabling. With no a priori concepts as to the mass of images in our perception, or a cascade of actions, etc. we would be as functional as babies. > In short, the mind wants to be right. Maybe an ego element wants to be right. Its my experience that the mind, (and you seem to be referring to the whole mental thing, not just manas but intellect buddhi too) wants to find what works -- often in terms of labeling patterns of events, or shapes and forms, or personality traits, etc. Such labels, being a generalization, are both useful and limiting. Useful in that this new "theory" allows one to predict with some high probability what may occur when this pattern occurs, allowing you to take appropriate actions: clouds are forming, the air has a certain smell, its winter time -- better cover up the vurlnerable stuff thats outside. Categroizing patterns are limiting when there is rigidity in the expectation: a bunch of street-dressed kids coming running down the sidewalk, yelling and carrying on. Could be dangerous, its good to be a bit cautious. But it could be youthful exuberance celebrating something new to you and if open to it, you can join in the celebration. The key appers to be quite flexibile and provisional in our categories, always reshaping them to fit new "data" -- perceptions, outcomes etc. I don't think its universal that the mind or ego wants to conform data to its a priori concepts. This simply applies to a certain type of personality -- probably a type that frequents the good Doc's office. A "dysfunctional" tendency or need for an ego to find security that it is missing in other broader areas, and clinging to the security of clinging to stone chiseled concepts and mental models. Spiritual unfoldment with worldly capabilities appears to be where there is similtaneosuly the ability and total openness to change a priory concepts, mental models, etc, on the fly -- while similtaneously having a deep and sophisticated models that do work well in navigating the patterns of the world. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
