You may have heard the story of the Zen master who is confronted with a student who is full of himself: full of his ideas, concepts and beliefs; inflexible and reluctant to let go of his perspective. So the master sits him down and prepares tea. In a Zen-like manner the master pours himself a cup. Then he proceeds to pour a cup for the student. But this time he doesn't come to a measured stop. instead he keeps pouring and allows the cup to overflow. In a panic, the student exclaims: 'Master, what are you doing?'. Calmly, the master replies: 'The cup is like your mind. You'll never be able to learn anything new unless you empty it.'
That's old wisdom. Here's a new understanding.
Sense organs - the skin, eyes, ears, tongue and nose - are instruments we use to navigate our journey through life. They act as receivers that provide us with information about the external world. Left to their own devices we would be overloaded with stimulus. But we have developed a clever way to prevent the multitude of sensations from overwhelming us. We search out what is interesting then we generalize, delete and distort the information we receive. Put simply, like a designer we customize our experience.
The trouble is our filtering system is influenced by our thoughts. And more often than we might realize, our thoughts are irrational. So we generalize about people ans their characteristics and expect only the worse from them, delete important information that we need to pay attention to, or distort the meaning of what people say and respond inappropriately.
But that's not all. Its gets worse. You see, we have has a bad habit of looking for information that agrees with our way of thinking. So not only do your thoughts shape our reality, they confirm it too - no matter how twisted that reality might be. And, let's face it, it feels good to be alright. So habitually we avoid people and facts that are nt in agreement with our thoughts.
Again and again you've heard the cynical saying: 'Seeing is believing' . But it would be more accurate to say: 'Believing is seeing'. Because your perceptions of the world are always based on your habitual thoughts - your beliefs. They create the road map by which you steer your course through life. Think healthy, Rational thoughts and they will lead you to where you want to be. Think unhealthy, inflexible thoughts and expect to hit a brick wall.
That's to hit a brick wall.
Now here's the solution: be open-minded. See things as if you're seeing them for the first time. Empty your cup. Put aside your ideas, concepts and beliefs. And, as best you can, connect with the raw sensory data entering your brain. Think about what you're thinking. Look for people and literature that express a different opinion from yours. Then hurt for the facts that support their view. Understand: digging for facts is better mental exercise than jumping to conclusions.
Digging for facts is better mental exercise than jumping to conclusions
Make no mistake. I'm not asking you to throw out your opinions or compromise your values. Not at all. What I'm suggesting is to suspend focusing on and expressing your opinions until you have fully researched,
listened to and understood other views. Then you'll be able to operate from a more balanced position. And, what's more, you'll be less likely to be deluded, diverted or driven down a dead - end.
The trouble is our filtering system is influenced by our thoughts. And more often than we might realize, our thoughts are irrational. So we generalize about people ans their characteristics and expect only the worse from them, delete important information that we need to pay attention to, or distort the meaning of what people say and respond inappropriately.
But that's not all. Its gets worse. You see, we have has a bad habit of looking for information that agrees with our way of thinking. So not only do your thoughts shape our reality, they confirm it too - no matter how twisted that reality might be. And, let's face it, it feels good to be alright. So habitually we avoid people and facts that are nt in agreement with our thoughts.
Again and again you've heard the cynical saying: 'Seeing is believing' . But it would be more accurate to say: 'Believing is seeing'. Because your perceptions of the world are always based on your habitual thoughts - your beliefs. They create the road map by which you steer your course through life. Think healthy, Rational thoughts and they will lead you to where you want to be. Think unhealthy, inflexible thoughts and expect to hit a brick wall.
That's to hit a brick wall.
Now here's the solution: be open-minded. See things as if you're seeing them for the first time. Empty your cup. Put aside your ideas, concepts and beliefs. And, as best you can, connect with the raw sensory data entering your brain. Think about what you're thinking. Look for people and literature that express a different opinion from yours. Then hurt for the facts that support their view. Understand: digging for facts is better mental exercise than jumping to conclusions.
Digging for facts is better mental exercise than jumping to conclusions
Make no mistake. I'm not asking you to throw out your opinions or compromise your values. Not at all. What I'm suggesting is to suspend focusing on and expressing your opinions until you have fully researched,
listened to and understood other views. Then you'll be able to operate from a more balanced position. And, what's more, you'll be less likely to be deluded, diverted or driven down a dead - end.
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