I’ve presented my case about taking charge of your life through a number of different scenarios. I started with a question about who designed the system so that you would start questioning your own position. The following posts looked at circumstances, destiny, thoughts and procrastination which were all designed to make you question your beliefs.
Unfortunately many people are blind to reality because they refuse to ask any questions or test what they really believe. This makes them susceptible to believing in fate, luck and circumstances.
Once you accept these conditions that are beyond your control then life is a series of things which happen that you are forced to accept.
I’m sure you’ll agree that the foundation of pulling your own strings is in your mind. This is what sets you apart as from animals in that you are able to reason, analyse and decide upon a course of action.
Animals operate by instinct but even so they can be taught to do other things with their instincts.
A parrot is a good mimic and can be trained to imitate speech whilst dogs can be trained to help handicapped people. We are the same. We too can change what we’ve been programmed to believe.
Culture, the society we live in and the values we have learnt will always predict how we think and react. If you can accept this then you are well on the way to being in control of your life. Humans can be trained to believe they are slaves or kings.
Slaves were tortured with three main mental influences: fear, distrust, and envy.
I’ve a word that I collate with “slave mentality” and that is “complacency”. This is an affliction you see mostly in urban slums. People feel trapped because they don’t see a way out of that type of life. Everything and everyone around them is negative. That’s all they see, so that’s all they know. It’s a vicious cycle. Many slaves had a similar attitude and that’s how their masters were able to keep them in their control for so long.
The worst case scenario I can imagine is being trapped as a slave in your own mind, with you as the warden, in the prison made of your own thoughts. You desperately want to escape from the confines of your cell but you won’t let yourself out on parole. Thoughts of poor self image, failure, condemnation and the endless cycle of what if and yes but plague your every waking moment. Culture, beliefs and society support the images you’ve created and sentence you to a life of defeat.
But – there is a way out.
Your mind is similar to a computer. A computer works on an operating system and then programs are loaded to perform certain functions. Your operating system depends on your society, culture and beliefs. From the day you were born, you’ve been programming your mind. However, you can reprogram your mind but it’s not easy. With a computer you uninstall the program you don’t want and install something else. It’s simple as that. A computer doesn’t remember the old program nor can it operate an uninstalled program which is where we unfortunately differ.
Many ex cons are released from prison, after extensive counselling programs, vowing never to return. Yet many of them do. Their previous way of life, old habits and mental programming proved to be too strong. You’ll be faced with similar problems if you decide to go on parole and live a life of freedom.
My next post will delve into the foundations of a weak mind and how to recognise the signs.
The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.
John Milton