From thinking that we ARE our minds, we begin to see that we HAVE minds—and that it is the mind that has thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and opinions. Eventually we may arrive at the insight that all our thoughts are merely borrowed from the great database of consciousness and were never really our own. Prevailing thought systems are received, absorbed, and identified with; in due time, they are replaced by new ideas that have become fashionable with us. As we place less value on such passing notions, they lose their capacity to dominate us. We experience progressive freedom of, as well as from, the mind. This in turn ripens into a new source of pleasure; fittingly, the pleasure of existence itself matures as one ascends the Map of Consciousness.
~Dissolving The Ego~ pg.65 ~1st quote
**^^***********************
FEBRUARY 5 ~ DAILY REFLECTION ~ from: ALONG THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT ~ by: Dr.David R.Hawkins.
?Human progress is evolutionary, and therefore, mistakes and errors are inevitable. The only real tragedy is to become older but not wiser.?
From: “Reality, Spirituality and Modern Man” (2008), Chapter 8: Cultural Premises and Truth, p. 163
—
With Additional Context:
—
Countermeasures to Cultural Illusion
A study of Western civilization indicates that its overall level of consciousness is currently in decline for the reasons that have been stated succinctly by Pope Benedict (relativism plus Islamic aggression and ‘cultural Jihad’; see Burton and Stewart, 2007.) The decline is the result of social and intellectual influences via the media, academia, and politicalization from lower consciousness levels which have been heavily financed from sources that calibrate below the critical consciousness level of 200 (‘power brokers’). The net result is the progressive dominance of narcissism, which is aggrandized as ‘progressive’, ‘free speech’, or ‘human rights’ and appeals to egocentricity. Thus, even formal education is no longer a safeguard against blatant nonintegrity and gross falsehood.
The most practical countermeasures are:
1. Spiritual alignment with truth (which facilitates a favorable shift in brain chemistry).
2. Intellectual sophistication via familiarity with the “Great Books of the Western World”.
3. Awareness of the Map of Consciousness.
4. Advancing one’s own level of consciousness by following and practicing verified spiritual teachings and principles of discernment.
Limitations of Wisdom and Valid Social Truth
Although integrity and collective intelligence support happiness and survival, they do not guarantee omniscience or immunity from error or defect. Humankind overall is on an evolutionary path, and life on earth is not a celestial realm. The innate value of human life on earth is that it affords maximum opportunity for spiritual growth through the mechanism of freedom of the will via choice and option. Thus, human life represents the maximum opportunity for the transcendence of negative traits and the gain of positive merit. Acceptance of human limitation, both individually and collectively, allows for forbearance, forgiveness, and compassion rather than condemnation. ?Human progress is evolutionary, and, therefore, mistakes and errors are inevitable. The only real tragedy is to become older but not wiser.?
From: “Reality, Spirituality and Modern Man” (2008), Chapter 8: Cultural Premises and Truth pp.162–163
———–
Related Teachings:
———–
From “Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment” (2006), Chapter 2: Guilt and Vindictive Hate, pp. 60–61:
Personal past history represents the best that one could actually do then under given circumstances, which included one’s perceptions and emotional and mental states at the time. Mistakes can have a positive effect because they serve the maintenance of a realistic humility. The ego is a defective compass that often gives wrong directions. When one considers the degree of its limitations, it is a wonder that anyone survives long enough to even make mistakes.
A study of the history of civilization quickly reveals that not only individuals but also great multitudes have fallen and died as a direct consequence of the human mind’s inability to discern truth from falsehood. Millions of people, whole countries, and even generations of citizens are repeatedly devastated by false beliefs, illusions, delusions, and the failure to recognize nonintegrous leaders. Thus, Mackay’s famous “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” has been in constant print since 1841.
Because the evolution of consciousness, both individually and collectively, is progressive, the past, by selection, appears to compare unfavorably with the present. Lessons can be learned only by the unfolding of experience over a time continuum; thus, there is always more that hypothetically could be known. In reality, one cannot know at age twenty-five the information that is accrued by age fifty. Everyone thinks, “If I had only known that, I would have done it differently.” Thus, with humility, it can be seen that every given moment includes limitation. What we were is not what we are now. Mistakes are intrinsic to the learning process, which is the fate of the human condition itself. Because the mind’s awareness is limited, it compensates by substituting presumption (an educated guess) and therefore, operationally, choices and decisions are based on the seemingly best option, as stated by Socrates’ dictum.
**^^***********************