Thread by @Aldous_Ka_Ghost

What is Mind?
An emergent phenomenon.

Which then means, that Mindlessness would be when any of those connecting processes [indicated by arrows] are distorted or perhaps they cease to function [frozen, ruptured, dysfunctional] momentarily or for longer durations.

This then leads to immense clarity on what constitutes "consciousness".

Again, an emergent phenomenon, not unchanging, that arises from the operations of the 8 senses. I include interoception,proprioception and awareness of mental formations by the Mind,in the spectrum of senses

#Buddha, one must reluctantly agree, pretty much nailed it 2500 years ago. Science, including psychology [i exclude Jung's tarot card reading from this field] is just catching up.

Very little in terms of our current actions/behaviors is pre-determined. Conditioned by past,environment,genes, experiences,yes. But not causally determined.

We have free will & volition, we have choice and freedom. The moment we think we don't, it opens the door to great evil.

This is the reason I stay away from those who think there is no evil,no good. They are invariably the ones who hold the belief that our actions are not of our own making and hence hide behind Nihilism,Fatalism,Determinism,Relativism, Fear,Insecurity,Religion,Ideology,Cults.

Which brings us to the dreaded K word - Karma.Many ways to look at it.Most are again very deterministic & imprisoning.

My view: Can't undo what I did,its causes,the consequences [already unfolded,unfolding,yet to unfold]. It is abt what we do NOW - how utterly liberating is that

A lot of all this plays out in therapy sessions too.Especially with clients who suffer on account of wrongs done to themselves through wrongs done to others. The greatest obstacle to their recovery is the reluctance to face up to their own actions.
It is a slow and deep process.

Therapy does not mean lies and deceptions, new ones or perpetuating existing ones. Unless there is complete honesty by both, mixed with kindness, acceptance and compassion, no deep change can happen. Superficial quick fixes, yes [Only to see the client back after 6 months!]

Same holds true for those who come in post a traumatic experience [fresh or from the distant past]. Again, complete honesty. Lot of times, shame,guilt and pain prevent compete acceptance and aid repression. If unresolved, patterns remain intact, changes are superficial.

Transformation is hard work. No magic pills here. One breaks fully,before putting oneself back together.There are times when a therapist can develop empathic distress veer away fm difficult work. Understandable at a human level, unacceptable at a professional level.

And finally a word on fads common in this field. #Neuroplasticity is one.Used by some who can't tell it from a rat's derriere!

Experience changes the brain functionally & structurally. Every single experience. Including internally generated ones - visualisation, rumination etc.

Closing the thread with that.Stay away fm therapists who are dualists.Who think body is material and then there is a soul that is outside. They fcuk up clients.
When in doubt,think about what is body,what is brain & what is Mind.And stick to that.
[Sadhgurus are NOT therapists!]

A frightening portion of the life we live is spent in the shadows - the dark nooks, crannies, rooms, basements and attics of our Mind. This happens largely below the level of our awareness. Our behaviors when we "lose our mind" reflect an inner reality that has been suppressed.

Try a lil' experiment. Sit down quietly, alone for an hour. Not doing anything. Just watching the functioning of your own Mind. Observe the Mental Chatter. Observe the defence mechanisms & denials. Observe the focus on wrongs done by others & the bypass of wrongs done by oneself.

Don't judge. Just observe. Notice how the stream of thoughts is not a continuous one. Disconnected bursts and mini-chains that a rational you would dismiss as babble. Notice how the thoughts that make you uncomfortable about your own "imperfections" are resisted, denied, banished

The courage to actually do this would go a long way in identifying one's own shadows. And S Aw'ness is a good thing,a beautiful thing. We are humans - susceptible to human frailties whn it comes to the Mind. What's ugly is self-opaqueness,SA is the antidote

Observe. Become aware

Before one puts a Buddha nature as a goal, one has to actually see, acknowledge the dark nooks and crannies within the Mind. Those unconsciously affect our speech, actions,behavior. Denial of the underlying processes is a way of merely fooling ourselves. No change comes fm denial

Much of the mischief we wreak on others/ourselves comes from the shadows within us. We are so resistant to shining some light on those nooks and crannies, so terrified, so terrorised, that we would rather blame others and outside conditions.

Self-efficacy follows self-awareness.

What is resisted, suppressed and denied does not cease to act just because of the aforementioned suppression. It continues to act, but we then attribute to others/outside forces those actions, in another attempt to now suppress and deny that we have suppressed/denied anything!

If this does not make sense, then focus outwards. What do you see beneath the surface when u see the behavior and actions of Modi, Trump, Agnihotri, Arnab, Patra, Kangana? Yes, the same mechanisms I spoke of.

Are they really so different from us? Not unless we can look within.

I have many bones to pick with R D Laing on some of his theories and even methods. But this is a deep penetration into the human mind - I consider him to be a genius for this insight and articulation.
#Psychology
#EndOfThread

There is another aspect to all of this, beyond merely the unconscious being the storehouse of what is repressed. It pertains to equal space in the unconscious for dissociated states that result from trauma and cause many identity disorders. Will build on that another day.