In this week’s spotlight I wish to discuss the nature of indoctrination. Webster defines indoctrination this way: the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. Now when I say indoctrination, most people will think of matters religious or political, but I want to extend the conversation to all of those issues that we have culturally inherited. Think, for example, about your attitude toward animals. Our culture favors some animals over others. For example, dogs, cats, and horses typically escape a turn at the ... Read More
I was recently asked why people are so resistant to the idea that their unconscious is active in every single thing they choose or do? In other words, why is it so hard to accept the fact that every one of us has two minds, and that these two minds don’t always agree with each other? In my opinion, that’s a very good question. Defining Free Will On a recent Provocative Enlightenment radio show, I spoke with Professor Patrick Grim about the idea of freewill. He is convinced that we ... Read More
In this week’s spotlight, I’d like to address the nature of certainty. Stanislaus is credited with saying, “To believe with certainty we must begin by doubting.” “Doubt everything,” admonished Buddha. The Course In Miracles begins by imploring you to doubt even the floor upon which you stand, the walls of your home that protect you from the fury of nature—doubt even the suggestion that nature itself exists. Indeed, the exercises in the Course are designed to convince you that everything is an illusion, including the idea that you are somehow ... Read More
In this week’s spotlight, I’d like to address the notion that people who believe in spiritual matters, including the so-called paranormal, are less bright than those who deny such things. A study I read this past week in Frontiers of Psychology suggests that this is due to the fact that believers rely on intuition instead of reason. Quoting for a moment, “Overall, the research found that atheists performed better overall than the religious participants even when demographic factors like age and education were taken into consideration. Agnostics mostly placed between ... Read More
We tend to think that we are in charge of our lives. We generally insist that we know why we do what we do—that is, we have reasons for everything. Most are aware that their unconscious minds, and I’ll use that term instead of the subconscious to refer to any and all non-conscious mental activity, participate to some extent in our choices and behavior. Still, the main of it comes down to our understanding that the conscious mind is in charge. Think of your mind for a moment. We generally ... Read More
