Isn’t it difficult to be open-minded when we know we are right and others are wrong. I think we are all guilty of being that way but let’s develop that thought a little further.
In my first post I ended with a comment that it was enough at that stage to accept that good and evil are different things. That seems obvious but we may have different opinions about how we decide between the two.
I don’t really like the term evil. Maybe ‘wrong’ is a softer way of saying the same thing. We all know when things are wrong. It’s when we feel angry, defensive, sarcastic, critical or frustrated. No one likes to feel that way. So that should tell us that we are reacting to something in the wrong way.
I also stated that human experience and spirituality are different to one another. By human experience I mean the physical things that impact on us. Spirituality, however, is not physical and is a deeper appreciation of our soul and inner spirit.
We all have an interest in things that impact on us. In fact, it’s my observation that most people focus too much on their own well-being. If we have greater focus on others we can have empathy and be more receptive to their ideas. That makes us more open-minded.
What influences the way we think ?
It’s clear enough to me that we are influenced by our environment. If we are exposed to something consistently throughout our life that becomes our reality. This is recognised by the current government of Russia. It’s a reason why it has strict control of the media and the educational system in that country. It also influences the thinking of its population by repeatedly telling them that Russia is on the side of good and is the greatest country in the world.
Whereas there are some good things that come out of Russia its inclination to expand its territory is not one of them. Culturally, however, there are good things that Russia has given to the world. Things like the results of its artistic endeavour, literature, dance and vodka. The latter is something that comes not only out of Russia but also out of many Russians. It just shows that there are good and bad things everywhere.
Avoidance of failings by projection
Something else that the government of Russia does is what is known as projection. That is, accusing their opposition, and those who they perceive to be the enemy, of being guilty of exactly what they do themselves. To me, this demonstrates that they know that such actions are wrong but they don’t wish to or are unable to admit their faults. They project them onto others.
Projection is a characteristic of most dictators and an outcome of having narcissistic personality disorder or narcissistic tendencies. Such people are clearly self-obsessed. They do not have empathy or concern for others. They seem to be unaware of their own failings. Their habit of projecting their faults onto others seems to be a form of self-defence. It enables them to avoid acceptance of their failings. To me, this illustrates that deep down within their psyche there is a mechanism that sorts out right from wrong. It may not, however, have risen to the conscious level.
Our truth
We all seem to have an automatic or inbuilt appreciation of what is wrong. That’s in regard to what is morally wrong and in the way that we respond to or treat others. It seems to me that the tendency to project is to varying degrees inherent in all of us. It’s a means of taking the high ground, of always being right. We find it hard to accept that we are sometimes totally wrong in what we do. I guess that’s us holding onto our truth; something that we need to do for our own sanity.
I remember attending a training program when I was working. This stressed that the human brain was unable to hold, at the same time, two opposing truths. That would drive us insane. So, we only hold onto only one “truth”. We may, however, be exposed to conflicting information. That is either by observing unfolding events, by new evidence or by the comments of others who hold a different “truth”. It can be difficult to let go of what we consider to be true.
Our truth is based on our own experience and desires. After all, that’s all we know. This makes it interesting when someone else has a different truth. We naturally find it difficult to accept things that are at conflict with our truth. It results in many arguments.
When two people have views that are far apart from each other it can be even more difficult for them to reach agreement. When considering atheism versus Christian belief there is potential for real conflict. The two views are in total opposition.
The bible identifies that many people will reject Jesus. After all, to follow his teachings means that we are less focussed on self and are more focussed on our spirituality.
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