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The Importance of an Open Mind
In the 1500s in a small village in Germany, several townsfolk became concerned when one of the citizens locked himself in his house for five days. Every part of the house was completely closed and tightly sealed and because of their concern, the townspeople broke down the door to check on the man. Once inside they found the man dead. Nothing that the people saw could explain why the man had died.
In that time, people could not figure out the real reason why the individual had passed away. One philosopher, a great observer of nature, reasoned that something had polluted the air, causing a stagnation and the stagnation led to the death of the body.
From this experience the philosopher observed similar situations in nature as well as similar situations in human nature, where a closing off of vital nutrients led to a stagnation and a sort of death of normal activity.
Usually we think of crystallization and stagnation in terms of the outside physical world but this also can take place in the physical body, and more importantly, within the mind of an individual. Through fatigue, neglect and rigid thinking, the mind becomes stagnant which can lead to the decline of the mind as an instrument of inspiration, aspiration and a tool for the acquisition of knowledge.
We must be ever cautious that our mental realm does not become crystalized through prejudice, rigid opinions and quick conclusions before our mental instrument has had an adequate experience to justify our conclusions.
It seems that through our learning experiences during education that we tend to specialize and narrow our perspectives. One wise philosopher stated that on every level of society we find minds locked within artificial and arbitrary limitations.
As the citizen of the town referenced above, slowly closed off every possible flow of fresh air and thereby the life force to his body, he put into motion a stagnation and set the course for the death of his physical body.
The mind must also have access to fresh ideas and inputs that challenge the awareness or prejudice and dogmatic attitudes can lead to a stagnation and a death of sorts of the complete mental functioning of the mind. The ancient teachers in the Platonic school believed that it was important to have an understanding of general principles before trying to understand particulars. Far more is gained by starting from generalization and seeing the whole perspective than by being mired in specialization and losing sight of the whole.
The aspect of stagnation exists on all planes of our reality. With fresh air and circulation, the house would be a place of rest for both body and mind. With all avenues of fresh input closed the house became a death trap.
We must ask ourselves why are we here, what is the purpose of life? Is the purpose to acquire goods and things which can lead to a myopic view of our existence in life, gathering things which we cannot take with us when we pass from this earth? Or are we here to learn, through our experiences of life, and the total wisdom we have gained will be carried with us beyond the end of our physical existence?
One way to help ourselves achieve a more optimum journey is to place ourselves in the world of beauty, balance and harmony. We should not only work with nature but with human nature, especially our own. It seems that streams of lower vibrational activities are poured down upon us all the time. The solution comes from an old Socratic axiom which states, “Venerate the One, love the Beautiful, and serve the Good.”
Never be intimated, afraid, defensive or overwhelmed by new thoughts, ideas or opinions. These experiences have been arranged by the greater aspect of yourself to help you grow and learn in your life. The more open your mind is to observe new ideas, new thoughts and new pathways that enter your awareness, the greater your understanding will be regarding the lessons you’ve come to learn on this plane.
To inspire and empower with love, in love and through love.
In the 1500s in a small village in Germany, several townsfolk became concerned when one of the citizens locked himself in his house for five days. Every part of the house was completely closed and tightly sealed and because of their concern, the townspeople broke down the door to check on the man. Once inside they found the man dead. Nothing that the people saw could explain why the man had died.
In that time, people could not figure out the real reason why the individual had passed away. One philosopher, a great observer of nature, reasoned that something had polluted the air, causing a stagnation and the stagnation led to the death of the body.
From this experience the philosopher observed similar situations in nature as well as similar situations in human nature, where a closing off of vital nutrients led to a stagnation and a sort of death of normal activity.
Usually we think of crystallization and stagnation in terms of the outside physical world but this also can take place in the physical body, and more importantly, within the mind of an individual. Through fatigue, neglect and rigid thinking, the mind becomes stagnant which can lead to the decline of the mind as an instrument of inspiration, aspiration and a tool for the acquisition of knowledge.
We must be ever cautious that our mental realm does not become crystalized through prejudice, rigid opinions and quick conclusions before our mental instrument has had an adequate experience to justify our conclusions.
It seems that through our learning experiences during education that we tend to specialize and narrow our perspectives. One wise philosopher stated that on every level of society we find minds locked within artificial and arbitrary limitations.
As the citizen of the town referenced above, slowly closed off every possible flow of fresh air and thereby the life force to his body, he put into motion a stagnation and set the course for the death of his physical body.
The mind must also have access to fresh ideas and inputs that challenge the awareness or prejudice and dogmatic attitudes can lead to a stagnation and a death of sorts of the complete mental functioning of the mind. The ancient teachers in the Platonic school believed that it was important to have an understanding of general principles before trying to understand particulars. Far more is gained by starting from generalization and seeing the whole perspective than by being mired in specialization and losing sight of the whole.
The aspect of stagnation exists on all planes of our reality. With fresh air and circulation, the house would be a place of rest for both body and mind. With all avenues of fresh input closed the house became a death trap.
We must ask ourselves why are we here, what is the purpose of life? Is the purpose to acquire goods and things which can lead to a myopic view of our existence in life, gathering things which we cannot take with us when we pass from this earth? Or are we here to learn, through our experiences of life, and the total wisdom we have gained will be carried with us beyond the end of our physical existence?
One way to help ourselves achieve a more optimum journey is to place ourselves in the world of beauty, balance and harmony. We should not only work with nature but with human nature, especially our own. It seems that streams of lower vibrational activities are poured down upon us all the time. The solution comes from an old Socratic axiom which states, “Venerate the One, love the Beautiful, and serve the Good.”
Never be intimated, afraid, defensive or overwhelmed by new thoughts, ideas or opinions. These experiences have been arranged by the greater aspect of yourself to help you grow and learn in your life. The more open your mind is to observe new ideas, new thoughts and new pathways that enter your awareness, the greater your understanding will be regarding the lessons you’ve come to learn on this plane.
To inspire and empower with love, in love and through love.
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