The Simple Explanation states that a huge part of our personalities is shaped by the memes we hold dear as well as the memes we hate.
The memes you cling to (sanskara), both the ones you like and ones you don't like, influence your ability to exercise your free will in the here and now. When you unthinkingly lock onto a meme or set of memes, it is your belief in the memes that determines how you will interpret your surroundings and how you will respond. Your response may or may not be the best response to a situation, but it is the only one your set of memes allows.
We see this phenomenon at play every day. For example, a person (person A) whose meme bundle includes a belief that others are "out to get me" will interpret events in a manner that reinforces that meme. The most innocent statements on another's part (person B) will activate person A's "out to get me" meme, even when no such insult was intended. Person A's ego is hurt by their own meme, not by person B.
Another example of delimiting memes occurs during problem-solving. The more tightly held one's memes are, the fewer solutions will present themselves. The ability to consider solutions "outside the box" and to engage in "lateral thinking" comes about through nonattachment to the "shoulds" and "oughts" of how things work. One must be willing to set aside treasured beliefs in order to perceive memes outside one's own bundle and thereby discover fresh solutions.
I realized the other day that each and every cultural institution we belong to (family, workplace, church, mosque, tribe, nation, etc.) not only comes with its own bundle of shared memes held in common by its members, it also comes with a filter that prevents members from acknowledging or adopting incompatible memes. Memes are even more important to an institution than its members in the sense that members come and go, but memes persist.
Institutions are defined as much by their excluded memes as they are by their included memes. An exclusive institution holds tightly to the indentity provided by its memes; its border is strong and its filter powerful. An inclusive institution allows members more latitude in the memes they may hold; its border is less defined; its filter less opaque. An "open-minded" institution acknowledges the fact that there are memes out there in the greater culture that may have value, and is willing to consider new memes; its border is permeable and its filter thin.
A goal of the Simple Explanation is to demonstrate the simple commonality of the reality underlying the panoply of memes. Not just the religious memes; not just the spiritual memes; but the "rational" and "scientific" memes, too.
We see this phenomenon at play every day. For example, a person (person A) whose meme bundle includes a belief that others are "out to get me" will interpret events in a manner that reinforces that meme. The most innocent statements on another's part (person B) will activate person A's "out to get me" meme, even when no such insult was intended. Person A's ego is hurt by their own meme, not by person B.
Another example of delimiting memes occurs during problem-solving. The more tightly held one's memes are, the fewer solutions will present themselves. The ability to consider solutions "outside the box" and to engage in "lateral thinking" comes about through nonattachment to the "shoulds" and "oughts" of how things work. One must be willing to set aside treasured beliefs in order to perceive memes outside one's own bundle and thereby discover fresh solutions.
I realized the other day that each and every cultural institution we belong to (family, workplace, church, mosque, tribe, nation, etc.) not only comes with its own bundle of shared memes held in common by its members, it also comes with a filter that prevents members from acknowledging or adopting incompatible memes. Memes are even more important to an institution than its members in the sense that members come and go, but memes persist.
Institutions are defined as much by their excluded memes as they are by their included memes. An exclusive institution holds tightly to the indentity provided by its memes; its border is strong and its filter powerful. An inclusive institution allows members more latitude in the memes they may hold; its border is less defined; its filter less opaque. An "open-minded" institution acknowledges the fact that there are memes out there in the greater culture that may have value, and is willing to consider new memes; its border is permeable and its filter thin.
A goal of the Simple Explanation is to demonstrate the simple commonality of the reality underlying the panoply of memes. Not just the religious memes; not just the spiritual memes; but the "rational" and "scientific" memes, too.
Hello Cyd, , I greet you with pleasure, and I emphasize the excellent and enlightening of your post. We believe that we are our belief system, which defines us and cloisters us, but we have an exit, go straight to the source, be our original unit of consciousness. Since I read the book Ekhart tolle "the power of now", you recomand me, is exquisite, I'm also taking lessons from a course in miracles.
ReplyDeletethanks and read and write you soon.
It is good to hear from you again, Cesar. I have missed your comments. I am glad you liked The Power of Now! I have not studied a course in miracles, although I have heard of it. Maybe you will teach me something from it.
ReplyDeleteI just replied to your spirit up, mud down (please excuse the transfiguration of your meme) article and would like to share a research article with you about fresh food and personal experiences. The interesting part for me was the affect on spirituality. Here is the link -
Deletehttp://www.iowasource.com/food/lenkastudy_0806.html
Peace
Hello Cyd,
ReplyDeleteA Course in Miracles is a training, it has a section on lessons (365) that will be conducting a daily lesson. It is to realize the pure and beautiful unity of consciousness we are.
I found that your work is well suited to this course as it explains in text and images that we could not yet see, they are complementary.
I Urge you to organize your work and publish it what you are doing is very valuable, informative and excellent.
Thank you, Cesar. As soon as our innkeeping business slows down for the Winter, I am hoping to do just that--organize this work and publish it. I am so happy that you are finding the Simple Explanation helpful.
ReplyDeleteThere you go, Matt. Good question about "what's under the memes?" We each come with a governing unit of consciousness that is a fractal of the One consciousness. It is eternal and perfect. The obfuscating memes drape over it like a bushel basket hiding a lamp.
ReplyDeleteSentient forms consist of the aggregated Units of Consciousness of the material forming their bodies, plus the self-aware governing Unit of Consciousness that is responsible for the life decisions of the whole entity. Every Unit of Consciousness reaches out to others with love, aid, and information to build the next level up. (the Simple Golden Rule)
I influence and am influenced by the karmic record generated by my choices and the choices that others have made. I am also influenced by the bundle of memes I and others choose to hold onto. Although I am influenced by many forces, I always retain my ability to freely choose which decision I will make here and now. You may wish to read https://asimpleexplanation.blogspot.com/2011/01/simple-fractal-model-of-conscious.html for the big overview of the Simple philosophy.