The Unthinking Man

I am regularly accused of thinking too much.  Or over-thinking certain things.  But I have no reason to apologize for my thinking.  I have no reason to apologize because I think unconventionally.  It is not a matter of “I think therefore I am”,  but rather, I am and thus I think.  I’ve been told to put away the monkey brains.  You know what I’m talking about ...  The mental capacities that have arisen and have themselves been defined as our ego personalities.  The entity that we think is us but in actuality is only the mechanics of the material infrastructure, only real on the lower planes of thought and dimension, divorced from our deeper hidden conscious being.  Now all this sounds fine at first listen, but I have not been told what to replace them with, nor has it been demonstrated to me that it is actually possible to do this.  Not on any kind of a consistent basis at least.  It would seem to be quite a simple matter to just empty one’s head and for a period of time let everything out.  And I have absolutely no doubt that many actually do this.  But I’ve yet to find even one who can do this consistently and still function and communicate in the real world, notwithstanding the virtual world.

It would seem to me that my problem with thinking is not my problem with thinking but others lack of thinking that cannot tolerate my thinking.  You see this transcends philosophy or ideologies, religion or spirituality. It is simply the nature of the lower material human being to find comfort and security in the knowledge that has been thus far attained and to measure all things by it, thus circumventing the necessity to have to do the work and actually consider new possibilities that may have previously been overlooked or sidestepped.

I do not find it necessary to apologize for the fact that I search through ancient philosophies and doctrines, mysteries and religions as I glean my way in search of what I can attest to as “my perception of the nature of reality”.  I do not presume that the Newtonian – Cartesian scientific mindset is absolute for judging the nature of what is.  Neither do I fully accept unequivocally the more modern quantum explanations as utterly sustainable.  But neither do I discount these.  They are only models.  Models do work well for a time, and are quite useful in helping us understand what it is we can understand to the extent that these can be proven true.  But like any model, the model is only valid to the degree that observation substantiates it.  The same holds true with religious mythology.  The difference being mythology should never be taken literally.  And as the mythology is only a metaphor it can be reevaluated, reinterpreted and carry its fundamental truths and multiple perceptions of truth as they relate to the human condition as we seem to be separated from that which is our innate being and connection with ourselves, our environment, and the rest of creation.

I am not so sure that modern man is the “crown of creation”.  It certainly would seem that there’s a great deal that we must remember if not altogether relearn.  It would seem to me that rather than scrapping our minds and ceasing to think it would be more to our advantage to reconsider the purpose of thinking in relation to our whole human character, and allowing that to occur in us as we, the human being, have evolved to be capable of.  That does not imply that we allow unfettered logic and reason to dominate what it is we are, neither do we allow ignorance and laziness to define what it is that is or is not acceptable thinking matter.

This I know ... “I have been told we can create our own reality” ...this I also believe. I believe it is an intrinsic innate quality that is the human being. “I have been told intention plays a great part in this” ... this I also believe. Despite and often in spite of what may appear to be temporal circumstance, I believe we – on deeper levels of consciousness are active in the creation and manifestation of our reality. Don’t ask me to prove it, I can’t, but it is something I “know”. Sure ... it is subjective. And some will choose to consider this aspect of my thinking delusional. So what? There are some who can not conceive that the process of meditation can be beneficial to “clearing out the crap that has accumulated in ones mind”. So what? There are many who have chosen to regard every possibility of psychic or ‘spiritual’ phenomena as bunk, or at the very least rooted in natural material reality. So what?

I believe I experience and realize a spiritual plane of existence that transcends the material. I normally would not speak of this openly, as our culture (though slowly progressing) simply can not handle it. But ... to one degree or another ... each and everyone of us have to relate to this lower common culture if we are to exist, let alone survive and prosper.

All I really want to do is play the stupid guitar. It doesn’t sound like to much to ask  ... a simple request. But there are a lot of things that went into learning to play that dumb inanimate configuration of, wood, brass and steel, and polymers. Many long hours of practice, playing the same riffs over and over, working past the tender fingers and cramped muscles, to reach a level of physical competence that allows me to move virtually anyplace I want to on the neck of the guitar ... “without thinking about it”.

But being able to go where I wanted to go was not a great deal of help, unless I knew where I wanted to go. So after so many years of following the chord charts of this song or that one, and haphazardly doing leads that may have been unique (but certainly were not very melodic), I decided to apply myself to understanding some music theory. This has been a long and slow process, but over the years a rather large collection of music concept has been accumulated and is both part of my mental and “real” library to be drawn on virtually at will, and as often as live interaction takes place ... on the fly ... as I choose to do it. To a degree I have reached a point that I can determine where I want to get to... and know that I have the ability to get there ... without thinking about it.

But ... for this to occur ... a lot of stuff had to be experienced first. A lot of that was mental discipline ... and a lot was purely physical training. The result is, in the appropriate environment, I can express and realize a spiritual manifestation that communicates across the barriers between the spiritual and the material. This is what artists do ...

I have found (and I speak for my own satisfaction, not anyone else’s) there are levels of human existence that some realize in differing degrees. And it would seem that the higher the level of perceived or presumed spiritual attainment (I balk here because all too many presume all too much) the more difficult it is to communicate and relate to the poor slobs down on the lower end of the ladder. Don’t ask me where I am on the ladder; I really don’t have a clue, moment to moment. I just know it seems like I’m going up and down as it suits the need.

But for me to interact and relate to the lower end, the part where I need to concern myself with eating and sleeping, and keeping off the streets, a great deal of mental acumen needs to be exercised. Not that I particularly like it, but it does seem to come with the territory. And, as much of my dream – the dream I want to realize - will be experienced down here, the tools of the dimension (my mind) have proven to be a necessary factor in working it out.

At the same time, the issues that concern the lower end reality, whereas I access a higher end vision, need to be assessed and considered in order to apply a higher level value judgment. Though some may consider this non-applicable, I have found my mind to be beneficial in understanding and applying the “more” that I “know”. Higher levels of mind express themselves no less in the material than the spiritual, but logic and reason are more often than nor requisite.

Our minds are like fine instruments. They can be learned to be used appropriately, and mastered, and produce great things. Or they can be used to churn out slop rock ... It makes no difference to the mind ... It would be just as happy doing either. Or ... with the proper work and mastery, it can produce masterpieces of insight ... transcending itself ... I think there were a few who managed it ... but I do not believe they ceased thinking ... but took it to a higher level. I’d kinda like to do that ... the same as with the guitar.