The Trance of Expectation

WE see what we expect to see. The brain filters out information to simplify the conduct of daily life. That is also our limitation. So we speak of thinking "outside of the box," but what does that mean and can it be developed?

For me it is the rehabilitation of creativity and if there is any sense to be made of the idea that we are made in the image of the Creator it is to be found in cultivating our creative capacity.

Einstein said that G-d does not play with dice. I would interpret this to mean that in an ordered Universe, all problems to be a problem must contain unconsciousness and our challenge in becoming fully human is as Carl Jung said, to make the unconscious conscious... which is to say to clearly perceive what is there and from within this clear seeing to make new choices and higher integrations based in having more information available - allowing new connections and insights which honor the internal order of existence. Such an internal order seems always at work in an evolutionary direction unless it is interfered with by imposing our design based in unconscious motivations and unknown data ... something human beings are notoriously adept at.

Again for me this means a restoration of creativity as the solution to every problem. I offer there is no problem where there are found sufficient options and any limitations of our options are to be found in a lack of creative perception and not inherent in the problem itself.

Before I give a process designed to rehabilitate our creativity, let me recall a story of Alfred Korzybski teaching a class in semantics. The professor held up a match box and asked what it was. Predictably the response was "match box." Korzybski's response was a loud and immediate "NO!" He said, "Matchbox is a noise." and he threw the object into the crowd and weapon like struck a student. Clearly the object could at least be a projectile of some sort ... perhaps a home for a beetle.

Given this I pose a question and invite the reader to ponder again and again and again:
"WHAT COULD YOU ALLOW 'IT' TO BE?"

Substitute 'IT'' for virtually anything one can become aware of; an object, a person, an emotion, attitude or physical condition, even oneself.

An example: What could you allow this Blog post to be?

An example of pixels if printed and viewed under a microscope?
The ravings of mad Philosopher plotting to de-stabilize your life?
A teaching of potential value for one with writers block or tasked with solving problems?
A string of letters to practice devising a code for or as a translation challenge for Esperanto?

This little question can be liberating and reveal where we are stuck. One simple definition of freedom is the ability to change ones mind. And in terms of healing, the more open we can be to the possibilities of change, the greater our success. This process works on that principle.