Beyond the Self Mind

Beyond the Self Mind

People seldom look for answers when they don’t have any questions. When reality is perceived as solidly “known”, it engenders no investigation – why would it? We seem to live our lives at face value and rarely look beneath the surface of our daily existence. We move through different circumstances – engaging in events, interacting with others, judging, perceiving, reacting – all within our taken-for-granted worlds. We act as if we know what it’s all about. But something at the core of our being remains apprehensive about the possibility that our sense of reality and sense of self are somehow fabrications.

From infancy, the human mind struggles for certainty, continually drawing conclusions in an attempt to discern the meaning of everything we perceive. Many such skills are needed for self-preservation. We learn to recognize a relationship between hand and mouth, and pick out the sound of our mother’s voice, then quickly move on to essentials like “Will it eat me?” or Can I eat it?”

As we grow, we assimilate and develop very basic beliefs and conclusions, not only about the world but also about ourselves. These core beliefs fall into the background as permanent organizing factors for all new information. As a survival mechanism it’s quite efficient, but one of the major drawbacks is that all future encounters will be biased by these previous conclusions. This is no small matter. Anything we perceive – even whether or not we perceive it – is subject to the filter of our beliefs and assumptions. What we don’t realize is that we are so deeply entrenched in these convictions and beliefs that they are unrecognizable. Our core beliefs simply appear to us as reality. 

to be continued...


The Book of Not Knowing
Peter Ralston