2012.07.11 _ 92

The full cup and prejudices suggest beliefs we like to cling to..fixed views. Reminded of the Victorian philosopher JS Mill and his 'Dead Dogma' argument...'living truth' is so much superior...

“However unwillingly a person who has a strong opinion may admit the possibility that his opinion may be false, he ought to be moved by the consideration that however true it may be, if it is not fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth.” – John Stuart Mill

The thing about these filters and fixations of the adaptive unconscious, according to Wilson, is that people generally do not have access to these. What they have access to, is a conscious choice they've made, and the 'reason' or 'story' they *then* confabulate to explain that choice, which is, factual/accurate. However, they/we/whoever, attribute this choice to a fact they are able to access "I made my decision based on ____" without *seeing clearly* that they may have been influenced/sparked by any number of things in their wider environments. I'm not sure if this author will get to 'body', and stored memory/triggers, but these seem things long on the radar of contemplatives, with fairly new research overlaps. This ties into the "free will" discussion because there is and simultaneously isn't, in this view. There are ways to see what 'we' are up to, but maybe introspection to seek cause/effect isn't too accurate, which points to a need for sangha of not just friends who may share in our stories, but strangers. I was thinking it may also point to why (with apologies to those tired of the word) dropping even introspective thoughts, which seem 'helpful' and 'improving', is suggested during meditation. edited 22:02, 11 Jul 2012

Karuna-metta meditation.
And paintings, lots of paintings.