Self as Metaprogrammer by Chris Arkenberg from Maybe Quarterly Magazine
Excerpts:
Metaprogramming - becoming the mind you want to be
Most of us will live our lives without much consideration of these ideas,
content to exist as semi-automatons, acting & reacting based on genetics and
imprints and the accumulated experiences of our lives without ever
questioning these habitual responses to our world. In spite of the brain's
ongoing updates, the perceptions and beliefs of most people will change
little after about 30 years of age, barring some sudden traumatic or visionary
experience which disrupts their ingrained view of things enough to allow the
brain to rewire a new way of seeing the world. Yet the hardware of the brain
and the software of the mind is open source. We can each become mind
programmers - metaprogrammers - actively rewiring our beliefs and
associations towards whatever goal we may have. This is no new revelation
and there are many techniques, both modern and archaic, for breaking the
mold of belief and mapping novel associations in the brain.
Ritual
The networks of the brain are not designed to change at the slightest whim
or passing fancy. Nor are the constructs of the psyche. Sudden, radical
confrontation can inspire change, as in our phoenix analogy, but so can
persistent repetition, like learning to play the piano. We acquire this skill
through diligent practice, over and over, slowly rewiring our brain to adapt
to the task and integrate the art. Much of eastern mysticism proceeds by this
path, like a river slowly wearing down the hardened stone until it is soft and
polished. Magickal ritual may employ radical initiations, but for most it is a
daily practice that gradually reprograms the practitioner to be more in line
with the metaphysics of the path. Anything done regularly and consistently
will forge grooves in the brain.
Read it all!
Excerpts:
Metaprogramming - becoming the mind you want to be
Most of us will live our lives without much consideration of these ideas,
content to exist as semi-automatons, acting & reacting based on genetics and
imprints and the accumulated experiences of our lives without ever
questioning these habitual responses to our world. In spite of the brain's
ongoing updates, the perceptions and beliefs of most people will change
little after about 30 years of age, barring some sudden traumatic or visionary
experience which disrupts their ingrained view of things enough to allow the
brain to rewire a new way of seeing the world. Yet the hardware of the brain
and the software of the mind is open source. We can each become mind
programmers - metaprogrammers - actively rewiring our beliefs and
associations towards whatever goal we may have. This is no new revelation
and there are many techniques, both modern and archaic, for breaking the
mold of belief and mapping novel associations in the brain.
Ritual
The networks of the brain are not designed to change at the slightest whim
or passing fancy. Nor are the constructs of the psyche. Sudden, radical
confrontation can inspire change, as in our phoenix analogy, but so can
persistent repetition, like learning to play the piano. We acquire this skill
through diligent practice, over and over, slowly rewiring our brain to adapt
to the task and integrate the art. Much of eastern mysticism proceeds by this
path, like a river slowly wearing down the hardened stone until it is soft and
polished. Magickal ritual may employ radical initiations, but for most it is a
daily practice that gradually reprograms the practitioner to be more in line
with the metaphysics of the path. Anything done regularly and consistently
will forge grooves in the brain.
Read it all!
