RE: Psychology Of The Future: The Power Of Going Meta
Alright. First of all, great writing. You have a nice attention grabbing intro with some humor that people can relate to. After that, everything just flows. This is a skill that not very many people have. Good for you!
Now, I honestly didn't know what this article about meta was going to be like. I associate this word with fraternity brothers and their interactions since that seems to be a popular word haha. Anyways, observing what you felt at that moment, taking yourself out of the equation and really digging deep into how you felt about it; I love this. At a particular moment, it's just basic human instinct to either get super excited, super anxious, or super upset for certain triggers. The ability to control this takes a higher level of consciousness I feel like. But, to get there, I think going meta is a great middle ground.
You train your mind into thinking how you felt and why can really make you get rid of any bias about anything. For instance, break ups are rough. At the moment your SO dumped you, you probably felt the world was collapsing. Now, if you rewind and think, you may find out that you felt more than just pure sadness. You may find that you actually were somewhat relieved it happened? You may find you realized at the moment that it was time for you to be strong. Maybe you felt empowered somewhere in the whirlwind of negative emotions, crying, and hatred towards the dumper; empowered to take control of your life.
I read a book (but haven't finished it yet :/ ) called The Power Of Now and in it, the author talks about how our mind is evil and we should really keep it in check by being a third person and observing your mind. I think your idea of meta thinking relates to this in a way. Really thinking about what the mind is coming up with instead of letting emotions take over.
Great post @axios! I'm going to follow you. Psychology and spirituality are my interests as well!
@cabernet, I'm loving this thorough and well thought response! I giggled a bit that you associated the concept with frat bros at first. I'm quite relieved that my ideas didn't deviate there... :P
I don't believe this concept requires any super mind strength by any means. But it does require you to get to a place where you can be present enough to ask yourself questions that lead your mind to a space that is outside of your current realm of thought. I really like to affirm the ease of this because, although it does require practice, it does not require any spiritual gifts or abilities by any means.
I'm a big fan of Eckhart Tolle and that book is an excellent read. He absolutely does expound on meta states, as what he teaches (non-duality), is a meta state within itself. Essentially, he shows you how to live beyond the meanings and definitions we place on life, to a space that exists simply and purely as it is... the present moment. It's the only true place to escape the chaos and find true peace.
Thanks for stopping by @cabernet. I am following you now too :)