This first quote was submitted by Scotty Rose who has been sharing Daggers Of The Mind on Facebook. Thanks so much, Scotty!
Angela Davis
Biography.com lists her as an Academic, Women’s Rights Activist, Scholar, and Civil Rights Activist. Her quote:
“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.”
From Dictionary.com the definition of
Liberate- to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.
Angela Davis has spent her life advocating changes in our society. Over the decades we have seen massive shifts in our culture, and every person you talk to would have their own opinions about how good or bad these changes are.
Isn’t that as it should be? We know how society has been evolving, but how do you liberate a mind?
Most of us, being quite human, will define a liberated mind as one who has been purged of all the things we each think are incorrect or wrong. That’s not liberation, that is mere conformity.
Conformity is what we’ve taught since childhood. That is the magic way we get along and prosper in this society. Follow the rules and everything will be happy and bright. No rebellion, no dissent, nobody ever makes waves and life is so well regulated and controlled. Ahhhh!
But wait, who is going to decide what “normal” is? The government? The church? Atheists? Democrats? Republicans? Libertarians? Hey, while we are at it, let the Anarchists have a shot at it! Well, so much for letting any one group decide what standard we should conform to.
We obviously need the rule of law, since many human beings like to do various shades of bad things to each other, and law is needed to keep this in check. Law in this country slowly evolves as the society makes new decisions about what is right and what is wrong.
If you are going to live with other humans, then some conformity is necessary, but in this environment, how can we free our minds? I submit, that it is only by our own choice.
That comes back to the programming we received growing up. There were a lot of wonderful lessons, and yes, prejudices learned as we were being raised. Most of who we are is tied into the combination of our personality and the environmental forces we adapted to as children.
Have you adapted so well to your teaching that you have become a robot, or have you actually evaluated your beliefs and motivations, freeing your mind to analyze and make value judgments on your own terms?
Now don’t try to discard everything. I would say that most of what you learned is quite wholesome and gives you a good foundation for a great life. But let’s revisit the aforementioned prejudices.
Dictionary.com again: Prejudice is defined as: “an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.”
It’s time to do an evaluation of the preconceived notions we bring to the table in our life choices. Spend a little time to ponder how right or wrong your little prejudices are, and you will be liberating your mind, one fallacy at a time.
This sounds quite revolutionary, but as an adult, it’s about time you began to think for yourself.
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Gloria Estefan
“I think we should all live the moment. But you also have to think ahead. You have to think, 'Am I going to be happy with this five, ten years from now? Is it going to let me evolve and grow, or am I going to grow to one day wish I had never done it?' Sometimes you just have to think a little bit ahead.”
Do you know anyone who blazes through life like a “bull in a china shop”? They constantly bump into things, breaking objects and relationships with equal ease.
We generally feel these people take absolutely no thought about the next minute, much less next week. Action, collision, action, more collision, etc.
How about you? Have you given any thought to the consequences of actions you have taken today?
We were taught in school that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. This is illustrated well on a pool table. When one ball hits another, it translates the force to the next ball. The more force transferred, the less the original ball continues to move.
Every action you take, large or small, creates ripples in your world. These ripples affect people and objects around you. Even if you don’t make physical contact with a person, just seeing you from a distance causes a reaction in them.
A good friend of mine, Jan, once said how important it was to take a “gentle path” through life, Nurturing others instead of getting in their way. If a friend has a beautiful flower bed, do you drag your feet through it, tearing up the plants, or take the less direct route up the sidewalk in respect of their beautiful accomplishment?
Think before you act. Then think again. Don’t be oblivious to the ripples you are causing in the lives of others. Make this type of thinking a habit by practicing it every day.
Henry David Thoreau said:
To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
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I would like to give a special thank you to Elsie Escobar on The Feed. The official Libsyn Podcast. In episode 33, she played a demo for Daggers Of The Mind on her podcast. Thanks for the plug, Elsie!
I would also like a give a big shout out to the band Portal who composed, performed and recorded all the amazing music you hear on this show.
If you are listening to this podcast on Facebook and like what you are hearing, why not share it? It only takes a moment, and I really appreciate your help!
Another great podcast!
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