Emily Maroutian - Adventures in Thinking: Opening the Mind Beyond Practiced Limitations

Adventures in Thinking

Opening the Mind Beyond Practiced Limitations

By

Emily Maroutian

2017 by Emily Maroutian

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of Emily Maroutian, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.

ISBN-13: 978-1537423289

First Printing

Printed and bound in the United States of America by Amazon.com

Cover design by SelfPubBookCovers.com/Yana908

Maroutian Entertainment

Los Angeles, California

www.maroutian.com

For our collective humanity.

May we find our way back to each other.

Authors Note:

If youre reading this book, then theres a part of you that is seeking growth. Theres a part of you that is curious about its contents and what you can learn within these pages. As you continue to read this book, remember that part of you. Take it with you on this mental adventure, and you will gain maximum benefit.

- INTRODUCTION -

When our lives are on autopilot, we exist without awareness or mindfulness. Instead, we live reactive lives where we become slaves to our mental conditioning and emotional habits. We also become dependent on others for our internal balance. We remain at the mercy of others moods. We feel peace only when those around us are at peace. We feel good only when those around us feel good. As long as no one pushes our buttons, then we feel okay.

Other peoples words can act as triggers for our emotions. When we are provoked, then what began as a seemingly harmless conversation can easily turn aggressive. We might say things we dont mean, and we might lose control of ourselves.

The same part of the brain that activates during physical dangers also activates when our beliefs are challenged. We enter into survival mode, which blocks our minds from processing logical or rational information. This is why a conversation can turn violent quickly if one person feels as though their values or beliefs were attacked.

There are parts of us that are automatic and parts that can be affected consciously. You do not need to consciously beat your heart or pump your blood. You dont need to be aware of when your stomach digests your food. But you can slow your heartbeat through focus and deep breathing and you can also choose what kinds of foods your stomach digests. The mind is similar. There are processes you can have influence over and processes you cant.

The mind has several methods of thinking. It can be connected or disconnected, automatic or conscious. It can think subjectively or objectively, individually or universally. These methods can be sorted into two mind modes: the personal mind and the universal mind.

We are more likely to focus on the negative aspects around us when we are disconnected, automatic, subjective, and single-minded, which comes from the personal mind. When we are in this mindset, our minds are closed to new possibilities. We seek the familiar, the already known, and the things that give us a false sense of comfort and security. It constricts our world to reoccurring experiences that make us feel as if life is the same every day.

Our mindset determines the quality of our experiences by narrowing our focus on the aspects that match and feed that particular mind state. How we see determines what we see. Moreover, what we see reinforces how we see it. It creates a cycle that requires awareness to shift or change it.

In this book, we are going to use our minds to understand our minds. As you can imagine, this is going to pose many different problems. Youre going to agree with some things and disagree with others. Your mind is unique to you, as mine is unique to me. We understand and process information differently. What I intend to convey and what you actually comprehend can be inconsistent.

Its also possible that your mind will go into defensive mode and immediately begin to argue for itself. It might become offended at the notion that it is limited and biased. I dont do that. Im not judgmental. I can see clearly. This is a fact, not an opinion.

I ask that you read this book with an open mind but also that you prepare yourself for the resistance your mind might put up to the information presented in this book. Its not easy to accept that we contribute to the conflicts in our lives or within the world at large. Its so much easier to see how others create discord, but our minds block our involvement and accountability. We dont want to believe that we have as much power as we do. We would rather believe we are victims of circumstance.

The personal mind is defensive of established beliefs and protective of everything it has already learned. It is not willing to expand unless its pressured to through a threatening force or seduced through personal benefit. It does not want to go through the effort of growth unless it first sees the advantage.

The personal mind wants to ensure its survival above all else. It requires stability and familiarity. It seeks consensus with others because it needs validation and security. It will negate information that threatens its inner state of equilibrium. It will make you destroy your relationships, lash out on your co-workers, drop out of school, refuse to listen to others, watch only one news channel, and live in a kind of mental bubble where you are right most of the time.

The personal mind deceives us on a daily basis to keep us sane. It omits, distorts, and manipulates information so we can understand through our established mental frameworks. If we were to actually understand and retain every single piece of information as is we would lose our minds. It is the job of the personal mind to filter out anything that can act as a threat to the identity we have established. It is our buffer, our screener, the guard at the gate checking the validity of the information that wants to come through. It has its benefits and its downsides.

First, were going to examine how the personal mind is limited, how it creates conflicts, and how it contributes to global discord. Then, were going to explore how the personal mind benefits from diversity, growth, and sharing its unique gifts with others. Finally, were going to learn how opening the mind through curiosity can lead us to deep connection and universal thinking.

The purpose of this book is not to make you feel bad about your personal mind. We all have limitations. We are all similarly restricted in our thinking, just in different ways. Most of all, we all have access to our own awareness and thats ultimately the deciding factor in our level of consciousness.

There is only one exercise, one assignment within this book. It exists in two parts: become more aware of how your mind processes the world around you and stay open to new experiences by cultivating the spirit of curiosity. It sounds simple enough, but it will be challenging.

In this book, were going to play with the notion of a personal mind and a universal mind. Some of the concepts are sociological, some are psychological, and others are philosophical. I am not implying that you should agree with or believe anything written in this book. Im not here to change your mind; Im here to open it a little bit. You maintain your power to choose how much, for how long, and on which topics.

Were simply going to entertain some notions and see how we feel about them. In the same vein as my previous books, A Second Opinion and The Process of I, this is a philosophical book first and foremost. Its meant to inspire further thinking and analysis on a particular subject. Its meant to bring unexplored or unfamiliar information to your awareness. What you do with that information is up to you.