[pf] Repost: SEEING past brainwashing

by Kaleopono

19 December 2000 23:48 UTC

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kaleopono" <ssa@ilhawaii.net>
To: "Positive Futures list" <positive-futures@igc.topica.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2000 6:26 PM
Subject: SEEING past brainwashing


> Nan wrote in response to David M's forward of Arianna's comments on
> brainwashing:
>
>
> > >...the biggest obstacle to overcoming it is convincing the
> > >brainwashed that they are not thinking for themselves.  ... SEEING
> > >other ways of living has more impact than words.  ...
> >
> > Yes, seeing helps, but still we have to think.   Hard work.   Seeing
that
> our personal troubles are partly caused by the brainwashing helps.
>
>
> Here is some technical information about becoming free of brainwashing,
> finally able to SEE.
>
> The brainwashed CANNOT be convinced that they in fact are not thinking
> adequately for themselves.  It is futile to try.  SEEING comes first, then
> the thinking MAY be constructive and useful (it's not guaranteed, by any
> means).  Thinking cannot come before seeing.  Our educational system and
its
> products are proof of this assertion.
>
> Brainwashing makes it impossible to think "out of the box" and is the
reason
> for action teaching.  The linear  reasoning which we are taught from birth
> operates from usually unexamined assumptions.  This is the brainwashing
that
> underlies human culture...every culture.  Regardless of how they are
> instilled in a person, untested assumptions are still brainwashed
> assumptions.  The dynamics are similar to the computer principle:  Garbage
> in, garbage out.  Many such assumptions save one time in social
intercourse
> with others, and are harmless.  It is convenient to use them most of the
> time, so we don't think about what our assumptions are -- "That's just the
> way it is" and we know they work.
>
> But certain assumptions can be deadly.  When they are the foundation
> supporting everything in and about our lives, and questioning them means
> questioning many if not all aspects of how we live, the untrained human
> mental mechanism takes refuge in denial and is unable to SEE from a
> different perspective.  Hence no amount of logical argument will have any
> effect.
>
> Finding a skilled action teacher is probably necessary to disentangle
> oneself from this whirlpool.  Such a teacher will not rely on books and
> lectures to make his or her learning points (though he or she may use
> instrumental, preparatory materials transmitted via such media).  Instead,
> the teacher will engage the student in an ongoing activity through which
the
> teacher will be able to observe and assess the student over time.
>
> Then, as the student encounters an experience while the teacher is present
> (which often will be staged or managed by the teacher for the purpose of
> creating an effective learning situation appropriate for the state and
stage
> of the particular student...but which may serendipitously occur
> spontaneously, too), the teacher can use that concrete experience to jolt
> the student's point of view into a new orientation outside of the
> brainwashed "prison".  All of a sudden, the student will have the
> opportunity to see with new eyes.  If the student is strong enough to
accept
> a succession of such experiences (which may be perceived as very
unpleasant
> by the raw ego, especially early on), gradually a new perception that is
> clear of the brainwashed dogma of the dominant culture can crystalize.
>
> A sincere, trusting relationship between student and teacher is necessary.
> The upside down world is righted in this manner described above in 99.999
> percent of individual cases.  The teacher who has already traversed the
road
> is an inescapable necessity for the novice who is imprisoned by cultural
> programming.
>
> Kaleopono
>
>