It's been a while since i've posted here, last time over a 18 months ago. Life has been busy. Life has also been quite unsettling, stressful and frustrating, particularly over the past three months. Not going to divulge all the personal stress i've endured, but perhaps look more at social stress the community surrounding me creates and endures under itself. A lot, though not all stress is our own doing, some is certainly due to surrounding circusmtances, but also a by-product of the state of our mind in how we respond and resolve critical issues.
MindSet. It's an interesting word. A noun describing an established set of attitudes held by an individual or group of people. It's another word for mentality, though the word "mindset" seems more definitive in nature.
It's also a compound word. Mind + Set.
"Mind" is the part of a person which enables them to be aware of the world around them, to think, feel and most importantly gives one the ability to reason. In Isaiah 1:18 the prophet relays the following message from God: "Come let us reason together". Reasoning seems to be more of challenge to delve deeper in thought rather than simply think within the limiting framework of our knowledge and experience.
"Set" can mean adjusting "setting a watch to the correct time", or "setting" something in a specific place, or even hardening or "setting" of liquid to solid. Each meaning of the word "set" is defined by a concrete action resulting in a relatively unchanging or immovable state. It can be defined in both positive and negative contexts.
So what "MindSet" should we have, or do our minds need to be "un-Set" to properly reason, as God calls us to? We all have gathered knowledge and experiences which form our opinions and views. Can any of us really think with an open mind? Can we truly reason? Human nature is interesting in the fact that we generally want confidence and security in what we believe, so our minds tend to gather information which confirm our beliefs rather than upset them. This is called "selective thinking", and we all do it to a certain degree. We like to think of ourselves of having an open mind, but the reality of our thinking is often skewed by our own mindset. Yes, all our minds have been "set" to one degree or another.
Yesterday i spent several hours online debating economics and monetary policy with a friend who has a different "mindset" to mine on this topic. He seems to think a specific cryptocurrency will solve most the world's economic problems, while i have some serious doubts. In our discussions i like to believe i have a more open and broader mindset, but this might not be true. Just like him, i base much of my views and arguments on my personal knowledge and experience. Our knowledge base is not all that different but our experiences have been drastically different, and this skews our respective views. As we both tried to "reason" with one another, clear differences in our views remain.
Politics often plays games with the mindset of the public. Embedding ideas while systematically confirming these ideas through various channels can create mindsets not capable of reasoning. Authoritarian leaders have used this "mind setting" strategy for centuries to gain power and retain power. It doesn't matter what the narrative is, as long as it is serving the authoritarian power. People who reason are shot down, both figuratively as well as literally. Reasoning is not encouraged much in politics, even when politiciions encourage people to "think", what they are really doing is "setting up" what the public should think to serve their purposes.
I see a similar "mindset" danger in my kids. They get an idea in their head from who knows where, that they can't do something, or that they must do something, then they gather information which confirms what they believe rather than thinking and reasoning things out. They are not stupid, just don't know how to adequately reason yet. If there's something i want to impart to my kids, it is the ability to reason and not just think within the limits of their current information and understanding. It is the basis for growth and gaining new knowledge about life as well as oneself.
So how does one "un-Set" the mind, to be more capable of learning and reasoning. This is also critical for dealing with crisis, that befalls most every one of us at some point in our lives. It's certainly easier said than done. Our knowledge and experiences directly impact our responses both in discussions/debates, as well as in times of crisis. It takes a very conscious effort, to be aware of the information or experiences which have set our minds to think in a certain way, and challenging that mindset. What is the basis of what i believe? Is there another vantage point i have not considered? What would i believe if my experience was different? How do ideas and concepts instilled in me from childhood on effect my views, decisions, and responses?
"Un-Setting" the mind is not easy or comfortable. There are thought patterns or "ruts" embedded in our minds which we easily fall back into. Yet the challenge was presented to us thousands of years ago: "Come let us reason together". It's not only the best approach to honestly address and clear sin from our lives, but to develop our thinking and reasoning abilities. Let's "un-Set" our minds and learn how to reason.
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