Vital Lies, Simple Truths

We blame the media, we blame the politicians, we do all we can to see the problem with systems “out there.” This is an understandable impulse, but it misses the point as blame is a vicious cycle that ultimately gets us no where. And, we feel frustrated and powerless.

George Orwell wrote, “It is a constant struggle to see what is under one’s nose.” This is the core of the understanding what goes wrong in politics. The human mind can only take in so much information at one time. So, the mind is going to quickly absorb the familiar. It will resist allowing into its viewscreen that which is unfamiliar. So, it takes a struggle to allow other perspectives.

We may see a hundred bits of data on one issue and the mind will land on the data the confirms a pre-established set of assumptions and then MAGNIFY it as THE truth. This is brain science 101. It is why we all can’t play well in the sandbox. It is why entire empires have been brought down–they were in a fog of delusion and confusion and couldn’t see what was in front of their faces.

A good campaign manager understands this. They take a small piece of data out of context from a news conference or public speech that makes the opponent look ridiculous, assign an image that riles the masses, magnify it and voila…you have yourself a powerful accusation that makes the other guy look like an incompetent.

This is the power of developing a meditation practice because you begin to identify the hamster wheel of patterns in your own mind. You get some space between your assumptions and open the door to a tiny little sliver of another perspective. It’s scary stuff as you can no longer rest on the laziness of “us vs. them” and you may have to develop a modicum of compassion for the people, countries and ideologies you have been well trained to hate.

Check out the book, “Vital Lies, Simple Truths” by Daniel Goleman. It’s short, clear and powerful. You will never look at politics and religion the same way again.