Be it personal development, spiritual or even improving the material and financial aspect of your life, this article speaks to every way a person would want to be better at anything they seek.
In the search for a deeper understanding of life and what we really are, we may look towards the spiritual and religious teachings for something very different than what they teach. Perplexingly, we find the stories and texts to be vague or so simple, that we do not find a deeper meaning we can make use of.
Einstein said; “Curiosity has it’s own reason for existence.”
A Jewish Nobel prize winner was asked why Jews are only a fraction of a percent of the global population yet win a large percentage of Nobel prizes. His answer defined a difference in the Jewish religion from others; ‘When we are young, we are taught to ask questions, to debate, so our minds form in an inquisitive way so we are always looking for new answers which lead to new discoveries.’
The purpose of spiritual and mystical teachings is to elevate the seeker to a higher level of consciousness, and that brings forth greater intelligence. Needless to say, that would increase anyones capacity to achieve any goal and improve the quality of their life in any way they choose.
In order to understand something confusing, you have to think with a focused, devoted mind. When presented with a puzzle or riddle, you can give up and forget it, looking for something easier to pass your time with like TV or music, or you can put your mind to work.
Our entire life happens in our mind. If something happened, and you did not know about it, then in your world, it did not happen. In order for you to know that something happened, you have to know about it, and when that information reaches your mind, you will form an opinion about it, was it a good or bad thing, how will it effect your life, etc.
The problem is, if you do not understand it deeply enough and you stop with the surface of the information and form an opinion based on your subjective limited view, you will miss the opportunity to learn from the event and also miss an opportunity for gain or avoid an impending loss.
The study of perplexing teachings can give you the secrets in them but more importantly and far more valuable to your future, it forces you to develop a thinking mind and remove your fixed opinions.
Fixed opinions are a poison that taints everything we encounter so we never see things as they are. Having opinions allows you to avoid thinking, but without opinions, you must think deeply about everything to understand it well enough to respond appropriately. Thus this poison kills the mind by preventing it from growing.
Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the even now in his 80’s, still works in his business, analyzing companies and investments, observing the global economies, and in his spare time, exercises his mind in as complex ways as he can. He stays young because he pushes his mind to think very hard every day. That is a secret of health and youth, an open and inquisitive mind.
The perplexity of spiritual or other teachings forces one to learn to think, ask questions and explore. It is not as much to find answers as it is to develop a mind that can expand and see beyond simple things, an open mind. The answers are a bonus, the real gift is the opening of the mind.
You have a mind, make the best use of it by constantly thinking, learning and opening it as wide as possible by eliminating all fixed opinions about everything.
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