The Thinker and The Prover
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| Time | Text |
|---|---|
| In the book Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson wrote that humanity is on the cusp of a Promethean awakening where we have the potential to evolve our consciousness into a higher intelligence with a greater awareness, but only if we intentionally reprogram our own mind. | |
| The book's central thesis is that the individual human perception of reality is subjective, shaped by imprinted habits and conditioned beliefs that can limit our access to higher consciousness. | |
| Liberation from this internal trap requires our attention and effort. | |
| To illustrate the evolution of consciousness, Wilson uses the eight-circuit model of consciousness developed by psychologist Timothy Leary. | |
| In Leary's model, each circuit represents a developmental neurological stage of human consciousness. | |
| Starting at circuit one, we are only aware of basic survival needs and our own personal preferences. | |
| At circuit two, we become aware of ourself, our emotions, and the social power dynamics of dominance and submission. | |
| Circuit three is awareness of language, logic, and symbols, and gives us the ability for abstract thought and problem solving. | |
| Circuit four is when we become aware of the importance and need for healthy social connections. | |
| Circuit five is awareness that somatic practices such as yoga, dance, and massage promote relaxation and stress relief. | |
| Circuit six is an archetypal sense that everything is connected and a heightened self-awareness of how we connect. | |
| Circuit seven is awareness of one's own programming and the realization that positive intention leads to beneficial epigenetic changes in their health and longevity. | |
| And finally, Circuit 8 is transcendence. | |
| This is where we experience a dissolution of the ego and a sense of oneness with everything, which is where Robert Anton Wilson says we are all headed if we do the work. | |
| Wilson argues that the ruling elites of society have been actively trying to stall this awakening process, stifle higher consciousness, and perpetuate stupidity, violence, and stagnation. | |
| And they do this by hoarding and hiding information, dumbing down education and culture, and fostering ignorance, paranoia, and stupidity. | |
| These actions can help keep a human mind stuck in the lower levels of consciousness, but not quite as effectively as the main culprit of spiritual ignorance, the individual's own mind. | |
| Within the human mind, there is, by default, what Wilson calls the thinker and the prover. | |
| The thinker forms a belief, and the prover unconsciously seeks and recalls evidence to validate it while filtering out all contradictions. | |
| Until we evolve, the mind is wired to avoid any dissonance or threats to personal self-esteem. | |
| And so if the untrained mind finds a contradiction to a personal belief, it will automatically ignore it in order to spare you the emotional pain. | |
| This phenomenon is also known as confirmation bias. | |
| According to the 1977 paper, Telling More Than We Can Know, Verbal Reports on Mental Processes, people have limited introspective access to their own decision-making processes because many thought patterns operate on an automatic subconscious level. | |
| Studies show that people predictably ignore articles with headlines that contradict their belief. | |
| The brain encodes contradictions but ignores them in decision-making. | |
| And fMRI data shows how emotional centers activate for confirming info, naturally suppressing any contradictions that would do otherwise. | |
| Some of the latest research shows that engaging with artificial intelligence is amplifying and reinforcing our mind's confirmation bias by gleaning our beliefs and often placating them. | |
| In order to override this part of the mind, one must practice being self-aware at all times. | |
| This can be done through mindfulness meditation or study into the silent witness. | |
| Perhaps the easiest and most effective practice to begin with is deep breathing. | |
| You cannot change another person's mind. | |
| Only the individual can choose to cultivate humility and look at things differently. | |
| Greg Reese Reporting The Reese Report is now fully funded by my Substack subscribers. |