> > You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
> But programming lures us into believing we can control the outside events. That is where the suffering begins.
Isn't it the opposite? We're not surprised if someone who grew up amidst criminals also does crime. I'm not sure that I can choose whether to feel attracted to men instead of women. I can't control my mind, but I can choose what people to stay with and what media to be exposed to. I can adjust everything except for my mind: my hands write code, my feet take me elsewhere, I can tune into different media, I can choose to not speak agitatedly when a service rep. is following corporate policy, etc., whereas my mind moulds or reacts in response to those inputs (I'll still feel irritated by that corporate policy and be influenced by advertising)
If anything, I could see an argument for that you control neither, because obviously your control of your hands is coming from a combination of your mind's outputs and the physical laws of our environment
Dumblydorr
The mind is an elephant and “I” is an illusory rider on top of it, with barely any influence.
> But programming lures us into believing we can control the outside events. That is where the suffering begins.
Isn't it the opposite? We're not surprised if someone who grew up amidst criminals also does crime. I'm not sure that I can choose whether to feel attracted to men instead of women. I can't control my mind, but I can choose what people to stay with and what media to be exposed to. I can adjust everything except for my mind: my hands write code, my feet take me elsewhere, I can tune into different media, I can choose to not speak agitatedly when a service rep. is following corporate policy, etc., whereas my mind moulds or reacts in response to those inputs (I'll still feel irritated by that corporate policy and be influenced by advertising)
If anything, I could see an argument for that you control neither, because obviously your control of your hands is coming from a combination of your mind's outputs and the physical laws of our environment