Free Your Mind

How To Begin Freeing Your Mind

We have all heard the phrase, “Free your mind.” However, the question that would naturally follow is how?  Well, If it’s true that “the truth will set you free”, then seeking and discovering  truth would naturally seem to be the answer.

Moreover, before you begin searching for the truth, it’s important to know a little bit about how the mind works in that regard.  You need to know what to expect when you or other individuals are exposed to truths that were originally thought not true.   But first, we need to look at how we determine what is true.  This brings us to what in psychology is termed “schemas.”

Schemas

A schema is a cognitive framework that a person develops about a thing over a period of time in which they use this developed framework to process all new cognitive information.  If the new information about the thing in question is disagreeable with the schema, it is rejected.  On the other hand, if the new information is agreeable, it is reinforced and therefore the more reinforcement the more powerful the schema becomes.

Perseverance Effect

There is a psychological term which describes the reaction that many people experience when they are confronted with the truth about something that disagrees with what they think is true.  The term is “The Perseverance Effect.”   Many find difficulty in accepting that their belief or understanding about a particular thing is wrong.  This can result in a very negative reaction where the person refuses to accept the new correct information regardless of how many facts or how much proof is presented.  Some people refer to this reaction as a psychotic episode.

Keep this in mind during your truth seeking or else your search will be futile.  What is the purpose of discovering truth when you’re unable to accept it?  Realize that the truth can sometimes be very unsettling, but if you just push through the emotion, you’ll be just fine.

Also keep this in mind when considering exposing others to information disagreeable with their current  schemas.

Meditation

You can use meditation to help further free your mind.  To Meditate means to quietly contemplate or reflect on something.  Furthermore, In a deeper sense It means to engage in a mental exercise for reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.