What does it mean to have an open mind? (1 Viewer)

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Snowmelt

Snowmelt
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I've only recently pondered this question, since I've always had one. Just came with the territory, the way I was brought up; DNA; not too worried about the status quo and how the reflection of myself came back to me via the opinions of others; always wanting to learn more of all and anything.

But on reflection, when I think of life challenges I have been presented with, they often came with dealing with someone other than myself whose mind was closed. Period. My way or the highway. This is the way we do things here. I am the dominant, you will do as you're told. Win/lose paradigm (as opposed to the perfectly possible Win/Win). Etc. (To expand this subject, we could also ask: what does it mean to have an open heart? That would really set the cat among the pigeons, because open heart/open mind is a highly evolved equation, which collective humanity is striving for.

What is it that people FEAR in opening their heart or mind? Perhaps it is only the fact that 99.99% of people have never experienced bliss. Once you have a taste of bliss, the pulsating, never-ending, immortality type of bliss, you know it's worth taking a few risks to attain it, perhaps permanently.


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I asked my search engine to come up with a few ideas:-

https://www.essentiallifeskills.net/openmind.html
https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-to-have-an-open-mind
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+an+open+mind
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/open-mind


This question has also been investigated in a scientific abstract by the following (found on www.open-mind.net)
Metzinger, T. & Windt, J. M. (2015). What Does it Mean to Have an Open MIND?
In T. Metzinger & J. M. Windt (Eds). Open MIND: 0(GI). Frankfurt am Main: MIND Group. doi: 10.15502/9783958571044

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic, and any anecdotes that illustrate how you overcame a situation where you were faced with close-mindedness. Does it really entail waiting for that other person to finish off this life and then be reincarnated with a new mind/fresh slate? Sometimes, head-butting up to a closed mind can feel like that.

What are the options?
 
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Snowmelt

Snowmelt

Snowmelt
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I have a book on my bookshelf by Michael Bentine, called "Doors of the Mind". It is an autobiography (his second), by a man who was a magician and knew the supernatural/paranormal. The chapter titles are: Prologue - the Door Marked Spring; The Door to Yesterday; The Door to the Unknown; The Door to Mystery; The Door to the Ethos; The Door to Knowledge; The Door to War; The Door to Maximum Effort; The Door to Armageddon; The Doors to Creativity and Destruction; The Doors Open Both Ways; The Door to Healing; The Door to Wonders; and the Door to Reason.

Here is a quote at the beginning of the book:

The doors of the many mansions of
the mind open both ways.

They can let you enter other states
of consciousness - or they can allow
something or someone to enter yours.

You should open these doors with dare
and caution - but, first, yo must
know how to close them. And, above all, you must
know which doors should be left unopened.
Michael Bentine​
 
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Snowmelt

Snowmelt

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Here's a short quote from Michael Bentine's book.

"I wish every child could have the opportunity to preserve that precious sense of wonder that has never left me since my childhood because my parents wisely let it flower without trying to force it into some contemporary mould of small-town socially acceptable behaviour. They neither blinded my eyes nor deafened my ears, and they loosened the bonds of bourgeois convention so that my mind could soar freely. For that I shall always be grateful."
 
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Snowmelt

Snowmelt

Snowmelt
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therium

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"One's mind should be open enough to consider new ideas but not so open the brain falls out."
-- Bill Murray (no, not the actor)

IMO, having an open mind means considering BOTH sides of an issue equally and rationally thinking about arguments supporting both sides.
 
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