In this blog I will try to explain the psychological factors that may be preventing people with extreme views (example Islamists and Maoists) to understand any point of view other than their own. Specifically I would like the extremists to understand the points I made in my blog below:
I will start by stating the reasons why I think I am something of an expert on this subject. Till the age of about 27 I used to behave in an eccentric manner on a regular basis. I was unable to admit to myself that I was behaving badly and had behaved badly for pretty much the whole on my life till that point. My behaviour only changed when I did what you can call a life review. I relived my life till that point and was able to exorcise the inner demons that were causing me to behave badly.
The following points can be made from my experiences:
- I was indulging in self deception and was unable to admit to myself that I was behaving badly. It was a form of self hypnosis continued till that date.
- A related point was that I did not want to admit to myself that society had (knowingly or unknowingly or with malice or without) deceived me for pretty much the whole of my life till that time. It was easier to continue to tell lies to myself that things were normal.
- It was also very painful to admit to myself that I had wasted (and to some extent misused) the whole of my life till that time.
So these are the psychological factors that were preventing my ailment from being cured.
How I was able to change is described in my blog that is linked to at the end of this article.
I will put myself out on a limb and say that unless the kingpins that are funding and encouraging dissemination of extreme views (both Islamist and Maoists and others) do a similar sort of life review as I have referred to above nothing is going to change. Unless the extremists change internally their activities and behaviour are not going to change externally.
Obviously I have only dealt with psychological factors not political or financial. But these psychological factors make it impossible to understand any point of view other than your own. It is one form of insanity.
And I have a cure for it. I have experienced the cure myself in my own life. Link is below:
The main teaching is contained in the Satipatthana sutra which is one of the original teachings of the Buddha. The teaching has survived for around 2,500 years so it has a track record of helping people. The Insanity blog and the Slow Learner blog (link is below) describe how the cure is done.
A related point. This life review also helps with the problem of being a slow learner. Link is below
But I would advise all interested people to consult a Buddhist meditation cum mindfulness master and not attempt to heal themselves. In my case I found the experience of the life review so intense and so unpleasant that I became a schizophrenic. This is a delicate and sensitive operation on the mind and needs to be done under supervision.
A description of the risks involved is to be found in the science fiction classic The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle. There is a risk of insanity and also death, Read the last chapter of this book titled News of Departure.
I will end here.
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