Sense of Control

Part I: https://medium.com/@joventuraz/control-c9e1b2dcf43f

The activity of the mind is far too complex for us to make decisions considering every detail stored in our brain. Our thoughts stream by like water in a river. Imagine someone standing by the water, watching his thoughts flow by, adapting to every stone or debris in its path. Where does the water come from? Where is it going? What about the parts we can’t see but are present in the forces of the current?

If thoughts are observed at a surface, what lies beneath? At some point, thoughts flow into the ocean of the past. Choice is mainly driven by the observation of our thoughts, but those thoughts are part of the larger complex system which includes more than the conscious stream. Our thoughts have been conditioned by our lives and experiences, choices, and consequences of the past. Therefore, a sense of control comes from an analysis of the thought stream that has been conditioned, just how the river flows through the path of least resistance, our choices are constrained by the boundaries we have set throughout or lives.

We are not completely free to make any choice, the likelihood of choosing something is — like water — influenced by the path of least resistance. I believe that reversing the direction of a river is impossible, but it is possible to change the terrain so that the river adjusts. By becoming conscious of the terrain, we are closer to being in control of the direction your thoughts will go. The observer of the stream can take an active role in the participation of decision making, picking up a shovel, and starting to clear the way so that thoughts flow in a new direction. A sense of control is becoming aware of the constraints which drive your decision making.