Do You Really Think Your Thoughts Are Your Own?
I explore the details of how our consciousness is shaped, whose thoughts reside within it, and how to finally uncover the truth
Have you ever considered how everything in our lives is shaped by perspective? Imagine the vast differences in growing up in an African tribe versus a bustling metropolis. Despite our biological similarities, our lives diverge in remarkable ways.
Some spend their days in factories, their nights marked by the pop of a beer can, while others are busy disrupting the status quo with innovative startups.
Why do these paths vary so widely? Can’t we just mimic the blueprint of the successful ones? This introspective journey takes us back to the core of our existence, challenging us to understand the intricate tapestry of human life.
Part 1. The Beginning
A person is born like a blank slate, with only a genetic dataset. But how and with what is consciousness filled? This is strictly the result of a person’s life activities.
We are social beings. Seeking social recognition, whether of one kind or another, is part of our nature.
Some find fulfillment within their family circle, others spend their lives in more freeform relationships, but the essence remains unchanged.
But let’s remember all those who wanted to change the world in some way. It’s impossible to change the world without impacting other people.
This world is filled with people. Whether we like it or not, our surroundings, or their absence, will influence our moral well-being.
And, as a rule, for the first 15 years of life, a person practically has no control over what is loaded into their consciousness.
In the worst case, if a child shows weakness or little initiative, their consciousness can hardly be called their own.
This vessel is filled with the thoughts of parents, school teachers, textbooks, stronger friends, anyone really, while their personal opinion is last on this list.
I would like to dwell separately on the issue of history.
Part 2. History
We can be certain of what we have seen ourselves. But even our own interpretations of some things are sometimes better not trusted.
The brain is a remarkable organ. Connected to our nervous system, as we have already said, it can lie to us, mix up memories, and make us feel and see things that may not actually exist. [1] [2]
If we can’t even trust ourselves 100%, then how can we blindly believe other people?
Textbooks are written by the same kind of people as us.
Well, with a small caveat. Generally, these people are a little more informed about historical events than the average person.
But otherwise, they are the same people, with their strengths and weaknesses, sometimes even selfish motives. Their brains can also lie and perceive events differently.
We all live in this world, and we all witness how history is forged and at what cost.
Millions of different opinions, even expert ones, appear around us every day. And often, we take them as a joke.
But somehow, for many, the words read in early childhood, in some book, written by the same people as all of us, sinful and flawed, are considered an unshakeable and unwavering truth.
Just think about how powerful a tool for influence an ordinary book can be, one that everyone, absolutely everyone, reads in childhood.
Not even a blogger with millions of followers could dream of such reach.
And it’s not just about reach… here, it’s not about simple reach…
As a blogger, you watch and forget in 15 minutes what you saw.
Here, this information embeds itself in the cortex and not only stays with you until the end of your days but also determines your behavior and consciousness.
The funniest thing is that people are ready to forget their own relative’s name over such disagreements.
This is an incredibly powerful tool, shaping the collective consciousness within an entire nation.
Could mortals have an interest in such a tool? I think you already know the answer.
Part 3. Upbringing
Schools and parents are key factors in shaping the consciousness of a child and adolescent at an early stage. [1] [2]
In the modern world, another factor has emerged, but more on that later. Each of these sides contributes roughly an equal share to development, with a slight bias towards parents.
Just think about what can happen to a little person if one of these parts fails.
Part 3.1. Parents
Let’s be honest — no one is perfect. But what quality of upbringing can be expected from parents who had children when they themselves were not ready?
And it doesn’t matter how old you are — 20, 30, or 40. Age means nothing; only its quality does.
Yes, there is an interesting saying that you will never be ready for some things. But there is a huge difference between being 10%, 50%, and 80% ready.
The idea is not to start when you are only 10% ready.
However, for some activities, even that percentage is enough. But how can unreadiness manifest?
Many mistakenly believe that only the financial aspect is meant. This is certainly important, but it is far from the most important.
If you yourself behave like a whimsical doll, can’t control yourself and your emotions, can’t keep a promise made to yourself, if you can’t build a relationship even with the person you chose for your life — what kind of relationship can you build with a child? Who are you planning to raise?
A common human behavior is that if we can’t cope with something, we attack. Some with words, some with fists. [1]
This is how violence in the family originates. Moral and physical. Often together.
Ignoring is also a part of violence.
If you tell your child to “leave you alone” for 20 days a month, spend five days in elevated tones, and sometimes with physical abuse, and one day a month you somehow praise the child — think about what will be remembered in the end.
The cherry on top is usually the bottle that periodically makes an appearance. And it doesn’t matter whether it makes you a nice guy or a tyrant.
Part 3.2. School
In most cases, educational institutions only add fuel to the fire. In a typical school, you either bully someone yourself or you are bullied. [1]
I was morally and physically well-equipped to be in the first camp. There’s nothing to be proud of, but it’s a fact. At the time, many of us thought it was just a joke. This is how the world worked in which we lived.
The main purpose of these skills was actually used in 80% of cases for self-defense against external threats, which were almost daily.
The remaining 20%, when you hurt someone yourself, not always realizing it, were a side effect of the phrase: “If you have strength, you don’t need brains.”
Such upbringing creates significant barriers to a healthy life for the growing generation. With the skills acquired in such an environment, they can only live in the same degenerated society.
Because just outside the door of this world, completely different qualities will be valued, which will have to be developed from scratch, learning anew as a child, only now you are not five years old, but twenty.
As some never admit they are wrong, it’s even harder and more traumatic to realize that the experience gained in the first 20 years of your life is mostly garbage; you only need to develop the skill to burn this garbage.
Someone will understand this and acquire an invaluable life skill. But the majority, like a person who has been released from prison, will no longer be able to live in this world and often see only one way for themselves — to go back.
Part 3.3. The World Wide Web
The 21st century has been a turning point — parents and schools have a new competitor in the battle for children’s attention — the internet.
In my childhood, I was not so lucky, and access to it was very expensive. Now, everything is completely different, and all this has become much more accessible, although there are still inhabited places on this planet where internet access is extremely limited.
Despite the complexity and ambiguity of this tool, where it’s so easy to fall into the trap of the wrong content…
This technology lets you connect daily with people from another city, country, or even continent. An incredible opportunity to burst the bubble in which you are growing.
Virtually you can visit almost any point on the globe. Get inspired by the examples of other people. And sometimes it all seems too easy, deceptively easy.
Because behind every success story shown, there are millions of overlooked nuances that didn’t make it “on air”.
You want to stay in this world longer, it’s soothing, it allows you to disconnect from your own problems.
Enveloping you in a new, only now digital, bubble.
The internet undoubtedly changes the rules of how the previous two entities fill our consciousness.
And under the influence of a greater amount of socialization, albeit virtual, people instinctively begin to believe that the opinions spread on the net, the “majority opinion,” are more correct than what they hear from parents, friends, or at school.
This is very similar to the influence of history textbooks, only on the internet there is not one single interested party — there are millions.
For the same theory, you will find confirmation and refutation, and the examples of the authors will always be damn plausible, and you will want to believe them.
Part 4. Exploring Facts and Truth
So, whom should we then believe? The answer seems obvious, but most still can’t accept this simple fact.
Every opinion is the fruit of human subjectivity, usually of a specific individual who, in some cases, managed to convince others around them.
There is no objectivity. We invented it ourselves in attempts to manipulate other people. As Nietzsche puts it “There are no facts, only interpretations”.
The only exception category is scientific and mass medical research. Even in this category, there are exceptions. Because they are also done by people.
Scientists and doctors are just people who can be lazy, make mistakes, and be interested in financial gain.
Someone will study 100 people in one city, and someone else millions of people worldwide, representatives of different countries and cultures. The scale of the study always needs to be considered.
Just think, how much of what you know have you actually seen personally or can prove by conducting some practical experiment?
How many scientific studies have you read in your life?
We live in a world of fakes, where you can’t trust anyone.
ABSOLUTELY no one.
Everything can be invented, edited, and presented as needed by interested parties.
Philosophers since ancient times have spoken about the importance of questioning even the most basic things. Especially others’ opinions.
“The unexamined life is not worth living” — Socrates
We are thousands of years ahead in terms of development, but we can still be so easily fooled by some images. Especially by a video clip. Because it certainly can’t be faked, right?
Remove everything you know from TV, the internet, books, and other people from your mind.
What remains?
Something close to the word “nothing.” Our instincts and only what we can verify ourselves.
Realizing this seemingly simple fact happened in several stages in my life. And only not so long ago, I can confidently say that I have put a period in this matter for myself.
There is no truth. Everyone has their own truth, as the folk wisdom says.
Many use it, but as always, hypocritically — some things they are ready to let go, and for some, they will stand their ground foaming at the mouth.
Because if your life is stuffed only with other people’s thoughts, by rejecting them — you will find yourself in a void.
It’s scary and painful. And filling this void with your true self is even more difficult. Here, you need to think.
It’s easier when someone else thinks for you. That’s why it always causes so much resistance. And the longer we live under such beliefs, the harder it is to decide to change.
Part 5. Conclusion: The Equation of Life
Human life is an equation with millions of variables. Unique constants for each of us: You cannot solve the equation if you substitute variables from another one because they are not equal.
This happens when you try to fill your inner world with other people’s lives, ideas, and ideals. Or when someone forcibly tries to implant them in you.
And the reality is that when we realize this if we realize it, our life formula is already stuffed with parts of other people’s equations.
The most interesting thing is that we still cannot understand what is ours and what has been implanted in us from outside, like a virus.
That is why I examined all the previous tools:
- self-reflection
- recognizing oneself as a biological species
- understanding the values of time, dreams, motivation
- financial resources
- the importance of having a direction, not a map.
They, as if an integral part of our moral immune system, help us identify the diseased cells and get rid of them.
This is a difficult path, and not everyone succeeds.
However, this is where I see the meaning of life.
To live your life, by your own rules.
To live it happily, in harmony with yourself and the environment.
Pursuing your goals and dreams.
Helping others do the same to change this world.
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