We would all have experienced a strange phenomenon. Sometimes we go to a place that is full of foul smell of some open drain or garbage, a dead animal or industrial pollution. We become uncomfortable initially. However, if we stay there for some time, we get used to the smell and become engaged with the work we went there for. Our brain is very smart. It has limited attention, and that's why it prioritises what to be conscious of and what to push to the unconscious.
Trillions of cells work in the human body in perfect coordination without any conscious intervention of the brain. The human brain acts very smartly. While all these cells of the body are busy carrying out their functions, the human brain interacts with the senses. It keeps receiving inputs from the senses and analysing them, based on the memory stored in our body. Every brain has a unique memory based on life experiences and interpretations thereof. For example, if somebody experienced deception in relationships, their brain may experience it as a life-threatening event and may get triggered whenever in future anybody tries to come close due to the apprehension of being deceived. Thus, the brain is constantly watching for potential threats and preparing the body to fight wherever it perceives a threat.
However, when we enter a filthy area, the brain perceives threat with every breath. The brain apprehends bacteria and viruses in the air. Therefore, it makes us uncomfortable so as to prepare us to leave that place. However, when we stay in that area for a longer time, Brian realises his helplessness to run away from that situation and learns to readjust to the new reality. It can't be in a constant state of fear. That's called learned helplessness. After initial resistance, people develop "learned helplessness" in relationships and also in organisations. We can't do anything if our rivers are dirty. What can we do if the air is polluted? We can't do anything about poverty and exploitation. We can't do anything about the dysfunctional systems. We develop "learned helplessness" in so many dimensions of life.
Part of this "learned helplessness" is due to the difficulty, and the majority thereof is due to our mental stories about either incapacity or the difficulty of the situation. Not so that we can't work on these mental stories, but some of these mental stories are so dear to us that we do not want to challenge them. The problem is that these mental stories can't be selectively challenged. When we turn on the light, the whole darkness in the room goes away. We can't hold on to a selective part of the darkness. Some of these mental stories are dear to the brain that it never wants that light to be switched on.
I attended a session of a famous life-coaching organisation today just to observe their technique. It was so funny to see them selling the truth in the name of workability. Truth and workability can't go hand in hand. We can't work selectively on our ignorance. The moment we hold on to the truth, the whole of ignorance will disappear. The moment they say that we can make our relationships better by working on our mental stories, that's like making another mental story. People do not want to eat the raw vegetables that are available for a very low price. People want to go to expensive restaurants and buy processed food with far less nutrition at a far higher price. It suits their taste buds. They serve food to taste. They allow us to hold on to the falsity that we want to hold onto. The half-truth has a far greater price tag than the naked truth, and yet everybody is attracted to the half-truth because that allows us to hold on to the selective mental stories that are so dear to us. Somebody has the desire to make the relationships work, somebody to make his business productive, and somebody to recover from a disease. Very few are keen to know the truth like Nachiketa. People just want some "easy and workable" solution to get that instant dose of happiness, which will soon turn into another mental story, and then they will pay for another such course to get over that next mental story.
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