The Spyware of Your Mind             

 by Tim Braff  & Che'lisa Corey

Published in the Lake Minnetonka Navigator 03-06

Have you ever had one of those reactions to something and you had no idea where it came from? Perhaps something unpleasant came out of your mouth and there was nothing you could do about it. You over-reacted or under-reacted in a way you would not have chosen consciously. This is happening all the time and we are usually not aware of it. Scientists are discovering more and more how the human brain is like a computer in the sense of how it stores information and how it follows programming. Each one of us has a base operating system and, as you are aware, there are different kinds. Some old ones, some new ones, some that are better at certain functions than other ones etc… Now think of your operating system. Your operating system is akin to the state of consciousness you are in. Like the OS of a computer, you get to choose which operating system to use. But most people are unaware of their choice. You may have an operating system that does not do what you desire no matter how big your hard drive or how fast your processor. You can add the latest applications, which you think will solve your problems, but your OS may be inadequate to use them. In other words, once your are in a state of consciousness, all the parameters of your life and your reactions to life are dictated by this state of consciousness… your operating system. It is the only real choice a person has. After that, we respond to life according to the programming. We think we are making choices all the time, but is it really a choice if it is just the output of a program?

The human operating system, AKA your state of consciousness, is constantly being programmed. As we take in new information, new knowledge, new experiences, new teachings, we are adding to the programming. We may watch a news 'program' and unless we are vigilant, we may end up with a new belief system about war, or politics, or the price of cheese. And that new programming will operate unconsciously, indefinitely affecting what we think are choices. We may view a movie and unknowingly end up with a new value, or morality that is a slight variation of our old one. Then we react to the world and make choices according to programming that we are not even aware of.

Which brings us to 'Spyware'. The computer that the children in our house use got a bad case of Tetanus, you know, Lock Jaw. It took over ten minutes just to open up the Internet browser. Then nothing would happen. It turns out that we were lacking the proper anti-Spyware software. After we installed it, we discovered 5,397 spyware programs installed without our knowledge or consent. The operating system was in gridlock. Does it feel like your OS is in gridlock sometimes?

In our society, Spyware of the mind comes in many forms. It is insidious, subliminal and ingeniously disguised. It can be very intentional. If you are tired and are used to parking in front of the TV for some relaxation… Beware. The images, messages and programming will bombard you. If you are alert you can be your own anti-Spyware program but it will no longer be relaxing and you will not catch it all.

Jiddu Krishnamurti said "We are second-hand human beings" and "Most peoples minds are asleep… they are drugged by knowledge, scripture and what someone else said." That can offend some people if they are identified to their knowledge, to their religion or so easily believe others who seem to be 'experts', proudly repeating the compelling information. You may miss the point if you react defensively. And the point is this; how much of life do we actually come into contact with… do we actually have a direct relationship with? Are we actually living, or is there a mediator involved? An intermediary called an idea or a concept? My idea of you meets your concept of me. Do we ever meet actually?

Next month we will explore the importance of what we take with us into the dream-space every night.