A druid's opinion on the mind.

[Underwood]

What is a Druid's opinion of the mind? - Is it to be tamed, ignored or controlled? - Or is it part of us to be used & included?

[Aphritha]

There are so many Druids so you'll get so many opinions...
Personally, I'd say yes. Tamed, ignored, and controlled...they all have their place at times. And absolutely it should be used and included! Its best to use one's mind at all times...

[Sciethe]

Hi Underwood,
you'll find as many views on the human relation to its own mind as you'll find Bards, Ovates and Druids. It's actually easier to say what the Druidic mindset is (usually) not. It is not the supression of instinct. It is not the overwhelming of the unconscious urges with the distracting tat of modern society. It is not ignoring the metaphorical elephant in the room.

What it is for me is embracing the dark (filthy, wicked, taboo) unconscious, the instinctiual urges, all of it, and finding it in my heart to forgive myself for those things I've been taught to find shocking or disgusting about myself, then loving and enjoying myself as a whole complex animal - and then steering my way through all that to the right way in relations with others and the world. It works better, the map is complete, shoals, reefs and currents are marked.

I think that the right direction is always to understanding and not supression. This is hard. Very much harder than sealing and denying the animal and living hygenically rather than holisically. I've met one or two who have not coped with understanding themselves, usually because the advice or help they were given was bad. This, when it happens, most often comes from inappropriate relationships between learner and mentor. One of the best things about OBOD, and which it is not often enough praised for is the superb mentoring system which structurally avoids the pitfalls found in the coven and other hothouse learning environments.
S

[Underwood]

Thank you Both for your input.

A light & uplifting answer Apritha, yes I agree it's to be used.

& a in depth & inspiring input Sciethe, I like "I think that the right direction is always to understanding and not suppression".
I also agree it is important to have clear guidance when it comes to understanding the self, in a wholistic way. I have fallen of the rails when I went solo & only took bits from here & bits from there. There is a structure to be learnt when dealing with self understanding, at least in my experience - too much inner work can lead to out of balance. I found this.

It is good to have good foundation if your gonna build a good house - as in not knocking down all the boundaries of our belief system at once - kinda like not knocking too many holes in a dam, without replacements to improve / fix this. I ended up falling apart in such a manner. I like that the OBOD encourages one to go at ones own pace & to take time to integrate. I guess they talk, like you, from wisdom.

In thanks,
Liam

[treegod]

What it is for me is embracing the dark (filthy, wicked, taboo) unconscious, the instinctiual urges, all of it, and finding it in my heart to forgive myself for those things I've been taught to find shocking or disgusting about myself, then loving and enjoying myself as a whole complex animal - and then steering my way through all that to the right way in relations with others and the world. It works better, the map is complete, shoals, reefs and currents are marked.

Absolutely agree with this.

The mind is just one part of us, it evolved for a reason, and we can continue evolving it. But we also have "lower" instinctive parts and "higher" spiritual parts. They're all part of being human, body, mind and soul, all part of our wholeness.

For me it's important to develop the mind, to learn how to think; it's also important to balance the intellectual with the instinctive and intuitive. Mind is what elevates us above an instinctive life (we can reflect and not just react), but it's not the whole picture, and really is still very much rooted in body. The question for me is whether they can coexist or not.

[Sciethe]

Thanks Treegod,
and so the chain of learning extends upwards, good post Underwood.
Anyway. An excellent rescource for anyone wanting to understand more about this subject is A little book on the human shadow by Robert Bly, the author of the better-knwn Iron John.
S

[Bart]

The answer is in the definition of mind. What do you define as mind. Your thoughts, your higher being, your awareness etc.

A lot of our mind (by most definitions) is made up by automated processes. Sensory input, reflexes and automated thoughts. Trying to keep those in check, is a challenge. But a rewarding one if you succeed.

[Underwood]

I completely agree you all!

It is about integration & not separation leading to more & more understanding & a wider wisdom.

Ill look up that book.

[treegod]

Here's another interesting book: Eye to Eye by Ken Wilber.

[Treeshrew]

I did a bit of psych of religion studies a few years back, and one of the things I came across was the model of Interacting Cognitive Subsystems. Basically, it posits that we have (amongst nine or so other systems) both a rational-literal-linguistic 'propositional' system and a transrational-mythic-imaginative-experiential 'implicational' system of thinking. The implicational is older in evolutionary terms, and deals with instincts and emotions. The point of ICS is that both of those main subsystems create meaningful experiences and a sense of identity, so both need to be 'fed' as it were.

In my experience with some organised religion, the experience-based implicational system is stimulated, but the rational propositional system is seen as suspect because it leads to questioning and doubt. However, with rationalist atheism I have found that the rational propositional approach is stressed to the exclusion of imagination, myth, symbol, ritual etc. These things are seen as suspect, irrational and unscientific.

What I have found with Druidry so far (I am only a beginner yet), is that both systems and thinking styles are nurtured equally, to allow the fullness of the mind to develop. I like that I don't have to switch off reason and doubt and just 'have faith' but that I can also enter into the transrational world of myth and imaginative creation as well. It seems to be a very holistic view of the mind. As far as I know, Druidry does not hold the view that we should ignore, suppress, or subdue any part of our mind, for it is all a part of Nature.

I don't claim to have any idea what the mind is, however. I have an opinion that it's an emergent property of the brain (human and non-human alike) but I could be wrong. Consciousness is a funny old thing!

[Underwood]

Hi,

Thanks Treegod, ill look it up too & thanks Treeshew for an interesting post - I agree - it all part of us & in that v. Interesting