Practical Steps to Freedom
Practical Steps to Freedom = Reclaiming Stolen Identity
The Aerial View Above The Double-Bind
The Aerial View is much like living in the real world while you are observing a "look-alike," one dimensional, fabricated world that has been constructed around you ... like one dimensional stage sets, facades constructed for movies. The difference is that you know that the facades are not real. Those living in the closed world of The Pattern live in these unreal surroundings believing that that are real; your three dimensional view must be denied in order that they can remain true to the Binder's one dimensional view. They are afraid to venture into your reality; they "see" only what they have been programmed to see because they all "face the same way;" they are never allowed to inspect beyond where they stand.
I read an article by an anthropologist who was studying isolated, still primitive natives ... about how they thought and perceived their world around them. One day he was standing on the seashore with a native and on the horizon could be seen a large ship with sails. The anthropologist drew the native's attention to it ... but the native couldn't "see" it. It was such a foreign and unfamiliar sight that it didn't exist for him ... It was not conceivable; he had to blank it out.
This is what happens when living in the isolated environment of The Double-Bind. When the real and the unreal suddenly meet in a crossfire, both are canceled out. It becomes "Not This," and "Not That," at the same time. The brain becomes "disconnected" and we cannot "see." Reality has been blanked out.
All that I have written is for the purpose of exposing this Pattern for what it is ... a form of madness, in varying degrees; it destroys the mind when it is caught in the invisible chains of the Double-Bind. Repetitive "blanking out" of the mind is a repeated denial of reality which can lead to various kinds of mental illnesses. In The Pattern, the blanking out of the mind is "divine;" to think, make sense through connections is considered a form of "evil" perversity, or "madness."
Much madness is "divinest" sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness,
'Tis the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur,---you're straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.
~ Emily Dickinson
* * *
Practical Steps in Avoiding the Traps of The Pattern
Emerging From the Complex Pattern to Simple Facts
True Simplicity
Stage 1 As explained in my first essay, The Nature of The Pattern and the Double-Bind, Stage 1 is when we have a problem of some kind that needs to be solved, or an unfulfilled desire that needs to be satisfied. It is accompanied in some degree by anxiety and fear, and we question and seek out ways and means of solving our problem.
A Problem - The Beginning
Stage 2 Since we feel, or know, that we need help from an expert, or someone else who claims to have the qualifications to provide us with what we desire, we enter into a joint agreement. The agreement is the solution to our problem which fosters trust and we feel a sense of safety. So far, so good; we have made progress towards our goal ... perhaps!
Agreement and the Solution - Progress
--------------------------
Stage 3
The Crucial Stage - The Mind Bind
Ambiguity - Identity Crisis - The Wedge Leading to the Double-Bind
At this Stage, however, the partner to our agreement, after embarking on the solution as promised, suddenly, after starting across the stream of the agreement, says to the effect, "I have a 'problem;' 'I need to go back to take care of it;' you keep going." This is the "Yes, but..,." the "I can't, but you can-" stage of ambiguity. The safety and trust, the solution and agreement previously entered into is threatened; there is a confusion in the mind of the trusting partner and he or she again feels the anxiety and fear experienced in Stage 1. It is what I call a Mind-Bind; this is the first step in becoming Bound ... caught in The Pattern. The ambiguity makes you feel as if you couldn't go on, but neither do you feel that you should go back; it is a Yes/No situation ... at the same time; the feelings you have are of unearned guilt and betrayal, at the same time. You are left with a vague thought of a "promise" of some kind of help from the Binder in order to "go on." The Bound person wants to trust, has been taught to trust, and has been punished in the past for not trusting. The reality that this partner might not be trustworthy, or has betrayed you, is a dangerous thought and must be "blanked out." ("See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.")
The "Red Herring" This is the crux of stage 3. You want to trust the partner, but a rupture in the agreement stands in the way which creates a false sense of personal guilt, self imposed ... of not being "able" to trust; in reality it is unearned guilt ... a projection onto you of the Binder's guilt of not having honored his part of the agreement. The Binder's usual rebuke is, "What's the matter, don't you trust me?" This is a "red herring;" the fact of his own guilt which he disowns is substituted with your "inability to trust" (a "character flaw"). This guilt is best reversed back to the Binder where it belongs with another question:
"In what specifically do you wish me to trust, in lieu of our agreement?"
Keep everything "upfront," without assumptions. It takes courage, because you know that if he is a Binder, he will become very angry when you ask for the details that are rightfully yours to know; in Binder parlance, that means the "hidden meat" that he doesn't want you to see. You stay in charge and reverse his attempt to blank-out his responsibilities, which leads to the blank-out of the agreement. He must prove to you, the purchaser, his integrity and honesty; only then, can he be trustworthy. An honest person has nothing to hide and will be eager to honor his word and his contracts with others.
It is imperative that you stick with the facts of the agreement. The Binder's aim is to erode the fact of the agreement through a "Red Herring" of some kind. The "But" "Red Herring" leads to the Binder's Double-Bind trap. It's imperative to follow your identity as the decision maker, and not lose track of WHY your "partner" was hired. You are in charge, not he. He is working for you, not the other way around.
"What Elephant?" The Binder refers to "me" instead of the missing agreement. It is very important to stay with the facts of the original agreement. The Binder, in many ways, will act as if it had never existed, by shifting all responsibility to you. The agreement then, becomes the "missing middle" between you and the Binder. There can be nothing between the bond of "oneness" with the Binder where he is concerned; this is the beginning wedge making possible the reversal of roles and responsibilities.
It is best at this stage to declare upfront that the contract has been broken by default ... of the partner. If it was a business agreement, the agreement should have been witnessed, or put in writing so that it later could be proved to be a fact and a fair resolution made possible ... but don't count on it. It may be best, if an acknowledgment of responsibility cannot be obtained, to "cut your losses" and remove yourself from an impossible situation. Better this than subjecting yourself to further punishment by the stages that follow. Once "burned," twice cautious. Once you really see it, your vigilance in the future will help prevent it from happening again. Consider it a valuable lesson towards more and more freedom from The Pattern. It can be a conscious growth experience. Your cup of self-identity may only be only half full at this stage, but you will be looking forward to more Self-fulfillmen -- rather than being half empty waiting to be absorbed totally into union of nothingness with the Binder. We may lose a battle, or two, through trial and error, but that doesn't mean that we have lost the "war."
Where Our Real Trust Should be Put
Trusting your own Perceptions in Identifying the Binder It is critical to trust your own perceptions in each instance and to stay with them. If the partner is a Binder, at this point his reaction can be two-fold; usually, he will be perceived as the "Shepherd-Boy" acting "hurt" because "you don't trust" him, or because he "has other sheep that need him more than you." Secondly, he can be perceived as the angry "Wolf" if you choose to trust your own perceptions which he will interpret as an insult and accuse you, in so many words, of "polarizing" the relationship by your "not trusting him." If the first doesn't create the reaction desired, the second will be enlisted. If he has a more violent nature, the Binder will use the "Wolf" approach first. If the Pattern is not halted at this stage, it becomes the set-up for the Double-Bind in Stage 4.
However, it is possible to become aware of The Pattern at any stage. The two stages that seem to trigger awakening most acutely are Stages 3 and 6. Both are the more dramatic in terms of betrayal.
------------------------------
Stage 4
The Double-Bind...
Ends with the Reversal and Loss of Identity
The "Yes, but..." of "What's the matter? Don't you trust me?" ... is the set-up for the Double-Bind.
The Double-Bind is as follows: If you say "No," you "insult" the Binder, and as the Bound, you are made to feel "guilty" for not "trusting."
If you say "Yes," you go against your own true perceptions and self-interest, and therefore, are for the Binder.
In return, the Binder's guilt is projected onto you which increases the unearned guilt you already feel; you are doubly punished for going against your Self. The result is that the Binder is considered "innocent;" all has been reversed.
In addition, a Binder who has violent tendencies, with a desire to hurt and punish, will trebly punish the Bound, after the reversal, by depriving the Bound of the means to do what he has failed to do, and insists that the BoundThe Mosaic Law - Stage 4 must do.
Stage 4 can only be avoided by being true to yourself. It is not being "selfish" in a negative sense to validate the Self and the facts; being true to yourself in the case of the Double-Bind, is to not validate the Binder's deceit. Truth is the claiming of your integrity and insisting that the partner also be held accountable for integrity in a concrete, truthful way. Plus, this can help keep an unconscious Binder, honest.
An unconscious Binder is Bound, too, to a Leader Binder higher up in the ladder. He is one of the "pawns" that follows examples, but is not informed of the difference between milk and meat. He follows the White "labels" (what is said) imprinted on his mind, but he also follows the examples and actions of what the Leader does. As a result, he is vulnerable to both milk and meat, i.e., what is said and what is done, which are two different things.
In Mormonism this is countered by insisting that everyone "face the same way;" you must be one of two extremes says the Mormon Yahwah ... never in the middle: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue (vomit) thee out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:16) The lukewarm, the confused, become pariahs. You are either for and "in" Yahwah (hot), or against Yahwah, and therefore his enemy (cold); lukewarm, he vomits you out of his "body" politic, i.e., you are abandoned ... one of the "deformed" exceptions ... (read that "not usable") ... for His designs. Yahwah needs both the Hot and the Cold, the former as "friends," and the latter as "enemies." (This concept also has another story behind it.)
A non-Binder who is genuinely trustworthy will honor the facts of an agreement by taking direct, personal responsibility for concrete action in fulfilling his, or her, contract with a partner. If a legitimate obstacle arises, it also will be handled in the same objective way, by an effort to resolve the matter by the most fair means possible. Both parties will work together in a constructive manner operating from an aerial view above the Double-Bind, through respect, understanding, personal integrity and honor ... the fruits of reason and the love of truth. My definition of the truth is ... what IS ... in reality, as opposed to what IS NOT in reality.
Stage 5
The "Praise" Trap
Dehumanization by way of Denial
Humiliation
The "Yes, But no...Yet, Will be..." If you've agreed with the Binder that you should trust him and have denied your own perceptions, you may weep inside, but you will be rewarded outwardly by the Binder with empty words of praise for your sacrifice of self ... for choosing the "right," "higher" viewpoint that is "above the laws" ... "above," because he has buried reason. Your sacrifice of Self elevates you to a non-human "spiritual" status. You become one of the "Elect" which takes the place of your sacrificed individual identity; this "one" becomes a "Special" part of the Whole, another label is added. You are placed upon a pedestal beyond reasonable earthly desires. Without the "need" for reason, the "Shepherd" now takes over to guide you in the "correct" decisions you should take in order to avoid any "evil" or "guilty" thoughts or actions.
The incentive for doing this is the verbal reassurance in Stage 2 of the original agreement ("Yes"). ("But...") you, at this stage, are unaware that the agreement has been modified in favor of the Binder only, in that the agreement has become a "promise" of realization sometime in the future ... Stage 3, plus, in Stage 4 the roles are reversed; you are now, unknowingly, to take total responsibility for obtaining the "promise." In stage (5), we are again harnessed to the cart and the "promise" of the carrot is placed on a stick replacing the agreement. The "promise" is always kept just out of reach, and the Binder gets a "free ride."
Based on this newly defined "agreement" with the Binder, we believe the "Yes" of the "promise," we trust the Binder's "But no..."... we become patient with the postponements ... we have faith in the "promise," that it "Will be" forthcoming; we look forward to it sometime in the future. What is missing here in all three are facts, concrete statements and acts based on reason. An agreement has become a promise, time of completion is nebulous, blind faith and hope replace a truthful commitment for action and the attainment of what is hoped for. The "promise" always dangles just beyond realization.
Praise Takes the Place of Promises, Followed by Humiliation Awakening from The Pattern in this stage is what you might call the "after the Honeymoon" stage. At first, praise of your sacrifice brings euphoria caused by being labeled "Good," and hence, very "spiritual;" Self-sacrifice, however, is the law of "diminishing returns." Praise takes the place of the things promised ... it soon becomes the "food" one needs in order to "live" ... and comes to love, as a substitute for love. (This contains another Double-Bind. One must not love praise, which would create inordinate "pride." You are guilty if you are not grateful for praise, and you are guilty if you accept it.)
This substitution of praise for what was promised, is heightened by the expectation of a reward for waiting. The Bound constantly works harder to please the Binder for praise ... for "recognition," which becomes a hunger that can never be satisfied; the Bound is "fed" a pseudo "self-esteem" by the Binder. However, because of a lack of a genuine Self, the pseudo "self-esteem" keeps evaporating, for two reasons: the pseudo is not authentic and so is not nourishing, so one needs constant praise from the Binder which is only given on certain occasions. Secondly, the harder the Bound works for praise, the more circular and numbing are the futile efforts, the countless "failures" in the performance of the Bound's "duties" performed in order to be "worthy" of more praise. As a result, the ever receding promises are thrust further ahead of the Bound with a longer stick, and the less evidence there is of attaining the promise. Fatigue and depression sets in, which further dulls the hope of attainment.
The other hunger that can reach the point of starvation and pain is the hunger for thoughts that feed our dying minds. This is caused by the repetition of the same ideas, over and over again throughout the length of our lives; nothing new is introduced; anything that exists beyond the "doctrine" of The Pattern is not allowed; it is labeled "evil."
Living "Lives of Quiet Desperation"... ...are the words of Thoreau. This state of mind is typical in Mormonism; ennui sets in and motivation for action disappears; unearned self-guilt is the only force left for activity. The body tires easily because of the impossibility of completing tasks assigned that never reach the perfect standards of approval and hence, praise; ... nor are promises ever fulfilled. The lack of working hard enough, of work not meeting the standards of perfection are the "reasons" given for the "postponement" of satisfaction. For all of these "failures" the Bound is blamed again for being a "slothful servant." The result is total lack of self-esteem, guilt and humiliation. That's the bad news.
The Good News It is this pain we feel that can be the impetus for positive action of some kind ... to help ourselves; this is a chance to wake up to the futility of this "Oneness" with the Binder. If the Binder's praise no longer brings euphoria and in its place despair and lethargy has set in, it is possible, out of desperation, to begin to question and to fight for the life and personal possessions stolen from us. It takes fearless questioning, however, because the reasoning mind that is needed to see The Pattern has been punished severely whenever it has raised its head. This reaches a climax in Stage 6 and can be "the last straw," if the pain of the contradictions induced by The Pattern becomes too heavy to bear.
An Opportunity to Wake Up
Stage 6
The "You chose" Trap
"Not I, but you..."
This is another version of Stage 3. When we accepted the "Yes, but...," we fell into the trap of the Double-Bind, a Reversal from our own mind and identity to the Binder's mind has occurred. He claims our identity and role as his own, and projects his onto us. And, because we believed the Binder's promises in Stage 3, that trust is now interpreted as having been our "voluntary choice". Therefore, he accuses ... "Not I, but you" chose to modify and reverse the agreement, thereby projecting his guilt, again, to us and compounding our pain and unearned guilt. If we balk at the accusations, intimidation and/or force is used.
The Opportunity for Voluntary Choice This Stage can be an opportunity to cut your losses and leave with what has not been completely stolen. A totally indoctrinated Wolf-Binder will not change unless he is forced by some extreme accidental happening, and in this case, because the change was not by choice, it will probably be only a temporary condition (as in the syndrome of the batterer); more promises will be given than change effected and the wheel of the Double-Bind can begin turning all over again. As the "Shepherd"-Binder, he lacks courage and is afraid of any kind of pain, especially physical pain; a binder afflicts others with what he fears the most, and in a perverse way, is punishing himself through the projection of his guilt onto others.
Change, to the Binder, means loss of control of, and power over others ... including the support of other Binders with whom he is in competition. He is afraid of personal responsibilities which he has always given the Bound to fulfill; he becomes weak and in turn, hates the Bound "for making him weak" (another Double-Bind). He is afraid to listen, reason, or to make an attempt to understand ... all are threats to his power.
The Aerial View Can Come To Your Aid If it is a business relationship and there was a legally written or signed agreement; chances are then better for recovery of that which was stolen, but expect revengeful procrastination and further loss of your own control. The Pattern that has been used in deceiving you will be the same Pattern that will be used to convince others of "your guilt, not his," of your "voluntary" choice to "change" the agreement; your actions against yourself and for the Binder in Stage 3, 4, and 5 will be the "proof" of this. In this case, if it involves valuable material assets, you will need a lawyer who has an aerial view of the Pattern, who honors and defends the rule of law. Those who go through law school are not taught The Pattern; it has to be learned elsewhere, on their own, namely, in philosophical writings. Elsewhere, it is imbibed by "osmosis" through prolonged contact with theocratic ideas which are considered "above" the rule of law; the rule of law then becomes the "servant" of the "higher" Theocratic Law by claiming the former, but using the latter.
The aerial view of reality means that the facts instead of The Pattern must be emphasized constantly. Fact is Truth; Lies originate with the Binder as he reverses Facts. Once this is seen, "the Truth will set you free!" ... from a Binder. Facts are concrete nouns; in The Pattern, lies are groundless, accusative adjectives.
Stage 7
The Sequel to Accusation - Yet another Opportunity The more of a True Believer you have been, the more you will try to Believe that it is your fault for feeling so guilty. The increasing "guilt" and pain of the True Believer can push the Bound to fight even more to achieve that which has been commanded (the "Thou Shalt" and "Thou Shalt Nots"), and for that which has been promised ... IF only one would work harder. At this Stage it becomes one last final life or death struggle "to get it right this time." In my case, when I believed and accepted the accusative projection (Stage 6) that it was I, instead of the Binder, who needed to change, I started in earnest to try to find out what was "wrong with me" ... as a failed "True Believer." My "guilt" pushed me to know, to find out why, how, and where I had gone wrong. It was impossible to do that unless I questioned ... everything. It was a personal quest, and since I had been given the task of taking over the responsibilities of Binders in the past, I found and used the strength I had gained from my laboring for others to begin laboring for myself. For the first time in my life I began using my own brain for my own personal understanding.
As the Binder is weakened by the labors of the Bound, so does the Bound become, unknowingly, stronger, through trying to solve problems for the Binder, when the means have been taken away. The Bound now claims his/her own creativity, which the Binder had been appropriating, and claiming, as his own The difference is that now you own your own strength; you realize your strength in the past was not "given" to you by the Binder during the "praise" stage, nor was it true that you were weak because you could not catch up to the "carrot."
Once the Bound wakes up to the process of reversal, he, or she, claims all the personal resources that were stolen by the Binder; the more the Bound claims back, the stronger he or she becomes.
Punished for being Punished In my case, I found out the hard way that the efforts to work harder, to find out what was "wrong with me" was not what the Binder really wanted. He did not want me to change. As the Bound, I was told that I needed to change, but when I tried to apply my new knowledge for change, I found that I was merely putting more logs on the fire of my unearned "guilt." A Binder needs the Bound; the Bound must NOT change, or "rock the boat."
"Yes" and "No"... at the same time. - Black is White The first punishment was in being accused falsely ... that it was I who needed to change, ... not the Binder. In The Pattern that means that I (the Bound) wasn't being "obedient" enough, nor attentive enough to his needs. I was supposed to change, and yet, not change ... at the same time. This second punishment comes when the Bound begins to gain knowledge (begins to wake up) and is again punished "for her own good" because she is becoming more "disobedient," and "aggressive." The Bound is not to see this punishment as "bad," but must see it as "Good"..."Black is White." The Binder has a compulsion to punish the Bound into submission ... his very "life" depends on it. What the Binder fears most is abandonment, at this stage. The Bound person had been abandoned long ago through the reversal of the agreement.
The Double-Bind in Stage 7 This is also another version of the Double-Bind: If I didn't change, I was "guilty." If I did change, I was still "guilty." The Binder can never be pleased. The Bound is always "guilty" of not pleasing; plus, the means of accomplishing what the Binder commands is taken away ... logical reasoning ... thereby labeling the Bound "stupid"... which is another Double-Bind, ad infinitum. The Pattern is another name for the biblical "Eternal Punishment."
The Antidote --- Please Yourself! Once the flood gates of the water of knowledge is allowed to flow, there is no stopping it. Thirst is quenched, the brain is washed clean of unearned guilt. This is the true "baptism" into the aerial view which is not detached from the earth ... just the opposite ... one finds firm ground upon which a Self-generated "Spirituality" stands; it is the highest form of Selfishness where Conscience and Spirituality ever increases; Selfishness, which means loving yourself enough to please yourself in this way, not out of "duty," but because of the personal joy you find as the effect of the cause ... claiming the Self. Being fully Selfish, i.e., owning ones own Self, taking control of your own Self, being responsible for your own Self and actions towards others. Loving others as you love your Self! The goals have not changed, only ownership has changed, from being Binder controlled to having Self-Control. All that was promised us, we find, was contained within our own Self that we were not permitted to find, and were taught to hate. (Alas, that too, was another Double-Bind; we were told to have self-control over a self that was not allowed to exist!! ...ad infinitum.)
---------------------
Stage 8
Love/Hate
"Doctor" Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde
"Hyding" behind the "Healer" is the "Jackal," a carnivore. Once Black becomes "White" and Hate becomes "Love," the Bound is caught in a "voluntary" union and trustingly follows the "Healer/Jackal" to his lair. This is the stage of "voluntarily" aiding the further loss of Identity and Life. Now fusing totally with the Binder's mind, the Bound accepts the death projection of the Binder and desires to be lost in complete annihilation; the Bound sinks down into a Black Hole of depression. The Binder wants to "eat" the Bound at this stage, but..."not yet." "He wants his cake and to eat it too." If he "eats" the Bound, he "eats" himself, inasmuch as he has projected his identity onto the Bound. He becomes the Ouroboros.
The Opportunity to Escape the Black Hole Escape is possible if the realization comes that you are literally dying; you literally, physically, leave the lair of the Jackal; you leave all behind, if necessary, to save your own life. To desire to die, as an abstraction that has been projected to you by the Binder, is not the literal realization that you are, in fact, dying. The desire to die, but not die, is a denial of the fact of dying, the acceptance of the Binder's wanting to "eat" the Bound, but not wanting the Bound to "die."
This idea is in Mormonism. A member that wants to leave the church is not allowed to leave easily; you are "free" and yet, "not free." Intimidation and threats of punishments for "going against the Covenants you have taken ... (i.e., have "chosen" without choosing)... to "consecrate your whole life," is yet another guilt trap. Again, this is another Double-Bind; you must choose for the Self or for the Binder.
However, this time, you know you are literally dying, and if you want to live, you must save yourself; this time, you choose for yourself, and against the Binder. You may still be unable to see The Pattern, but you definitely know you have no other choice if you want to live. You leave. This is your last chance.
Stage 9
Numb and Dumb
Death of Mind and Feelings through Complete Denial
Possible Suicide
At this stage, depression and denial is so deep, one becomes a kind of puppet that laughs, jumps, dances, or cries whenever the Binder pulls the right strings. It is a form of living death.
This results in more punishment from the Binder because he wants a real, living person, full of the life that he has rejected; he needs an authentic love. He accuses the Bound of not being truthful, i.e., of only acting the parts of the Pattern that he has scripted. Another Double-Bind. The Bound has been forced through fraud and theft to abandon the personal, authentic Self, and at the same time is commanded to be authentic. The Binder kills the means of the Bound to love, and then he asks "Where is love for me?" The Bound is left with the "guilt" of "not being able to love," a reversal of the fact that the Binder is incapable of authentic love and has projected his lack to others. He literally may beat a dead horse ... ("Thou Shalt love me.") ... another double punishment.
A violent Binder may actually kill his bound captive, or the Bound may actually try to commit suicide, but that too, is forbidden. Suicide carries the heaviest of all punishments ... after death. (Another Double-Bind.)
Again, the Binder wants the Bound dead ... but, not yet. The Love/Hate syndrome permeates his mind. He has projected his own identity onto the Bound; the Bound is now One with the Binder. When he punishes the Bound, he is, in effect, punishing himself, and says ironically, "This hurts me more than it does you." There is a line in "Camelot" where Guenevere says to Sir Lancelot, "You are always suffering so much, you can suffer nothing for others." This describes the Binder. He is a suffering cannibal with an insatiable appetite which cannot be satisfied. Being empty, he has nothing to give in exchange for what he needs ... he can only take but cannot retain, like water when poured into a sieve.
---------------------------
Summary
As you have noticed, the further into the Stages of The Pattern a person is enticed, the more trapped he, or she, becomes in a succession of Double-Binds. The only way out of this labyrinth is to follow Ariadne's thread back to the entrance of the cave. The point at which one enters this labyrinth is the "Yes, but..." of Stage 3. The "thread" is the fact of the agreement which became lost in the Maze and must be found. Hopefully, these essays will shed some light on facts forgotten and denied which will enable you to follow them to freedom.
"Problems cannot be solved until they are discovered." I would express this as, "Problems cannot be solved until facts are dis-covered." The Pattern is based on facts that have been denied. It is the uncovering of traceable facts that achieves liberation and choice for the individual. The way out is through inductive exploration ... finding pieces of the Pattern and finally seeing the whole picture. Individuals, using their own separate brains must find these pieces from their own personal experiences and searching. It will not be real, unless real, physical neural connections are made through individual thinking. Then, it will be owned. No one can take it from you. The Pattern is a system of rote learning which, by repetition, creates memory groves, but fosters no new neural paths. Parts of the brain can literally atrophy from lack of use, just as a limb of our body can become useless from unuse. New neural paths must be reinforced through additional facts that support the first tentative connection. Each time the new pieces of the puzzle fit, you have a firmer base to work from. The whole process goes through a trial and error procedure, just like working a jig-saw puzzle. You can't put a square in a round whole. It fits, or it doesn't. It is a fact or it isn't a fact; it can't be both.
These essays have been about what The Pattern is, what it does, and how to avoid it. They have been about how to free oneself from the entanglements of The Pattern; the next essay will deal with how to live a constructive life of freedom, which is a pleasure I have been looking forward to!
* * *
Next
The Passion for Life After Mormonism and The Double-Bind
* * *
Next Page: The Passion For Life After Mormonism and The Double-Bind
bookmark this page
