Freethinking
“forming your own opinions and beliefs rather than accepting what is commonly believed and taught”
Growing up in a rather chaotic, devote Catholic household, I learned quickly that freethinking was forbidden…or painful. Between the church and our parents, we had to follow their rules and do as they said…why?…because they said so. Ironically, I do recall my mother often saying to one of when we did something wrong “you just don’t think, do you”. So wait…when are we supposed to think and when are we not to think? To think or not to think…that is the question!
Around the age of 12, I started picking up on inconsistencies and double standards. I felt like a spy, observing and taking notes…watching the adults around me do things differently than what they said or preached. When I’d question anything I was often poo-poo’d or reprimanded…and yet I persisted in my quest.
Over the years (decades), more of the childhood indoctrination wore off and more of being true to myself has come to light. I admit that I’ve mastered forming my own opinions and beliefs (ie…the pendulum has swung in the other direction). The last frontier to conquer, though, are the more deeply rooted limiting beliefs, which thankfully are beginning to lose their ground.
Even there I’m beginning to change my opinion about how to overcome them…or rather uproot them. Up until now I’ve tried the direct approach but found they dig in more deeply.
Now I’ve come to learn a different approach: make the come to me…I bait them with positive affirmations. If I feel triggered by stating an affirmation, then I ask “who’s there?” and proceed to carry on a conversation as if talking with a wounded child…mainly because most of our limiting beliefs were fostered in our youth. And because we didn’t know any better, we took them on as gospel.
Well, this post went a little different than I thought it was going to do. Anyway, the essence of today’s MotD is about learning to think, opine, and believe for ourselves. A delightful movie to watch and help us with this is “Runaway Bride”…pay particular attention to how “eggs” play a major role in the storyline, in particular as it relates to “freethinking”.
How about you? Is freethinking a core value for you?
BTW…here’s what it looked like to begin with …
joyfully,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
🌟 creating mandalas — awakening our creativity
About the 2024 Mandalas of the Day
Each day I will create and post a mandala inspired by one of 366 “value” words chosen randomly. The objective being to discover for myself which ones would best represent my core values…and by doing so, I hope it inspires you to determine your own.
Mandala of the Day 