Blog #3

I couldn’t help thinking of my mother as I read through Chapter 7 of this week’s assignment. In my family she’s the one most willing to believe in the unseen and puts stock in the fact that what goes on in the physical world is only a part of the many details that comprise our lives. My father, on the other hand, is more of a skeptic and prefers to base his life more heavily on the tangible. You might say I’m a cross between the two. Sometimes the things my mom says are a little too much for me to handle and at these times I probably give her the same indulgent nod I’ve seen my father give her on such occasions. However, other times she makes a little more sense. Today, as I was reading, I came across some of those things.

The first instance comes through the following quote: “Some preliminary work of Braud’s reassured him. One of his studies showed that it was possible for you to block or prevent any influences you didn’t want.” My mom always says about “not accepting” it whenever someone says something untruthful or insincere. For example, if someone was to insult me in one way or another, she says that unless I purposefully make an effort to deny the insult that I have—in essence—agreed with what has been said about me. I have made no effort to assert what I believe to be true about myself, so I have therefore agreed with the untruth. As I said earlier, sometimes I agree with her and sometimes I don’t, but I just thought it was interesting that what she has been saying to me all along about not accepting outside influences has shown up in McTaggart’s book.

A second instance comes in her insistence that children can perceive things which most adults are either unable or unwilling to see. As McTaggert says, “children are open to far more information in The Field than the average adult.” Basically, what they both are saying is that children can see the “spiritual” side to things that most adults are oblivious to. (That is to say, at least most adults in Western society.) We have been trained as we grow up to put our faith in what we can see and what can be proven, but children who have not yet learned this lesson may be able to understand what we can’t see. Perhaps this explains why children are sometimes afraid of people who, to adults, appear to be perfectly normal.

I’ve always wanted to strike the right balance in life. In an effort to avoid the superstitions many people are given to, I try to make sure I know why I believe what I do. Otherwise, it would be a blind belief. Yet, I also don’t want to be so devoted to proof that I miss out on the more subtle, “un-scientific” aspects to life. I know my mom strives for the same thing too, but perhaps is a little more open to the “un-scientific” than I am yet. At any rate, I just thought it was interesting how her some of her sentiments were present in Chapter 7. Maybe next time we talk about thing of this matter I’ll have to check the indulgent nod.