I would like to see how open minded we really are. I am very open minded

Hi George,

I'm open-minded enough to let in the new ideas that support
the better world I hope for !  :)
But I try to close it down when an ugly, mean, or hopeless idea
comes along. In that way I'm less tolerant than I used to be.

Bets

George, I really liked the way you said that.

I am very open minded

There is no punctuation at the end of your sentence. It is like an affirmation, the way that you wrote it. For me, I look at that line and see that the end of that sentence is like the edge of a cliff. A person could pretty much leap into any thought at all from it.

So, I tend to agree with you:

I am very open minded

love, blink

Hi George. That's a tough question - and probably the one we never quite know the answer to with any certainty. It's one thing to decide intellectually that 'yes, it's a good thing to be open minded' and strive to be so. It's quite another to BE unthinkingly so regardless of what buttons get pressed in life situations.

It's perhaps a much bigger question than we realise too. There's good reason to think that the very fact that we find ourselves apparently existing in this reality (even if we do flit about the afterlife at times), and perceiving ourselves to be a personal self is proof that we're locked in by beliefs that don't take account of greater realities. i.e. that we are far from open.

;) The zen student in the old story who screams blue murder when his master starts strangling him after he announces he's supposedly transcended his fear of death comes to mind. 'So you don't fear death???'

Even 'open mindedness' gets misconstrued. Most of us can manage to be open enough to allow a (fairly - we still have our red buttons) free discussion of differing views. But it's another matter entirely to engage on a topic or in a situation without the range of acceptable options or outcomes being pre-determined by our personal view. At best we need time to fire up our intellect to realise 'oops, I'm supposed to be being open'.

This isn't likely to lead to an optimal solution, because as well as it risking our getting caught by situations requiring an instant response, there's also the issue that higher wisdom and seeing come not through intellectual analysis, but from the intuitive or heart side.

I quoted the Aesop's fable about the two monkeys squabbling over a piece of cheese in this regard yesterday. An old monkey offers to help by breaking it into even halves. This he sets out to do, but (surprise surprise) he ends up nibbling away at one piece to bring it down to size of the other. But overshoots, and so has to do likewise to the other - several times. Eventually the two go on their way happy with two equal pieces - being so focused on the other guy not getting ahead that they don't notice that the oldster ate most of their cheese.

Compromise is basically an ego driven and destructive process that inevitably results in sub-optimal solutions. This for example is the ultimate source of much of the lunacy that comes out of negotiated agreements, or politically correct policies, or bureaucracies. True openness requires the generosity and lack of selfishness to see, propose and permit the optimal solution in all situations - regardless of any personal view or interest getting into the mix

Perhaps the best we can hope for is to maintain as open an orientation as we can going forward - watching carefully for the ego sneaking in. We can only at a given time be what we are - this is the only place we can start from if we're not tp drift into self delusion....

Hey, friend, we posted at the same time....    :)

Well, we did, when we did...now it's changed....hmmnnn. Don't get that.

I consider myself very open minded its just a shame that open minded people are a minority and will be for a long time.

What does it mean to be open-minded?

lucy,its like if you tell anybody about your spiritual experiences,and they have eyes,but no ears

George old man,

It is good, very good to be open minded , but not to the degree that our minds(brains if you like) fall out of our heads!

Alan

Open Mindness Test: http://www.blogthings.com/howopenmindedareyouquiz/

I don't think any of us can tell accurately how open-minded we ourselves are...I've known people who thought they were open-minded because they allowed as how you might be okay even thought you were Baptist rather than Christian Reformed (going to hell, mind you, but an okay person other than that).  They'd even talk to you on Sunday...

Things like that test might be somewhat informative, but even then, so much depends on context - who did what to whom with who's consent and what was the effect...makes a difference sometimes in what bothers me, anyway...

;D ;D ;D

Yeah, my brains had to fall out of my head a few times before I wised up.


Alan McDougall wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2008 at 1:23pm:

George old man, It is good, very good to be open minded , but not to the degree that our minds(brains if you like) fall out of our heads! Alan

Old Dood wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2008 at 1:41pm:

Open Mindness Test: http://www.blogthings.com/howopenmindedareyouquiz/

This is my test results:

52% - You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.  8-)