Firstly, those people who do martial arts / Jedi sword drills to “train and discipline the mind” seem to me to be a little like someone saying they will develop their deltoid muscle by wriggling their fingers and hands a lot ...
If you want to “train and discipline the mind”, then in my opinion a more direct approach such as learning to meditate (properly - not the culturally misappropriated mindfulness practices, which are a PRELUDE to meditation) or doing a course in philosophy - such as the one at the foot of this post - may be more efficient.
From what I have seen (people I have known in my life who love martial arts etc - and noting my like of Tai Chi for relaxation and exercise and moving meditation), I consider that the truth is that most of what is described as “training and disciplining the mind” is generally emotional control - which, if it involves suppression, is harmful, dangerous, and retrograde.
and, on that, Karla McLaren remains, in my opinion, the best guidance on working with emotions - but see also http://gnwmythrsglossary.blogspot.com/2014/11/shadow-self.html
However, I will acknowledge that some people find the mental disciplines associated with doing martial arts / Jedi sword drills useful, and for them the analogy is perhaps ... learning to select and properly wear good footwear so one can develop the ability to run better.
So appreciate the benefit, but always be aware it is somewhat indirect, and that others may have better approaches, so do not be aggressive and, as I have also encountered with some people in martial arts and the mindfulness movement, arrogantly insist that what suits you is best for everyone (and note my use of words like “may” above).
Another example of the sort of arrogance I am considering here is discussed in “If you don’t like journaling, you’re not wrong” https://youtube.com/shorts/Stg9_IO0Wo4?si=mkerkWmfRDBEC2-a
Secondly, sometimes getting a mind to be open to change is a bit like freeing a mildly bogged car, which just has to be rocked back and forth a bit: feed the mind a few different perspectives, and it'll largely free it self.
Other times, you’ve got to dig deep and get levers, jacks, and other tools in to free it from being severely stuck in a rut.
And finally: holding to a range of bigotries is not promoting variety - all bigotries have the same bases of intolerance, fear of difference/change, and anger-hate ...
Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:
- there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”;
- I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).Copyright © Kayleen White 2007-2024 NO AI
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