recency bias
 

it could be that during energetic development one may be clearing through things from many life times. for me that was the case.

it could be helpful i have found for me anyways. to observe more than judge. so things come and go without to many hang ups.

our minds are not equipped imo to begin to understand various cultures going back for who knows how long. WE SUFFER FROM RECENCY BIAS. our viewpoint is based from our current time and present culture.

these are just my sharing of observations and opinions during my kundalini awakening. which for me included sifting through things that are not current. but date back in time.

Ever since I was recently diagnosed as being schizophrenic and had that label attached (which also has a hard time sticking) it has led me to question social biases as a whole..

Is it that the prevailing medical and psychiatric thought gives absolutely no credence to Spiritual experiences whatsoever?

I read a very interesting article on "hearing voices" and according to that study, what the voices say, is wholly dependent upon the culture one is raised into. Some hear voices telling them to kill themselves...I hear voices telling me how to harness quantum fluctuations to build free energy devices..

https://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16...hrmann-071614/

Many of the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia could equally apply to those who consider themselves to be "spiritual"...do you receive messages from beyond your own mind? Do you find significance in routine occurrences? Do you believe you create your own reality? Do you think there is an intelligencia behind the government plotting to control the world? Do you believe that your are Divine? Do you have "magical thinking? answer "yes" to any one of those and you are "schizophrenic".

I mean, there are almost 1.5 billion people in India who believe in stuff that those in Western society would classify as being "delusional" ..is the entire population of India schizophrenic?

At least one thing...now I have the label, I need to go and see another doctor to get a prescription for antipsychotics and to undergo treatment to try and stop all my spirituality...and I am willing to give it a go for one reason only..because if all of this still persists even when I am taking the drugs, I will know that it is not caused by "schizophrenia" and if somehow, my love for the Divine goes away, I will also understand that it was never there to begin with.

I do believe that in everybody's life and on their chosen path of Spiritual growth, there comes a time not to let anybody else's biases affect you...and if you are labeled as "delusional" or even "insane" for doing so, then guess what? That is STILL another bias...it is a bias against not being biased!...until you realise, in the end, that you just can't win.

It is also a message for me to go more deeply and regularly into meditation, because there also comes a time when the external world has nothing left to offer anymore (as if it EVER did).

The whole issue is that my mind CAN understand various cultures going back for the past 10,000 years or so and the only "bias" I hold towards recent events, is that I am able to make various comparisons when they are in no way even comparable...it is why people have "recency bias" because anything that is prior to living memory, is so foreign and alien to them so as to have never existed...call it a form of "selective attention" or "selective memory" and this is more at the level of the subconscious or unconscious mind, so that people have absolutely no conscious control over what they can recall...but there are a very small minority of us who can.

The Khmer culture was totally wiped out in one generation! The fastest way to change a culture, is to change the spoken and written language, so nobody can read any of the ancient books and inscriptions anymore. Anybody who spoke the old language or kept up with the traditional ways was immediately put to death and now, nobody knows what the temple inscriptions say, except for some linguistics professors at the University...nobody knows the ancient arts and crafts..the Khmer Rouge wiped out about 70% of the population...mostly, those over 20... those who would be able to remember stuff from the past.

In the modern era, dictators are not quite as ruthless as Phol Pot was...but the brainwashing is more subtle, insidious and systemic.

Also, in this "post truth era", a lot of skepticism is about on the actual validity of historical texts and documents..nobody trusts anybody or anything anymore, so "live for today" is the motto...and that also fits in very well with the "Spiritual crowd" and their whole "Power of Now" philosophy..is this very moment "recent" enough for you?

It is why nobody gives a damn about the past and the future anymore.

Yes and cue all the spiritualists who would never read from genuine Masters let it ruin their self image that they are OHHH SOOO HOLYYY and enlightened.

As Donald Trump might say, sad!

Sorry but most psychologists are just as bad as religious people if not worse at times. Most probably have good intentions but are just as lost as the religious people parroting scripture without wisdom (experience). I would say it's helpful for those that refuse or are unable to look at their selves and want a quick fix (medication).

Either way don't get me wrong they are good for certain people I guess but if you are genuinely interested in the spiritual path it's better to find a real master and even they can only point the way and you have to do the work.

Yes, I understand....what I don't get, is how does one know or can tell if a master is "genuine" or "real"?

I can see a deeper meaning and wisdom behind texts like the Vedas and the Puranas, and I also attach the label of being "religious" and subscribing to Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), because following a certain Sampradaya (school of thought) is less airy-fairy than just saying that one is "spiritual" even though, with religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, it is really six of one and half a dozen of another.

There are quite a few masters in the Kashmir Shaivism tradition...but none in Australia..and I don't really know if one can get the same benefits online..say, over Skype than actually being in their physical presence...how does the energy transference actually work over the internets anyway?

However, I am digressing from the main topic to reply to you.

I understand that many base their perceptions and judgments on THIS incarnation only, even if they believe in past lives.

For example, I have had a few tell me that a Caucasian Female from Australia cannot be a Hindu because I don't have brown skin and I was not born into a Hindu family...I just don't remember what happened when I WAS and I died to now be reborn as a Caucasian in a Christian country...and when we speak of the Atman, what has ANY of that gotta do with the price of fish (or tofu)?

If someone who is a Hindu says that I am not, my immediate response to that now is, "well then...if I am not a Hindu, then neither are YOU".

A master is great and will make things go faster but if you are dedicated to the practice you will eventually learn from trial and error.

I'm not against religion just those that intellectualize scriptures and even those you can't really blame for being the way they are as they don't know any better. But it's all good either way I personally put more emphasis on dedicated practise then reading and things will become more clear.

Don't worry about the hindu, understanding yourself will lead to compassion even for the haters lol

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More than a ‘master’ it is the pupil who needs to become open & receptive. The Universe provides us with visible & invisible masters as in facilitators but in most cases we tend to self block the inward transmission by doubt or fear.

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thank you for sharing! think there is some things i may want to say. but need time to read and think.

My present time-frame brings (mainly) 2 - very different living cultures into view to witness/experience.

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