Keep an open mind:

The mind is like a parachute, it is useless unless it is opened. Here I wish to warn against the dangers of “indoctrination”, adopting a belief system that excludes all other points of view is extremely egotistical at best, or extremely cult-like behavior at worst. And avoid groups that demand you throw logic and reasoning out the window and adopt dramatic life changes based on nothing but blind faith. Keeping an inquisitive mind, an investigative mind, and a scientific mind is the best attitude in life.

When I was 19 I joined a “Christian church” and devoted my life entirely to the Christian religion, according to the doctrine of this group. This church was radically committed to the Bible, which appealed to me at the time, but then claimed all other churches were not “real Christians” because they didn’t follow certain biblical teachings the way we were. The church insisted every member study and examine the bible every single solitary day, so I did. The problem with this is if you have an inquisitive mind, an investigative mind, and a scientific mind then study and examine something thoroughly, its flaws, defects, blemishes, and/or contradictions will stand out. 

The purpose of “indoctrination” is to keep one’s mind in a certain mold, so that when difficult questions arise, the “doctrine” can fill in the gap and provide ‘reasonable answers’. Thus indoctrinating one’s mind is to close one’s mind to explanations outside of the teachings or doctrine of the religion. 

Keeping an “open mind” allows you to examine all sides of a subject, then you have more materials and content from which to choose the information making most sense. 

A perfect example of indoctrination blocking information is the religious attitude towards Genesis. The story told in Genesis explains God made Adam and Eve the very first Humans to exist, they had a son they named Cain, then another they named Abel. At this point there are 4 humans on this Planet. Cain became jealous of Abel and kills him, we are now down to 3 humans on the planet. God became angry that Cain killed Abel and banished him to live away from Adam and Eve. Cain then went to the Land of Nod where he found a wife, but Genesis gives no explanation of where the civilisation came from that provided Cain his wife.

If you approach Genesis 4 with an inquisitive mind you will have more questions than answers, but if you approach Genesis 4 with an indoctrinated mind you have been taught to accept ‘a doctrine’. The doctrine is usually vast, so it is easy to overlook areas which are difficult to understand, such as Genesis 4. However the fact Cain knew about the civilisation in Nod and feared them is completely overlooked in all of the Christian doctrines, and any attempt to investigate more deeply the identity of the civilisations from Nod requires the necessity to step outside of Christian Doctrines. Thus having an “Indoctrinated mind” is simply put as having one particular point of view that excludes other points of view.

An example of open-minded thinking is this, Genesis might NOT describe the Creator of existence, but rather it could be the description of “the beings or deities” responsible for creating a specific kind of Human. When Adam and Eve were created between 5,500 and 9,800 years ago according to the genealogies in the Bible, the Pyramids in Egypt which have been dated to be between 26,000 and 250,000 years old already existed. There is evidence of ancient civilisation such as Kemit and the Sumerians having technology predating 12,000 BC. Therefore this version of history perfectly explains from where the civilisations Cain’s wife came from. The Sumerian Text or Emerald tablets go into great detail about these events, but it is a matter of “belief” whether one chooses to believe what is written is true.

The Mayans had a calendar 5,000 years ago accurate to the day which tracked the stars and solar system right down to the 22nd of December 2012. However the modern telescope was not invented until 1608 AD, roughly 4,500 years after the Mayan calendar. Then from where did the Mayans get their technology? 

Physical evidence proves civilisations have existed on Earth long before 10,000 BC therefore an open minded look at Genesis dictates this book cannot be read literally. A careful examination of Genesis reveals its author (Moses) lived approximately 2000 BC, yet he writes about events that happened thousands of years before he was born. Concerning dates and times, Moses was as close to the events he writes about as we are to Moses, so where did Moses get his information? 

Moses grew up in Egypt as a child, he would have had access to many ancient historical artifacts (that would be ancient history to Moses) which would include the Book of Jasher, and The Emerald Texts. Moses was 80 years old when he confronted Pharaoh, and he wrote Genesis many years later. Genesis is therefore nothing but Moses recalling what he learned from the Egyptian libraries as a child and young adult.

The Sumerian text teach about “the Elohim and the Annunaki” it teaches that Enki was the one who created Adam by splicing his DNA with the DNA of indigenous man. But think about this, text that predates the Bible by thousands of years which describes the splicing of DNA, the creation of Pyramids and Alien civilisation. A deep and solid look into Earth’s prehistoric history contains evidence that can turn everything on its head for anyone who has chosen to believe todays narrative on history.

We can only grow and learn based on the information and evidence presented to us, but if a person is indoctrinated, the “new evidence” that does not fall in line with the said doctrine is rejected by default, thus stealing from believer the ability to grow with new evidence.

Admitting ‘you were wrong’ can be one of the most difficult things to do, for some this is even traumatizing and psychologically damaging. But if you take the stand that you are a student, you are here learning, you are bound to get things wrong every now and again, then you will have a more healthy approach to new information. But why is it so difficult for some to accept new information?

Our ego drives separate us from one another and give us our individuality, therefore you have the ability to see life uniquely from one point of view, your own. Your ego is also designed to protect you, therefore once you have concluded something to be true and real, your ego will help you protect that reality on a subconscious level, you will reject conflicting information and even become emotionally passionate about protecting your point of view. In order to keep an open mind, you need to master the art of sidestepping your own ego. Close your eyes and picture what confident humility looks like. Keeping an ‘open mind’ doesn’t mean a mind that sways this way and that, blown around by every differing opinion that blows by, but being confident in what you know and humble enough to know you are still learning. You are not here to win arguments, you are here to improve yourself, know the destination you wish to reach, and be completely honest with yourself. If your goal is to win arguments, then you are completely controlled by your ego, but if your goal is to develop a Christlike character, you will need to be open and honest about the differences between you and Perfect Love.

If you have a belief and someone else has an opposing belief, the closed indoctrinated mind will need to convert that person’s “wrong belief” to mirror your own. An open mind will ponder how they reached their conclusion and eventually understand their mindset, then comparing their journey to your own you now have more information to choose the best path for yourself.

There is nothing wrong with a deep unshakeable conviction provided you don’t ram your convictions down people’s throats expecting them to live, think and act as you do. Remember, your life’s journey is bespoke to you..