Exploration

There is no exploration more important and transcendental than that of our own mind, our own being.

To overcome mental barriers and the cognitive dissonance of which we suffer at the time we are presented with evidence that goes against our dogmas, beliefs, or conceptions of ourselves. Ideas which we believed were indisputable, infallible, and were planted in our subconscious from the moment of birth, perhaps from the moment of conception. Within homo sapiens this is very natural, we are an animal species with very complex social structures and we depend on these structures to realize ourselves as people.

The historian and author, Yuval Noah Harari expresses in his book, "Sapiens: from animals to gods", that this kind of indoctrination takes place for years, something very specific to homo sapiens, unlike other species. Humans at birth require a constant and special kind of attention different from a kitten that few weeks after birth can forage for food or a foal that can trot shortly after birth. This human peculiarity, among many others, has contributed significantly to our extraordinary social abilities as well as to social problems, something very unique among species. Raising children requires constant help. A single mother would not find it easy to find food and support her children at the same time, ideally, collaboration from family or community members is preferred. This has greatly favored our ability to form strong social ties.

Apart from this, homo sapiens are born with an underdeveloped brain that lends itself easily to being molded, educated, or manipulated to certain "specifications".

Our brain at birth is like glass that has just been melted in an oven, easy to handle and mold very freely. This is why it is easy to educate children from youth to be Christians or Buddhists, socialists or capitalists, to love war or peace.

However, once we reach adult life there is also a great capacity for education and learning. It will not be easy but dogmas to which we were subjected from an early age can be changed, in many cases a cognitive dissonance can occur, which can cause much mayhem within our senses and being. There are certain thoughts that over time, and with the discovery of new evidence, can begin to produce contradictions within our brain. Leaving those thoughts can be difficult for us, there is a certain comfort in them and the dissonance is so great that we decide to ignore the subconscious. During the first years of life, the brain is in a process of neurogenesis, it is being formed and this process continues until adulthood, where the process of neurogenesis is already at almost undetectable levels. Environmental factors such as physical exercise, stress, and the consumption of antidepressants, have also shown significant effects on neurogenesis. All this influencing our way of thinking, neurons connected and assimilated into our lives.

This exploration of our cognitive reality may seem without measure or effect, without purpose, but in itself, it is an exploration of why we become who we are. The independent individual that we often think we are is usually no more than a small and delicate illusion, fragile as the first layer of ice on a lake in early winter. Our reality is made for us, we have a mental filter in place since we were born, which has its practical use during our first years, but, at the same time, it can create barriers.

It is of utmost importance to be free and independent of thought enough to be able to analyze these contradictions that can occur in our way of thinking or seeing the world. Deepening our thoughts, analyzing our mental processes, and appreciating the fact that many of our untouchable doctrines are malleable, they can be changed. We are questioning what was established for us, all the schemes and ways of thinking. It is not forgetting what has been learned, but extending our knowledge and expanding our culture with new and renewed presences.

Introducing new ideas with greater significance and importance for our lives can be the difference between full freedom of thought or remaining with a cast placed on our thinking.

- Andres Garcia