One of the prime axioms of the wizard is to “Question...

One of the prime axioms of the wizard is to “Question Everything.” Most of us question NOTHING, unless it is someone asking us to do something we don’t want to. Our culture teaches us our beliefs…and we accept them. When the culture changes, the young tend to go along, because their beliefs aren’t so deeply ingrained–but most older folks resist. My 90 year old mother won’t use video-phone apps. I have my own hangups. Teens engage in lots of behaviors–especially using their smartphonesn and social media–that make me uncomfortable. The culture has, and will continue to change.

However–a real wizard will go out of his or her way to question as many beliefs as possible. Am I really seeing what I think I’m seeing…or are there elements I’m missing? There usually are. Is that really a –whatever?–or is my brain simply jumping to conclusions? We all understand that retailers “mark up” the things we buy from them–but I remember feeling really cheated when I discovered how much some of those mark-ups really were (looking at you, Apple).

Here’s a fun little thought exercise that might help you understand just what I mean: Imagine you see a man or woman walking down the street, only half dressed. What’s your reaction? “That’s disgusting,” maybe. Or, “that poor homeless person.” Or something else. Where did that response come from? What assumptions did your mind make that led you to that response? Were there psychological triggers involved? How much acculturation was involved?

Now, imagine yourself lost in the Amazon rain forest, and you encounter the same person, dressed in the same manner. Now how do you feel about them? They haven’t changed…but your situation has. You’re seeing them from a different perspective. You’ll still probably be jumping to conclusions based on your assumptions–many of them mistaken–but you’ll have a completely different reaction.

Have fun applying this kind of thinking to other aspects of your life. You might just find there are many things you thought impossible that become quite possible–even easy–as you learn to question your assumptions, and view those things from different perspectives!

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