Matrix: Revolutions
Don Juan
Have you ever noticed how a child (see: infant) acts when in the presence of a mirror? They become fascinated, as they begin to realize what they look like. They have no concept of future hopes and dreams… what other parents and toddlers think of them. All that they know is that they can see themselves, their reflection in the mirror… and they fall in love with it. Then… an unfortunate thing begins to occur, society begins to take away the toddler’s reflection. He must be good in front of other parents now, because what they think of him… is important. He must play nice and share his toys with other toddlers, because what they think of him… is important. His reflection is gone and what has replaced it is everyone and everything else.
Soon… that toddler is now a teenager and now only notices a glimpse of his former reflection when he looks into the mirror. His society begins to shape his self-concept… television creates his image, his friends modify his personality, he struggles to reach societal expectations… his reflection is gone. Does this sound like a familiar story … it should, because it is something that at one point or another has happened to all of us… somehow, while we are going through our lives… we lose our purpose. We find ourselves doing things and have absolutely no idea as to why we are doing them. The answer is simple… we have become a Mechanical Animal.
The Concept (Self)
I speak to various people on the forum on a frequent basis and get a question tossed at me here and there. There is usually one situation that happens frequently that saddens me… it saddens me because it is insulting to the person who asks it. It goes something like this:
“Hey Matrix… there is this girl in my class and I really like her… what should I do?”
To which I reply, “Well… what would you like to do?”
“I don’t know… that’s why I am asking you.”
Is that not the worse thing that you have ever heard? Are you really willing to allow someone who may live hundreds or thousand of miles away from you, someone whom you have never seen nor met… decide your fate? If those of you without religious proclivities do not allow the concept called “God” decide your fate, why would you allow a lowly human to? The answer to that question is quite simple; our “self-concept” is a result of two things… how we view ourselves and how our society views us. Ideally, there is a perfect balance between the two… however, often we are not sure of our opinions of our self… all that remains then is what our society thinks of us.
I think you already realize how terrible such a condition is… but it is something that affects all of us… especially in High School. In fact, High School is probably the breeding ground for this behavior, because it creates the condition that is often discussed among Psychology majors…
Dissonance (Cognitive)
In short, cognitive dissonance is a disparity in the conscious mind between your self-concept and an action (or thought). For instance, I do not consider myself a murderer, so if murderous intentions were to cross my mind at any given point… cognitive dissonance results. My brain says, “Wait a second… I do not consider myself a murderer… what is this doing here?” For obvious reasons, your brain likes to keep the cognitive dissonance to a minimum and force that thought out of your head. Yeah I know… “Revolutions, what does this have to do with me?” I respond to that question, with another question, “Have you ever found yourself doing something that you did not want to do… but did it anyway because of peer pressure?” Most of us will probably say yes to that question, and many of us may say that we felt terrible after we did it… this feeling derives from the fact that the action did not match our self-concept (cognitive dissonance) but was performed anyway.
In these four years of prison that our society calls High School… conformity is abound (and in fact encouraged for regulatory purposes)… with such conformity, it is easy for one to lose sight of just who they are, it is easy for one to become mere shells of their self-concepts… it is easy for one to lose one’s reflection in the mirror.
Treasure Hunting (Self)
This is the part of the post that is really going to suck for most people. I want you to stop… yes stop… and think about everything that you do. Then I want you to ask yourself, “Why do I do it?” Ask yourself why you go to the gym, or why you play football… why you dyed your hair. Do not be afraid or think that you already know the answer… because if you really searched for the answer… it may surprise you. What I am really attempting to get you guys to do is some self-discovery (it is quite necessary… especially as we get to the more practical posts). Oftentimes, we spend far too much time worrying about how someone else is feeling… what someone else thinks. Well… how do you feel? What do you think?
I cannot stress to you how important that moment of self-discovery will be to you people… you will learn more about everything (including yourself) than me or anyone else on this board could ever teach you… happy hunting.
Are you not entertained?
Make your words soft and sweet… in case you have to eat them.
Soon… that toddler is now a teenager and now only notices a glimpse of his former reflection when he looks into the mirror. His society begins to shape his self-concept… television creates his image, his friends modify his personality, he struggles to reach societal expectations… his reflection is gone. Does this sound like a familiar story … it should, because it is something that at one point or another has happened to all of us… somehow, while we are going through our lives… we lose our purpose. We find ourselves doing things and have absolutely no idea as to why we are doing them. The answer is simple… we have become a Mechanical Animal.
The Concept (Self)
I speak to various people on the forum on a frequent basis and get a question tossed at me here and there. There is usually one situation that happens frequently that saddens me… it saddens me because it is insulting to the person who asks it. It goes something like this:
“Hey Matrix… there is this girl in my class and I really like her… what should I do?”
To which I reply, “Well… what would you like to do?”
“I don’t know… that’s why I am asking you.”
Is that not the worse thing that you have ever heard? Are you really willing to allow someone who may live hundreds or thousand of miles away from you, someone whom you have never seen nor met… decide your fate? If those of you without religious proclivities do not allow the concept called “God” decide your fate, why would you allow a lowly human to? The answer to that question is quite simple; our “self-concept” is a result of two things… how we view ourselves and how our society views us. Ideally, there is a perfect balance between the two… however, often we are not sure of our opinions of our self… all that remains then is what our society thinks of us.
I think you already realize how terrible such a condition is… but it is something that affects all of us… especially in High School. In fact, High School is probably the breeding ground for this behavior, because it creates the condition that is often discussed among Psychology majors…
Dissonance (Cognitive)
In short, cognitive dissonance is a disparity in the conscious mind between your self-concept and an action (or thought). For instance, I do not consider myself a murderer, so if murderous intentions were to cross my mind at any given point… cognitive dissonance results. My brain says, “Wait a second… I do not consider myself a murderer… what is this doing here?” For obvious reasons, your brain likes to keep the cognitive dissonance to a minimum and force that thought out of your head. Yeah I know… “Revolutions, what does this have to do with me?” I respond to that question, with another question, “Have you ever found yourself doing something that you did not want to do… but did it anyway because of peer pressure?” Most of us will probably say yes to that question, and many of us may say that we felt terrible after we did it… this feeling derives from the fact that the action did not match our self-concept (cognitive dissonance) but was performed anyway.
In these four years of prison that our society calls High School… conformity is abound (and in fact encouraged for regulatory purposes)… with such conformity, it is easy for one to lose sight of just who they are, it is easy for one to become mere shells of their self-concepts… it is easy for one to lose one’s reflection in the mirror.
Treasure Hunting (Self)
This is the part of the post that is really going to suck for most people. I want you to stop… yes stop… and think about everything that you do. Then I want you to ask yourself, “Why do I do it?” Ask yourself why you go to the gym, or why you play football… why you dyed your hair. Do not be afraid or think that you already know the answer… because if you really searched for the answer… it may surprise you. What I am really attempting to get you guys to do is some self-discovery (it is quite necessary… especially as we get to the more practical posts). Oftentimes, we spend far too much time worrying about how someone else is feeling… what someone else thinks. Well… how do you feel? What do you think?
I cannot stress to you how important that moment of self-discovery will be to you people… you will learn more about everything (including yourself) than me or anyone else on this board could ever teach you… happy hunting.
Are you not entertained?
Make your words soft and sweet… in case you have to eat them.
