Explaining the reality... of your mind

For those of you who follow this blog with certain regularity it should be obvious by know who firm my believes are in the so-called philosophical materialism: even if our senses and our brains play a crucial role in the perception and interpretation of reality, to the point that two people might get completely different reads of the same situation, there are some facts that not only are out of any question, but they cannot be changed by an act of our minds. If you are on the street and a bicycle lying on the floor, one might speculate that a biker was hit by a car, another might think that the rider dropped the bicycle and continued on foot, while a third one might argue that it was the wind that toppled the bicycle over. And failing further evidence anyone of the three might be right (or none of them) but the unquestionable fact is that the bicycle is laying on the floor and it does not matter how hard you wish it were otherwise. (As a scientist I cannot discard that, at some point in the future, someone finds a way of detecting "telepathic" waves or something of the sort, but as the technology stands right now there is no chance that the bicycle will stand up of its own accord.)

Precisely because I do not believe in the ability of the mind to have an influence on reality, adages like "when there's a will, there's a way" or anything with the faintest aroma of "positive psychology" usually elicit the opposite effect in me. If there is a way and a will, the chances are that you can manage to find the way. If there is no way, you are not going to create it by sheer willpower. And this is what I call blatant deception.

Photo: John Kittelsrud

However, there are a few popular sayings that, on a first inspection, seem to advocate for the influence of the mind over the world but I manage to agree with. The first one is known as Murphy's law, which is often formulated as "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". Several critics have argued that admitting this law is tantamount to accepting inanimate objects to have a will (or an influence of your thoughts in the objects that turns them against you). But if we look at Murphy's law from the psychological point of view it makes more sense, because it becomes a formulation of fundamental attribution error: nobody turns to disprove Murphy's law when things go right (we all want to claim the merit), but the moment anything fails we all curse Murphy's name. And this is all the more salient if the way things failed was considered and then dismissed as improbable. In other words, I do not think that the toast wants to land with the butter down, we just feel so miserable every time it happens that is seems to happen all the time.

The other quote that I would like to re-interpret has been mostly attributed to British singer and composer John Lennon, but not only: "Everything is going to be okay in the end. And if it is not okay, it is not the end." It obviously does not mean that you will eventually succeed every time if you only keep at it, even if that could come out of a first reading. But if we give some thought at the way we think and feel, the statement can be understood almost in a Zen way: closure can only be reached once you learn to be okay with the result; as long as you are not okay with it, you will not be able to leave the matter behind. 

A colleague of mine always comes to discuss the talks he gives in the team meetings (or used to, when this was still possible). Even hours after the talk is done, he keeps rummaging about it, wondering if he has made enough emphasis on the important points, wondering if he saw a derisive smile in another person and so fort. The fact of reality is that the talk is over, but in his mind it is still going on. He replays it mentally and goes over every detail, and only when he comes to terms with the talk, when he understands that whatever happened, happened, and that whatever consequences it will bring cannot be helped anymore. Every time I insist gently on his leaving it behind and getting ready for what might come instead of stewing in his "woulda, coulda, shoulda".

The power of our minds is so big that it might seem magic, and in fact the way we interpret the reality can have a huge impact in our thoughts, feelings and even future actions. But still, it is important to realize that a change of perspective can help our mind, but not our reality. Have a nice week.