Participatory Thought & Planet Plundering

David Bohm informs us that in early culture we humans exercised “participatory thought�; this form of thinking is still common today—people felt that they were participation in the big picture—plains Indians felt that there were many buffalo that were displays of the spirit of buffalo and that in hunting and eating this buffalo the Indians participated in this world spirit—likewise the Eskimo felt similarly being a participant of the spirit of seals—these people felt that in their thoughts they participated in these worldly spirits.

Modern man has converted somewhat from such thoughts “We want to have a thought about something where we don’t participate, where we think about it and know just what it is.�—the form of thought which we modern man prefers are what is called “literal thought�.

Literal thought is intended to reflect just reality as it really exists—it is thought that focus on “just the facts mam�—technology aims for literal thought--the scientific method enthrones literal thought

Some compare this attitude about literal thought as being a form of idol worship—when we construct an idol it is a representative of some force, after awhile the idol becomes in our thoughts that force—example is when the flag becomes a literal thought of a nation—thus we overvalue the symbol—literal thought and participatory thought stand side by side but generally those things that we value most involve participatory thought—“the tribe and the totem—we are identical�—when my country is attacked, I am attacked; when my conclusions are attacked I am attacked.

Explicitly we give supreme value to literal thought—tacitly we give supreme value to participatory thought—literal thought makes technology possible and participatory thought went underground, the crazy aunt in the attic.

Participatory thought creates a sense of belonging; it does not create a separation of subject and object. “That way of thinking would not lead anybody to plunder the planet.�

Participatory thought however has some dangers. When Indian tribes thought of them selves as human beings and ‘human being’ became a word for tribal members then when engaging other tribes in battle that tribe were not ‘human beings’. Likewise in Hitler’s Germany a similar situation prevailed.

As society began to develop larger groups literal thought became more prevalent; these societies need much better organization. They organized society by saying “You belong here, you do this, and you do that…They began, therefore, to treat everything as a separate object, including other people. They used people as a means to an end.�

How do these characteristics of thought affect our ability to communicate and to “just get along�?

Generally speaking the ego tends to identify with thought, but a Stanford research study claims we think some 50-60,000 thoughts per day. Some of these thoughts are conscious and others are subconscious.
Literally these thoughts act on our environment like dropping pebbles in a still pond. If the mind is focused enough to drop one thought at a time the ripple effect that moves toward manifestation would be distinct.
However with the conscious and subconscious thought streams that are the 50-60,000 thoughts per day some thoughts are canceled out by the opposing thought, like dropping so many pebbles at a time in the pond creating chop.
The ego tends to retain the past in forms of subconscious thought impressions that are the neural pathways or impressions in the mind. They are like grooves on a vinyl record. They are embedded due to the retaining of certain impressions that impact the psyche.
Thoughts of self worth such as I never get what I want or I'm not worthy are the types of thoughts that often silently chip away at thoughts or desires streams that pop up intermittently in daily activity, which is why affirmations do not work.
Unless the mind creates new grooves that are beneficial or supportive in nature then new thoughts are going to be subject to the past memories of ideas and beliefs that are created by the ego as threats to happiness and fulfillment.
Because the ego is the foundation for the fear of death it is the reason psychologist say we have a survival instinct. The ego retains all feelings and ideas that become threatening to the idea of freedom and happiness. It is a default mechanism of the ego to collect the threats or ideas of threats that accumulate over time so that it can attempt to protect itself from the things it believes are threatening and harmful. By the time a person is in their 50's it becomes almost impossible for a person to escape the habitual patterns of determined beliefs regarding ones self and the world around them.

In order to have a more universal freedom to experience the world beyond the identity of thought and its individual perceptions and characteristics, one has to have an experience of themselves as being not thought but the witness to thought. This can only happen when one removes themselves from the identity of separation from the world and those around them.
If a person maintains their identity as a separate entity playing a role in the whole then their concept of the whole is limited to their belief as the objective piece and the worth or role that it plays as well as the concept of the whole and any idea of what the whole is missing without the pieces.
If the ego is attached to thought then this subjective experience is going to change with the thoughts and the feelings as the mind is hypnotized by the changing 60,000 thoughts.
It would be like a tree trying to draw nutrients from the ground when it can't find the best ground and can't stay planted long enough to get the nutrition it needs.
It becomes disconnected and withers and dies.

Joesus

I shall have to give this some thought before I can reply. It might represent something I have been looking for.