Human race gordian knot and nut.

There is a strange tendancy in the human mind. When a new attitude, trick or technology is discovered, people use to consider it as an universal recipe for all the problems that appear in the same context, and very often in any neighbour activity. Furthermore, other knowledges are also considered as out-to-date,  obsolete, or even sometimes wrong. All domains of human activity suffer from this kind of commonly accepted sort of mental disorder.

There are obvious examples in architecture. For example, at the beginning of the 20th century all buildings where suddenly made with with iron and bolts. We have also a similar phenomenon nowadays with the internet technology that specialists are trying to apply to every field of human activity using the XML and java "bolts".

In all these examples there is always some kind of "bolts" that becomes the symbol of the power that people think they suddenly acquired over their world. Only the names are changing with the time. Their psychological function remains the same : hypnotize ourselves so that we believe we have some power over the world. This allow us to make things that try reach a kind of absolute. After a period of peek, there is a descent and new kind of "bolts" appear cyclically.

This is very similar to a religious attitude, and similarly, in extreme situations it can become dangerous to bring any contradiction to the common opinions. In all cases, this is emphasied when there are external objects to identify with. Sometimes a symbol or the image of a person can become the "bolt" that wrap the crowd's minds. The simpler the object is, the most fascinating it is, the most impressive are the marvels that people realize with it.

For example remember that all the computer science is made of bits that carry only two values : O or 1. Similarly XML are generated by the three following characters : "<", ">" and "/"

Let's sum up : people are hypnotized because they like to be fascinated by the feeling of power they have when they identify themselves to those "bolts", and this fascination is reinforced by real marvels realized with it. As a consequence they bring into disrepute older traditional knowledge.

Is there a reason to such an irrational attitude? To understand the day, consider the night and understand the rotation of the earth... but not the day.
What is the nigth in our case : it is the opposite of powerness. There is an universal feeling in the deepest place of any human mind : we are powerless against the time that makes everything fleeting and that reveals the impermanent nature of everything. The widest our powerlessness is, the strongest is the tyranny of the "bolts" upon our minds.

This feeling of powerlessness needs to be compensated by tyrannies (technological, political, religious, ...), that need only images and bolts to be hold up.

Bolts are untolerant and don't accept to live toguether with other kind of bolts (that's why you need to tidy up your toolbox) and they lead people to fight against each other.

Later we can realize that the bolts bring us no effective power against our fear. But then, we discover that we can't unscrew them anymore (may be a problem of rust ?). In fact we considered them so seriously that it is impossible to feel the powerlessness feeling that they encompass and hide. Our mind has been transformed in a nut that fits the bolt perfectly. At this stage bolts have transform themselfes in gordian knot. Nut mind and gordian knots. Nut and knots.

Just think how ridiculous it is to be hypnotize by a "bolt" (this is a symbolic bolt that represent all others). "Find yout bolt, don't be a nut, don't eat donut" is a good today's bolt candidate for nut-minded. 

So you are going to ask :

"If it is so simple, why people can't see it and get free ?"

My answer is : have you considered my post seriously ? If yes take care, you are going to nut your mind ! If not, you've got a beginning of answer : it is impossible to consider your mind as a nut. 

The real reason is that each person has got his very own personal gordian knot residing in the basement of the personality, with similar mechanisms, but different feeling. This personal one which is very difficult to enlight and it is hiding the global one.  This makes the situation really gordian. Some of you may remember that someone talked once about two rings of power.

Sometimes the global and the personal gordian knots are aligned or opposites, and then the best and the worse things may happen.  Usually the situation is intricate and needs a long work or high energy to be enlighted.  The personal gordian knot is built from vital events of one's life but can only be discovered by an intensive effort to be present and stay un-fascinated. Once identified the doors of the realm of present open themselves.  Just one more tip fo the trip : do it with no hesitation, but don't be confident with your-self !

The Title of this text is inspired by the Greek legend 'Alexander the great and the Gordian knot'. (french site about this legend "le noeud gordien") . 

Dedicated to Yvan Amar who teached in the town of Gordes (Provence, France).

 

For other images of Gordes use this link.