Ignorance
Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind. ~ Morpheus, in the movie The Matrix (1999)
The Collective comprise the great bulk of humanity, defined by their convictions and constrained by their fears. Though their belief systems vary widely, the Collective are burdened by a selfsame ignorance: belief itself.
Ignorance has 2 facets: perspective-ignorance (pignorance) – a wrong worldview, and fact-ignorance (fignorance). (Loose usage of ‘ignorance’ herein intends pignorance.)
The delusory pignorance of the Collective may seem mysterious: why pignorance clings and perpetuates.
Enlightenment as a norm – life without suffering – would deliver a dearth of entertainment. Nature is the cabaret of Ĉonsciousness; hence, pignorance serves a purpose.
Inevitably, we are all captives of our present personal perspective. ~ American psychologist Baruch Fischhoff
Pignorance engenders diversity in decided points of view, as faith in the mind’s mutterings congeal into persuasive perspectives, each bent to individual predisposition. Beliefs deliver contention when met by countervailing facts or opponents, causing internal dissonance or social discord, respectively.
All stories are of conflict and their resolution, for good or ill. The vexation of pignorance generates entertainment.
Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves. ~ Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Pignorance generates challenge, which is itself a diversion. The mind feeds on difficulty.
People are attracted to what is difficult and complicated. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
The mind uses memory for problem-solving, skill acquisition, and as bait to keep its resident creature in pignorance. The mind is both an all-purpose tool and subjugator, plying emotions and memories to keep its captive in thrall.
The trump cards of ignorance are emotions, with fear as the ace. The poignancy of emotions intensifies the experiences of life, rendering them vividly real. Emotional attachment creates a feeling of investment. Fear of loss promotes a sense of jeopardy.
The Collective constantly seek to satisfy their minds, but the mind is insatiable. Brief moments of satisfaction are all that may be managed. This gyre drives desire.
As long as your focus is on the body, you will remain in the clutches of food, sex, fear, and death. Find yourself and be free. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
Socially gleaned beliefs and superstitions apply some salve to a mind easily troubled. Conformance to tradition brings a sense of belonging, which is a comfort in itself.
Lies are the source of meaning, belief, and hope. ~ Titus Abrasax in the movie Jupiter Ascending (2014)
All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended. One may transcend any convention, if only one can first conceive of doing so. ~ English novelist David Mitchell
As social creatures, solace is not commonly found in solitude; quite the contrary, as the mind preys upon those who believe the follies of the mind. Thus, pignorance among the Collective remains irreducible, as it is collectively self-sustaining.
◊ ◊ ◊
Grace is within you. If it were external, it would be useless. ~ Indian guru Ramana Maharshi
At the personal level, pignorance has its own gyre of self-organized criticality. The mind retains mastery, which results in suffering, upon which the mind feeds. This narcissism of mentation may drive one toward enlightenment, if only as a means of escape. The Collective struggle against an incomprehensible but compelling force: their own minds.
Life is just one damn thing after another. ~ American philosopher Elbert Hubbard
It’s not sure that life is one damn thing after another. It’s one damn thing over and over. ~ American poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay
