THE FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHER

The Decline of America Part I: What Consumes the Consumers?

"Paradoxically, what keeps the so-called consumer society going is the fact that trying to find yourself through things doesn’t work:  The ego satisfaction is short-lived and so you keep looking for more, keep buying, keep consuming." ~ Eckhart Tolle

There was a time in history when humans only consumed what they needed to survive and reproduce. However, humans have "evolved" to mindlessly consume much more than is needed. In nature, at least as it is explained by humans (science), living things can be either a producer (makes its own food), consumer (gets food from other living things), or a decomposer (breaks down other living things to get nutrients). Human beings are consumers.

But what consumes the consumers? Assuming humans are at the top of the "food chain," the only thing that can consume us is ourselves. And this occurs as a direct result of unconsciousness--the lack of awareness (ignorance). This consumption is not just a physical one; it is also mental, emotional and spiritual.

This post will serve as the first in a series of three or four posts that philosophically observes the decline of Western Civilization, especially in America.  Here are some initial points to provoke and prepare your and my thoughts:

• Humans consume information but information consumes attention. The wealth of information that exists today equals a poverty of attention. The mind is the gateway to authenticity, productivity, spirituality and thus the mind is the enabler of the overall well-being of individuals. But without attention, the mind is not awake. Therefore the decline of attention translates into an increase in entropy--an increase in useless energy--and thus the figuritive light of the individuals that make up the society fades... and thus the society fades...
• The term consumer is not just a scientific one. It is most commonly known today as an economic one that refers to the end users of products and services in economic and social systems. These consumers and their collective economic activity make up the vast majority of the economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore the vast majority of economic energy is spent keeping the consumers well-fed with food, money, and media messages to continue their growth and thus the growth of the economy. However, this effort translates into the interior deterioration of the economy itself over time, much like the body, mind and spirit of the consumers (individuals in society) deteriorates..
• The increase in the capacity to connect people together has paradoxically divided the world into tiny cultural segments. Connectivity is diminishing into segmentation.
• The increase in the availability and accessibility of luxury and convenience makes bodies and minds lazy. Therefore we grow physically overweight, mentally weak and spiritually dim.
• When people grow accustomed to illusion, they require greater illusions to be satisfied. Therefore only a "better illusionist" will succeed in this environment. This partially explains why politicians have evolved to be more magician and less leader in recent decades.
• The need to be satisfied cannot be fulfilled if the appetite for satisfaction can grow without limit. Consumption increases the appetite and thus there is no means of "satisfaction" in absence of consciousness.

These are just some of the themes that will be addressed in this series of posts that I currently foresee as my next book project (the current one is near completion, which provides excuse for my light posting lately).

I hope you'll join the conversation as we work to awaken ourselves, our friends, our families, our nations and the world. This may sound a bit grandiose in nature but such is the nature of a "crisis in consciousness," as Jiddu Krishnamurti so aptly labeled the modern sickness of society.

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Related: The American Awakening

If you wish to understand control...

...think of a little child that is given a taste for drugs. As the drugs penetrate the body of the child, it becomes addicted; its whole being cries out for the drug. To be without the drug is so unbearable, a torment, that it seems preferable to die. Think of that image—the body has gotten addicted to the drug. Now this is exactly what your society did to you when you were born. You were not allowed to enjoy the solid, nutritious food of life—namely, work, play, fun, laughter, the company of people, the pleasures of the senses and the mind. You were given a taste for the drug called approval, appreciation, attention. ~ Anthony de Mello, Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality

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More on Awareness:

The Only Place Where Conflict Exists

Man's (Career) Search for Meaning

Who am I? Part I: Emotional Intelligence

Wake Up! (Or What You Have In Common With Terrorists)

"The first test of whether you've been brainwashed and have introjected convictions and beliefs occurs the moment they’re attacked. You feel stunned, you react emotionally. That’s a pretty good sign—not infallible, but a pretty good sign—that we’re dealing with brainwashing." ~ Anthony De Mello

OK. This post falls under the Because Sometimes You Need to Be Slapped in the Face to Wake Up! category.  I've also recently finished reading an incredible book, Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality, by Anthony De Mello, and wanted to share some of its lessons with you.

When you observe in yourself that almost everything you think, say, and do comes from some kind of outside programming and conditioning, the illusion of not you begins to dissolve.  However, most people are not aware and are thus enslaved to outside influences.  They are even willing to defend words, ideas and concepts that are not theirs.

A good way to step outside of your programming for a moment--to see the construction of social conventions that represents your identity now--is to answer a few introspective questions:

When you get the urge to argue with people on social media sites, where does this urge come from? If you were born to a family with different religious and political views and raised in a country on the opposite side of the planet, would you hold the same beliefs, convictions and values as you do now?

If one of the terrorists who flew into the twin towers on 9/11 was adopted as a child and raised as a Christian in a small rural town in America, would he have carried out the same heinous act? What emotions or thoughts are provoked when you read words, such as Rich, Poor, Liberal, Conservative, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Asian, African, Indian, Mexican, Canadian, and so on? Where do the thoughts and emotions come from? Why?

...you’re always listening from your programming, from your conditioning, from your hypnotic state...  You are always a slave to what you are not aware of. When you’re aware of it, you’re free from it. It’s there, but you’re not affected by it. You’re not controlled by it; you’re not enslaved by it. ~ Anthony De Mello

The greatest challenge we face in the world today is not political bickering, economic recession or war.  These are only symptoms of a greater disease called unconsciousness, which breeds other potentially disastrous conditions, such as complacency, divisiveness, fear, greed, bigotry, racism, and on and on and on and on...

If you value freedom, wake up! And help your friends and family to wake up while you're at it!  Words, ideas, and concepts are not reality; they are only pointers, labels, and representations. A Chinese Proverb says, "When a finger points to the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger." You can begin to wake up if you admit that you are (or have been) an imbecile.

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Related: The Crisis in Consciousness

The Only Place Where Conflict Exists

"You know, most people around the world believe that there is a great conflict in the universe, a conflict between good and evil.  Well, this is not true.  It's true that there is a conflict, but the conflict only exists in the human mind, not in the universe.  It's not true for the plants or the animals.  It's not true for the stars or the trees, or for the rest of nature.  It's only true for humans.  And the conflict in the human mind is not really between good and evil.  The real conflict in our mind is between the truth and lies." ~ Don Miguel Ruiz,The Voice of Knowledge

I'm trying my best to finish my first book, which will be an extensive annotated book of quotations. (This explains my light posting schedule lately).  The quotes, along with my notes in the book, will cover a wide range of topics and come from some of the greatest human beings that lived over the past 2500 years. 

The featured quote in this blog post from Don Miguel Ruiz is a good representation of a primary theme of the book, which is to bring about awareness that humans tend to complicate things with words and concepts and are thus misled by them.

If asked the question, "Why do you do what you do?" and the answer is, "Because that's the way it's always been done," you may have a problem waiting to happen.  This is where conflict begins.

For example, people follow abstract concepts, such as retirement and financial freedom but never form their own definition.  They spend decades of time and tremendous financial energy on something that is not only impossible to accurately foresee years in advance but is also something defined by social conventions, not the individual.  This behavior is paradoxical--it is contradictory because people desire freedom but they uwittingly enslave themselves by following abstract concepts--things they didn't define for themselves--and thus they are not free and may never be free. 

On a larger and more damaging scale, people argue and fight wars over political ideology and religious dogma. Put simply, these conflicts arise because people do not follow their own path--they accept ideas, concepts and ideology without question and thus the conflicts are preventable and not necessary.

"To be a light to oneself is not to follow the light of another, however reasonable, logical, historical, and however convincing." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Conflict does not exist in Washington, D.C. or in Syria or in Gaza or in Egypt.  The only place where conflict exists is in the human mind; the conflict is between truth and lies; the Self is truth; and the crowd is untruth.  The prevention of conflict can only begin with you.  If you do not follow your own light, you dim the light of the world.

I'll expand on this theme and many more in my book.  Now I must go back to writing!

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Related:

Dogma Deconstruction and Abstraction Subtraction

The Greatest Deception in the History of Finance

The Anti-Columnist Part 3: The Art of Not Reading

"In the cultivation of the mind, our emphasis should be not on concentration, but on attention. Concentration is a process of forcing the mind to narrow down to a point, whereas attention is without frontiers." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

I was pleasantly surprised to learn I made it into the final round of the MarketWatch "World's Next Greatest Investing Columnist" competition. 

The surprise (and what made it pleasant) was that 3 finalists were voted in by receiving the most Facebook "Likes" and another 3 were selected by editors; I was in the latter group, which I believe to be a more respectable distinction. 

With that said, those of you who voted on Facebook certainly helped me get noticed by the editors.  Thank-you!  So please vote again in this final round (see how to vote at the bottom of this post).

The next challenge I faced was thinking of a column topic worthy of a final round submission--something instructive and useful but not distracting--and something in my natural voice.  It only took a few minutes for me to arrive at the idea, which would remain within the anti-columnist frame of the prior two contest submissions...

"The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

To paraphrase Buddha, "You are what you think."  In different words, there is certainly a "junk in, junk out" result that comes from the information you consume.  Therefore, to think well, it is imperative to read well; and one's information diet needs to be mindfully balanced for it to be healthy.

For the article, I decided to add value by interviewing some prominent bloggers, Barry Ritholtz from The Big Picture and Tadas Viskanta from Abnormal Returns; and there was no surprise that they have observed among investors a high correlation between poor investment returns and poor information diets.

The solution is to allocate the attention so as to minimize the potential for poor judgment that often arises out of an overabundance of information.  To begin this healthy allocation, one simply identifies and eliminates the bad sources of information and attempts a less is more, quality over quantity approach to information consumption.  The art of good reading begins by learning the art of identifying not reading the unhealthy sources.

So please read my MarketWatch article, The Price of Paying Attention, and don't forget to vote by clicking on the "Like" button near top of the article's web page.

Thanks!

From Nomad to Nothing in 5000 Years

"Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves." ~ Henry David Thoreau

While helping my 11-year old son study for a history test on the Stone Age and early human civilization, a few thoughts occured to me that I would like to share with you.

The framework of my thoughts began with the fact that the Stone Age ended and "history" began approximately 5000 years ago (3000 BC) when humans began recording things on papyrus, the early form of paper.

Communities and civilations had also formed because man had learned to create tools and agricultural techniques that enabled him to stop wandering for food.  As a result, man's nomadic ways gave way to communities and civilizations as schools, governments and religions came into existence.

Wandering Ends, Wondering Begins

Now we exit the 6th grade history lesson and enter my philosophical observations.  Most academians agree where advanced thought began and philosophy was born -- approximately 500 BC.  It was this time, give or take 100 years, that the great ancients in the West--Socrates, Plato and Aristotle--and the great ancients in the East--Lau Tzu, Confucius and Siddhartha Gautama Buddha--formed the foundation of a new era of thought and consciousness extending to today.  It was also during this time that significant portions of religious texts, including the old testamant of the Bible, were written.

My primary observation here is how this 5000-year span of time is divided into two striking segments: It took 2500 years, from 3000 BC to 500 BC, for mankind to stop wandering and to begin wondering:  Instead of using most of their energy and time wandering the earth to find food, humans were wondering, "Where did I come from and why am I here?"

What Happens When Wondering Ends?

Now consider the next 2500-year period, from 500 BC to today.  Knowledge and religion built upon the ancient philosophers and religious leaders of the previous 2500 years as thought and consciousness expanded dramatically.  However, the tremendous advancement in 20th and 21st century technology has paradoxically enabled humans to stop wondering.  It is rare today for any person to ask "Who am I?" or "What is the meaning of existence?" and if these questions are ever asked, the answers and implied meanings are already there. 

All that is needed is to look at a newspaper, magazine, billboard, television, computer screen or hand-held device to find answers:  "You have no identity until you buy these clothes, this car, this house and get this career; then you will be somebody!  Oh, and the meaning of existence is to have more things tomorrow than you have today; and if you are not able to fulfill this dream, you may at least find the means of passing it along to your children.  However, the world is so terrible now, your efforts to progress are probably not worth the time.  So go on and buy some things and you'll feel better for a while."

In 5000 Years: Nomad to Nothing... What's Next?

What will the next 2500 years bring?  If, as Plato once said, "Philosophy begins in wonder," one might logically conclude that philosophy ends when we stop wondering.  Not only has man made for himself a world of convenient, time-saving luxuries, he has also created a world where it is possible to exist without thinking his own thoughts.

But all hope is not lost!  Alas, we have 2500 years of wisdom upon which to draw from and to stand upon.  We can learn lessons from the greatest teachers in the history of mankind; and from this timeless wisdom, we may awaken to our own meaning and purpose. 

"You spent the first half of your life becoming somebody. Now you can work on becoming nobody, which is really somebody. For when you become nobody there is no tension, no pretense, no one trying to be anyone or anything. The natural state of the mind shines through unobstructed -- and the natural state of the mind is pure love." ~ Ram Dass

The overriding lesson here may be summarized best by noticing the paradox of modern technology:  We can harness its power to find ourselves or we may be subjected to its power to lose ourselves.  Begin taking steps toward authenticity now by turning down the noise of the outside world and by tuning into the inside world. 

To use a technology term we all understand, it is time to de-program; we are all constructed from something; it is up to us as individuals to deconstruct.  Most or all of our hopes and dreams have been planted in our minds by outside sources--family, friends, politicians, media messages, social conventions, and so on.  The true and authentic Self is what remains once you have identified and removed what is not Self. 

It seems as if mankind has been working for 2500 years to "be somebody."  To progress forward and to evolve for the next 2500 years, I humbly submit to you, dear reader, that we all do our best now stop trying to be somebody and begin trying to "become nobody."  All of this is not to say you must be something different than you are today.  However, it does mean that once you recognize illusion for what it is, the illusion dissolves. 

You are not made of things; your true identity is not your clothes, your car, your house, or your career.  The real you is nothing, not something; you are empty, you are naked.  Once you realize this, you are enabled to receive, you are free, because, as Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, "Only in that which has emptiness can a new thing take place."

"Not all those who wander are lost." ~ J.R.R. Tolkein

It seems we may have had a better grasp on ourselves as human beings and as individuals when we were wandering and wondering.  It's time for us all to begin this wandering and wondering again.

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Related:

The Deconstruction of Social Conventions & The Unlearning Process

Mind vs Brain Part II: Priorities, Pursuits & Productivity

Man's (Career) Search for Meaning

The Illusion of Language & Politics

"Without precise meanings behind words, politicians and elites can obscure reality and condition people to reflexively associate certain words with positive or negative perceptions. In other words, unpleasant facts can be hidden behind purposely meaningless language." ~ Ron Paul

I'm not a fan of politicians, to say the least.  However, I am a fan of helping others recognize the illusion that is language. 

In the wake of last night's presidential debate, I thought it appropriate to share some wise words to help you dissolve the illusion:

"Silence is better than unmeaning words." ~ Pythagoras

"Words reduce reality to something the human mind can grasp, which isn’t very much." ~ Eckhart Tolle

"Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

"Words, he decided, were inadequate at best, impossible at worst. They meant too many things. Or they meant nothing at all." ~ Patricia A. McKillip

"To the extent that language forces experiences into categories it is a screen between reality and the human being. In a word, we pay for its benefits… Therefore, while using language, as we must of necessity, we should be aware of its shortcomings." ~ Abraham Maslow

"The word is not the thing. I may describe a mountain most beautifully, paint it, make a poem, but the word, the description, the poem, is not the actual. We are generally carried away emotionally, irrationally by the description, by the word." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

"Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man." ~ Martin Heidegger

What the world needs is not a great leader but rather more individuals who have a firm grasp on reality.  When there are many who do not recognize illusion, there are many illusionists.

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Related:

Can We Help Being Deceived?

Are You Committing Financial Fraud? An Honest Inquiry

When Is Illusion Good?

The Best of Freedom

"The real opposition is that between the ego-bound man, whose existence is structured by the principle of having, and the free man, who has overcome his egocentricity." ~ Erich Fromm

This post is made in recognition of America's Independence Day celebration this week (and because I'm busy doing other things, as you would expect a free person to do). 

I rarely enjoy "best of" compilations because I like to experience the original work in its completeness.  Therefore, in that spirit, I've created this "best of freedom" compilation of previously published TFP posts with links for you to go back to the original, if you so choose. 

In different words, you are free to follow any of the links after reading the sample:

Are You Free?  Deeper Thoughts on Freedom: This post is primarily a collection of approximately 10 quotes on freedom you've probably not heard before (unless you read this post one year ago when it was published).  Here's a sample:

It is the whole soul, in fact, that gives rise to the free decision, and the act will be so much the freer the more the dynamic series with which it is connected tends to be the fundamental self.... But the moments at which we thus grasp ourselves are rare, and that is why we are rarely free. ~ Henri Bergson

'Freedom From' vs 'Freedom To':  Seeking "freedom from" something can produce unintended consequences, while seeking "freedom to" something is a path to meaning, purpose and authenticity:

....specifically with regard to the idea of financial freedom, one must be careful not to seek money only as a means to "buy freedom" from something, such as work, from society, from debt or from whatever it is one wishes to escape, unless this freedom from is attached to (or followed by) a freedom to something...

The Fisherman's Parable:  If you don't know this story, please read it.  I won't give it away with a sample but just know that its theme is about the power of contentment, which is a root enabler of freedom.

Man's (Career) Search for Meaning: One of the quickest means of losing oneself is to work in a career that is not aligned with who you are; the only purpose for the work is to make money.  Eventually, your primary source of happiness, although short-lived, is in things:

• Life goals become defined by monetary goals -- or at least you perceive that money is the primary enabler for fulfillment;
• You make your life fit the demands of your career, rather than the opposite;
• And if you hate what you do, you rationalize the stress as a sacrifice for providing for your family, your retirement goals and/or your desire to identify yourself as somebody.

As you go about your life this week, I encourage you to think deeply about freedom and what it means to you.  How do you know you are free?  If you are not content and rarely find yourself acting authentically, how can you consider yourself free? Are you serving something other than your own meaning and purpose for living? 

Why do you live?

Are You Part of the 0%?

"The wise man knows that it is better to sit on the banks of a remote mountain stream than to be emperor of the whole world." ~ Zhuangzi

I never really placed much energy or thought into the "99% vs 1%" debate.  I think my lack of interest may be because I do not sympathize with or support either side--from what little I know, it seems neither side represents me.

If the 99% and 1% make one entity, what would it be?  If it's "Main Street" vs "Wall Street," what about those of us who reside or work at neither figurative address?

I don't think the 100% whole, if you will, represents 100% of the people.  Instead I believe both sides combine to form one group that shares one common, self-defeating human flaw--they care too much about money, material wealth and social status. 

The 99% are discontented and the 1% are greedy.  From my perspective, there is no real distinction between discontent and greed--both share the same path and destination; they are each causation and correlation of the other.

If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires." ~ Epicurus

Are you part of "The 0%"?  Here are some of the principles and philosophies that may confirm you are a Zero Percenter:

• To the 0%, the definition of wealth has little or nothing to do with money or materiality.  To be financially rich is to have anything more than "enough."
• Life is not a zero sum game; there can be more than one winner.  If someone earns more in one minute than you earn in a lifetime, so what?
• You won't identify yourself as part of "The 0%" because you don't care to be part of any defined organization.  By virtue of not being 99% or 1%, you are 0%; there is no reason to announce to the world your alignment with any defined group.
• You have no complaints against any particular party or entitity because you believe that "everything is exactly as it should be" and therefore the attempt to change others is no different than attempting to fight against nature--it is foolish and self-defeating. 
• There will never be any protests or public display of anger by The 0% because it goes against their contented nature.  Making matters worse, protesting will only attract pretentious people looking to find some reason to protest!
• You prefer to be nobody because trying to be somebody is an act of ego.
• You know little of the 99% or the 1% because you--The 0%--are too busy enjoying life to read, watch or listen to the noise of mainstream media or annoying people around you trying to align with either side.

Perhaps I should start an organization called "The 0%:" 

I could create a fancy logo and slogan; the 99% will join the organization, buy my merchandise, read my messages on my blog, website, Facebook page and Twitter account and thus propel the entity to become large enough that the 1% will sell it to the world with an Initial Public Offering; the 99% will buy more merchandise and shares of stock, the 1% will gain more financial wealth; the 99% will complain about the fortunes of the 1% (but continue to consume the 1% group's newly developed version of The 0% product); and the world will find which side to share sympathy so they may publicly communicate their ego-driven ideals and dogma through other products (i.e. Facebook, iPhone, etc) that are all owned by the 1%.

Naahhhh....

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Related:

The Greatest Source of 'News You Can Use'

How Ego Hurts You (and How to Overcome It)

Notes & Quotes on Reflection

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." ~ Henry David Thoreau

The annual ritual of looking back over the year-to-pass while looking forward to the year-to-come can be healthy but why must this brief moment of reflection occur just once per year?  And why must this reflection be just a turning of the page?  Reflection is too important to take so lightly, as if it were an occasion for entertaining ourselves or for making resolutions for the sake of making resolutions.

Reflecting is...

Reflecting is a simple meditative process of cleansing the mind of clutter and of turning down the noise of outside influence so that you may listen clearly to the inner self.

Reflecting is the most crucial activity for an individual’s overall well-being; it is the practice of stepping outside of and returning to the self; and it is the periodic meditation that maintains all of the greatest virtues, especially that of humility, patience and contentment.

Reflecting is the act of tapping on your own shoulder to be sure you are awake—to be sure you are alive—living a life of authenticity, meaning and purpose—being here now and not somewhere else, not wishing or wanting to be someone or something else other than yourself. In a sense, reflecting is not an ending or a beginning but may be better described as a perpetual beginning again. Every day and every moment is a new beginning; and every time you reflect, you begin again.

Quotes on Reflection

For a guide to reflection at this year-end, and to inspire ongoing reflection in your life, here are some quotes for forming your new reflecting habits:

The more developed reflection is, the more quickly it can collect itself; like a passport officer checking foreign travelers, it comes to be so familiar with the sight of the most fabulous characters that it is not easily taken aback. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

It's quite true what philosophy says, that life must be understood backwards. But one then forgets the other principle, that it must be lived forwards. A principle which, the more one thinks it through, precisely leads to the conclusion that life in time can never be properly understood, just because no moment can acquire the complete stillness needed to orient oneself backward. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self. ~ Michel de Montaigne

Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd. ~William Wordsworth

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. ~ T.S. Eliot

Admittedly, I am aware of a certain weakness in me, in that I am unable to keep my attention fixed on one and the same item of knowledge at all times; but by attentive and repeated meditation I am nevertheless able to make myself remember it as often as the need arises, and thus get into the habit of avoiding error. It is here that man’s greatest and most important perfection is found… ~ Rene Descartes

Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more seriously reflection concentrates upon them: the starry heaven above me and the moral law within me. ~ Immanuel Kant

The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing, it rejects nothing. It receives but does not keep. ~ Chuang tzu

Ask not that events happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace. ~ Epictetus

Whenever I prepare for a journey I prepare as though for death.  Should I never return, all is in order. ~ Katherine Mansfield

People usually fail when they are on the verge of success. So give as much care to the end as to the beginning; Then there will be no failure. ~Lau Tzu

As you reflect on the passing year, perhaps you may form only one resolution for the New Year--a resolution to continue reflecting every day...

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Related: Mind vs Brain Part III: Habits of the Reflective Mind