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Train the Mind

In conjunction with the idea of using rational thought regularly, we must train the mind to be efficient, clear and filled with a large supply of knowledge to draw upon.

We must train the mind as it it were a physical muscle. All Growth originates from thoughts.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23

In conjunction with the idea of using rational thought regularly, we must train the mind to be efficient, clear and filled with a large supply of knowledge to draw upon. We must be in top mental shape in order to cast down every argument that stands against our faith (2 Corinthians 2:5-7).

Christians do not take the need for mental fitness seriously enough. They Never train the mind.

We become content with the status quo of the day: wake up, watch TV before work, hit our job, come home for more TV. Maybe occasionally we toss a little bit of book reading in there to feel good about ourselves or so we can brag to our friends. No one trains the mind these days, and those who do are worshiped. Those who train the mind regularly then have a chance to display their developed skill that makes the average man scoff and say, “I wish I was smart like that guy”. It has little to do with intelligence, and everything to do with work ethic and training the mind every single day.

You want to know where dementia comes from? Lethargy of body and mind. The American States with the most dementia deaths are also the ones that are the least physically active . Decay of the mind will come to us all, but we can slow the spread of that evil by training the mind every single day, consistently, without fail, just as you must train the body every day. An out of shape body is the physical manifestation of an out of shape mind.

Dump the idea that training the mind should be fun. The least fun, most difficult things are done the least, but have the best return on investment.

You have several options for training your mind: adding knowledge to the mind constantly is one of them. So you read and learn new things. You expand your mind with the knowledge others have worked hard to discover. You learn by linking new information you want to learn to facts you already have in your mind. The more you learn, the easier it is to gain even more information because you constantly expand your mental network, thereby have more knowledge to link new facts to more quickly. This is the compound interest of knowledge.

Train through math or logic exercises.

Math is built on logic, so training either one of these would give overlap to the other. Math is rumored to be able to physically thicken the brain. This is yet to be definitively proven by science, and may be an old wives’ tale, but the idea that the brain grows when trained should at least inspire us to consider taking action.

Train the mind by learning strategy.

Learn how to play chess, and in doing so you will learn how to play life. You plan several moves ahead and anticipate what the enemy will do. This can then be used in interpersonal relations with individuals. If you have an idea of what people will say to you, you can plan the best possible response ahead of time and avoid embarrassing yourself. If you know every atheistic argument better than the atheist, you can have every rebuttal planned and in place and ready to eradicate those arguments from the face of the earth.

You train the mind through meditation and focus exercises.

In the genre of mediation are several techniques or subgenres that you can train in to develop your control over your mind. The “Do nothing” method, the “observation of thought”, the “Focus on the breath”. For concentration, research access concentration, as “woo-woo” as it may seem, you should consider it and train in it. These are the essence of the control of the mind.

Good stewardship does not apply merely to our money, it applies to our mind. Would you let a car sit in the garage for 30 years with no maintenance and expect it to crank up and run perfectly? No you would not. Do not do the same thing with your mind like so many of the weak.

You hear the weak men say all the time”My mind isn’t what it used to be”, that is because you are not training it. The mind doesn’t grow while one sits around watching television. Sure, there are legitimate medical cases in which cognitive ability is impaired and nothing can be done about it. However, these are the exceptions. Most of us have no excuse to avoid training the mind, we should look in the mirror and behold the lazy man. Let’s get to work training the mind while we still have the opportunity.

Mantra

The trained mind is the path to success and peace.

Application

Pick one area you want to train the mind in and start immediately. Just establish the habit of training every day and never take a day off. It does not really matter what you do in the beginning. If you are being honest with yourself, doing a crossword puzzle would probably be more mental work than most men are currently accustomed to doing.

Once you are in the habit or working every day, then add the more difficult things. Start learning some math on your own, even if you hated it in high school. Even working in a book of logic puzzles is good for the mind.

Practice meditation by focusing on your breath and observe the thoughts that enter your mind as if watching them as a spectator of your own mind. Get to work learning new information or a new language. Just write phrases on flash cards and carry them with you.

Memorize scripture. Train your mind to remember faster, it can in fact be trained. Whatever you are doing, do it heavily, with intensity as a man.

Destroy your goals.

Build the mind you want you have through consistent action each day.

Focus on your skill.

Be a Man

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.

Think – How to Be Rational

The ability to think unemotionally is a rare thing in the religious world. Blind faith is rampant among the religious and it plants itself in opposition to rational thought.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you”
Proverbs 23:7

But his heart is not with you.”

“I think, therefore I am [Exist]” – Rene Descartes

The ability to think unemotionally is a rare thing in the religious world. Blind or weak faith is rampant among the religious and it plants itself in opposition to rational thought. Problems spring up from individuals that could readily be solved by the simple application of thought, but no one wants to think. Thinking is too difficult for the common religious man. This is a pathetic and sad state of existence. It does, however, mean that anyone who thinks at all is farther ahead than 90% of his fellow religious friends.

Thought is our only weapon against the world. We have been commanded to be peaceable, as much as is possible (Romans 12:18). We do not kill people who disagree with us, that is left to the inbred Arabic pedophiles known as radical muslims. The way we reach out to the world is through rational thought.

Much of the religious world has resorted to emotionalism, because this is what tends to draw people in.

No one wants discipline, discomfort and philosophy. No one wants to take up his cross (Matthew 16:24). Everyone wants free and easy salvation. Everyone wants abs in three minutes a day on some great new product they saw on an infomercial. These easily accessible ideas and products pander to the lethargic nature of man, the nature that wishes to conserve energy to survive. The Lethargic nature of human beings wants to avoid any kind of strenuous thinking. Therefore, you must think.

Thought defends us from the devil and his demons who will play on our irrational minds, lazy nature, emotions and fears in order to manipulate us. Any emotion that reduces rational thought should be ignored when making decisions. All that should be allowed is the truth. Aristotle, in his book Rhetoric, describes all emotions in argument as “non-essential”. All that is essential is fact. Anything that moves a judge to pity, anger or some other emotion is non-essential and even dishonest.

Emotions will override our rational thinking every time, which is why emotions must be ignored almost always. Again, emotions must almost always be ignored, this cannot be stressed enough. Thought is our weapon against not only demons, but against radical conservatism and radical liberalism. With thought we banish weak arguments from the religious world and promote a culture of action-based faith rather than emotion-based faith.

Mantra

Thinking over feeling.

Application

Change the way you speak. If you are making an argument and you begin your statement with, “I feel like…” then you have a problem. Start your sentence with “I think that…” instead.

No one cares how you feel.

Your emotions are not logic.

You need to be thinking through your arguments and philosophies, not feeling through them.

Think before you begin speaking. Do not start talking unless you are certain you have something valuable to say and won’t make yourself look like a primate. There is no shame in having a large gap of time between hearing someone else make a statement and then answering them. Take time to formulate your thoughts.
Always start your statements with “I think”, never “I feel”.
Follow a bullet point outline in your mind. What are the main points of what you are saying and how do you connect them together? Do this even with brief statements or thoughts. (Obviously this does not apply to single line statements).

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.

Free Will

The question isn’t, “Is there such a thing as free will?” The proper question is, “How much free will do I possess at any given time.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Proverbs 16:9

“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”
John 7:17

Free will is a strange concept, and something people argue over constantly. The arguments over the existence of free will likely span from a lack of precisely defined terms. People who believe in free will and others who do not are usually arguing over two different definitions of free will. Free will is not black and white, there is a large volume of gray area between these two extremes. That gray area is where the reality of free will lies.

The question isn’t, “Is there such a thing as free will?” The proper question is, “How much free will do I possess at any given time.

Binary extremes free will do not exist except in psychopaths. Most people fall into the gray area of making their own decisions while simultaneously being influenced by outside variables. For example, when deciding whether or not to steal, man first decides whether he wants to steal the item or not. Then, however, the thought of punishment for stealing enters his mind and affects his decision. The man who would have stolen has now changed his mind because of an outside variable like punishment. Or this man thinks about the reward of stealing, in this case it would be the new item he would “own”. Free will influenced by outside variables is in the gray zone.

We do not decide to do things based solely on our free will, but also based on the outside variables like punishment and reward. Some people might say that this man is using his free will to reason out consequences, and perhaps that is a valid argument. By using free will this man determined that the risk of punishment for an action was not worth the possible reward. However, we must be careful not to confuse rationality with free will. Even though the man wanted to steal, he was stopped by his rational thinking.

What man does is never what he truly wants to do, he makes decisions based on the reward and punishment circuitry in his mind.

People in the religious world try to say that we make decisions of our own free will, that we choose to do what is right based on our free will alone. Well if most Christians are merely running from the potential of extreme punishment of all time and doing good even though they would rather be doing evil, are they really using free will? Or are they behaving the way humans should behave, by making decisions that best benefit them and their survival at that moment in time? Most religious people do what is right to avoid punishment, not because they desire to do what is right.

This is the state of free will: Yes, we do make decisions in our own rational minds, but they are heavily influenced by outside circumstances such as how we are raised, our level of emotional morality, but more powerfully by the punishment or reward that comes based on our action.

We act out of nothing other than self interest; Every action is rooted in it, and it is not sinful to be self-interested.

Thinkers like Sam Harris argue that because we can detect some form of brain activity mere milliseconds before we make a conscious choice that this somehow proves that free will does not exist. That does not seem like enough evidence to prove that free will does not exist. Sam Harris also falls into the realm of extreme black and white views on free will. He absolutely believes that free will does not exist in any form. We believe that it does exist, but that it can be heavily influenced by external variables.

Mantra

I am making the best decisions for myself.

Application

Be constantly aware of the variables and environmental factors that influence your decision making process. We have some level of free will to draw upon. How much free will we have seems to be based somewhat on personality. Some people are complete rule followers. They follow rules even though we don’t want to, but because they will be punished if they do not. We have to eliminate this type of thinking. The decisions we make should be completely our own, as much as is possible. We do not want to take action merely because of consequences, we want to take action for the sake of taking action. This is the nearly impossible ideal to work towards. However, we should still aim to make good decisions for intrinsic reasons as much as we can.

Identify your desires and temptations. (You want to go to college)
Look at the results that draw you to action. (There are promiscuous women at college/there is potential to make money)
Contemplate how you are affected by these variables. Realize you are being drawn initially to the result of an action. Then those desires are moderated by your rational thinking. Therefore, use rational thinking as quickly as possible to short-circuit your unwise desires.

Master yourself. Do what is right. Be a Man.

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.

Discipline II – Take Action

“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:27

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
Proverbs 25:28

What trait of a disciple is more important than discipline? There is none better. Discipline is the ability to take the actions you must take regardless of how you feel about that action in the present moment. Emotions mean nothing here, so cast them aside. This faith is all about your actions. The second you start thinking that you need to be motivated or that you need to be “In the mood” your faith begins to decay. Very few men are always in the mood to do what is right. The right choice is usually inconvenient, does not promote survival directly and usually takes willpower to act on. The fuel to take these difficult actions in discipline.

Discipline is what kicks you out of bed on time immediately after your alarm clock goes off. Weakness hits the snooze button.

Discipline is what brings you to church on Sunday even though you would rather be in bed or doing something else on one of the only two days you have to get away from the workplace. By using discipline you read scripture and pray daily, without fail, and with no excuses if you do fail.

The church under-values discipline because they overvalue the idea of feeling like doing the right thing. The church does not preach about the fact that most days you are going to want to reject what is right and do what caters to your own lusts. This is the nature of the human being, and the church has a responsibility to teach people about their true nature. In this way religious leaders are falling short continually.

Through discipline you reject your lusts. Discipline says that it does not matter how you feel, you must do what is right. The religious world promotes the romanticized view of Christians that suggests they are smiling through every inconvenience they face. Maybe some, but they are the few. Few people in the world admire those types of Christians anyways. The men who are admired are the Christians who do what is right despite how difficult and inconvenient it is.

At the close of the day, it does not matter how happy you are, or how long you can paint on a smile, it only matters if you can take the right actions or not. Plenty of people feel great about their religion and they do not take on single action for the sake of it. That is the fate of most people. Reprogram your mind to see the vast importance of discipline, and the extreme unimportance of emotions.

Mantra

“Discipline equals Freedom” ~Jocko Willink, retired US Navy SEAL

Application

Take up your cross. This is an action, not a feeling. The cross is heavy and difficult to bear. If it isn’t, we should take some time to examine our faith and ask, “Am I really doing work for the Lord, or am I a loser?”

When you don’t feel like taking action, you act anyways. How do you take action? By taking action. The question of “how do you do it” is a loaded question because what the person is really asking is, “How do I find the motivation to take this action?” or “How do I get to a point where I am feeling like taking this action”. The question is all wrong, because you are not going to feel like it. If anything, the motivation and good feelings will come after you have taken disciplined action. You don’t feel like training, but you train anyways, then afterward you are filled with a sense of pride in the accomplishment.

Now you feel like it.

You have to overcome the lack of motivation with discipline knowing you will be rewarded in the long run for your action. Stop attempting to base all your actions on how you feel in the present moment. Find the actions you know to be good, and start taking them. There is no secret here. Discipline will eventually begin to take over. Taking the good actions will be a habit that you need less motivation for each time. Eventually you can run on pure habit and discipline. So grow some nuts. Get to work. Be a Man.

Identify a desired behavior (Physical training)
Break it into small subunits (sets, reps, running distance)
Take the smallest possible action (put your shoes on/put on your gym clothes/warm up) and the motivation will follow later.

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.

Rebellion – Manipulate Your Mind To Your Will

Our rebellious nature forces us to become men, take our own paths and grow in our own ways. However, this rebellious steak can lead us directly away from Christianity.

“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
1 Samuel 5:23

“An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.”
Proverbs 17:11

No man wants to stay on the path outlined by his parents, he wants his own path. He wants to forge his own way through the darkness using his own strength of will. Following the path of others is for the weak, so we think. This trail blazing mentality is a good thing.

Our rebellious nature forces us to become men, take our own paths and grow in our own ways. However, this rebellious streak can lead us directly away from Christianity. God imposes a vast number of rules and regulations on the behavior of man, and many days the man detests this in his heart, though he may never say it aloud. Many men do verbalize their rebelliousness and even boast about it, saying “I’m a rebel”. No one is impressed by the person who uses this phrase.

Rebellion is needed for the growth of the individual, but is not useful when it leads us to make decisions purely out of a desire to be independent.

Such decisions tend to lead us directly towards evil. It is one thing to go your own way in life and reject traditions passed down by your parents because you think you have better ways to act, it is another thing to reject tradition and the law of God just for the sake of rejecting it. This is what the nature of man is capable of, he does not want to be tied down and commanded. This is the nature of man that must be wrestled against.

Rebellion is brought on by a desire for something better. Israel repeatedly rebelled against God because they thought the other gods were better, or, more likely, they thought the cult prostitutes were more fun than having only one woman. Man the animal is bored to death by laws and commands, while man the spirit is willing to worship God.

The desire to rebel is build into our nature, just as the oppressive need for sex it a part of our DNA.

We must fight against this whenever it is unprofitable, and learn how to manipulate our natural rebelliousness when its effects could be beneficial.

To rebel against the world is profitable.

To rebel against God is unprofitable.

Mantra

Rebellion is an excuse for weak behavior.

Application

Manipulate your rebellious nature to your will. If you have to rebel against something, let it be the enemy. Rebel against the idea that you have to have sex with multiple women to be happy. If most people are doing something, then by not doing it you are rebelling, except in this case you are rebelling against the enemy. Identify what the masses are doing and then go the other way. Sheep will follow each other off a mountain, so you should go your own way.

Rebel against the weak who eat nothing but garbage and have no desire to change.

Rebel against the corpulent culture and be fit.

Rage against ignorance and be wise.

Your rebellious nature is to be used to gain advantage in life.

For the instances when you want to rebel against God, you must wrestle against yourself and your own nature. Yes, you want to rebel, but it will not profit you. You have to convince your mind that there are more total benefits to obeying the Word than there are in rebelling and enjoying sin.

Sometimes this nature will have to be defeated by pure strength of mind alone, and the maneuvering of forces of the mind. By focusing on the negative effects of doing what is wrong, and the positive effects of doing what is right, you can flank your mind and convince it that rebellion brings no advantage to you. Flank your mind into avoiding immediate gratification.

Strengthen the mind.

Hold the line.

Be disciplined.

Be a Man.

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.

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