Humankind has been blessed by many people who decide to think for themselves.  Throughout the ages we have called these people crazy, genius, mystical and even God.  We consider them to have had exceptional minds. We hold them in a place above our self.  In so doing we prove we are not of the same caliber.  By making the self-thinkers of the world greater than ourselves we have a built in excuse not to be as great. Not to be as thinking.  Then, due to lack of use, our minds become mediocre.  The mediocre mind begins to interpret what the exceptional mind meant in a way that will fit into established beliefs.   Mediocre minds gather together and agree upon how to make this new idea true without jeopardizing any existing views, beliefs or values.  Time is dedicated to learning the teachings of the exceptional human, now seen as a Master.  Humans who settle for mediocre mind-use must raise the great teachers above themselves, this gives a mutually agreed upon understanding of being less than and one of histories greatest excuses to not fulfill potential. Finally, in order to prove its intelligence to other mediocre minds, the individual mind of mediocrity becomes engrossed in the need to show they have read or heard the Master. This is done by – you guessed it- regurgitating what they have heard and/or read.Mediocrity pretends this means they are actually living the teachings.

Then of course our children learn that to be part of the herd, they need to use their mediocre minds and learn ways to feel good about it.  Each generation perpetuates this “borg-like” existence by rewarding youth that fall in to step with “the way things are suppose to be, the way you are suppose to act, think and believe”.  And so we have a society that is excellent at being mediocre (as well as lonely, misunderstood and resentful).  The land of the free has become the land of the argumentative and the complacent. 

Some of the most influential and controlling teachings of Western Civilizations have come from mediocre minds interpreting an exceptional mind.  From a mind that taught forgiveness we have created a world of judgment.  From a mind that taught love we have created shame and guilt.  From a mind that taught Oneness we have practiced separation, bigotry, superiority, victim-hood and self-preservation.  From a mind that taught “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” we believe that heaven is a place in the clouds you earn entrance to.  From a mind that taught eternal life we live in fear of death.  Exceptional minds give the world exceptional teachings, what is done with those teachings usually falls into the care of the mediocre seeking power, money and/or prestige. 

One of the fundamental places we must start self-thinking is around the religion of our culture.  I am an American and although I was not raised in a religious home, I have been influenced and even controlled by the religion we are founded upon.  By my refusal to have anything to do with the Bible or traditional church I became a supporter for the very things I didn’t like.  I was letting that very religion, those mediocre laws and judgments tell me what was being taught in this foundation book of the culture in which I live.  I was making my judgments based on their opinions and interpretations.  I realize how much I had allowed my ignorance to suppress my self-thought.  Even for those of us raised learning chapter and verse of the Bible, ignorance may be as great. Is what you believe of the Bible what you read for yourself?  Is it what you believe or what someone you respect or love taught you to believe? You may even have been told you are not to ask, or it is not yours to know (what better way to keep you from thinking for yourself.) 

I can think of no greater asset to the world than for every individual to think for them selves.  It is something we must relearn, remember.  Self-thought has been trained out of the child we were, to create the adult that fits in.  We have become addicted to consumerism and in the journey, lost our way to happiness.