THREE THINGS.... Three ways to increase your critical thinking skills

We all have biases. And while there is a good side to that, especially for us! - as we routinely gravitate toward all things familiar and safe, biases also create blind spots. As we navigate day to day life it is our biases, most of the time, that inform us as to what we believe and what new information we are willing to consider. Biases are present in systems as well, that is, in communities. Taken to an extreme, communities can have such strong biases they become "closed systems." In such communities, everyone who "belongs" knows how things work and everyone agrees on the beliefs within that community. Outsiders are excluded, shunned and often outright rejected... sometimes subtly and sometimes violently. In an "open system" the community as a whole is curious and flexible and open to new information; the hallmarks of an open system are creativity, hospitality and innovation. Below are three ways to begin to think critically, beginning with educating ourselves about the roles of biases, and what role they play for us personally and in the communities with which we associate. 

1. Get to know your biases. A couple of years ago Richard Rohr and Brian McLauren teamed up to do a podcast through the Center for Action and Contemplation on biases and how they affect the spiritual life that I highly commend to you:  https://cac.org/podcast/learning-how-to-see/. Know thyself.

2. Make honesty your best friend.  Being a naturally curious person and eternal student I am always seeking out new voices for my library (which includes far more podcasts, audio books, webinars, and youtube videos than actual books these days). One of the people who has really rocked my world is Byron Katie and her methodology of determining reality that she calls "The Work." There are four questions to ask about every situation. The first two which apply to my purpose here are: Is it true? followed by, Can you know absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is true? Because we are biased we often side with opinions and beliefs about things, all kinds of things, because we hear it from sources we find credible, or people who line up with our philosophies or religiosity, or media sources we enjoy, etc. Sometimes we parrot things that the culture says is true only to find out later that it was never true. Worse, we believe things about other people, even people we care about, because we have been shaped by our histories, our biases, and we make assumptions that become truth for us. But are our beliefs actually true? Sometimes we cling to untrue beliefs because we feel protected from looking at what might be true about us. With brutal honesty Byron Katie says about her life before The Work, "Everything that came out of my mouth was a lie." Love requires that when we point the finger at the other we must examine the other four fingers pointing back at ourselves. Love requires asking: Is it true?

3. Move from listening to observing. Interpersonal communications is the playground of spiritual exploration. At the intersection of communication between humans and the spiritual life there is a lot of emphasis on deep listening - and it is certainly important. But even more useful for the critical mind is learning to listen as an observer, not as an arbitrator of right and wrong. Observe your inner voice and inclination to resist anything and everything that doesn't fit into your worldview, beliefs or biases. Observe both your inner and outer responses. Are you agreeing? To what are you agreeing? Are you defending? What exactly are you defending? Are you unsure how to respond? What is going on in you to create ambivalence? Observe is the key word here. Just observe, as if you were a witness to a scene in a movie. Observers don't have opinions, they are just observing; they don't have a stake in the game. God observes us every minute of every day. God does not say: You're just wrong! The point I am trying to make is summed up best by the beloved Sufi poet Rumi who wrote: 

"Out beyond right-doing and wrong-doing there is a field. I'll meet you there." 

Thank you for reading my blog and walking with me in the path of spiritual grace; for your willingness to spend this time with me as together we learn how to see and be Christ in the world. Rowena +