First, I should admit that I have not read or been exposed much to psychological or philosophical theories about why we as humans do the things we do. So I am not really sure how divergent or consistent what I will be trying to describe is to the views of others.
I have thought about studying the topic more, but I have been concerned that it would contaminate or muddy my own thoughts and beliefs before I was even able to sort out or articulate what my thoughts and beliefs were. Furthermore, the few times I have started to look into the topic the theories did not seem to help me understand myself or why I did what I did or how to change what I was doing. So it did not seem useful. Honestly it seemed like whoever came up with the theories was just guessing and did not actually have any idea. I would imagine what I am proposing will also sound like that to many who might read it, but nonetheless I am going to give it a shot.
The following few posts will be a framework for what drives us and dictates what we do and how we feel. While I realize it will merely sound like theories or guesses I have conjured up, I would like to reiterate that it represents my best description and explanation of what has already happened to me and why. It is not something I have prospectively thought up and that I then try to apply to get where I want to go. This does not mean that it all has to be exactly right because I am certainly still blind to where I have been and where I currently am. Furthermore, even when I do understand I may not be able to articulate it well, or how I articulate it may not be how others receive it. At the same time I have gotten to know myself and a lot of other people at a deep level and I am fully convinced it is accurate and reproducible for a wide variety of people.
In order to explain the foundation for how we act and what we feel I am going to introduce and attempt to define 5 new terms or concepts. Please be patient with me. I am purposely choosing my own terms and trying to define them from scratch rather than try to fully understand and adopt contemporary or classic psychological or religious terms. I have decided to do this so that I do not unknowingly imply things associated with established terms and concepts. I will do my best to articulate a working definition of the new terms I propose as I introduce them, but in all likelihood their true meaning will not become clear until they are repeatedly applied to specific aspects of life in future writings.
These 4 concepts are:
1- Felt needs
2 - Visceral beliefs
3 - Emotional programming
4 - Learned behaviors
5 - Cognitive mind
