I never cease to be amazed at the thoughts which tend to dart across my mind on a rather regular basis. In this case I happened to be inhaling the remaining few bites of a grilled cheese sandwich when my mind served up this thought; “egg and cheese waffles.” Where did that come from? I never cease to be startled when something like that pops up. Maybe it’s because I spend too much time on Facebook and my friends and their friends have a habit of “sharing” whatever happens to be on their minds at the moment just pops up whether you’re thinking about them and their interests or not. Over the years I have come to realize that the intricate workings of my mind are generally beyond my grasp, but I have adapted a basic theory and definitions which assist me in getting on with life successfully.
The theory isn’t actually mine; it was first proposed by Dr. Maxwell Maltz in his amazing book Psycho-cybernetics, published in 1960. The basic premise was that the human brain functions much like a computer guidance system. A computer is useless without “input”. But, once it has input it can do astounding things provided you let it work and to do that you have to hit the “enter” key and let the computer do its thing. I was told that if you don’t stop inputting information and let it work it will never provide the answer or guide you to the target. Of course there is the added caveat that the input actually be usable information.
There was also a comparison of the way our brain works, to a guided missile system in that a guided missile does not travel in a straight line, and it does not necessarily respond to positive feedback. It primarily responds to negative feedback. In other words the system only functions when the missile has wandered off course. Now there was a time when I wasn’t too sure that my “guidance system” had worked very well in that respect because of the frequency of circumstances in my life when I have wandered way off the path to my target. After some study on the subject, I finally realized that it wasn’t the servo mechanism which was faulty, it was the servo mechanism operator … the person at the keyboard of my computer-like brain along with incompatible software that was causing the problem. The operator, that’s me, was entering all the wrong information and expecting the right responses.
It took me years to figure out that that I was, to all intents and purposes, both the programmer and the end product user of my servo mechanism. As the end product user of the electronic mechanism between my ears I had to have the correct software and a compatible virus protection system installed. It was as if I was trying to make my PC Hard Drive and Windows brain work with Apple software. I found a “technician” who identified the problem but really didn’t have a workable knowledge of how to fix it.
Eventually I resorted to the unthinkable solution of contacting the “manufacturer.” I told the “manufacturer” that I was tired of trying to fix the mechanism myself and needed a good “technician” to help me fix it. A new “technician” was recommended and so I sought him out. After explaining my dilemma the “technician” consulted the “manufacturer” and together they began the process of rebuilding my servo mechanism, a.k.a “hard drive”.
I was instructed to delete all the old files, and believe me there were a lot of them, after saving the good ones to a flash drive,. Next I was told to reload my “hard drive” operating system and start all over with new programming software designed for my operating system; software that would allow me to access the full capacity of my newly installed operating system. The “manufacturer” and the “technician” also advised me that if I wanted to keep my re-built servo mechanism running properly I really needed to locate my copy of the “original manufacturer’s operator’s manual” and study it carefully and consistently.
Among the things I found in the “operators manual” was a history of the “company,” it’s early “stockholders” and the numerous “stockholder” revolts, which went on until the “Chief Executive Officer” left his plush office, put on his work clothes and showed up at the jobsite one day. He eventually spent 3 years on site showing the “laborers” what the “Manufacturer” wanted them to do and what was expected of them if they wanted the full benefits of a truly generous retirement plan.
Sadly the “stockholders” didn’t appreciate the value of the retirement plan and everything the “Manufacturer” was offering through the “CEO”. After numerous tries they eventually succeeded in convincing the “governor” to crucify the ”CEO”. The happy ending to the company history was that the “CEO” was a hard man to keep down and he was soon back in the executive suite, but not before appointing a new “board of directors” who went right to work on a new edition of the “operator’s manual.”
I have both editions, the old and the new. I keep the old one for occasional reference, but use the new one daily. I still have to stop and re-boot my system on a regular basis, but I found, in the new edition of the “operator’s manual,” a free “virus protection” which I run continuously.
For future reference if the reader should need some clarification I’m including some personnel and terminology details below so you will know who to contact if your system crashes like mine did or if your software suddenly flashes “egg and cheese waffles” on your monitor.
“Manufacturer” – That would be God, Abba, The Lord, The Almighty. He’s not particular.
“Chief Executive Officer, CEO” – That would be Jesus, Christ, Savior, Son of Abba.
“Technician” – That would be your pastor
“Company” – That would be God’s people, Abrahams descendants, us.
“Shareholders” – That would be the Pharisees, scribes, Hebrews, Israelites, etc.
“Board of Directors” – That would be the apostles.
“Laborers” – That would be us.
“Hard Drive” – That would be your brain.
“Operating System” – That would be your heart and the emotions within it.
“Software” – That would be your desires and goals and purpose and the knowledge required.
“Guidance System” – That would be your moral values.
“Operators Manual” – That would be the Bible, The Good Book.
“Virus Protection” – That would be prayer.