Malware in the Conscious Operating System

We’ve all got some form of what I like to call “malware in the conscious operating system.” Malware as I use the term in this context equates to belief, which is like a computer virus or adware that infects a computer system and renders it less than optimal and only partially functioning in many ways. Some of our beliefs are very much like a virus as they are formed and seep into our conscious operating systems unconsciously. To understand this completely, we really need to look at these terms in a little more detail so we can clearly understand what is plainly right in front of us in terms of our daily existence. Until it’s called out, we are unaware of the existence of a thing. Without said awareness, the “malware” so-to-speak, lives on unfettered by understanding creating some interesting challenges for a soul to deal with. That isn’t bad or wrong, I’ll say. Keep in mind this is just a framework for understanding.

When we look at belief alone, we can begin to understand precisely what it means. In fact, dictionary.com defines it as:

noun

1. something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat.
2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof: a statement unworthy of belief.
3. confidence; faith; trust: a child's belief in his parents.
4. a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith: the Christian belief.

A belief in a thing does not make it real or a fact. A very quick and simple example of this fact is our common belief for the sake of convenience that the sun rises and sets each day when in fact, it is the Earth that is turning. We might even think the world turns slowly when in fact the truth is that the Earth spins on its axis at the speed near the equator at approximately 1,070 miles per hour according to starryskies.com. So, we can believe the sun rises and sets all we want to or that the Earth turns slowly but we can see from the facts, that these things are not true. The beliefs are not real. We have come to believe the sun rises at sets or that the Earth turns slowly from things that we have read or been told by others who held these beliefs.

There is another term I have often used, “Environmental Psychology.” This term references the things, situations and influence of the outside world upon a person that leads to the forming of belief about one’s self, one’s life or life in general that has more of a psychological nature. Such things might include beliefs that we are worthy or unworthy, gifted or cursed, lucky or unlucky, lovable or unlovable and the list goes on. Again, our environmental psychology has shaped our beliefs about ourselves, other people and the world. But if our beliefs are not true and we’ve built the entirety of our lives upon a false premise in the form of belief or holding unconsciously to a belief created by environmental psychology, how might that affect our experience of life?

So above we have defined how our beliefs are formed. Let us get into the now and sit very comfortably with our new understanding for just a moment. How might this new information assist us in how we live our lives right here and right now? Well, it can help us in a great many of ways but we must first steer clear of any form of blame for the series of beliefs that we hold that limit us in any way. We’re going to start living in the now positively because that puts our power right where it belongs, in our own hands. So, let us be accountable for our beliefs because whether or not they were given to us or we formed them in response to environmental psychology, it is we who decide to continue to hold the belief or not. Right? Give that some thought. No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to hold that thought from your childhood where you overheard Aunt Martha or Uncle Harry say to each other you were a "this kind of child" or a "that kind of child" that left you feeling either bad or good. Belief is not real. It is untested hypothesis.

Moving right along, we can unleash an anti-virus program for the Malware running in the background of our Human Consciousness Operating System in the form of belief given us by environmental psychology. But to do this, you must realize it will take effort, commitment, courage, tenacity and a little bit of reflection and critical analysis. You have to find the malware first before you can remove it. If you do not know it is there, you will never find its source and never be able to remove it successfully and will always resort to behaving as if old beliefs are facts. So, the simple way to find them is to look for them.
 

An easy way to spot them is to think about something that you really want right now in this moment. Go ahead, think about that for a moment. Have you got something in mind? Good. Hold that thought. Now, think about what in your mind prevents you from having what you want? Jot down all the reasons or rationales that have you believing that you cannot or do not have what you want. Continue until you have every possible reason whether real or not real, vetted and noted. Don't judge what you think, just write it down. Now, take a look at your list. I am willing to bet that there will be at least one if not many more life limiting beliefs representing themes of malware that you’ve lived with your entire life staring right back at you hidden quite conveniently in simple thoughts. 

Choose one of those thoughts on your list that you’d like to investigate further. Take that thought and ask yourself is the thought you chose real? Is the belief behind it real? Can you prove that it is real? How can you prove it is real without using an assumption and only dealing with independently verifiable facts that stand up to repeated testing with the same outcome? By critical thinking I mentioned above, I did not mean to think of yourself critically. I meant to start critically analyzing your beliefs with the rigor of a scientific researcher. Is that thought or belief true? How do you know? If you run across a belief on your list that cannot be independently verified as definitive truth or fact, I invite you to introduce yourself to your first piece of malware. Now, if you’d like to eradicate the malware you have to be willing to let go of the belief no matter what that means. Sometimes letting go of a belief can be simple and at other times it can be very difficult. Letting go of the idea of Santa Clause was not easy at first as a child now was it? Letting go of the idea of monsters under the bed also wasn’t easy but getting to the truth and dealing with reality is how we can set ourselves free from malware.  

You see, malware is a prison we commit ourselves to for many very good reasons but mostly due to lack of conscious understanding. You may have full understanding at the spiritual level and any malware you hold may be the very premise from which your greatest life lessons are learned. However, if you find at some point that your beliefs limit you in ways that you no longer desire, you can relinquish the beliefs that don’t bear out under the scrutiny of testing and in so doing you reveal to yourself the hiding place of the key that unlocks the door to your self-made prison cell.  
Do you remember I said earlier there was no right way or wrong way to learn life lessons? In this wonderful piece of wisdom from the Kybalion written by the Three Initiates early on in the last century, the following phrase comes: "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law."--The Kybalion. There is cause and there is effect. Your beliefs create the path from which you learn about your life. If you find your lesson plan enjoyable, proceed without change. If you find it isn’t and you seek greater understanding, then look to your malware, beliefs and environmental psychology. The emerging patterns and themes will be your guide and will help you to understand you. It’s one tiny part of the reason you are here.  

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little bit of food for thought. If you'd like to learn more about this topic and how the concepts of it can help you remove the obstacles in your life that prevent your growth, let me know. I've got a book and workbook for you that can help you discover more about yourself called Exploring the Conscious Self. With the self-study guide book and work-book, you'll be well on your way to discovering a good many things about you that you may never have given thought to. If you're interested in more details, please contact me at jaiehart@gmail.com.  

  Dr. J.L. Harter, Editor see bio section for more information.