Give Logic the Right Place – Heart v/s Mind Situations

Have you tried to logically think out life situations? But your heart says something else. It can be a toss up and a situation that a lot of us may have faced at some time or the other. The proverbial heart v/s mind scenario.

Over time I have realized that this situation should not be occurring. It happens because fundamentally there is an error in the way we are thinking….

Once we understand and know ourselves in solitude we would find clarity about how we should behave in a particular situation. Of course but no time has been invested by most people to understand themselves nor just be with themselves and naturally find out. So what really happens is that when a situation presents itself there are all sorts of reactions within which are out of control. Tempers may fly, sadness and so on. Finally when it comes to solving the matter…. ‘Logic’ is used – or attempted at least.

The problem with using ‘Logic’ here are many, many,

1) To use logic in life situations – the variables involved need to be limited and well known

When it comes to you – you don’t know yourself well at all. Even when it comes to the outside social situation the understanding and knowledge a lot of people have is minimum – there are past recollections and dogmatic beliefs about things especially in tough situations. So the main two fundamentals – you & the World are not well known.

2) Your logic isn’t even good.

Hell, simple Math theorems are not easy for people. Simplest of Math theorems will take a long conversation and deduction to solve. These puzzles are in fact made to be solved logically & even that is difficult. So how can you sort life situations with logic?

3) Logic – Even if the above two are sorted – you know the variables and you are good at logical reasoning, this style of reasoning is not right for making life decisions. This style of reasoning is ok in a lab and even there it is too limited. It is sufficient only for a small part of your activities. Simple household chores/mechanical tasks and so on. With a screwdriver I know how to bolt nuts because it is simple logical evaluation, this is where logic is good enough. But even in a lot of these situations creative reasoning adds immense value.

I tend to be usually very scientific in my thinking. So this blog itself if you see has been written in a fairly logical and rational way. However the stuff I am writing was in no way ‘logically’ deduced. It cannot be. Knowing myself and truly understanding, getting a feel of the world and how it works are not things that can be reached with logic. Even when I take life decisions I don’t use this way of thinking, but when I am explaining my decision or actions to people – then yes, I am logical about it. So the Right place for logic needs to be evaluated – it definitely cannot rule the roost nor can it be ruled out.

Once you get an understanding of the person you are, then for a lot of situations there is good level of clarity about the course of action. I call this a Sense about things. A sense about how the world works, a sense about the situations around you and about you yourself as a person. This sense only develops over time when you do the right things. One needs to invest in ones self, invest in really getting to know others and the world in general. Generally spirituality leads to an increase in depth of perception and from this perception a sense of things emerges. This sense of things allows you to understand and manage situations in a more comprehensive manner. So there should be no split of you between heart and mind – a more comprehensive awareness and understanding is needed to make a sensible choice.

Even a little genuine and true spirituality can greatly impact this whole struggle between supposed “heart & mind”.  This struggle should not arise. And even if it does, then spend some time with yourself. Get to know the world – ask questions, wonder, inquire within and without, change your exposure, do new things.

To understand the ‘sense’ I am talking about a bit better, consider a businessman who has been running a business for many year. Doesn’t he develop a ‘sense’ about his work & company? It is never ‘logic’. Yes, a lot of MBA students might start throwing up logic for situations and they can logically explain the choices and solutions but that is not how a business person would work. It is never a logical activity – it is a sense of things. Because running a company is just a hell lot of things. It is never simple enough for logic. Over years a business sense is honed and the person gets adept at it, fails, succeeds, learns and hopefully is wiser.

Similarly a sense about life and your ownself needs to be there in you. The closest person you have is YOU. Everything around you is the world – how well do you know it? Everything else we are doing is for a limited time in our lives but one thing we do ALL the time – WE LIVE! How is it that we don’t have a sense of life itself?! It is like a business man after 30 years of business – has no sense of it. So silly a situation this is, when we think of it logically 😉 – let us repair this immediately!

So again – be in solitude, opt for new experiences, ask questions, inquire within and without, look around, just observe without concluding & wonder. Soon, let us get a sense of life & Live Sensibly!