Mental Self-Defense

Oftentimes I think about odd things while getting ready for the day. My mind just goes elsewhere because I'm so used to the repetitive motions I make while brushing my teeth.

So today, I was thinking about how prisoners of war defend themselves while in captivity. How best to defend onself against a mental onslaught, such as a physical beating, torture or just plain old abuse.

I heard a story...no, read one about a POW building a house in his mind, while in captivity. He slowly built it from the ground up, mentally envisoning each and every little detail while he built it. He concentrated his mental efforts on building an entire house, instead of despairing about his surroundings.

So if your outside is beseiged, your money drained from your savings acccount, your body assailed, or something BAD happens to you from the outside. The most important thing to think about is your mind. For if you lose your mind you lose the ENTIRE war.

I think of it like this...my mind is like a castle...and my central identity is me, cloaked in armor, looking down over the ramparts at my enemy. And my enemy surrounds my castle, attempting to gain entry. Trying to starve me out, break me down.

But I am also in the courtyard of the castle, working hard on a house...building it from the ground up....carefully...painstakingly building it.

One of the most important defenses you have is to realize that people are cruel. It is fact. People can/will do terrible things.

As Carol King said...

"they will take your soul if you let them, oh but dont you let them"

There will come a time when you must rush out of your castle and defend your kingdom (your body or things in the outside world beyond your mind/heart). For if the enemy lays too long at seige...he may gain entry. So one must risk the perils outside the castle to overcome the enemy and gain one's kingdom back if the sanctity of one's mind is breached.

One must be fearless of consequences. Do not let someone defeat you no matter the costs.

Know your enemy's weapons used to try and gain entry into your heart/mind. Know them well. They are called guilt, fear, old memories that evoke emotions, shame, and aye even the love you feel for them.

Another rule to know: The ones we love most have the most potential to do harm to us. We must always remember this, if we do not remember this, the realization when it happens may break us.

We cannot break. You cannot break. You must stand strong behind your castle ramparts.

Above all we must have faith in the strength of our minds, envisioning our minds as an impenetrable shield against encrouching darkness.

These are the rules if one is held in a helpless position. It is by no means a pro-active defense, but rather a passive, biding-time defense. Stone-walling the enemy if you will. A method for when one must lie in wait, looking for an opportunity to extract onself from the dangerous situation or when getting out of the situation is a long and protracted venture.