Fundamentalism is wrong, small-minded, stupid, and is ruining the world. I'm absolutely sure of it. Which, of course, makes me a fundamentalist.
Almost all of us are often fundamentalists. If you're convinced you're absolutely NOT one, that's a pretty good sign you're one too.
Mindfulness deconstructs Fundamentalism--simply by giving us each the best seat in the house to observe the fantastic dramas of our own minds and lives. If you're not mindful, you may disagree with this, which of course, is completely reasonable. To observe the truth about our selves takes...observation. You know?
Jonathan Haidt writes in The Happiness Hypothesis,
"...We are all, by nature hypocrites, and this is why it is so hard for us to follow the Golden Rule faithfully. Recent psychological research has uncovered the mental mechanisms that make us so good at seeing the slightest speck in our neighbor's eye, and so bad at seeing the log in our own. If you know what your mind is up to, and why you so easily see the world through a distorting lens of good and evil, you can take steps to reduce your self-righteousness. You can thereby reduce the frequency of conflicts with others who are equally convinced of their righteousness."
It's both painful and wonderful to "know what your mind is up to." Every time a 'log' is taken out of our own eye it can feel like a crowbar digging into us. Yet, to be free of the blindness and constriction of small-mindedness brings, as Haidt's title suggests, "Happiness." New found freedom to see the world more openly invites the deep joy of wisdom itself.
Taking contemplative time daily to sit non-judgmentally with our thoughts and feelings trains us as observers. Even 5 minutes a day makes a difference. Taking the practice 'on the road' is just as helpful. All it takes is a consistent intention to become more aware of what 'certainty' feels like. Each time we have a strong 'sense' that somebody else is wrong and we're right, we 'note' it.
Then we 'play' with it. What happens when I suspend my certainty? What happens if, in this one moment, I am an agnostic regarding my own Settled Truth? What's possible if, instead of entertaining judgment and working up a counterpoint, we choose to invite curiosity and kindness into the mix?
What happens? That 'log' in our eyes sometimes falls out painlessly. And we experience the opposite of fundamentalism--a rather delightful kind of openness.
I'm sure of it.
