Eyeofmystic

The Strategic Shift: Quantity, Quality, and Capacity

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is currently ranked as the third most powerful military in the world, behind only the United States and Russia. Its naval arm, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy), is actually larger than the US Navy, currently consisting of an active duty battle force of around 370 platforms. Moreover, that number is a likely underestimate since it does not include smaller-scale vessels that can be equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) in a hypothetical conflict near Taiwan; for example, the Type 022 (Houbei Class) patrol boats that pose a credible risk to blue water platforms while not being able to traverse the open oceans themselves. Nor does it include the irregular forces that could be brought to bear in any conflict in China’s littoral waters, such as the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM).

The Shipbuilding Gap

How the PLA Navy continues to expand over the short- and medium-term is a matter of mounting concern for US policymakers and military strategists. China’s ongoing shipbuilding and force modernization programs expect to grow the PLA Navy to 395 ships by 2025, and 435 ships by 2030. In contrast, the US Navy was fielding 296 battle ships as of August 2024, and US efforts to catch up are complicated by the yawning gap in shipbuilding capacity between China and the United States. Just how big is this gap? According to a leaked US Navy briefing, China has a domestic shipbuilding capacity 232 times greater than the United States.

Qualitative Convergence

The PLA Navy may be winning in terms of quantity, but the US maintains a qualitative edge, albeit one that is rapidly diminishing over time. To quote an unclassified US naval intelligence briefing on China’s shipbuilding program in 2020: “Chinese naval ship design and material quality is in many cases comparable to [US Navy] ships, and China is quickly closing the gaps in any areas of deficiency.” There is some fog of war here in that the PLA Navy remains untested by actual combat with a peer adversary, and the opaque nature of China’s politics typically obscures any disclosure that might suggest the modernization program is not a rousing success, with some notable exceptions such as the reported sinking of a cutting-edge submarine while in dock in September 2024.

This backgrounder will break down the PLA Navy by vessel type, examining force structure, capabilities, new platforms, respective roles in China’s overall maritime strategy:

Force Structure: The Evolution of Chinese Carrier Power

The hallmark of China’s naval modernization is its aircraft carrier program, which serves as the vanguard of its regional power projection.

China currently possesses three aircraft carriers, the Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian. These carriers, with their expansive flight decks, are central to the PLA Navy’s power projection capacity, enabling the launch and retrieval of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft.

The PLA Navy’s first aircraft carrier was the Liaoning (Type 001). Commissioned in 2012, the Liaoning is a refitted Soviet Kuznetsov-class vessel. It serves mainly as a training and weapons testing platform, though it remains fully operational for combat.

The Shandong (Type 002), commissioned in 2019, is China’s first domestically built carrier and is regarded as an improved version of the Liaoning, featuring more advanced systems. The ship weighs around 70,000 tons at full load and is both longer and heavier than the Liaoning. In a modification from the original Kuznetsov design, the Shandong swaps out missile launch capacity for a larger air wing, which consists mostly of Shenyang J-15s jets (an estimated 36), along with Changhe Z-18 and Harbin Z-9 helicopters. Neither the Shandong nor the Liaoning are equipped with a catapult, limiting the potential loadouts of their air wings.

The most recent addition to the PLA Navy is the Fujian (Type 003), launched in 2022, which represents a significant leap in capability with its flat-top design and electromagnetic catapults, representing an advance on the steam-powered catapults used in most US carriers. The Fujian is believed to weigh in at around 80,000-85,000 pounds at full capacity, making it the largest conventionally powered carrier in the world. Its large flight deck and catapult allow for a larger and more advanced air wing, which was revealed in 2025 to include Shenyang J-15Ts (modified for catapult takeoff and recovery), Shenyang J-35s (the PLA’s fifth-generation stealth fighter), and notably the Xian KJ-600 airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. The KJ-600, which only made its maiden flight in 2020, will greatly extends the radar horizon of the carrier group and coordinate protection from incoming threats.

Concerns have recently been raised about certain aspects of the Fujian’s design, which limit the carrier’s aircraft launch rate compared to US carriers. These include having only two launch catapults (the USS Ford has four); an island placement that limits deck space; and aircraft elevators that are too forward placed. All issues trace back to the Fujian’s conventional propulsion and will presumably be addressed in future, nuclear-powered models. They could also be remnants of a shift from steam-powered to electromagnetic catapults, which reportedly happened midway through the design process. The Fujian’s electromagnetic catapults were widely celebrated as evidence that the PLA was closing the qualitative gap with the US Navy. Incidentally, the catapults have since become a political issue in the United States, with President Trump frequently calling for a return to steam catapults and hydraulic elevators due to reliability issues that plague the new Ford-class systems.

A fourth PLA Navy aircraft carrier is currently under construction. Early satellite photos suggest that the new carrier will be larger than even the US Navy’s Ford Class, with space for an air wing of up to 100. It is also believed to be the first Chinese model to feature nuclear propulsion; however, there are indications that significant technical challenges have yet to be solved. Looking ahead, there are plans to field a total of 5-6 carriers by the 2030s.

China’s aircraft carriers differ from their US counterparts in that they are designed to operate exclusively under the protective “bubble” created by China’s anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems, particularly within the first island chain. These A2/AD systems intend to restrict the US Navy from entering key areas, allowing China’s carriers to function in a more localized context, supporting power projection closer to home. The carriers, therefore, are not the core of China’s fleet but rather play a supporting role within a broader defensive strategy aimed at controlling regional waters and limiting US naval reach. The strategy strikes a contrast to that of the United States, which employs carriers as the central plank of a blue water projection capacity.

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – As Biden administration national security adviser Jake Sullivan met General Zhang Youxia in August 2024, the tired and strained look on the American’s face contrasted with the relaxed smile of the veteran Chinese officer, then at the height of his power as the top uniformed member of the People’s Liberation Army.

“Your request to meet with me shows the value you attach to military security and the relationship between our militaries,” Zhang told the U.S. delegation led by Sullivan.

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The Biden team had hoped that building dialogue with the PLA would reduce the risk of accidental war, something they feared might one day be sparked by an inadvertent clash by air or sea, or perhaps a misidentified cyber attack or missile.

That process, already stumbling in the 2020s, may now need to be comprehensively restarted – if that is even possible.

Last month, as the world’s media focused on Donald Trump and Greenland, China’s official media announced that General Zhang, a childhood friend of President Xi Jinping once described as like a “brother”, had been dismissed from office.

It was the latest of a string of removals that have now included almost every top Chinese commander. Exactly what is going on behind the scenes is impossible to know, but the implications for the rest of the world may well be enormous.

Alongside Xi, General Zhang – one of the few remaining combat veterans in the PLA after serving as a company commander during China’s brief 1979 war with Vietnam – was one of the key decision-makers over whether Beijing might risk an invasion of Taiwan in the current decade. He was also a key interlocutor with the Kremlin on growing Russia-China relations.

SWEEPING PURGE

Now, not only is he gone, but so are dozens if not hundreds of other senior military figures cashiered over the past two years. They include, analysts say, a disproportionate number of those from Beijing’s critical and fast-expanding nuclear deterrence forces, and those in the capital Beijing and the Eastern Theatre Command responsible for any action on Taiwan.

The most recent purges have devastated the normally seven-person Central Military Commission, chaired by Xi himself with his boyhood friend as his senior deputy. The only two members left untouched now appear to be Xi and General Zhang Shengmin, the shadowy head of its discipline committee.The monks are on a walk across nine states with the aim of raising, quote, “awareness of peace, loving-kindness, and compassion across America and the worlZhang Shengmin is usually described as having come from among the PLA’s political officers, implying an almost complete purge of those with more mainstream military service.

According to U.S. officials, the Chinese president has told the PLA to be ready to win a battle for Taiwan by or in 2027 – although they have also increasingly stressed that this is not the same as a direct decision to invade Taiwan on that date.

What is clear, they say, is that at the start of the decade Xi took a series of military targets that had been set for 2035 and brought them forward to 2027.

With the PLA now within a year of that deadline, the Chinese president now seems very unhappy with his military high command.

Multiple official statements and news stories over the dismissal of Zhang and others have accused them of corruption, including one piece in the PLA Daily that accused “big rats” of eating into the military budget.

Another piece in that paper this week went so far as to describe China’s resulting military as just a “paper tiger”.

DISARRAY AND DECEPTION

If this disparaging reference genuinely reflects the views of China’s leadership – or even if it doesn’t, it would be a remarkable turnaround in language.

China has gone to great lengths to present itself as a rising military power, with its ever-escalating drills around Taiwan designed to send an unambiguous message to that island that “reunification” is inevitable, even if done by force.

Recent messaging around the removal of its military leaders appears to tear up that approach, at least for now.

This points to the least likely but most dangerous interpretation of recent events – that Beijing is going out of its way to look unprepared for military action as a deliberate deception manoeuvre, but that it actually views the mayhem of the new Trump administration as the best time to act.

Even before these recent moves, some China-watching analysts had expressed concern Beijing might become incentivised to move quicker than expected. They worried that U.S. military buildups and the deployment of high-tech unmanned weapons – as well as Taiwan’s own military rebuilding – might shift the strategic balance away from Beijing’s favour.

That should not be discounted – and even as the Pentagon prepares for potential military action on Iran and ongoing talk of further action in the Caribbean, it will be watching China’s military movements as closely as ever.

In Washington, though, there has been a growing feeling the balance of risk might be shifting to later in the decade – and that Beijing is keen to see the outcome of Taiwan’s 2028 election in the hope the more pro-mainland Kuomintang might regain office in Taipei, and could also be waiting to see who might prevail in the U.S. 2028 elections.

The most likely explanation, therefore, is that the schism between Xi and his top commanders is extremely real.

China is hardly the only country awkwardly discovering that spending vast quantities of money on arms in the 21st century so far has not always brought it what it wanted – but Xi may feel he has other reasons to be nervous about his senior soldiers.

Still, the fact the PLA’s own newspaper felt able to refer to China’s military capability as a “paper tiger” suggests its editors or their Communist Party masters believe the military rank-and-file might also share Xi’s feeling that Beijing’s armed forces have been let down by their seniors.

That may or may not mean that some of the wilder stories over wastage in Beijing’s new atomic missile fields – vast networks of silos housing intercontinental ballistic rockets – are truly accurate, including tales of fuel replaced with water and concrete crumbling within months of their construction.

According to the Pentagon, China is involved in a massive nuclear expansion programme to match U.S. and Russian arsenals. A Wall Street Journal report suggested Zhang’s suspected crime was discussing unspecified “nuclear secrets” with U.S. counterparts.

The fact that story is doing the rounds at all in China, though, suggests that contact with the U.S. touching on any element of Beijing’s military posture may now be seen as criminal – and a serious and perhaps fatal crime at that.

That could act as a wrecking ball to remaining if already often unsuccessful U.S. efforts to build closer military-to-military relations with Beijing.

CUTTING BACK RELATIONS?

From the beginning of the century, U.S. and other Western officials, academics and think-tanks have invested considerable effort in cultivating dialogue with both senior current and former members of the PLA. Access to senior serving PLA officials, however, has largely dried up lately.

Outside those who have met through the most traditional diplomatic channels – embassy military attaches, for example – it is now relatively common to find even a well-connected Western China-watcher has not had a personal interaction with a PLA general or equivalent for more than half a decade. That is a dramatic shift from the previous era.

That shift is not quite as binary as it can be presented -Chinese PLA officials remain part of a growing diplomatic circuit in the “Global South”, where they encounter similarly active Western counterparts. Direct U.S.-China military relations, though, have become much harder to pursue.

In 2022, Beijing cancelled them altogether following the Taiwan visit of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Getting national security adviser Sullivan in front of General Zhang two years later took patient diplomacy, eventually signed off by Xi himself after his own meeting with Sullivan on the same trip to Beijing was seen to have gone well.

The meeting with Zhang yielded an initial agreement for the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, to engage directly with China’s individual theatre commanders.

That led to a video call and then a visit to Hawaii for PLA Southern Theatre Commander General Wu Yunan, who is responsible for the highly contested South China Sea region.

U.S. commanders were keen to meet with him to discuss clashes around disputed islands including with the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally.

But U.S. officials said they also wanted to open dialogue with Eastern Theatre chief Lin Xiangyang, the commander most responsible for operations and planning around Taiwan. Lin had made a highly public conference speech in spring 2025 pledging that the PLA was ready to move against Taiwan if ordered.

Both Wu and Lin appear to have since been purged.

Whatever China’s military is told to do next – as well as what it thinks about subjects including the future of Taiwan and rule of an ageing Xi – was already getting harder to know beyond the publications of the PLA itself.

However, top U.S. decision-makers will also be able to access whatever their spy agencies can intercept.

Even as Xi talks trade with the U.S., Canada and Europe, he may now have decided to cut the PLA out of communications with the West. At the age of 73, that may be designed to display Xi’s strength. At worst, though, it might look like another superpower on the edge of chaos on a scale unseen since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.

there is a central—and increasingly urgent—correlation between China’s physical naval expansion and the internal instability of its military leadership.

This relationship can be viewed as a “Quantity vs. Quality/Cohesion” trade-off. While the PLA Navy is physically growing at an unprecedented rate, the human and structural elements tasked with commanding that force are being aggressively dismantled and reorganized.

The Dual Correlation: Expansion vs. Erasure

There are two primary ways these trends correlate:

1. The “Paper Tiger” Correlation (Readiness vs. Procurement)

The article highlights a discrepancy between the massive influx of hardware (the “Quantity”) and the reported corruption within the command structure (the “Quality”).

The Trend: China is building ships (like the Type 003 Fujian) at a rate 232 times faster than the U.S.
The Correlation: The “Sweep” of leaders—including those in charge of the Rocket Force and Eastern Theatre Command—suggests that the rapid expansion may have been fueled by “big rats” (corruption).
The Result: If ships are built using inferior materials or if promotions were bought rather than earned, the “paper tiger” label suggests that the physical size of the navy does not correlate with its actual combat effectiveness.

2. The “2027 Deadline” Correlation (Political Will vs. Strategic Restraint)

The article connects the accelerated modernization goals (shifting 2035 targets to 2027) with the sudden disappearance of the military’s “Old Guard.”

The Trend: Xi Jinping has centralized power, reducing the Central Military Commission (CMC) from seven members to essentially two.
The Correlation: By purging veteran combat officers like General Zhang Youxia, Xi is removing the very leaders who might offer realistic, cautious advice about the risks of a Taiwan invasion.
The Result: As the fleet grows (reaching an estimated 435 ships by 2030), the internal “checks and balances” that might prevent an accidental or premature war are being removed. The correlation here is that as the Navy becomes more physically capable, the leadership becomes more politically isolated and prone to miscalculation.

Summary of the Strategic Gap

Metric	The Naval Expansion (External)	The Military Purge (Internal)
Focus	Procurement, tonnage, and technology.	Loyalty, obedience, and anti-corruption.
Key Indicator	Launch of the Fujian and 4th carrier.	Removal of Gen. Zhang and Gen. Lin.
Strategic Goal	Dominance of the “First Island Chain.”	Absolute Party control over “the Gun.”
Risk Factor	“Yawning gap” in U.S. ship capacity.	“Institutional brittleness” and lack of experience.

The Bottom Line

The article suggests that the PLA Navy is a formidable machine currently lacking a stable driver. The correlation is that the more “ready” the equipment looks on paper (reaching the 2027 milestone), the more “unready” the command structure appears due to the vacuum of experienced, professional leadership.

The Beauty of Restraint: A Reflection on Humility, Perfection, and Limits

“The tallest blade of grass is the surest to be cut.” “To seek perfection is to be cursed to find fault in the perfectly adequate, enjoyable, or even just plain good.” “You must always work not just within, but below your means. If you can handle three elements, handle only two.
Mahalakshmi

In a world that often venerates the pursuit of greatness, there is a quiet yet profound wisdom in learning the value of restraint. “The tallest blade of grass is the surest to be cut.” This ancient saying reminds us that standing too tall, too proudly, can make us vulnerable. There’s a strength in humility, in knowing that sometimes it’s better to remain in the background rather than push for the spotlight. Equally profound is the idea that “to seek perfection is to be cursed to find fault in the perfectly adequate, enjoyable, or even just plain good. The tallest blade may be the most visible, but it is also the most exposed to the harshness of life. In embracing a sense of quiet modesty, we find the power to endure without attracting undue harm. This simple yet potent aphorism reminds us that those who rise too high are often the first to be brought low. In this, we are offered a lesson in humility — the strength to stand firm without calling attention to oneself, the fortitude to endure without the need for validation. To be quietly steadfast, without excessive ornamentation or ambition, is often the truest form of strength. The tallest blade, though visible, is not the most resilient; rather, it is the one that grows with grace in the shadows, untouched by the weight of expectation.

"I move in silence, but my soul speaks loud,
I’m a gem in the streets, standing tall in the crowd.
Meditation at night, hustle by day,
I balance the struggle, never leadin' astray."

MAHALAKSHMI

In our fast-paced, success-driven world, perfectionism often runs rampant. We chase unattainable standards, believing that if we just achieve one more thing, or perfect one more aspect, we’ll find fulfillment. Yet, the pursuit of perfection blinds us to the beauty of imperfection. It distorts our perception, causing us to overlook the perfectly good and the entirely acceptable. Life, after all, is filled with its flaws, and in those flaws lie its charm. Perfection, while an ideal, can often be a prison — a prison that keeps us from appreciating the richness of what is real and attainable.

Finally, the idea that “you must always work not just within, but below your means” speaks to the art of knowing one’s limitations. It’s easy to take on more than we can handle in the hope of impressing others or proving something to ourselves. But true wisdom lies in knowing when to scale back, when to simplify. If you can manage three elements, then focus on two. The more you manage, the more you spread yourself thin; the fewer elements you work with, the deeper your mastery over them becomes. It’s not about doing everything, but about doing what you can do well — and recognizing when “less” actually means “more.” There is strength in working with less, in focusing on what truly matters.

Together, these thoughts encourage us to find balance, to find peace not in excess but in simplicity. In standing humbly, appreciating the good, and knowing our limits, we unlock a quieter but more fulfilling form of success. There’s power in restraint, in knowing when to hold back and when to let go. The road to mastery is not paved with endless striving for perfection but with acceptance, awareness, and the art of working within — and below — our means.

“I rise from the struggle, meditate on the hustle,
I’m a warrior with wisdom, let my mind flex muscle.
Spiritual thug, got the world in my clutch,
Balance peace with the grind, but I’m never out of touch.”

MAHALAKSHMI

Equally enlightening is the observation that “to seek perfection is to be cursed to find fault in the perfectly adequate, enjoyable, or even just plain good.” Perfection, often revered as the highest form of achievement, becomes, in this light, a prison of discontent. It is a pursuit that blinds us to the beauty of the imperfect, to the richness that lies within the flaws and inconsistencies of life. In our relentless striving for an unattainable ideal, we overlook the quiet magnificence of what is already present — the simple joys, the everyday wonders, the moments that are, in their very ordinariness, extraordinary. Perfection may be an aspiration, but it is an aspiration that, if unchecked, leads only to dissatisfaction. The world is not flawless, and it is in embracing its imperfections that we find true fulfillment

Lastly, the notion that “you must always work not just within, but below your means” offers a powerful insight into the nature of wisdom and mastery. In a culture that often equates success with accumulation and excess, this idea proposes a different path — one of conscious limitation. There is grace in simplicity, in knowing that true mastery arises not from overwhelming oneself with an ever-expanding multitude of elements, but from cultivating depth in a chosen few. If three elements are manageable, then work with two. If two are sufficient, then work with one. To limit one’s scope is not a sign of weakness but of strength, for it is through restraint that we unlock the full potential of our efforts. In this delicate balance between ambition and temperance, we find the power to create something lasting and profound.

Together, these reflections invite us to reconsider our approach to life and work. They encourage us to seek not the tallest blade, but the quietest strength; not perfection, but appreciation; not accumulation, but depth. In embracing humility, we find our true resilience. In releasing the quest for perfection, we open ourselves to the beauty of the ordinary. And in working within, and below, our means, we find mastery not in quantity, but in quality.

In this dance between restraint and expression, we come to understand that the path to true fulfillment is not marked by excess, but by the quiet grace of knowing when to hold back, when to simplify, and when to let go.

Pongal O’ Pongal: More than a Harvest Festival

Celebrations at the time of the winter solstice have been universal in almost every culture on the planet. It is seen as the rising of the new sun. In ancient Rome, this was celebrated as Saturnalia, which means it was about Saturn, the god of agriculture and food. In southern India, even today, the celebration of Makar Sankranti is one of the most important festivals in a year for the agricultural communities. In Rome, Saturnalia was a holiday – people gave gifts; no war could be declared on this day, and masters and slaves swapped their positions. In India, even today, men and women swap their positions at that time – men will be singing, women will be drawing complex geometric patterns in the form of Rangoli.

In lands like Central Asia and China, such celebrations were also prevalent. These traditions were destroyed in Europe and other parts of the world with the advent of Christianity. The ancient Egyptians always saw that during this month, the line between the physical and the spiritual is thin, or the two are brought close together.

Pongal or Makar Sankranti.

Between the 14th and 17th of January are the festivals of Makar Sankranti or Pongal, as it is called in Tamil Nadu. There are different aspects to this festival, which falls in the month of Thai in the Tamil Calendar. There is Bhogi, during which houses are cleaned, decorated, and in a way re-consecrated for the new year, using materials like mango leaves and the first cut of paddy to enhance the vibrance in the house. All the unnecessary things in one’s home are disposed of.

Pongal is a very popular, multi-day major festival for many Hindus. It is the beginning of the six-month journey northward of the sun as when the sun enters the Makara zodiac (Capricorn). It is considered one of the most auspicious days and is celebrated throughout the country, but with different names. It is called Pongal in South India, Makar Sankranti in the North, East, and West, Lohri in Punjab, and Bihu in Assam.

The word Pongal means “to boil over” or “overflow”, and the symbolism of the harvest so it also called a harvest festival. People believe this celebration, brings them peace, happiness, prosperity, brightness, and harmony in life. On these four days, families gather and share their joy.

All four days of Pongal embody a noble message for humankind. The four days of Pongal celebrations are named as:

Bhogi Pongal: The houses are cleaned getting rid of old things and decorations take place

Surya Pongal: This is the first day of Tamil Month – Thai. This day is also known as Thai Pongal. People offer Pongal to the Sun God.

Maattu Pongal: the word “Mattu” means bull and this day of Pongal is for the celebration of cattle, particularly bulls that play a vital role by working hard to help the farmers to raise crops on their fields

Kaanum Pongal: The word Kaanum means ‘viewing and seeing’. Kaanum Pongal is the day of relaxation and enjoyment and it implies that people spend their time arranging family trips, picnics, visiting neighbors, and relative’s houses,

While this harvest festival is known by many names, the spirit and fervor with which it is celebrated across the country remain the same. The Pongal sweet dish is prepared to mark the festival, first offered to the gods and goddesses, often accompanied by an offering to cows, and then shared by the family.

Festive celebrations include cows and their horns being decorated, ceremonial bathing, and processions. Traditionally, it is an occasion for decorating kolam artworks based on rice-powder, offering home prayers, temples, gathering with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.

A Festival or holiday presents a great opportunity to reach out to loved ones that you may not see all that often but would likely connect with during the holidays.

Just because you can’t gather like you normally would, you can still find ways to connect and let your loved ones know that they are important to you by sending them money in just a flash, back home with no fees to pay when sending over $500!

Happy Pongal!

Spirituality in the physical world . “The end of all evil”

Who wouldn’t want to destroy all evil and live in a peaceful world? But what exactly is “evil” and how can it be destroyed? elucidating the topic,giving an uncommon perspective to a common problem.

Evil is neither a quality nor is it an act, it is a consequence of ignorance. This has been expressed in so many ways. You have surely heard the statement, “They know not what they do.” Where there is ignorance, evil – whether it gets recognized as such or not – is a natural play.

Evil never leaves. It cannot leave because it is not a quality or an act, it is a certain absence of knowing. If something is present, we could destroy it but absence cannot leave – you cannot destroy darkness, you just have to bring light. Similarly, you cannot destroy evil, you just have to bring knowing and awareness. Evil changes form, complexion and direction but fortunately, ignorance has only one form, so it is easy to deal with. To deal with ignorance we must know the existence.

To know the existence, first we must see that your mind and your body are a product of the world and its people. Train your brain to form new neuron pathways, new thought patterns, essentially a new brain”. Your original nature is not in your experience because it is on the other side of the mind. In a way, your mind is like a mirror. It may be a distorted one, but still a mirror. You are bounded by the conditioning of your limited information, You see the world because it is reflected in your mind. I am talking about your physical or psychological self. Being in the control of human neurotic, we divulge our thoughts and emotions and let go the control, Pain is inevitable, suffering is your option.

The progression is essentially as follows regardless of which side of the fence an issue originates, imbalances in thinking can create imbalances : Pain leads to negative thoughts/self-talk/beliefs lead to feelings of lead to suffering leads to muscle tension and stress lead to more pain leads to increased negative thoughts lead to increased frustration leads to greater suffering, and so on.The longer such a cycle continues, the more out of balance a person becomes. Suffering can be modified when people become consciously aware of this chain reaction and learn how to respond differently to their pain. The process of pain recovery includes dramatically changing the negative progression starting with regaining cognitive and emotional balance through the application of acceptance strategies and mindfulness-based practices. Reestablishing balance counteracts the above deviation-amplifying dynamics: conscious awareness of negative thinking/self-talk and how it sets off the cascade of events that fuels suffering leads to mindful.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” —Viktor Frankl

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Frankl wrote about the psychological impact of life as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. His mother, father, brother, and pregnant wife were all killed in the camps. Dr. Frankl describes in chilling detail how his captors took from him virtually everything of personal value and basic human dignity.

The only thing that the Nazis were unable to take away was his choice as to how to respond to the deprivation, degradation, and trauma to which he was subjected. He made a conscious decision to focus his energies on “owning” that small but all-important space between the stimulus (whatever was said or done to him) and his response to it. His ability to retain that degree of psycho-spiritual autonomy in the most horrific circumstances imaginable provides a remarkable example of interpersonal strength, grace under extreme duress, the power of personal choice, and the Serenity Prayer in action.

Physical pain has distinct biological and psychological components that effectively represent stimulus and response. The biology of pain is the signal transmitted through the central nervous system that “something is wrong.” The psychology of pain is the interpretation or meaning we give to that pain signal—the internal self-talk and beliefs about it which then drive our emotional reactions. Suffering results from mental and emotional responses to pain. The biological and psychological facets of chronic pain combine to become like a smoke detector that goes on and stays on, continuously sounding a harrowing alarm at high volume.

Pain is unavoidable; suffering is not. It occurs in response to thoughts such as: “Why me?!” “It isn’t fair!” “This is horrible!” “I can’t stand it!”

“To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour”
– Auguries of Innocence (William Blake)

I finally understood why William Blake’s poem was entitled Auguries of Innocence. Innocence is the original nature of creation before it was distorted through the eyes of men. It is the freedom from judgement and conceptual reality. To see through the eyes of God is to look with innocence into the unalloyed essence of creation.

There is a superficial level of perceiving the world through the mind by way of conceptual understanding. Concepts, framed by words, serve to dichotomise a world that was created in unity. By using the concept of ‘I‘ and ‘you’, we naturally draw boundaries between each other and define ourselves as separate entities. These concepts are created by the mind which holds on to the illusion of control and knowing. In truth, the mind is incapable of comprehending the deeper nature of reality beyond mere concepts. By perceiving the world through concepts, we remain trapped in the illusion of Maya which conceals the deeper spiritual truths. Concepts do serve a purpose if applied in the right way, for they help us to define what we are not. Self-realisation is then a process of unlearning these concepts.

Beyond concepts, the truth can only be perceived if we first give up our superficial knowledge of the world and acknowledge that we know nothing about the absolute nature of reality. We then delve into the unknown that exists beyond the comprehension of the mind. The unknown is intimidating to the mind which clings on to the illusion of knowing, yet emancipating for the soul. Beyond the mind, there is a deeper level of knowing that transcends language and concepts. This can be felt and experienced directly with the soul when the mind is silenced.

From that place beyond the judgmental mind, perhaps we can learn to perceive the world in its fullness again. As Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3 NIV) Without the veil of judgement, perhaps we can directly experience what William Blake meant when he said “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything will appear to man as it is: infinite.” We will begin to see God in everything if we learn to perceive the world with innocence again.

Your Choice: The Herd or Independent Thinking

Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.

Other terms to refer to Social Conditioning include Social Engineering, Herd Mentality and Cultural Conditioning.

Mob Mentality, while seemingly related, is different in that is refers to behavior of people in large groups brought together for a single event and purpose, such as with protests and demonstrations. It describes how people will do things in a large group that they would never do as an individual.
Think of Social Conditioning as being “domesticated” by the thoughts and beliefs of others.

Stop.

Read that again and let it sink in. Domesticated – as in sheep and cattle.

For most of us, it has become a habit to have others tell us what to think and how to behave. We don’t think for ourselves — instead, we let others do it for us and take responsibility for our lives. Not surprisingly, we are intellectually weak and have lost control over our actions.
It seems that we allow others to dictate us how to live because we don’t want to take the burden of responsibility on our shoulders — so we throw it on them.

If you want to escape the matrix of social conditioning and reclaim your freedom, you need to stop letting others control you like a mindless automaton and instead start being responsible for your actions. This might be a difficult thing to do, yet it’s the only way to choose your own path in life.

If so, then move on with the collective herd. Let others shape your mind as they see fit. Let them do your thinking. Let them trigger your emotions to react the way they desire. Fit in. Get along. Conform. Follow the herd’s desires. Don’t question. Refuse to think for yourself. Be complacent.

For those of you who are repulsed by this choice, you have another option: Independent Thinking

“To breath comfortably, to feel free, to think better and to find the beauties of the unknown paths leave your herd!” – Mehmet Murat Ildan

Rebel against authority and accept responsibility for your life.

Can’t stress that enough.

By questioning your beliefs, rebelling against the herd and thinking for yourself, you’ll be able to free your mind from the constraints of blind conformity and dogmatic ideology

Seek truth, regardless of how arduous that might be.

A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that we’re prone to be copycats – not original thinkers. When people didn’t have a strong opinion or knowledge about their choices, they simply mimicked others, regardless of whether the mimicked choices were right or wrong or even made any sense.

We’re programmed to be followers. We’re conditioned to follow the herd and popular opinion. We’re conditioned to be repulsed by and denigrate anything and anyone that’s different or rebels against the “norm.” Our Cognitive Dissonance keeps our minds in line with the accepted mindset of the masses.

As Pink Floyd would say, school conditions children to become “another brick in the wall”.

But the reality is that in most parts of the world school isn’t a place where critical thinking is stimulated — on the contrary, it is suppressed or simply ignored. Naturally, it atrophies and becomes weak, exactly like a muscle does when pressure isn’t exerted upon it.Another reason is that they find it threatening to their worldview.
Utilizing propaganda tactics through the mainstream media, turning us into mindless puppets.
Our social conditioning has turned us into mindless, obedient puppets.

Our self-concept is shaped by a lifetime of conditioning and cultural indoctrination. Everything we look at, think, feel and accept in life are shaped by a lifetime of cultural indoctrination. We don’t even pause to step back and examine our basic assumptions and beliefs in life. We’re not taught to question anything. Why do we believe what we believe? What basis in truth and reality actually support those cultural, indoctrinating beliefs and behaviors?

“You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.” – Morpheus, (movie: The Matrix)

Ramifications of Independent Thinking and Breaking From the Herd:

In order to release yourself from the prison of social conditioning, the first and most crucial thing you need to do is question any beliefs that you unconsciously took on from your parents, teachers, and culture. That’s because beliefs can bring all kinds of limitations in life, such us irrational fear and the sense of having to live according to what’s right for someone else but not for you.

No matter how much you might cherish a belief, ask yourself the following questions:

-“Where did this belief come from?”

-“Is it limiting myself in any way or is it elevating the quality of my life?”

-“Is there any logical reason for holding it?”

– “Did I reach to them using critical thinking, or did I just accept them as truth merely because I was indoctrinated from my early education?”

-“What is the logical basis for holding these beliefs?”

– “Are they serving my happiness or are they contributing to my suffering?”

Discard the confirmation biases, the cognitive dissonance, the groupthink, the partisan bullshit
Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy.

Speak your mind and fear less the label of ‘crackpot’ than the stigma of conformity.” Thomas John Watson

***Whoever deviates from the …. public opinion and stands apart will always have the whole herd against him.” – Friedrich Nietzsche.***

Standing alone in the midst of the herd isn’t an easy task. As an independent thinker, depending on how much you share with others, you may find yourself:

Isolated – the herd will think you different, odd, unpleasant and keep their distance; you’re an outsider

Pressured – the herd and its supporting tools/structure will continue pressure to conform to mass groupthink

Labelled– you may be called names or regarded in certain derogatory terms (negative social label & stigma)

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

You can choose to be argumentative with an intention to change others’ beliefs and life assumptions – being an activist. This is your first reaction as you uncover knowledge and facts not known to others, and you want to shout them from the rooftop.

It took me quite some time to understand that you won’t change others’ minds due to their ingrained herd-mentality biases. They themselves have to truly want to uncover reality and change their beliefs.

Or you could keep your alternative views hidden from your social, work and family groups and not discuss with others at all – only sharing with people of like mind you happen to meet online or in person.

Or you could simply stand proud and confident, and only respond when others inquire, and then in a non-apologetic “teaching” manner. Then, let them react the way they will.

The Gay Science:
Being considered ‘crazy’ by those who are still victims of cultural conditioning is a compliment.” – Jason Hairston

Probing into a glimpse of truth, unfolding the inevitable conatus.

We divulge into the sensations of physical and forget breath🌪️
Most of what we encounter are thoughts so that comes around to projecting a value, so that’s around judging everything.

Cosmos was an esoteric diversion from something for more important from the
transitory pleasures and distractions of the material world
The only evil is ignorance which is clear and consistent.

“**so when you love something you become it, stop melding into it”**

The efforts shouldn’t be identifying a permanent self or independent self or just about anything that you consider you, it’s ever-changing in a perpetual flux and here i am futile of experiencing higher, why not experience a taste in duality?
The insatiable cravings that have enslaved us to transient earthly concerns.
Realizing an abstract form of consciousness, permanently extinguished by craving of ignorance and delusion.
A unshakable state, where the mind is not in the cycles of dying,not letting the external situation control the internal nature of us, if we look at the nature of suffering, it is self-created, pain is inevitable, but suffering is your choice, you can wish to go through any situation with less resistance. Now the next time your boss pisses you off, you can choose to go through it joyfully.

You achieve freedom if you can access a place inside yourself that lives only in the present tense, not trying to go anywhere or to accomplish anything. In this receptive state, love happens. Fulfillment happens. Union happens.

The mind wants you to be at its every beck and call. It becomes very threatened if you surrender into the flow, because it is not used to this discomfort or call it randomness.

Change is permanent in a world of impermanence. Transitions can be painful and filled with turmoil. In these tumultuous times, the old and the new rise in mutiny against each other, clashing like incompatible colours on a palate. While a new life beckons to us in the horizon, the old ways are still ubiquitous. We temporarily swing between where we are and where we know we should be, learning to bear with the cognitive dissonance that is inevitable.

•YOU ARE IN TOTAL CONTROL OF HOW YOU FEEL•

Mysticism is describing like what a flame is when it’s burnt out, a state of pure liberation, freedom from the bondages that you have gathered, anything that you gather is not you, this harnesses you human mind into what i believed to be called as this, no desire is absolute (freedom).

William Blake said, “this life’s five windows of the soul distorts the heavens from pole to pole.” If we only perceive the world through the five senses, we will be misled to believe that change has not happened before we can physically experience it. The truth is, the greatest part of change has occurred before we can see it. The winds of change have swept us up quietly and discreetly.

Though the transition may be tumultuous, we can find an immutable source of strength if we look within ourselves.

“Knowledge is love of what it is to be human ♥”

Dive in underneath the superficial motivations uncovering the deepest stirrings within your soul.

Approach every moment with an attitude of reverence and awe, the sharing of divine nectar.

If you view it’s rationally ordered and to some degree explicable with enough science backing it up that mind creates matter, this process certainly helps you conceive as it is with lessen external impact which was clouding it before, we need to loosen the grip of what we’ve gathered, to really help you elevate from the current state, to harness the power of the mind. It’s works magnet, i am not just believing, I’m being visionary 💭