258 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
deficit financing and then cheering as my benefits are slashed, knowing
that these hard choices will set the country‟s fiscal house in order. In each
case, I am willing to live alongside an emotional vision which is better than
my present physical reality.
Notice also that we have described the problem of the teenager in more
detail. The teen who rebels usually does so with the help of his physical
body. He leaves home; he „hangs out‟ with his buddies; he avoids his
parents; he wears strange clothes and hairstyles; he acts bizarre; he tries out
sex and drugs. By running ahead of his mind with his physical body, I
suggest that he condemns himself, like the peasant revolutionary, to the
option of suffering. His road really is a dead-end solution. In contrast, the
teenager who „grows up‟ usually keeps his physical body at home, in a
secure environment in contact with his parents and other figures of the
establishment. His mind travels first, and then his body follows. He thinks
things through, and then he acts. For him, I suggest that the path of
patience is open.
We have looked at two ways of redefining me. Our solution may sound
complete, but I suggest that two major factors are still missing. First, there
is the problem of „propulsion.‟ We have described how identity makes the
shift from old to new me—a type of personal leap into the unknown. In
order to make this transition, I suggest that me must be taught how to fly.
In other words, Mercy identity requires access to some sort of mental
strategy which can lift it off the ground and propel it across the chasm of
uncertainty. Believe it or not, this method does exist, and it has nothing to
do with magic. Rather I suggest that mental „wings‟ are provided by
Teacher thought and Teacher understanding. So, we will now move our
attention from the right hemisphere of associative thinking, and turn to the
left hemisphere of analytical thought, starting with Teacher strategy.A
A The mixed metaphor is deliberate. We need some way to propel me from
here to there. From the viewpoint of Mercy and Perceiver strategies,
personal transformation is more like walking or teleporting. For Teacher
thought, in contrast, it is like flying. When Teacher „flight‟ is combined
with Mercy plodding, then personal identity gains the ability to cross
mighty chasms.