Be Aware Of ‘Novel’

‘Novel’ means interesting, new or unusual – a novelty. When we become attracted to novelty, our focus is heightened instantaneously. It’s the fastest entry point into the human mind, and it’s why we’re addicted to ‘news’.

There are codes of obedience through acceptance – there have been lots of social psychology experiments such those by Solomon Asch – which demonstrate the way we just follow a societal script. It’s those who are easily swayed who become the enthusiasts driving the groupthink.

This behavioural blind spot can be hijacked by magicians, hypnotists, influencers, the media politicians, celebrities, gurus … they all know that we look for novelties to pique our interest and feed our curiosity.

‘Pique’ is a French word, meaning to prick, sting, or pierce, so if something piques our interest, it gets our attention in a way we just can’t ignore.

As a society, we have new agendas, new theories, new forms of entertainment foisted on us constantly, policed by enthusiasts. Meditation retreats are no different; although they are good for discipline, they can make us needy: ‘In this retreat, the guru may tell us about something new, like … Togyal!’

We are all impatient for the new,
when it’s same-old repackaged.

There is nothing new under the sun; we just rediscover what is already there.

The new is knowing what we are – just pure consciousness.
Then everything changes.