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Galen and @
anndelise, An example of what I would block out is someone describing their sadistic brand of sex, involving, i.e., battering, or any other thing we can mostly all agree is pretty sickening. As well as things I have reason to disagree with others don't. Some things like what gets a pedophile off I don't want to know! I don't want to understand it. Its enough for me to know its wrong.
I want my mind to dwell on things that are good and right and true and beautiful. I only want to open my mind to what is bad and ugly and untrue and harmful if it will help me help someone, including understand them, if that's what they need. Then I only want to know enough to serve that purpose and no more. If I can see no purpose, then
I don't want to know about it.
SLI's daughter, for instance, telling us, "Look at that blood on the wall (of her bedroom, which SLI and I are cleaning, sanding, painting while she chats). You know, there is a really kinky story behind that. When [Scumbag Boyfriend] was living here..." Yes, she is trying is trying to shock and provoke, not out of any malice but for the fun of it, but I don't need that, and SLI feels the same, and both SLI and I cut her off at the same time,
"I don't want to know about it!" Yeah, what for? What is the good in it? We were both of one mind on that. And probably she knew what her Dads reaction would be, and not knowing mine, was just curious to see what it would be. Now she knows. Same as her Dad.
So we all have different filters. I am too aware some habitually and instantly filter out anything to do with Christian morality so unless I have a compelling reason I don't get on that topic, too aware of the strength of the filters some people have. They will put up their filter wall just as fast as SLI and I put up our "I don't want to hear about it!" above. Their filter might be called "God doesn't care what I do in that situation/that place" or "Who is God there is no God" or the age-old "What is truth?". Jesus said that some have eyes that can't see and ears that can't hear, and He wasn't talking of literal blind and deafness but of spiritual blindness and deafness..
When my married friend was having an affair while still married, I filtered out of my mind what she was actually doing with the guy and tried to see and understand her instead. What drove her to this, what I believe I would never do, but had I walked in her shoes maybe I would have. In order to see
her I filtered out the actuality of what she was doing, the immoral part, from my mind.
I tend to do that when people are doing things, living in a way I think is morally wrong. I focus on what I see that is right about it, for example, the love they have for the person. I also realize its morally wrong for myself only because God has given me the grace to see its wrong, or He has given me the grace to not be in their circumstance and face that particular temptation, therefore,I cannot judge another's wrongs, not having the whole story, the one that only God can see, and I can only look at my own wrongs and that only with the help of God.. So I filter from my mind thought of their particular sin and try to just see that person, as God would see them: Beloved of God. God says try to see what is good and right and beautiful. If they are doing something wrong or not beautiful, I filter it from my mind, so I can instead see what God wants me to see: the person, made in His image. If I look at that person the way God wants me to see that person, it is like I can see God.
Another example is suppose someone of a different temperament, a person of passionate temperament, when they get good and mad it comes out like an explosion including some things like name calling and such things said I would never say even when good and mad, being of a different temperament. So I filter out that little explosion experience, even if it was aimed right at me. I tell myself, that person must feel justified saying unspeakable things, because they could not contain their passion [passionate anger, in this case]. If I were to focus on the trespass aspect of it, I could get caught up in negative thinking about them, looking at them in a way God would not look at them. Therefore is not right. So that is another example of how I filter.
So I do not see filtering as limiting, but freeing. We are all different and filter in different ways for differing reasons. Having to do with temperament and also whatever path God has us on at the time (or sidetrack we are on for whatever reason). We are all so different. Look at Anndelise's forgiveness thread. We all forgive in different ways with differing emphasis', according to our unique selves. Its interesting.
Oh and we were talking about two forum members recently and I changed their names when I responded to it because not only to protect their privacy but also to try to filter out in my own mind their errors, because I want to see people for who they are, not their misspoken words and/or mistaken actions.
So this sort of filtering makes me freer to know, to appreciate and to love people for who they are which I believe is Gods will and our highest purpose in life.
When I am closing my mind to some things so that I can open it to higher things, I am opening my mind up as far as I can, not closing it.
IMO, filtering is a way of having a direction in life. Its like a ship with only a sail and no rudder would not be truly free.