Entering The Stream.

I often wonder about the level of Critical Thinking I encounter in life. Most Dojo tend to frown upon this, promoting a 'monkey-see-monkey-do' environment.
I've encountered this sort of thing in 'Positive Thinking' sessions in the Corporate World, where you are encouraged to take a 'double-speak' or 'double-think' attitude to the work environment.
Positive thought is encouraged, but when you start to question the validity of the process you are quickly barred from further discussion with a few emails to your supervisor, you can even be fired for what we would call Critical Thinking or Constructive Criticism.

Of course you are not hired to question the beast, you are hired as a cog in the machine, which makes me wonder about the Karate Dojo, what machine are we supposed to Cog there?
In most instances it is like Indoctrination, however, they do not call it 'Indoctrination' in the Corporate World, they call it 'Positive Psychology,' a perversion of the Teaching of Harmony into acceptance and conformity, total surrender, without question, where the need to understand is taboo.

I wonder, with the popularity of most 'Self-Help' books, if many of our own activities outside the work place are not meant to reinforce this attitude; it is obvious that people capitolize on it, especially when we look at the mainstream Karate Dojo where everyone falls in line and no one questions what is going on, what they are being fed.
To lull someone into a false sense of security, to keep them in a frame of mind that is acceptable, pliable, easily molded by suggestion, easily accepting of whatever illusion is planted.

That is, until the brick wall of Reality meets the face of the automaton, jarring them from their socially induced slumber, enticing them to wake up and face the harsh truth.
The apple from the tree of knowledge begins to make more sense as an allegory (forgive my intrusion into the theological, it just seemed fitting). The confusion sets in as the person becomes an Individual rather than a Persona and they no longer know how to handle their own Individuality in the face of truth - they may panic, or they may seek out those who know how to question.

The 'Teacher' of their former life is no longer adequate, as they have 'entered the stream' and must find someone who can break the chains and let them swim to the other shore.
This means shedding illusions, no longer accepting, no longer conforming, however harsh this may sound - facing facts that the world is what it is, that positive thoughts, however well-meaning, cannot change reality, only action and doing can change reality and help one come to grips with the real world.

You get hit in the face and no amount of positive thinking is going to change the fact that the guy is still coming at you, just the same, you can keep a positive attitude (nothing wrong with this) in the face of Unemployment and Depressing Circumstance, but that still does not change the Circumstance and what MUST be done about it.
Karate is not about conformity, it is not about 'Harmony,' at least not with some illusion that everything is all 'hunky-dory.'

No, it is about facing the storm as it is, about dealing with it, not whining about it, not ignoring it and pretending the skies are sunny, but knowing that sometimes there is rain, and sometimes there is sunshine.
Overcoming the fact that what you 'think' you have learned is not how things actually are, that comes with time and lots of Applied Critical Thinking, not cow-towing to the status-quo, but breaking the mold.
Question everything, leave no stone unturned, leave no useless teaching unburned.