“The mind can a bit like a gathering of all ages in council. Of course, this is a little different each time, and for each group or gender, but a similar paradigm often obtains. If loud voices emerge early, they are well-known for such behavior. Young, brash, pretenders. Or old crones who have some fearful, angry or hateful message to insist everyone bow to. Such members are actually frightened nearly to death, and their incessant criticisms and ridiculously narrow evaluations become. over time, like familiar robes of office to them.

Even the young adult folk can see through this ruse immediately. The other youths are sometimes impressed, but as the display proceeds, the stoicism of the elders begins to weigh upon the hyperbolies of the young performers. They start to realize that they are overdoing it. They begin to settle down. Having spent their frustration and nervousness in their initial display, the unique features of their youthful (or elderly) wisdom can arise and be brought into power within the context of the group, which was usually what they were afraid would not happen.

Now matters of import may survive introduction, introspection, and with skill, luck, and grace, resolution.

And our own minds can be really like this. Unfortunately, we too often -follow the frightened youths into ridiculous reaction- and thus are not present for the benefits of council and wise seeing we assembled in hope of. In fact, with this sort of mind, which most of us have, we will magnify nearly every trouble that besets us… habitually, and, as you can see, needlessly.

Wait for the youths to settle down. Let them have their display if needed. If the crones must croak their doom, even this we can tolerate for a time. When appropriate, let order be established first in silence. Once quiet has settled, the elders will elicit the sacred intelligence of the entire assembly.

And how shallow the hubris of the pretenders will then be seen to have been. But even this hubris of the youths and the mean condemnations or dire predictions of the ancients must and should be celebrated, for it fertilizes the still silence and the wisdom that will so naturally therefrom proceed once properly invited.”

— an anonymous informant