Originally posted by O-Nieronaut
Hm, Thanks Leo! That makes a lot of sense. I seem to disagree with some part of what you said, but it's probably just my predisposition to contradict you by default; I'm trying to work on that.
You know, I don't even take it personally anymore... that is, people's sense that they need to instantly defend themselves. 'Denial' is only natural. The Mind needs this mechanism of innertia in order to give it some steadiness of direction. People tell me 'NO', and then I understand that if they heard me at all, then they will slowly and surely think it through.

I myself am an old man. I have a good memory. I've had many an intellectual argument in which I maintained my point of view, and in many cases I sustained my own case without surrender. But my memory was good. Weeks, months, or even years later I would find myself slowly siding over to the positions I had once argued against.

I heard a Guru once who compared the phenomena to the Mind being a Caterpillar and not a Butterfly. The mind can not fly and light from one leaf to another all in an instant. The mind is like a caterpillar who is at first all on one leaf, but then who begins crawling upon another, first a few legs while most of his legs are still on the old leaf, but gradually he comes over to the new leaf entirely.

A modern Guru compares it by saying that the Mind turns like a Battleship, not like a speed boat.