The Open-Minded versus the Intellectually Close-Minded

I’ve noticed that a lot of people claim to be open-minded, but what IS “being open-minded?” I don’t know all of the technical definitions, but the street definition seems to be anyone that can think above those that they are around. Now…is that a true open-mind or is that simply a logical or rational mind?
There is nothing wrong with being logical or critical within your thinking. Those are some absolute, necessary steps towards becoming open-minded but they do not DEFINE an open mind.
Some people that I’ve encountered have claimed to be OM’ed, but I’ve noticed that it only goes to a certain extent. It’s as if they surround themselves with people that they think could never “out-think” them. They will banter back and forth with those that they believe are ignorant. They will implant new ideas into the minds of those that may have never thought about things in a certain way, BUT as soon as they meet a fellow OM’ed person, then they will shut down or just disagree with everything that is being said because it goes beyond their perceived intellect of themselves or the person that they are speaking to. Nothing around them ever seems to “make sense” because it doesn’t fit into the mold of their mind.
That…is…not…being…open-minded!
That is a close-minded intellectual.

Close-minded people, regardless of how smart they are, will always fight what they don’t know, don’t understand, or don’t want to know. They will never see your side nor place themselves into your shoes nor feel your pain. They will never even entertain the thought of hearing you out. Most won’t ever agree nor disagree with you unless it’s in whispers and some are so loud that they block you out completely.
Open-minded people are fickle. They never seem to stand with just one thought process, because they are always having to edit their processes. They understand that as right as something may feel or sound or be, it may still not be right. They are willing to contradict themselves within the experimental process, because they understand that truth is buried beneath perceptions, expectations, manipulations, and deceptions.
Close-minded intellectuals actually tend to feel more superior than open-minded people simply because they are smart. Smarts comes from excelling at an already made system. Geniuses come from creating a system (whether right or wrong). OM’ed people come from trial and error of all the above with integrations of experience, research, instinct, wisdom, and genetics.
Open-minded people won’t always agree with you, but they will research what you feel…and they will even change their minds.
Close-minded people will make a stand against something for personal reasons, research all the reasons why they shouldn’t support it, and subconsciously place themselves within a maze of thought boxes.
Open-minded people will talk to you with passion about something today as a pro and realize it was wrong and will speak with as much passion against the same thing because there are no limitations to truth and being open-minded involves separating your ego from the topic at hand.
For example, a close-minded intellectual could explain to you the formulas and the concept of gravity to be true. A person with an open-mind could possibly explain to you those same formulas and concepts, yet question the validity of it and realize that they personally can’t test gravity. Yes, we know what is called gravity (the force that pulls you back to earth via it’s pushes and pulls with the moon), but couldn’t it also be only a factor of density and/or magnetism (two variables that you can ACTUALLY experiment with). How could an open-minded person embrace the concept of gravity without thinking of the other forces at work and at least question it? Oh…I know how…SMARTS.
Smarts…aka…institutionalized smarts…will have you believing that Columbus discovered America…and it did. Institutionalized smarts will have you questioning if Pluto is still a plane(t) or not…and it is. Institutionalized smarts will teach you how to get in debt and then manage it…and it does.
Open-minded people realize that no one experiment, no one text, no ONE anything will give you ALL that you need to know all at once (not even the Creator places more on you than you can bear). I mean, time is forever changing, the Earth is forever changing, therefore WE are ever-changing and to stand still within a thought process that probably wasn’t even original, but rather taught or implied, wouldn’t that be going against the natural order of things?
One thing that is for certain…to take another’s opinion/perspective and forcefully implant it within your own mind as a reality is a trademark of a close-minded intellectual.
Everything that I just wrote is still only a personal account or experience. It’s the truth for me and may not be for you. But will you flat-out disagree or will you find YOUR truth?
I just want us all to open our minds to the infinite possibilities of the world that we live in.

To be open-minded is to be fluid within your thinking. We aren’t bound by another person’s rationale, but rather we learn truth through our own experiments and experiences.