That level of humanity which is receptive only to the physical plane and the impress of their five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) are limited to the realm of linear thought. Linear thought is limited to the physical dense realm; proceeds from a set of fixed opinions or assumptions, and reaches conclusions based strictly on those base assumptions.
Linear thought does not deviate from this conditioning, but proceeds directly from it to a conclusion that is nearly identical to the original formulation of the statement. Most of the paradigms of this world, including the ones upon which business, religion, and government are based, proceed from this limited sphere of information processing. Because so much of linear thought is based on fixed opinion or assumption, linear-based statements, fiats, and policies tend to be populated with "shoulds", "oughts", and "musts". A few examples of statements proceeding from linear thought are given below:
"I'll always be overweight because everyone else in my family is." (Based on the assumptions that A) there are no differences in individual genes B) the person is powerless to change their condition because of "fate" C) because XXXXX person told me so, it must be true.)
"People who believe in or do XXXXXXX are going to Hell." (Based on the assumptions that A) there is such a place as Hell to begin with B) that mere belief in or action upon XXXXXXX is cause to be damned eternally to said alleged location, regardless of other conflicting actions or beliefs."
"All women are manipulative and are out to trap men at every turn." (Based on the assumptions that A) women are this way because my dad/brother/uncle/whoever told me so B) because a girl in high school treated me this way, all girls/women will treat me the same way C) my mother took my dad to the "cleaners" during their divorce, etc.)
As you can see, linear thought is extremely limiting; yet, so many of the tenets of our society are based upon it. Our credit system, for example, biases against people who could and would pay back their debts because they have no prior credit history, based on a scant population of people who will never pay back debts. Thus, an assumption is made that "all people will cheat you unless proven otherwise," and linear thought proceeds to a conclusion that refuses to allow the "good" person a chance to prove themselves otherwise! Those credit companies who do decide to take a risk on those with unproven credit often levy enormous interest rates and penalties against such people, making it much more difficult for them to meet their obligations, based again on the above limiting linear assumption and conclusion.
To truly free yourself from the trap of linear thought, start becoming aware of it.
When someone makes a statement, especially one that seems over-generalizable or proceeding from a series of "shoulds" or "oughts", question it! Ask "why?" or "what's really being said here?" When you find yourself making such blanket statments or drawing such conclusions, think deeply upon what that conclusion is based upon and examine those base assumptions and opinions. Are they truly yours? Are they founded in outer reality, or on inner fear? Do they echo the opinions of your mother/father/ grandparents/ siblings/ teacher/ minister/ whoever? Are there alternative situations which may disprove that statement or conclusion? (For example, the linear conclusion "All women are manipulative" can be dispersed by calling to mind any personal female friends or relatives who have never manipulated you or violated your trust).
The challenges is to "not think like humans"; in short, not to engage in linear thought. Left to its own devices, linear thought propagates itself, building further erroneous conclusions based on prior erroneous conclusions and assumptions. Taking careful assessment of one's thought process and upon what it is based is a large step to freeing oneself from the "wheel of linear thought."
