We ought to look to our own preferences with a good dose of suspicion. For they are habits which serve to limit our range of experience. While it is not to suggest the absurdity of attempting to live without them, for that is impossible, the idea is that it would be to our benefit to be more impartial about ourselves and the choices we make. Living according to our tastes diminishes our power of attention, for the comfort zone of familiarity is the condition it sets to protect. If a man were to look upon his life and the possibilities available to him not only throughout an entire lifespan but even in this immediate moment, there are fruits which would do him good which he will never indulge in for the simple sake that his preferences steer him away.

It may sound radical to look upon yourself impartially and to follow a less predictable way of life, but this is a notion which has been implanted and ingrained in us from something quite foreign. It is hardly a fundamental element of who and what we are. It is a cultural preference of our contemporary world which trickles down into the individual cells of humanity. We are made to believe in a story of who we are and listen to our inner dialogue and chatter to such a degree that we fail to see the larger picture in clear blue detail. How can a man know what is to his profit and benefit when he is caged within stone walls of dead preference? He sees not what is there but only what is tinted in such a way as to produce that illusion.

If a yes be ignored and made into a no, and a no be ignored and turned into a yes, a man may start to touch upon new territory not only in the outer world but also within himself. There are inner qualities which match up to outer conditions and we can only discover uncharted territory by exploring both directions in tandem. We mistakenly believe that the rules we have established for ourselves are to our benefit, and our mind and heart become conditioned in such a way as to create a self-propagating prison. We prove and justify to ourselves this is that and that is this, fostering and fortifying a psychological barrier to which new ideas are often blocked.

What would be the harm in playing with your choices in a more random or chaotic way, to simply discover if our moods and experiences lead us to aspects of the world and ourselves which compel us to adjust and reorient our preferences? It is all quite arbitrary and many things can be changed, shifting a man from one frame of perception to another. And the result could be that the dust of the present is blown into the past and the future settles into an equally mechanical reality. For a man can never stop as time blows him in the direction of succession, progression and realization. Perception is best served like shuffled cards or as a puzzle put together in one way in one moment, and thrown into utter disorder so as to form a new pattern altogether.