What constitutes an "Open Mind" ?

[m1469]

I guess I think it is important to have an open mind (to an extent).  But, I got to thinking about what that really means after visiting with family over the holidays.  Can you really just think about somebody else's opinion ? 

Or does truly taking it in and thinking about it, somehow change your own self, or clarify something... or cause something to "happen" ?

How can a person truly think about something without it doing something to them ?

I don't know.

But, I think that to truly have an open mind means to truly think something over, try it on, let it re-organize some things in your own mental wardrobe, and then settle somewhere and somehow.  If that doesn't happen in some way, one's mind has not truly been open.  It has something more to do with action then. 

That's what I think anyway.


m1469 

[zheer]

Keeping your mind open to other possibility's which are contrary to your own established beliefs. Something which accademics dont have, since they have never truly questioned anything, only learnt what others have discoverd through questioning and keeping a open mind.

[mosis]

What doesn't constitute an open mind is feeling obligated to like everything. I'm so sick and tired of people telling me I don't have an open mind because I don't like a certain genre of music or I don't agree with a certain idea. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I haven't considered it; I have considered it, with an open-minded, and come to the conclusion that it sucks. One can be open-minded and still have a strong opinion.

[jbmajor]

Being able to acknowledge foreign opinions/ideas before opening your mouth about them.  An open mind is the polar opposite of ignorance. 

[Siberian Husky]

a TRUE open mind..is an absolute impossibility..it requires one to not just DROP..but FORGET and erase any preconcieved notion about anything..this requires a theory of mind resembling that of an infant...this is why open mindedness is such a virtue..achieving great strides in being open minded takes a very intricate sense of character..and really...i believe first step to achieving an open mind...is being 100% comfortable with yourself...once you have the possibility of feeling threatened at bay..anything is possible..