Reviewing a number of blogs, articles, etc., I noticed that there are a number of people in the security field who move from being skeptical, and at times cross over into being just plain cynical. I have also seen a post on slashdot where someone asked, “Are IT Security professionals less happy as there job teaches them to focus on the negative side of life?”. See http://ask.slashdot.org/askslashdot/08/08/24/1731228.shtml

This post is about addressing these issues, but could be expanded so as to be used for many more life situations, instead of IT Security. But of course, that choice is up to you…

In order to understand where the people above have gone off track, we need to have a clear(er) understanding of what a person is made up of (i.e., mind and body). I am of the understanding that the ancient and modern arts, sciences, religions, etc address enough about the mind body system to help people. The only constant is some people get it, the above ones have not, and this is not a rarity. Not surprising considering the pluralistic society in which we live in.

It’s not necessarily anybody’s fault – I don’t think we should see it in the light of right and wrong here – but just accept that we as humans are accountable for our own actions and deciding between being positive skepticism or negative cynicism is a choice, much like choosing to walk in the sun or walk in the shade. Other articles may discuss art, science experiments, religious beliefs, etc., but this article is about going straight to the source of the problem. You.

If you do not believe you are accountable for your own actions, or where you are in your life today, then you’re living in a delusional world. This post will mean nothing to you so you should probably just not bother reading beyond this point. If you agree you are accountable for your own actions, if you want to be alert and positive because you are aware the householder does not know at what hour the burglar will come then you should read on.

You may think that if it’s as easy as choosing to be positive instead of negative then I’ll just choose to be positive. People can say this and some just do it, but others end up going back to their old ways. Others who have been negative for a long period would most likely find it difficult to change their ways immediately and could employ a defense mechanism and say things like, it’s got nothing to do with me, or that just stupid, I know what I am doing, case closed. 

Now is the point where I have to call out that the following is going to get a little deep. The difference, I hope is that I do not want to be esoteric, so no haiku or parable. This is what I perceive to be simple logical steps that got me to this point. I am not pushing any “new age” idea, religion, because as I have said previously, the answers have already been provided in different formats. I just want to make it plain to you and put it in simple terms what I believe is known by many names such as “mind-body coordination”, “mind-body alignment”, etc., but are most likely all the same thing. When you read the below you could categorise parts as buddhist meditation, zen, taoism or say no that’s ki, chi or qi fundamentals. Preferably if you are going to make any judgement then call it psychology.  

At this junction, I think it is best if I just get to the point and give you the answer (as best as I understand it to be). As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words…

From the diagram, in short, mind moves the body. The mind (conscious/subconscious) directs intention, that guides your action, this leads to a bodily response that is interpreted by bodily senses, which the mind (conscious/subconscious) mind is aware of. 

As an easy example, let’s grab the coffee cup on the table. The mind says “grab the cup on the table”, the intention is generated by mind force guiding the arm to “grab the cup on the table”. Note that this is all non-physical or spiritual to this point. The arm reaches out and grabs the cup. The eyes see the cup has been grabbed and the fingers feel the cup in the hand and they relay this to the nervous system. Note that this section is physical to this point. Awareness of what just occurred is back in the non-physical realm.

If only life were so easy? I guess to name a few problems that occur in our daily lives just to illustrate why life can be complicated is in order. See how many you do…

1.  Instead of the mind generating an intention, the mind generates images known as your imagination. Freud would have called this Cathartic Energy. It occurs when your id or instinctual mind drives the idea like punching someone who has just made you angry, but your morals tell you otherwise. The energy has already been generated so must pass somewhere. As the super ego has blocked the intent, you instead imagine giving the guy one of your best beatings (using a Freudian world view).
2. The mind generates an intention but it is not a clear intention. As such, the body is guided down a different path than what was initially intended. Have you ever said to someone you love, “look, I know what I did, but that wasn’t my intention?”.
3. The mind generates a clear intention but you have bodily problems/limitations where you cannot physically achieve the desired response. Most people who dabble in sports would understand and relate to this one. That is, cannot drive like Tiger Woods or dunk like Michael Jordan.
4. The mind generates a clear intention but there is nerve damage and the response is misinterpreted and/or not interpreted at all by the body.

You may have noticed that each of the above points is a breakdown in the arrows within the diagram. From this point forward I will be focusing on point 2. If you can achieve point 2 then point 1 will eventually dissipate to occurring only rarely. Points 3 and 4 are physical issues that require either more training, acceptance of your genetic makeup or specialised medical assistance which I cannot help you with.

If you have made it this far, thank you. You are about to get to the interesting part so let’s begin with a question. If your mind has a desired intention, but after executing the action your awareness tells you something different from the original intention then which one is telling you the truth? Your Mind or your Awareness? Don’t cheat! Think about it…

For those who said Awareness, give yourselves a pat on the back. Not too much of a slap as you are only half right. The other half of the story is although awareness is more truthful than the mind, it is only a relative truth. To find the absolute truth is beyond the realm of this post as I am keeping the post only in the epistemological realm. 

For those who said Mind, I am sorry to say that your ego is lying to you. It wasn’t the bodies fault as it is guided by your intention. It wasn’t your intentions fault as it is generated by the mind. That’s right, that shadow lurking in the corner is your ego and she is a tricky little minx.

So what’s this got to do with “mind-body coordination” I hear you ask? Well, if you can align your mind, intention, body in order to achieve the desired action (as interpreted by your awareness), then you have achieved mind-body coordination/alignment. I do prefer this type of terminology as no-mind appears to me as a misnomer and/or misleading – It would be better to say ‘little idea’ with everything else empty (i.e., non cluttered mind).

So how would someone apply this in their daily life so as to remain positive (healthy skepticism) instead of negative (self centered cynicism)? My advice is to keep it simple. Ask yourself regularly, how am I feeling right now at this point in time. If you feel good and relaxed you’re on the right track. If not, it’s your mind that’s off track, so try again. Remember to keep saying to yourself there is always a better way. And when making decisions, don’t use your head, remember to ask yourself what does your gut tell you. Make sure to act on it and stop day dreaming. 

If you would like to take this further or improve honing your skill set, my suggestion is that you get yourself involved in something you enjoy doing and practice the above. I personally use the above in my martial arts training as I am involved in an intentional martial arts (i.e., internal/soft). I have found that on this path of discovery (which is still going), these things I learn in class spill out to my daily life. They make me a better person and hopefully it can do the same for you. Maybe you can discover like me how mind-body coordination just naturally results in selfless altruistic behaviour. Of course, as I am at a junior level, my ego trips me up every now and then more than I would like, but at least now I have the right tools to get back on the right path.  

Now, referring back to the SlashDot article listed above. Here is where the author is off track…

“(His job) constantly teaches him to focus on the negative side of life” – No, being negative or positive is a choice. By placing the fact you have chosen to be negative on your job (even if 99.9% of the population may do it) is a cop out. It is the mind projecting its negative intent onto an object. The object in this case being your job.

“As an auditor I search for errors that others have made and haughtily tell them” – Being haughty is a form of pride. Need I remind anyone of the seven deadly sins. Again, if you are choosing to be selfish instead of selfless, this is, at its basic layer choosing to be negative instead of positive.

“As a penetration tester I break systems that system engineers and administrators have laboriously built” – If the system admin was that laborious then I guess you wouldn’t really have broken in without some social engineering tactics. If you did, why would you be negative about this? You possibly found a new 0-day and could earn some extra money or help vendors code better systems by reporting it.

“I assume inside threats and have to be professionally suspicious.” – Really? Where is it written that we have to be professionally suspicious? If it’s on a security card somewhere, cool, where can I order one? I would say that it would be better to be cautious rather than distrustful. Wouldn’t you agree that as a security professional it is better to be on your guard?

“The security mindset surely helps me in my job” – Agree, me too.

“but is it good for me on the long run?” – In a 100 years when you are dead and buried what is it going to matter? Stop being so precious about yourself.

“What kind of influence has being an IT security professional had on your general attitude towards life?” – Me personally, I am stronger for it. You, I am not so sure about.

“What helps you stay out of pessimism and cynicism?” – Making the conscious choice of choosing to think and do positive things. Stop blaming everything else around you and begin by asking yourself what you maybe doing wrong.

“Is protecting existing things really as good as building new ones?” - All depends on what you are protecting and also what you are building.

“I always have to think about risks and identify all sorts of things that could go wrong.”  - That’s your job. There is no reason to be negative about it as it’s actually a pretty cool thing to get paid for.

I apologise in advance to the author of the Slashdot article if he takes offense to what I have written. But honestly, the truth hurts (when you are in the wrong), but you were the one who asked for a response. My advice is that if you are suffering in your current situation then you are thinking the wrong way. Changing your employer or your vocation won’t help you as this will not solve the core of the problem. You asked for help and if you understand what I am talking about in this post then the smartest thing you can do is laugh it off.

Note: Any “positive” comments on the above would be much appreciated as there could possibly be more arrows or more boxes in the above diagram, something that is incorrect, or requires further clarification…

Note: In the second paragraph, the person could be made up of more than mind-body, such as heart, soul, spirit, etc., but that is outside the scope of the above topic. Please keep all comments within the epistemological realm.