The falcon represents your thoughts. They can become as razor sharp as the bird of prey’s beak and talons. They can see as clearly and far as the bird’s sharp eyes. When trained, your thoughts can quickly search and find questions, answers, solutions and brilliant insights, then carry them safely back to the nest.

If left unused, the bird weakens inside its narrow cage. Eyesight grows dim in the confined, empty space of your skull. Its ability to hunt or even fly is damaged. The will to live weakens. When loosed on the world and sent soaring into the sky, the falcon naturally finds life exciting and exhilarating.

The silver line represents the falcon’s flight path, the lines it traces repeatedly through the sky, each time etching them firmer and stronger against the pennant. Lean forward. Look more closely. Every experience, each new idea and perception forms tiny jagged or smooth patterns in the silver line. Sometimes words can be found spelled out in its intricate weaving. These words reveal what you think of the world and your place in it. What you expect from yourself and others. You’ve heard it referred to as your paradigm and identity.

When you learn wrong lessons, the silver line is sent spinning out and away from the center of the banner. If not corrected, the line grows curved and uneven. Out of balance and awkward. In this case, "wrong" only means "less effective" than another lesson, understanding, or conclusion that could have been drawn.

One of the most common "wrong" lessons learned is "I can’t succeed" after one failure. That’s wrong! Of course you can succeed! The only question is, are you willing to put in the time and effort that success requires?

Ironically, if you "learn" that you can’t succeed, you’re also right. As long as you cling tightly to that belief, it will stop you from succeeding many times when you could easily have succeeded had you learned the "right" lesson in the first place.

It’s easy to learn the wrong lessons when life hands you too much to handle. When you take the quick and easy way out. When you don’t take the time to sort your thoughts out adequately and choose your path wisely.

No one has sufficient wisdom to learn the right lesson every time, so everyone has a few "incorrect" twists woven through the banner. Our parents, friends, neighbors and teachers also pass along a sizable helping of wrong or inefficient lessons. Wrong lessons are not all your fault.

Fortunately, wrong lessons can be unlearned. Or rather, relearned. It happens all the time. Think of when your brother stopped beating you up or kicking you under the table. Think of when you started getting to class or work on time instead of always ten minutes late. Think of the person who overcomes codependency or the cycle of abuse. These are all examples of how the Mental Standard can be employed to relearn life’s lessons in healthier ways.

When the mind goes underutilized, it grows dim. Dark. The banner’s black fades to a grimy charcoal and the white dims and grays like ancient laundry. It then casts a dingy shadow over the entire world as if you were wearing dark glasses, as if you were looking through a dirt-smeared window. The world grows dull. Everything blurs together.

When the standard is bright, clean and sharp, it glows, reflecting every surrounding object clearly, casting rays of light in every direction, increasing contrast and improving visibility everywhere. Shapes and patterns stand out on the fabric and all around in bold relief. You can see things more clearly, including the path before you. The Mental Standard becomes a sort of lighthouse shining through the fog. You suddenly find life filled with variety and fascinating opportunities in every direction.

The main way to keep your Mental Standard bright is to use it. Study something. Anything. Learn. Read. Discuss ideas with others. Think. Grow. Get your mind moving. Motion oils your mental gears and cogs.

Once you set your mind in motion, it’s hard to make it stop. It runs on its own power and momentum. It’s like setting the falcon free—it flaps its wings hard and rises until it’s no more than a tiny speck darting across the sky, climbing effortlessly on invisible thermal updrafts.

Along its flight path, it can then effortlessly fall through the atmosphere, always hunting for whatever you send it after—such as ways to better enjoy your life and achieve your goals. New goals and dreams to keep you growing and happy and balanced. Solutions to your questions and problems.

How to use your mind

And another thing: be flexible in your thinking. As you use your mind, it will frequently present you with new ideas and sometimes new ways of thinking. If you ignore them, they’ll come along less frequently. Get in the habit of considering new ideas as they arrive before discarding them. It’s very likely that your mind is one step ahead of you, presenting you with updates. Don’t stay stuck in old, limiting ways of thinking when improvements become available.

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