: of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering)
: lack of agreement - the dissonance between the truth and what people want to believe; especially : inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's actions and one's beliefs
:psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously
As defined above, cognitive dissonance is the act of holding multiple beliefs or viewpoints which are conflicting with each other, resulting in an internal psychological battle. According to Wikipedia "In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. The occurrence of cognitive dissonance is a consequence of a person performing an action that contradicts personal beliefs, ideals, and values; and also occurs when confronted with new information that contradicts said beliefs, ideals, and values."
This emotional brain-state may not be a bad thing, in and of itself. As with any other emotional state, temporary cognitive dissonance provides an emotional "red flag" that some of the information you are entertaining, or some of the actions you are performing, may not be congruent with truth and reality.
: refusal to admit the truth or reality of something
Active denial, in relation to a state of cognitive dissonance, results in perpetually believing that both sides of a contradictory coin can somehow be true. The conflicting thinking patterns and incessant lying to ourselves ultimately results in an imbalanced mental and emotional state and can contribute heavily to self-loathing and a chaotic state of existence.
Let's take a look at some of the ideas and values many in our society have accepted as true yet are conflicting with each other. Please take the time to look at these points from an analytical perspective and use logic to determine if the ideas are dissonant or concurrent with one another.
... Need I go on? The list of conflicting ideologies held simultaneously by the vast majority society is endless. The level of denial necessary to maintain this structure of dissonance within our psyche is consuming, to the point where a person confronted with any idea they are not comfortable with will immediately lie to themselves and others, while choosing to remain willfully ignorant (ignoring information they come across which could dis-prove their current belief system).
a : agreement or union in action : cooperation
b : agreement in opinion or design
Image: vitamin-ha.com
To a person whose beliefs are aligned with Truth, Freedom and Natural Law, cognitive dissonance is the result of your conscience kicking in to notify you that something is not in line. Reacting to a state of cognitive dissonance by critically analyzing the ideas or behaviors related, and taking action accordingly, will result in a state of COGNITIVE CONCURRENCE, or conscious alignment (I believe I have been the first to coin this term). In a state of cognitive concurrence your thoughts, emotions and actions are in-line with each-other as well as with truth and morality. The fact is, waking up to all the bullshit can only improve your standard of living and personal security. If we can push past the fear we are fast in realizing that knowledge is power and the Truth will set you free!
@jayanarchon for many more freedom, health and cannabis related posts.