Beliefs in action: Understanding our worldview and asking ourselves … Is our mind & Heart in a cage?

Lately, I’ve been spending time puttering around my garden. The weather has been incredible, inviting me outside to shake off the last remnants of winter and breathe in the intoxicating scents of the season’s first roses and lilacs in full bloom. Those fragrances alone can make you giddy with delight, lost in serious daydreaming.

For me, a garden is a sacred space—one of peace, alignment, and refuge from a world that often feels unhinged. Here, life thrives abundantly. Bees hum, butterflies flutter, birds weave nests in hidden corners, and as twilight descends, fireflies emerge, turning the garden into a luminous, enchanted realm. In these moments, the world feels whole again.

But what, you might ask, does nature have to do with systemic structures—mental health, the legal system, or judicial authority?

Nature as a Mirror of Society

Nature, to me, is a reflection of the world we construct around us. Our beliefs shape our perception of reality, and through the stories we tell—both individually and collectively—we reveal our underlying worldviews. If we listen carefully, we begin to see the currents beneath the surface: what is valued, what is dismissed, what is protected, and what is forcibly controlled.

Stories are powerful. They shape how we situate ourselves in relation to others and to the world. Yet, society does not encourage deep self-reflection. Instead, most people are conditioned to operate within rigid structures—often without questioning the foundations upon which these systems are built.

Developmental research by Hofer & Pintrich (2002) outlines how human understanding evolves over time, moving from a dualistic, objective view of knowledge toward a more subjective, relativistic stance, and ultimately to a contextual, constructivist way of knowing. Yet, our societal systems—particularly education, legal, and psychiatric institutions—resist this evolution. Instead, they remain anchored in outdated frameworks rooted in 17th-century Enlightenment thinking, privileging linear, objective, and compartmentalized knowledge at the expense of wisdom, nuance, and transformation.

The Systems That Cage the Mind

The structures that govern us—especially education, law, and psychiatry—operate on a "command and control" model. Schools reinforce a dualistic, rote-learning approach where success is measured by memorization rather than critical thought. This linear mode of thinking extends into our legal system, where objectivity is paramount, and into psychiatry, where adherence to established doctrine is required for professional survival.

Professionals in these fields are trained to think within predefined boundaries. To maintain licensure and practice, they must conform to the rules and regulations of their respective governing bodies. This rigid framework grants extraordinary power to these professions—power that, when unchecked, can cause profound harm.

Psychiatry, for example, is built upon a foundation that lacks empirical certainty. The belief in biochemical imbalances as the root of mental illness is largely unsubstantiated, yet it persists, bolstered by alliances with the pharmaceutical industry. The widespread prescription of neuroleptics and antipsychotics is often based on assumption rather than definitive biological markers. There are no medical tests—no bloodwork, no brain scans—to conclusively diagnose psychiatric conditions or determine the necessity or efficacy of these drugs. This troubling reality contradicts the marketing rhetoric that dominates public discourse.

For those who challenge these narratives, the consequences can be severe. As Professor Emeritus Dr. Thomas Szasz (2008) wrote, psychiatry has become “The Science of Lies.” Those who resist the psychiatric system risk profound repercussions, including the loss of personal autonomy. As the Borg in Star Trek ominously warn, “Resistance is futile.”

Stories as Instruments of Power

Laws and institutions gain authority through the power of story. The narratives recorded in medical charts and legal documents dictate reality within these systems. However, these stories are not objective truths—they are crafted, structured, and reinforced by the professions that govern them. Medical records, court filings, and psychiatric evaluations all follow standardized formats, lending them an aura of legitimacy that often goes unchallenged.

This is particularly evident in the civil commitment process. Forms, affidavits, and court documents are often pre-typed templates, with little deviation from case to case. A simple checkmark in a box can strip an individual of their rights, leading to indefinite confinement. Those subjected to civil commitment find themselves in a legal no-man’s-land—possessing fewer rights than those convicted of actual crimes.

Despite popular belief, mental illness diagnoses lack definitive scientific backing. The prevailing notion that psychiatric disorders are well-defined, treatable conditions is largely a construct of industry marketing rather than empirical reality. As Robert Whitaker & Lisa Cosgrove explore in Psychiatry Under the Influence: Institutional Corruption, Social Injury, and Prescriptions for Reform, the psychiatric profession has been profoundly shaped by its financial and ideological entanglements with pharmaceutical companies.

The Reality Behind Locked Doors

In an ideal world, differing perspectives could be discussed, debated, and understood through dialogue. But within psychiatric institutions, there is no room for meaningful discussion. Once labeled, individuals lose the ability to define their own reality.

For those who have never experienced psychiatric hospitalization, it may be difficult to fathom just how dehumanizing these environments can be. Far from places of healing, these institutions function as containment facilities where individual autonomy is stripped away. Behind locked doors and shuttered windows, the very systems designed to “help” often inflict profound psychological and emotional harm.

Breaking Free

The structures that shape our world—legal, psychiatric, educational—are not immutable. But challenging them requires a willingness to step beyond the narratives we have been conditioned to accept. It requires questioning who benefits from these systems and who is harmed by them.

As with a garden, we must cultivate spaces for growth, reflection, and renewal. We must recognize the cages—both seen and unseen—that limit our minds and hearts. And, most importantly, we must dare to imagine a different way of being—one that nurtures wisdom, justice, and true healing.

Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (Eds.). (2002). Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. Routledge.

Szasz, T. (2008). Psychiatry: The Science of Lies. Syracuse University Press.

Whitaker, R. & Cosgrove, L. (2015). Psychiatry Under the Influence: Institutional Corruption, Social Injury, and Prescriptions for Reform. Random House.