The Mammal Brain is believed to be the seat of our value judgment, and thus has a great influence on behavior: it decides whether the higher brain has a “good” idea or not, based on whether it “feels” true and right or not, in other words, it subordinates logic to feelings. Since the Mammal Brain still tends to be dogmatic and paranoid and because of its tendency to hedonistic, pleasure seeking and pain avoiding behavior, its judgment of what is “good or bad” is mostly based on rationalizing desires instead of “thinking”.
For example, to use my earlier “broccoli vs, cookie” example, a young child, who has not yet have the ability (or limitation) of the complex rationalization of an adult, “thinks” and behaves mainly from the mammal brain’s point of view: I am hungry. I like the taste of cookies. I do not like the taste of broccoli. I want cookie.
She does not yet “think” rationally: I am hungry, and I prefer the taste of cookie to broccoli, but I know that cookie has a lot of sugar and sugar is not good for my health. Broccoli has lots of vitamins and good nutrients. I will eat the broccoli.
But, she also does not think this way: I will not eat cookies, because they will make me fat. If I am fat, no one will like me. I need to be skinny in order to fit in. Come to think of it, I will not eat the broccoli either. I am a bad person, for even thinking of eating all that food. I will starve myself to death.
And, she does not think: No one will ever love me, because I am fat. I am a looser, and I am not strong enough to stick to a diet or to exercise. I will always be fat, what is the use? Food is my friend. I will eat the whole box of the cookies, because I want to feel better.
The mammal brain “acts, feels, and behaves” like a stupid cow sometimes, and can’t muster enough thinking or problem solving skills to leave a burning barn, even if the gate is open, unless is directed and practically forced by a sheep dog. The mammal brain however is also the one who compels the loyal dog to run into a burning building, in order to save its master. It might “tell” us that starving ourselves to death is a good idea, in order to fit in, in order to be loved, but it is also the one responsible for us for the irrational, but heroic act of jumping in front of a moving car, or a speeding bullet to save our loved ones.
Literally in the middle between the reptilian and thinking brain, the mammalian brain is greatly influenced by both, and acts as a bridge, translator, negotiator and mediator between the two.
By becoming aware of how our emotions and memories form, their influence on our thinking and behavior, the way we perceive, create, interpret and react to our inner and outer reality, we can change the way we think, feel, the way we act, they way we react, we can change our experience of reality, in fact, we can change our reality.
Showing posts with label feelings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feelings. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Your Mind: Part of You, But Not All Of You
According to the Buddha, all living beings -even those who have seemingly lost it- do have a "mind", yet theories both scientific and philosophical differ as to what the Mind really is. According to Wikipedia, the
"Mind (pronounced /ˈmaɪnd/) is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason. Mind manifests itself subjectively as a stream of consciousness."
The Mind-Body-Consciousness-Soul debate (what are each, and how are they interconnected) has been going on for ages, and are much debated. From Aristotle to New Age Gurus, from Descartes to Quantum Physicians, philosophers, scientist, theologists, prophets, and every day people spent much mind power, but could not "make up their mind" about the nature and workings of the Mind. Why, they could not even prove that the MIND exists separately from the body and our consciousness.
To try to separate from the "self" and experience your Mind, try this simple exercise:
Set an alarm to go off after one minute. Sit, stand, or lie still, and for one minute, do nothing, and I mean, NOTHING but observe your thoughts,sensations, emotions and feelings. If you itch, scratch it. If you feel uncomfortable, change your position slightly, but try not to move, or do NOTHING (unless of course, it is an emergency) for sixty seconds.
Do not try not to think. Do not try not to feel. Do not try to focus on any specific feeling, sensation, ot thought. Do not try to focus on your breath, but if you feel like focusing on your breath, go ahead. Do not try not to judge. This is not a meditation, this is an exercise in experiencing your experience. ( Read the last part of this sentence a couple of times, it will make sense, I promise).
Ready? Go. Come back when you are finished.
........................No Cheating! Do not read the rest of this article until you've completed the exercise!
........................No Cheating!
OK, you're back. Now, try to recall what happened. Did you hear something? A dog barking, a cat mewing, a car going by? Did you think, this is stupid, I should go and feed the dog? Did you feel uncomfortable and restless? Did you feel coldness, or tingling, or any bodily sensations? Did any of these thoughts or sensations bring up memories, associations, feelings and thoughts? Did it go something like this:
"...the dog is barking. It must be hungry. I should go and feed the dog. Wait...I am out of dog food. I forgot to buy dog food. I ALWAYS forget to buy something. I must be getting Alzheimer's, or something....Great, now I have to go and get into my car and get some dog food, and there will be so many people at the store, I can't believe I am sitting here doing this stupid exercise, when I should be on my way to buy dog food...but it must be an important exercise and I should be able to sit for one minute, for God's sake, how hard it is to sit for one minute, anyone can do it, why do I find it so difficult, I must have Alzheimer's AND Attention Deficit Disorder...and my nose is itching...great...the alarm went off, I can stop now...."
Now, consider this: the "part of you" that was perceiving the certain vibrations that we like to interpret as a "noise" was your sensory system. The part that recognized this as being a noise, and a dog barking, was a combination of your perception, cognitive system, and memory. (If you never heard a dog barking, or if you never had a concept of what a dog is, you would not be able to translate the vibrations into sound, or identify them as a "dog barking"). The part of you that did all the planning was your cognition. The part of you that evoked emotions, "negative" or "positive" thoughts, was your mind. The part of you...are you ready for this?!
There was a "part of you" that sensed, a "part of you that interpreted", a part of you that thought, a "part of you that felt", a "part of you that planned", a "part of you that worried", a "part of you" that judged, yet, all of these "parts" were you, except.....ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!
THE PART OF YOU, WHO OBSERVED ALL OF THIS WAS YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS. The Observer Observing YOU doing the Observations. The Experimenter Experiencing your Experience of the Experience.
Whew....thats deep, isn't?!
Mind you...(did you notice the clever pun?) Mind you, you are your mind, but you are not ONLY your mind. You've constructed your mind, and you constantly change your mind. Learn to master your mind, and your mind will be your greatest asset. Let your mind master you, and your mind will be your most formidable enemy.
You must learn to Master your mind, by first loosing it. Yeah. Loose Your Mind. Next time, when someone observes you doing something they don't approve, and ask:
Have you lost mind?!
Say proudly, and with full conviction: "Not yet, but I am working on it!"
How do you begin to loose your mind, to become "mindless" and therefore, free your mind from its limitations in order to awake it to its full powers?
You become mindless and selfless by learning how to be fully aware of and how to become fully mindful of your mind...(that's a mouthful).
Guess what? By completing the exercise, you have done the most important step. You are now aware, that your mind is not you. You are curious, what or whom that "other" is, the ONE, that observed you observing your observations.
You've became aware.
Congratulations. Mind you later!
"Mind (pronounced /ˈmaɪnd/) is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason. Mind manifests itself subjectively as a stream of consciousness."
The Mind-Body-Consciousness-Soul debate (what are each, and how are they interconnected) has been going on for ages, and are much debated. From Aristotle to New Age Gurus, from Descartes to Quantum Physicians, philosophers, scientist, theologists, prophets, and every day people spent much mind power, but could not "make up their mind" about the nature and workings of the Mind. Why, they could not even prove that the MIND exists separately from the body and our consciousness.
To try to separate from the "self" and experience your Mind, try this simple exercise:
Set an alarm to go off after one minute. Sit, stand, or lie still, and for one minute, do nothing, and I mean, NOTHING but observe your thoughts,sensations, emotions and feelings. If you itch, scratch it. If you feel uncomfortable, change your position slightly, but try not to move, or do NOTHING (unless of course, it is an emergency) for sixty seconds.
Do not try not to think. Do not try not to feel. Do not try to focus on any specific feeling, sensation, ot thought. Do not try to focus on your breath, but if you feel like focusing on your breath, go ahead. Do not try not to judge. This is not a meditation, this is an exercise in experiencing your experience. ( Read the last part of this sentence a couple of times, it will make sense, I promise).
Ready? Go. Come back when you are finished.
........................No Cheating! Do not read the rest of this article until you've completed the exercise!
........................No Cheating!
OK, you're back. Now, try to recall what happened. Did you hear something? A dog barking, a cat mewing, a car going by? Did you think, this is stupid, I should go and feed the dog? Did you feel uncomfortable and restless? Did you feel coldness, or tingling, or any bodily sensations? Did any of these thoughts or sensations bring up memories, associations, feelings and thoughts? Did it go something like this:
"...the dog is barking. It must be hungry. I should go and feed the dog. Wait...I am out of dog food. I forgot to buy dog food. I ALWAYS forget to buy something. I must be getting Alzheimer's, or something....Great, now I have to go and get into my car and get some dog food, and there will be so many people at the store, I can't believe I am sitting here doing this stupid exercise, when I should be on my way to buy dog food...but it must be an important exercise and I should be able to sit for one minute, for God's sake, how hard it is to sit for one minute, anyone can do it, why do I find it so difficult, I must have Alzheimer's AND Attention Deficit Disorder...and my nose is itching...great...the alarm went off, I can stop now...."
Now, consider this: the "part of you" that was perceiving the certain vibrations that we like to interpret as a "noise" was your sensory system. The part that recognized this as being a noise, and a dog barking, was a combination of your perception, cognitive system, and memory. (If you never heard a dog barking, or if you never had a concept of what a dog is, you would not be able to translate the vibrations into sound, or identify them as a "dog barking"). The part of you that did all the planning was your cognition. The part of you that evoked emotions, "negative" or "positive" thoughts, was your mind. The part of you...are you ready for this?!
There was a "part of you" that sensed, a "part of you that interpreted", a part of you that thought, a "part of you that felt", a "part of you that planned", a "part of you that worried", a "part of you" that judged, yet, all of these "parts" were you, except.....ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!
THE PART OF YOU, WHO OBSERVED ALL OF THIS WAS YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS. The Observer Observing YOU doing the Observations. The Experimenter Experiencing your Experience of the Experience.
Whew....thats deep, isn't?!
Mind you...(did you notice the clever pun?) Mind you, you are your mind, but you are not ONLY your mind. You've constructed your mind, and you constantly change your mind. Learn to master your mind, and your mind will be your greatest asset. Let your mind master you, and your mind will be your most formidable enemy.
You must learn to Master your mind, by first loosing it. Yeah. Loose Your Mind. Next time, when someone observes you doing something they don't approve, and ask:
Have you lost mind?!
Say proudly, and with full conviction: "Not yet, but I am working on it!"
How do you begin to loose your mind, to become "mindless" and therefore, free your mind from its limitations in order to awake it to its full powers?
You become mindless and selfless by learning how to be fully aware of and how to become fully mindful of your mind...(that's a mouthful).
Guess what? By completing the exercise, you have done the most important step. You are now aware, that your mind is not you. You are curious, what or whom that "other" is, the ONE, that observed you observing your observations.
You've became aware.
Congratulations. Mind you later!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)