Wed, 16 May 2012 03:26:01 -0800WeeblyTue, 15 May 2012 23:08:17 -0800http://www.findyrway.com/1/post/2012/05/whos-running-this-show-anyway.html......and Do We Have A Say in the Outcome?

In a recent Op-Ed article in the New York Times, James Atlas asks “Why are we thinking so much about thinking these days?” At the top of the best seller list are such books as Jonah Lehrer’s “Imagine: How Creativity Works,” Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business,” and recently, Leonard Mlodinow’s “Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior.”    

These are only a few of the books out now that, unlike traditional self-help books, are reporting on the part of the mind that, as Atlas frames it, you can change, but not very much, and only with a great deal of work.

Daniel Kahneman, a professor and researcher in neurobiology, economics and psychology and author of “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” describes mental processing as having two possible sources:  System 1 is intuitive/emotional and System 2 is logical. System 1 perceives and “operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort, and no sense of voluntary control.” System 2  makes decisions through “allocating attention to effortful mental activities.”  

But is this really what’s happening?

The logical mind can be tricked (see the video of the guy in the gorilla suit that no one registers because they’re so focused on counting now many times two teams pass a basketball back and forth), and the intuitive/emotional mind can make accurate and “logical” decisions before the thinking mind has even registered the situation (side-stepping the snake on the path before realizing that it’s a snake).

Atlas notes the recent trend to “scientize” brain research and the resulting understanding that conscious awareness, what he calls reflection, is not as powerful an influencer of our behavior as we once believed.

Recent advances in neurobiology have shown that some 95% of all behaviors are generated by the subconscious mind. And the conscious mind, the one we’re aware of, that we’ve assumed was running the show? Not so much.

It’s like the proverbial iceberg, with the conscious mind the above water bit and the sub-conscious that massive hulk lurking just below the surface.  This can be a frightening thought, as we’ve been taught that the conscious mind is the only one we can monitor and modify, while the subconscious is unavailable and not within our control.

Psychological research has shown that the subconscious mind is packed with beliefs, strategies and patterns developed in our childhood years or through significant (often traumatic) life events. These beliefs inform how we think of the world around us, how we expect to be treated, how we feel about ourselves. And, like reacting to the snake on the path, those beliefs trigger behaviors that we can find ourselves in the middle of before we have a clue we’re doing it.   

We find ourselves acting out ancient patterns that frequently aren’t helpful in our current world. We’re re-acting to situations, not acting from a fresh perspective appropriate to the moment.

Jean*, a 39 year old banking executive, was terrified of public speaking and being in large groups of people she didn’t know. Major presentations and attending conferences and social events were a significant aspect of her position, but she did everything she could to avoid them. When she couldn’t, she experienced heightened anxiety and fear in the weeks leading up to the event, and near panic attacks at the events themselves.

She could find no reason why she was so anxious, but her fear was undeniable and very intense. Needless to say, her experience negatively impacted her ability to be effective in her job, as well as her health and emotional well-being. Years of various psychological and behavioral therapies had been ineffective, and she felt frustrated and hopeless that it was ever going to change.   

Atlas writes that we can “train ourselves to change if we work hard at it enough. Self-awareness sets us free.” In my role as a clinical therapist, I have encountered many who have ample self-awareness regarding an issue and still haven’t been able to make a dent in their negative experience.

Implying that it’s a “habit of thought”  that can be modified with sufficient mental effort can be an insult to their experience and implies they are to blame for its persistence. Abuse survivors and war veterans suffering from PTSD are prime examples, but few of us have made it to adulthood without experiencing some personal trauma whose effects linger.

How can we access and shift these ingrained patterns hiding out in the dark recesses of the subconscious?  Over the last decade, therapeutic tools and systems based on advances in neurobiology have emerged that facilitate the clearing of deeply-held fears, limiting beliefs and the residue of negative life events.

More remarkable is the fact that it can be done quickly, painlessly and with long-lasting results. Referred to by the general term Energy Psychology, these methods combine modern western Psychological techniques and ancient eastern energetic practices, and are able to shift previously inaccessible facets of the subconscious mind.

Jean, following a handful of sessions addressing the emotional impact of a childhood trauma, found herself enjoying her presentation to 300 conference attendees and comfortably answering questions from the floor. “It’s not a big deal anymore,” she said, with some surprise.  And at her last corporate Christmas party, she recounted that it was easy to find common ground with any of the 80 people there. “I was having such a great time, I didn’t want to leave!”, she exclaimed. After years of feeling internally fearful and stuck, these shifts “feel like a miracle”.

While not yet considered mainstream, these methods are being applied in clinical and personal  practices worldwide, and are quickly gaining momentum. Over 500,000 people are currently attending a two-week tele-seminar “Tapping World Summit” to learn and experience some of the more well-known techniques. Last year’s event drew 350,000.

Energy Psychology experts Dawson Church, Ph.D., and Dr. David Feinstein have been invited to speak at Congressional Hearings regarding effective treatment of returning war veterans suffering from PTSD. And clinical research studies are validating decades of extensive empirical evidence on the efficacy of these techniques.

Atlas ends with the wistful hope that we are “strangers who can learn how to be friends” with our thinking selves. William James, writing towards the end of the 19th century said,  “The great thing, then, in all education is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy.”  It would seem that at last we can.  

* name changed to protect privacy

]]>Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0800http://www.findyrway.com/1/post/2011/09/first-post.htmlCameron was visiting a friend and noticed the lovely little farmhouse next door. A feeling came over her that it would be the perfect house for her. A month later, the friend called to say the owners had suddenly decided to sell it. A month after that, she was walking through the door of her new home.

Joe “just didn’t feel right” about that parking place, so he chose another. A short time later, he watched as the car that did park there was sideswiped by an out-of-control vehicle.

You find yourself thinking about a friend you haven’t spoken with in months. Two minutes later, she calls.

Coincidences? Maybe not.  There is more happening in our world than just the objects and events around us. Call it a hunch, call it a sixth sense; however you define it, you have experienced “gut feelings” many times in your life.

Once considered the province of a gifted few, intuition is now acknowledged as an innate capacity available to everyone, and a natural skill anyone can cultivate. This natural mental faculty can be a powerful source of information, creativity and inspiration.

Intuition is like an internal GPS system, offering you guidance and direction. Florence Scovel, a theologian, described it this way: “Intuition is the spiritual faculty that doesn’t explain; it seemingly points the way.”  When you listen to your intuitive voice, life flows more easily, things seem to fall into place and you experience less stress.

The dictionary definition of intuition is a direct perception of truth or fact without conscious reasoning, literally, to gaze inward. But what does gazing inward mean?

Our non-conscious mind is constantly registering events and changes around us that are happening below our conscious awareness. Scientific research shows that our conscious mind registers about 2,000 bits of information per second, while our non-conscious mind processes 400,000,000,000 bits per second. Yes, that’s 400 billion. This is how you find yourself leaping out of the path of a dangerous snake before your conscious mind has even registered that it is a snake.

Dean Radin, Ph.D., a respected research psychologist, says “We can now demonstrate in the laboratory what at some level we've known all along: Many people literally get a gut feeling before something happens.”  

So if it’s happening below our radar, how can we access and strengthen this amazing capability?  Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1) Be Aware
The first and most important thing you can do to develop your intuition is to recognize and appreciate the intuitive messages you are already receiving. Start paying attention to those little impulses you get. The more you trust them and act on that knowledge, the more you’ll receive, and the more you will be able to rely on them.  If you did nothing else, this alone would yield a dramatic improvement in your intuitive abilities.

2) Be Quiet
It is much easier to hear the quiet little whisper of your intuition when you have damped down the noise that usually obscures it. We all have busy lives over-filled with multitasking. Find some time on a regular basis to quiet your mind. Don’t worry about eliminating your thoughts; just creating a quiet environment for the mind allows you to begin to distinguish between your intuitive voice and the normal mental chatter. Meditation, walking silently in nature, focusing only on your breath for a few minutes are all good options.

3) Be Creative
Doing something that gets you into the feeling of “flow” where time disappears, takes you out of your logical left-brain mind and into the right-brain mind, where creativity, imagination, the larger picture, and non-linear thinking arise. Drawing, writing, dancing, gardening, designing and creative visualization are all possibilities that will put you in touch with intuition.

4) Be Curious
Being curious about something, exploring it deeply in a state of inquiry, generates a magnetic pull that draws answers to you, creating fresh insight and clarity. Ask open-ended questions, like “Given all the circumstances, how can I best address this situation?” rather than yes/no questions, which can shut down the flow of information. Asking follow-up questions like “What is the next action that needs to happen?” can keep the flow going.

5) Be Open
If you are working on a problem or opportunity, gather all the information you can by reading, studying, speaking with others, etc.  Totally saturate yourself in everything you can find on it. Then, hand it off to your intuition and take a mental break. It might be a few minutes or hours, or even days. Allow yourself to relax, with no tie to a particular outcome.

Intuition can’t be forced, but it can be invited. Frequently, the answer will appear in a form or from a direction you could never have anticipated, in an “aha” moment or as a symbol in a dream. Be open to new possibilities.

You might have noticed that all five of these tips have one thing in common: being in the present moment.  Finding yourself in the present moment, involved in other than past events or future concerns, creates an ideal environment for intuition to emerge and to flourish.

It is important to practice accessing your intuition. Begin with small things of no consequence, like guessing which elevator will arrive first, or what drink the person in front of you will order at the coffee shop. Practicing will build your intuition “muscle,” allowing you over time to recognize the sensation when it arises and building confidence in the accuracy of your intuitive impulses.

Like any good relationship, intuition requires some time and attention to feel nourished and rich, but if you do, it can be your best friend, dependable and wise.

As Albert Einstein noted: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Spend time with this gift and you’ll reap the rewards. ]]>