![]() This has now been confirmed by rigorous research on techniques such as mindfulness, CBT, etc. So I got this: The techniques we use to SHIFT our attention (or another person’s attention) away from bad stuff and towards more productive ways of thinking are actually MODULATING neural circuitry in the brain (which is neuroplasticity in action). Simultaneous mutual (interpersonal) experience is a KEY part of the “social” in our “social species”. Others’ brains shape what goes on in ours - what circuits are firing and being reinforced - and vice versa. We feel sad when someone cries, and are happy at their joy. We sense his intention to drink, we may experience thirst, or the sensation of water or of refreshment. As we watch someone else raise a glass of water to his lips, the cells in our brains that move our own arms light up. (c) Humans are genetically programmed to AUTOMATICALLY create internal experiences and capabilities that mirror or incorporate things they see or feel during interactions with others. Common sense, grandmothers, and “New Agers” have been telling us for years to focus on what we DO want instead of what we DON’T want - and now science is confirming it. For example, the more we pay attention to our pain (assessing it, worrying about it, “fighting” it), the deeper we are carving that channel. As the saying goes: “neurons that fire together wire together”. (b) “Attention” – which is where the mind focuses, what it is paying attention to – is what CREATES new neural pathways, and STRENGTHENS either existing or new ones by reinforcing the pathway. Information is both data and meaning or story.) As part of his grant-funded work, he had put together a group of 40 researchers in a wide variety of fields who were all (eventually) able to agree on this definition. (Energy is roughly defined as stuff that makes things happen. It REGULATES (monitors and directs) the flow of energy and information both within an individual and between people. (a) Key definition: The mind is a PROCESS not a thing. Here are three big points I have heard in his lectures so far: Think of that: USING the mind as a tool to INTENTIONALLY remodel circuits in the brain. I say the course is focused on STRATEGIES for changing the STRUCTURE of the brain (one’s own and that of one’s patients/clients) by using the mind. He says the purpose of the course is: How to see the mind and make it stronger. He says that the proportion has been similar in 85,000 professionals he has asked. Then he asked how many had any instruction on what the mind is? Five percent raised their hands. ![]() He began by asking how many of the professionals in the audience think the mind is important in everyday affairs - and in their practices/organizations. It’s on a website called I’ve listened to the first 9 mini-lectures so far. He’s a famous psychiatrist, trained at Harvard Medical School and UCLA, now clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, an award-winning educator – and expert researcher in the emerging field of “interpersonal neurobiology”. (I’ve also heard a great TED talk by this guy). It’s called “Practicing Mindsight” - 6 hours consisting of 32 video mini-lectures delivered live to an audience of about 240 mental health professionals, physicians, educators, as well as organizational behavior and social policy wonks. I’m in the middle of taking an on-line course by Daniel Siegel, MD.
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