Human mind

The Human Mind

Our thinking could be Biased Distorted Ill founded Prejudice Lead to problems with our lives

The Human Mind

Our thinking is our interpretation of reality!

The Human Mind

Our mind not only feels but it wants. Our thinking molds our feelings and desires.

The Human Mind

Our thinking is not concerned with how our behavior affects others but it is concerned with what it wants and to collect information that validates what we believe.

Only through thinking can we control, understand our mind and how it works.

Only through thinking can we understand our wants and why we feel the way we do.

The Human Mind

Only through thinking and the analysis of the thought process, can we figure out how to deal with 1) destructive emotion 2) and change unproductive desires to productive, positive

ones.

Only through practicing the control of thinking daily can we change our thought process so we can change our behavior, our feeling and wants to be productive and not destructive.

The Human Mind

Thinking can be reduced to trying to figure out life’s events. It helps to describe to us what is happening or what should be expected to happen in life.

Feeling is created by thinking. Feelings describes whether life events should be considered positive or negative. It allows one to make a measurement of how your life is going.

The Human Mind

Desires need energy to maintain positive feelings even in the presence of negative feelings.

The 3 Functions of the Mind

1) Thinking Makes sense of the world

Judging Perceiving Analyzing Clarifying Determining Comparing Synthesizing


Feeling Tells us how we are doing

Happy Sad Depressed Anxious Stressed Calm Worried Excited


Wanting Drives us to act as we do

Goals Desires Purposes Agendas Values Motives

The Human Mind

There is a dynamic relationship between these 3. Each one is influencing the other. Think- - - - --Feel

\ / All 3 interconnected \ / Want-Your behavior is a summation of your thinking,

feeling and wants or desires.

The Human Mind

The key is to control your thinking. By controlling your thinking, you can control

your feelings and your desires. Thinking can be at the level of the

subconscious or conscious mind.

The Human Mind

Egocentric tendencies have been taught by you and stored in your subconscious .

Without a committed thought process, your subconscious is interested in protecting self.

Only through self-development can you re-learn at the conscious level to reshape your thought process, your behavior to certain situations and the way you think of others.

The Human Mind

Thoughts, feelings and desires can be organized by either Egocentric tendencies or Rational capacities

Egocentric Thinking

Egocentric thinking comes from the unfortunate fact that humans do not naturally consider the rights of others, nor do we naturally appreciate the point of view of others or the limitations in our own point of view.

We do not naturally recognize our self-serving perspective.

Rational Thinking

Rational thinking is properly thought of as a way of thinking and acting in which intelligence and sound, logical reasoning is used to judge an occurrence. One must use the same standards that you want to be judged by. Intellectual integrity as well as intellectual humility is the way and not the exception. They don’t play games with the English language to serve their own purpose.

Egocentric Thinking

Feelings that accompany egocentric thinking, at least at the subconscious level, whether the person was successful or unsuccessful are Irritability Defensiveness Arrogance Indifference Resentment Depression Anger

Egocentric Thinking

Egocentric thinking strives to get what it wants using 2 strategies. 1) Domination ---using direct power over others 2) Submission--- get what you want by submitting to other

Pathological dispositions of the egocentric mind. The human mind routinely engages in the

unconscious processes that are egocentrically motivated. The normal defense mechanism of the egocentric mind.

Egocentric Thinking

Defense mechanism are used by the egocentric mind which leads to self-deception. So we can see the world as we wish in order to get what we want and /or to protect our belief system.

Popular Misunderstanding of the Mind

Emotion and reason often conflict with each other

Rational persons are cold and mechanical, like Mr. Spock

Emotional persons are lively, energetic, warm, but poor reasoners.

One must give up the possibility of a rich emotional life if one decides to become a rational person.

Critical Thinking

Provides the link between intelligence and emotion.

Enables us to take command of our emotions.

Enables us to make good judgments.

Critical Thinking

Definition: A disciplined, self-directed cognitive process leading to high quality decisions and judgments through the analysis, assessment and reformulation of thinking. It presupposes understanding of the parts of thinking, or elements of reasoning, as well as the intellectual standards by which reasoning is assessed and intellectual traits which dispose us to think in deep, honest and logical patterns.

Meditation and the HumanMind/Body

Introduction

Physical and mental fatigue can make a person prone to illness.

Regular exercise, good nutrition, sanitation and good sleep and relaxation help keep mind and body healthy and less prone to illnesses.

Meditation is one of the many ways to relax body and mind

Past Research Benefits of meditation

improvement in mental and physical health

feeling good about oneself and others

relief from stress and anxiety

alleviation of pain greater sense of self-

actualization self-directedness

-Kelly, 1996

Past Research... What happens in the body

Body reaches a heightened restful state while at the same time the brain became calm but remained in a state of heightened alertness.

Heightend restful state, lowered heart rate and pulse, slow and calm breathing, and

relaxed muscles, -Orme-Johnson (1987, 1995)

Heightened alertness. EEG recordings show high activity of alpha and beta waves -

Persinger’s (1984, 1993)

Past Research... What happens in the body...

Decrease in the concentration of arterial and blood lactate levels

4 times faster than in sleep Wallace and Benson(1970, 1971,1972) Blood lactate level goes up with increased physical activity and

stress and normally go down with rest and sleep Bloomfield, et.al., 1975. Body metabolic rate down 16% in about 1 hour of meditation 5 – 10 % decrease after 6 – 7 hours of sleep.

General State of the Mind

it is restless

cluttered by thoughts, desires, memories

randomly moves from one thought to another

hard to focus the mind especially when you want it to be still/calm

What happens in the mind...(Pertaining to the techniques used in this study)

With lots of practice, the minds stops reacting to thoughts, memories and desires and follows constructive actions

With this training one starts to act constructively rather than react to life-situations

When the mind is calm, so is the body

Hypothesis

People who practice meditation on a regular basis for at least a month will experience better physical health, will feel better about their lives, will have a higher sense of self esteem and feel better oriented in life.

Education

Human mind