Mindfulness and Beliefs: Irrationally Yours

I can't help it--I am a confirmed neuroscience geek.

So I was very excited to attend the fifth brain lecture in a series (yes, I bought season tickets!) sponsored by Oregon Health Sciences University. You see, the guest speaker was Dr. Michael Gazzaniga, the father of cognitive neuroscience, and his topic was The Ethical Brain--which happens to be the title of a book he will publish this June.

He has written over 20 books, and in his work as the director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College, he continues to conduct research on how the brain enables the mind.

Dr. Gazzaniga believes there is nothing more fascinating than the mind, and he is exploring how we develop, hang on to, and change our beliefs. (Do you see why I love him?)

Mindfulness allows us to step back and watch our thoughts. By doing so, we can develop a clearer perspective regarding our beliefs and our attachment to them.

In his lecture, Dr. Gazzaniga discussed the power of the left brain. Remember, that is the side that handles logic and language, but the interesting part is how those two functions work together, continually creating words to justify our behavior.

Left => logic + language => lists

My favorite research illustrating this concept is the "scar face" experiment, in which a participant is fitted with a fake facial scar. The participant is told that they will be interviewed in order to see how the visible facial deformity might influence the way they are treated.

Then something sneaky happens: the scar is surreptitiously removed, and the participant enters the interview thinking the scar is still visible.

Right after the interview, in virtually every case, the participant is full of all kinds of examples of how the interviewer behaved negatively due to the scar. When viewing a video showing the interviewer only, the participant can point to several incidents which seemed to him to indicate distaste or prejudice-- "See? He's staring at the scar!" etc.

Even after being shown images that clearly indicate that the scar was not visible, the participant is likely to persist in his belief that the interviewer was focusing on it.

We all have invisible scars (irrational beliefs) about the way we are treated by others--and why. Our left brains are working overtime to reinforce our beliefs. We get so entangled in these thoughts that our entire view of ourselves and the world is strangled by them.

By paying attention to the language in our heads, we can learn to recognize the beliefs that might be sabotaging us. Observing our thoughts gives us a chance to step back and see the left brain in action.

Use mindfulness to see your invisible scars. Watch your knee-jerk responses whenever you feel slighted by someone, and look for the list of rationales that your left brain has been crafting. Somewhere in there is the kernel of your persistent belief.

Watch and listen. You don't have to be a neuroscience geek to find that fascinating.

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse in Portland, Oregon. Through her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, she teaches eyes-wide-open ways to get calm, clear and creative. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.MassageYourMind.com

---

Creativity and Innovation Management - Special People?

People often think that there is a creative type. This is a myth.1. We can all solve problems.2. We can all produce large sets of ideas, large... Read More

Humankinds Greatest Inventions

There are a number of amazing inventions that have been created during the course of human history. Some of the great ones that come to mind are:--The... Read More

Why Do We Suppress Higher Thought?

Throughout History we have imprisoned our brightest stars and thinkers. In modern periods we force them into works of fiction and disallow those Thoughts, which make us... Read More

Business Ideas ? Need a New Idea? Try Changing Your Perspective

One definition of creativity states that creative people look at the same thing everyone else does, yet they see something no one else does.But even creative people... Read More

Going Seamless: Dissolving the Brain Divide

Are you a right-brainer or a left-brainer?The greatest thinkers are at a loss when it comes to answering that question.Just as we admire athletes who are able... Read More

Set Yourself Up for Success!

Set Yourself Up For Success!~ By Fran Briggs Here's a great way to program and set yourself up for success in... Read More

Improve Your Small Talk - Gain Big Dividends!

Do you hate to make small talk? If so, you have lots of company.You may find small talk irritating, predictable, mind-numbingly boring.Yet, learning to play the small... Read More

Business Innovation ? Eliciting Talent

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Is Mans Next Step Like A Can of Potted Meat?

Is it the dawning of the Age of Aquarius? For years, predictions have indicated that humanity is readying itself for a golden age, a so called new... Read More

Owning Your Power

Owning your power, your power to be real, to be who you really are, is really about owning your freedom. Consider how your reasons for not being... Read More

Thousands of Failures, but Thousands of Patents

Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he revolutionized the world by inventing and patenting the incandescent light bulb. Because of his desire to create the incandescent... Read More

How An Idea Can Lift You

What determines your destiny? What predisposes your choices?It is your intention.When you hunt for your dreams, you become a magician. When what is out there emerges from... Read More

Business Innovation ? Masks and Trance

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Innovation Management ? The Harsh Facts Of Life For All Innovators

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Great Ideas and Radical or Disruptive Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Change Is a Skill Development Learning Process

Change, like almost every other life experience, is a learning process. With each new idea or situation comes the need to learn about it?what is it? How... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Role Play

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Innovation Management ? Famous Failures!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Joy and Sustainability

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Creativity Management ? When To Add Talent

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Color Your Life

Have you ever arrived at place in your career and wondered how you got there? Have you found yourself stuck, not liking your job, yet not seeing... Read More

Innovation Management ? Ideas From The Most Embarrassing Experiences Of Life

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Howd They Do That?

"How'd they do that?" I asked myself time and time again in my youth.As a journalist and documentary filmmaker, I witnessed ordinary people performing extraordinary feats on... Read More

Solve Problems With A Word List

To creatively solve problems you need to get your mind looking in new directions. You can systematically do this by using a list of words, primarily adjectives,... Read More

Mindfulness and Beliefs: Irrationally Yours

I can't help it--I am a confirmed neuroscience geek.So I was very excited to attend the fifth brain lecture in a series (yes, I bought season tickets!)... Read More

Starving for Intimacy

Some are seeking love in a bottle. Others look for it on the streets and many are trying to find it in their food.Most of our food... Read More