a new take on awareness

Recent work in experimental psychology and neurology has added to our understanding of the mindbrain's purpose, and of its modular structure and function.

The modules are conditioned by nature (hard wired biases, reflexes and instincts), by nurture (learning and enculturation linked to myths and magic) and by serendipity (chance acts of god (?) (thunder, lightning, droughts and floods)). The conditioning operates at the conscious and unconscious levels.

Living things include single celled and many celled plants and animals. They all have to interact with their physical, biological and cultural environments. In many celled animals this involves a sequence of events:

sensory stimulus	sense organ	sensory nerve	sensory module	integrative module	evaluative module (good, neutral, bad)
light	eye	sensory nerve	visual area	light, sound, smell = lion	fight or flight REACTION
1	2	3	4	5	6

Inputs from the sense organs make up a huge amount of new data which has to be assimilated so as to reconfigure 'reality' (including 'self') on a continuous basis. This happens when the hard wired data and some of the earlier data is retrieved from short and long term memory and churned with the new data.

This data sorting happens in the default mode network (DMN). The DMN is less active when the mindbrain is task oriented. The DMN is most active when it is 'resting' ie cut off from externally sourced stimulus/ response reactions. This is presumably what I think of as the kaleidoscopic, unconscious churn.

Outputs from the churn include thoughts, feelings and moods (TFM). Some of these totally commandeer the attention centre while others rarely amount to more than vague impressions. My subjective experience is that the assimilated mini stories are rooted in TFM from times past. But most of them are fleeting and ephemeral although that is enough to let them influence the pattern of reality in any given moment.

For example when shopping in the supermarket I seek out the daily specials, the two for the price of one, the cheap own-brand options, flesh and cheese at less than £8/kg, and wine at less than £4/bottle. The TFM is that those who buy the more expensive options have more money than sense; shame on them. But my sensibilities have been shaped by Dad going bankrupt when I was about 12. So the TFM carries reflections of the old folks shame and embarrassment.

Another example – authority figures. I do not trust my elders and betters - the good and great. Dad punished me for something that my little sister did. My English teacher did not believe that I wrote my appreciation of Wordsworth. The Minister accused me of plagiarism when I argued the case for evolution in Bible Class. The expectation of omniscience is ill founded.

There are two ways of understanding awareness. While sitting quietly being mindful you can be aware that the monkey mind is busy and let the TFM go. While lying on the therapist's couch you can be aware of the TFM – especially the fleeting stuff – and talk about it.

There are many types of meditation and of talking therapy. East v West. Following on the work of Jon Kabat Zinn there is a merging of approaches sometimes called Buddhism Lite. The roots lie in the psychology of perception. Reality is mind-made using language. “He who speaks does not know.” Enough said.