We can think of the mindbrain as a collection of specialised
but interconnected bits most of which are in constant churn.
The purpose of the
churn is to interpret and monitor inputs from the sense organs and estimate how
they match up with memories of stuff that happened in the past.
The purpose of
this monitoring is to decide whether to approach, ignore or avoid the thing or
event that is immediately present.
The mindbrain has evolved to deal with the immediate
present. And ‘immediate’ can be very close – to within a fraction of a second
when avoiding predators. A variety of instincts and intuitions have evolved to
ensure that there is no paralysis by analysis. React first and think about it
after.
It might be argued that the hard wired stuff evolved to suit
us to life as hunters and gatherers and that it is no longer relevant. This is
the idea of a stone age brain in a computer age world. But, given that much of
the mindbrain activity deals with hierarchy, status and relationships, things
might not be all that different.
Some of my recent inputs have involved human groups of about
20. One group was of meditators trying to be more ‘mindful’. The other group
was of poets and songwriters creatively engaged in producing works of art.
Both groups were involved in changing minds. In both cases
the task involved shutting down the ego-centric, self-ish, chatterbox, monkey
mind. The implicit assumption was that when there is stillness and peace the
muse, who resides in the unconscious, would be better able to capture the
attention centre and commandeer it for operating in ‘creative’ mode.
The output and product of the meditators would be a wise,
peaceful and compassionate state of mind which would lead to more peace in oneself
and in the world as a whole. The output and product of the poets and
songwriters was lyrics and tunes and it was accepted that the muse is a fickle beast.
Sometimes she (the muse is usually thought to be female) churns the stuff out
and at other times she is silent. As it happened about 40 person days generated
10 new songs.
Other recent inputs to my mindbrain have come from reading
about consciousness and the muse. The source has been the Scientific American
Editors (2013-11-18) who have compiled a book of essays about “The Secrets of
Consciousness” (Kindle Edition.) It is cutting edge and highly quotable.
“In everyday life, our brains perceive and process a great deal of information that never reaches our consciousness. Neuroscientists refer to these subconscious data as implicit perception and implicit learning.”
The creative meditators, poets and songwriters were all familiar
with the idea that the mind has a mind of its own and that the muse does a lot
of her work in the unconscious and deposits her creative results in your
attention centre long enough to allow it to be transcribed.
“Attention is an important feature of consciousness. Events that do not command our attention hardly exist for us, even if they influence how we perceive, feel or react.”
People with chatterbox monkey minds clutter up the attention
centre and leave no conscious space for the Muse to occupy. Creative types tend
to develop ‘tricks’ to enable the muse to work her ‘magic’.
“The mind has many nooks and crannies; some— probably the minority— are consciously accessible, whereas most are hidden from introspection, lost in the vast catacombs of the brain. Yet they can powerfully influence your behaviour, making you do things without knowing why.”
I cannot speak for the other group members about this. But I
am increasingly coming to the conclusion (in both head and gut) that I am never
going to be a totally rational person. That of which I am conscious is a tiny
part of the mindbrain. The good news is that I am now more relaxed about, and
comfortable with, the idea that the unconscious churns out a never ending stream
of interesting stuff. ‘I’ simply bear witness.
My muse seems to be bi-polar. Sometimes she is overactive
and at other times she withdraws into herself. My interactions with her were
mainly as hobbies although she also contributed to many of my work projects.
Here are links to some of my creative outputs that are on line.
Songs and tunes
- Toonloon Tunes (75 tunes in 1994)
- Cure for the Blues Album (songs from 1970s and 1990s)
- Never Ending Highway Album (songs from 1970s and 1990s)
Dharma stories (with compilations)
- The essence of faiths – Whispers from Everywhere (18 stories)
- Let it begin with me – A rough guide to mind training and meditation (66 stories)
- Existential soft rock – mental re-construction through just sitting – be still and know (507 posts)
- Changing minds – our own and other people’s. (223 posts as at 20 Feb 2014)
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