much to be said on many sides

Ian - I see that you are rereading Mark Williams and Danny Penman (2011) “Mindfulness – a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world”

Walter – Yes and it is not my first rereading.

Ian – You must rate it quite highly.

Walter – Judging by the number of margin marks it would appear to be so.

Ian – Do you have any niggles about it?

Walter – They have a very rosy view of potential human nature. They note that it is a frantic world but that it is possible to find peace within it. Consider these quotes:

“This is a book about how you can find peace and contentment in such troubled and frantic times as these. Or rather, this is a book about how you can rediscover them; for there are deep well springs of peace and contentment living inside us all, no matter how trapped and distraught we might feel. They're just waiting to be liberated from the cage that our frantic and relentless way of life has crafted for them.” (p2)

“Mindfulness meditation is so beautifully simple that it can be used by the rest of us to reveal our innate joie de vivre.” (p3)

Ian – they reckon “ there are deep well springs of peace and contentment living inside us all” and that we have “innate joie de vivre”.

Walter – as I understand it they have no evidence in support of their views about what is innate and lives inside us all.

Ian – there are now neural correlates of consciousness (NCC).

Walter – yup. There is an NCC for peace and contentment and another for war and discontent. It is a yin/yang thing. Nothing lasts forever. It is like two parliamentarians debating a course of action. The ancient Greeks had the image of a charioteer being drawn by two horses – one white and one black – his task is to reconcile their different natures.

Ian – and some of the native American cultures had the image of two wolves inside them – one black one white. The one you feed is the one that will grow and triumph.

Walter – and there is negativity bias. Better safe than sorry. Those who take the fast, bleak, black view (eg there might a lion behind that bush) will survive and have many children. Those who take the slow, wise, white view (eg being awestruck by the dawn light) will be eaten and have few children.

Ian – It is like optimists and pessimists. They both have their uses.

Walter – Yup – and as it says in that song - “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative”.

Ian – And Rick Hanson has the image of velcro for the negative and teflon for the positive.

Walter - Yoh – there is much to be said on both sides and, given the amount of activity in the unconscious, there are likely to be more than two sides and, the balance between them will be constantly changing. The only constant thing is change. It is never too late to change your mind.