presentation to hk mensa: on being fully conscious

8/14/2019 Presentation to HK Mensa: On Being Fully Conscious

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Talk for Thought

On Being Fully Conscious:Somatic and Transpersonal

Psychologies

Dr Anne Hilty

Integrative PsychologistAcupuncturist

Somatic Therapist

annehilty@gmail.comhttp://drannehilty.wordpress.com

Outline of Today's Talk

● Introductory Remarks● Transpersonal Psychology: Overview● Somatic Psychology: Overview● Transpersonal: Consciousness● Somatic and Mind-Body: Embodied Cognition,

Memory, Emotion, Intelligence● Toward a Science of Consciousness● Concluding Remarks; Discussion●

Exercises will be interspersed throughout the talk.

Transpersonal Psychology

Transpersonal Psychology “is concerned with the studyof humanity's highest potential, and with the

recognition, understanding, and realization of unitive,spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness.”

(Lajoie and Shapiro, 1992)

Five Common Themes:

States of ConsciousnessHigher or Ultimate Potential

Beyond the Ego or Personal Self Transcendence

Spiritual Aspects

Somatic Psychology

● 'Co-mingling' of Body and Mind:

● Mind-in-Body: movement, posture, breathing patterns, body language, facial expression

● Body-in-Mind: physical / health conditions affectingmental / emotional state

● Also: Cellular Memory; Embodied Cognition;'Body-Brains'; Diffuse Consciousness

Classical Chinese Medicine

● Influences: Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism

● Shen [spirit], housed in the heart● Jing [core essence], housed in the kidneys● San Jiao [triple burner], in pelvic bowl, abdomen,

and chest● Qi [energy], flowing throughout body and universe

● NO separation of 'mind' from 'body'

Exercise: Singing My Self

● Close your eyes and mentally say the first ten wordsor so of a song that you know well;

● Now, mentally 'sing' the same words;● Then, begin again – but after about 3 words, 'hear'

the rest of the phrase being sung by a popular singer;● Repeat this again and again;● Then, begin with your 'voice', switch to the popular

singer's 'voice' – then, switch to another singer;● Repeat several more times.

Singing My Self (2)

● While hearing the song being sung in your head,note the subtle differences in your experience witheach voice;

● Note also how your slightest intent instantlyswitches the voice that you're hearing;

● Note also that the other singers' talents are fullythere, not just your own – and how this makes you a

better 'singer' as well.

Singing My Self (3)

● Discuss in your small group:● (1) Why am I so certain that I 'hear' my thoughts?

Who listens to my thoughts?● (2) Could I 'smell' a thought? 'Touch' it? 'See' it?

'Taste' it?● (3) Can I do the same with an emotion that's being

'sung' within me? Can I switch the 'singer' toanother, including his/her emotional skills?

“Those aspects of human development, identity,

values and capabilities that seem beyond the

ambit of our personality.” (Braud, 2001)

A Course in Transpersonal PsychologyLiverpool John Moores University

● The nature of consciousness and its relation to the brain;● Possibilities of consciousness beyond the brain;● The psychology of self and higher states of being;● The philosophy of religion;● Relationships between parapsychology and transpersonal

psychology;●

Psychological models and spiritual maps;● Creativity and transformation;● The potential integration of psychology and mysticism.

Transpersonal Psychology:Contributions

Human development

ConsciousnessSpirituality

Mind-Body ConnectionEastern Perspectives on Psychology

Transpersonal: Contributors

Ken Wilber:

Spectrum of ConsciousnessPre-Trans FallacyIntegral Theory

Roger Walsh and Frances Vaughan:

Disputed transpersonal states as pathological(often conceptualized as such)

Michael Washburn and Stanislav Grof:

Cyclical Model of Human DevelopmentRegressive Forms of Therapy

Return to Origin for Integration and Progress

Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof:

Spiritual Emergence vs. 'Emergency'

Charles Tart:

(Altered) States of ConsciousnessDeliberate Manipulation of Same

Parapsychology

Exercise: What Have I Chosen?

Choice one: You are a young, wise, sexy, high-IQ, PhD, devout and

charismatic leader with the body of a gymnast. You havemillions of followers who worship you, and all of your peopleare happy in their lives. The ghastly tragedies of today's world

are non-existent in yours--no war, famine, pollution, crime,disease, or accidents.

Imagine yourself "waking up" in this world. This preciousmoment will be one of millions yet to come in a glorious lifefilled with growth, happiness, and fulfillment.

What Have I Chosen? (2)

Choice Two:

You get the exact life in which you live now. Youknow--the one where even household appliancesroutinely disobey you, where relationships don't

always last, and where you're expected to perform at ahigh rate for the next 50 years … for marginal reward.

Have you chosen?

The "catch": In order to live choice number one, youwill have to be put into a permanent dream-state. The

dreams that you have will be of that wondrous world of choice number one. At any given moment, if you were

to be awakened, you would report a marvelous personal history. But, you will never be awakened.

Your body will be cared for 24 hours a day by a trainedstaff – for the rest of your life.

● Discuss in your small group:● Have I already made this choice? Many times? Have

I often awakened somewhat reluctantly from a

dream, wishing that I could return to it? Have I ever had a dream that I would return to … forever?● How does my childhood now seem like a dream?

What pleasures of life have now passed forever?● When I die, will I look back on my life as a dream?

Somatic Psychology

What is your concept of the human body?

Somatic Psychology

Mind, brain, body as interdependent; influence of earlylife and unconscious on physical and mental health as

well as character. (Boadella, 1990)

Somatic Psychology: Origins

Pierre Janet:

Diaphragmatic block Connection between emotional tensions and

constrictions in bodily fluid flowsVisceral consciousness

Kinesthetic senseMovement and intentionality

Body image Need for sensori-motor work in traumatized patients

Jean Piaget:

Integration and synthesis~ especially in development of cognitive functions

Sensory, motor, and emotional experiences

Sigmund Freud:

The ego as “first and foremost a body ego.”

Wilhelm Reich:

Character formation based on habitual movements No distinction between bodily and psychic illnesses

Detailed understanding of body's subtle balance inautonomic nervous system

Somatic Psychology: Contributors

Eugene Gendlin:

Experiential FocusingWorking with the Implicit

Thinking at the Edge

Somatic Psychology: Contributors

Antonio Damasio:

(1) Human brain and body integrated by mutuallyinteractive biochemical and neural regulatory circuits;(2) Brain and body interact with environment as an

ensemble; (3) “Mind” is derived from both structural

and functional components.

Somatic Psychology: Therapies

Experiential Focusing (Eugene Gendlin)Moving Cycle (Christine Caldwell)

Hakomi (Ron Kurtz)

Bioenergetics (Alexander Lowen)Core Energetics (John Pierrakos) Neurolinguistic Programming (Richard Bandler and

John Grinder)

EMDR and other “power therapies” [for trauma]Mindfulness [Buddhist meditative practice]

Somatic Psychology

The Human Body(as viewed by somatic therapists):

source of information about the client's state of being Repository of emotions and memories

An 'entry point' for change (bypassing resistance)

A vehicle for psychological intervention

Experiential Focusing

● Close your eyes and begin breathing deeply;● Scan your body for areas that invite your attention;● When you've located 2-3, choose the one that wants

attention the most;● Ask your body what's going on in this area;● See if there is an image or feeling attached;● Ask your body what it needs from you for this issue;● Allow gratitude for your body's wisdom.

Transpersonal: Consciousness

● Wilber (spectrum of consciousness); Tart (states)● E.g.: hypnogogia; daydreaming; waking reveries● Czikzsentmihalyi: “Flow”● Phenomenon: period of lucidity just before death● Eastern traditions: ordinary state limited; goal of

enlightenment● Upanishads: nonphysical entity distinct from space-

time-energy-matter

● Braud (2001):● Knowing: current state(s) or conditions of awareness● Being: our nature, identity, course of development,

values, relationships● Doing: modes of expression; service to others,

world; also, values / meaning

Ways of Knowing:

Direct knowing (a spectrum), from “awake, ordinary”to “other states” (e.g. dreams, hypnogogic), to

telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance.

Ways of Doing:

Direct mental influence (muscle actions, verbal / bodily expression), to attention / intention

(psychokinesis, telekinesis).

Ways of Being:

Exceptional human experiences: after-death / survival,mystic / unitive, psychic, encounter, unusual death-related, peak, exceptional human performances / feats,

healing, desolation / nadir, dissociation, expansion /

extension of consciousness.

Well-Being

Do you have a sense of well-being today?

What does it feel like – in your body?

And how does emotion reside in your body?

Somatic Psychology: Mind and Body

● Mirror neurones (mimic movement, position)● Non-verbal communication: 65+%● ANS: trauma: fight, flight, freeze; then, self-regulate● Ventral vagal nerve theory: viscera reflected in face● Oxytocin theory: an antagonist to adrenaline● Implicit / explicit memory: stress hormones suppress

hippocampus; “body memory”● Muscle memory: movement interruption/completion● Benefits of Touch Therapies on premature infants

Mind-Body: Embodied Cognition

● Neolithic intelligence: cognition dependent uponand grounded in physical characteristics, inheritedabilities, practical activity, environment of thinkingagents

● (1) situated; (2) time-pressured; (3) cognitive work off-loaded into environment; (4) environment part of cognitive system; (5) cognition is for action; (6) off-

line cognition is body-based

Mind-Body: Abstract Thoughts

● Leaning forward when talking of future, and viceversa;

● Thinking kindly toward someone when holding a

warm drink;● Gauging temperature of room by level of welcome;● Judging a book's weight by importance given it;●

Asking for sanitary wipes when dwelling on personal moral lapse.● NY Times 02/10: “Abstract Thoughts? The Body Takes Them Literally”

Mind-Body: Memory

● Diffuse throughout brain (diverse types of memory);● Much still a mystery; conceptualized as a process;● Neurons, electro-chemical pathways throughout the

nervous system;● Conveyed by chemotaxis, via blood and

cerebrospinal fluid;●

Painful memories of trauma: stored in muscle tissue;● Cellular: organ donation, memories of donor;● Eroded by stress response.

Mind-Body: Emotion

● Emotions and consciousness closely linked;● Embodiment: cognitive agents (music; instinct)● Integration of somato-sensory, homeostatic, and

emotional information with insula (brain structure, parietal lobe), for “global somatic representation”;

● Somatic “mood”; feeling not closely tied tolanguage; in its positive aspect, “well-being”.

Exercise: Singing My Self, revisited

Let's return to the first exercise, “Singing My Self”.

This time, as you “listen” to your favorite tune

“playing” inside your head, pay close attention towhere you feel the music in your body. How does itfeel? How does your body react? Where do you feel it?

Does this change for different types of music?

Discuss this in your small group.

I lli ( )

Intelligence(s)

● Traditional view: single, general (verbal,mathematical), innate, not significantly alterable,measured by IQ (now, brainwaves; future,genetically encoded microchip?);

● Howard Gardner's “Multiple Intelligences” (vs.“talents”: if “musical intelligence” is a talent, thenso is verbal / mathematical);

● Inter- and intra-personal (emotional) intelligencesare related;

● Naturalist: indigenous, knowing Nature's ways

G d ' M l i l I lli

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

● Linguistic

● Logical / Mathematical

● Musical

● Bodily / Kinesthetic

● Spatial / Visual

● Interpersonal

● Intrapersonal

● Naturalist

I t lli ( )

Intelligence(s)

● Five Minds for Future Leaders:●

● 1st 3: cognitive ability:● Disciplined; Synthesizing; Creative●

● Last 2: outward manifestations:● Respectful (of diversity; openness)● Ethical

Oth I t llig ( )

Other Intelligence(s)

● Body Intelligence Scale (Anderson, 2007)● Subscales: Energy Body Awareness, Comfort Body

Awareness, Inner Body Awareness

● Spiritual Intelligence (Vaughan, 2002)● Multiple ways of knowing; integration of inner life

of mind and spirit with compassionate action in theworld

Other Intelligences

● Instinct:● Inherent disposition

toward a certain behavior;

● Fixed, unlearned,inherited;

● Human motivationalforces.

● Intuition:● Knowledge acquired

without inference or useof reason;

● Beliefs one can'tnecessarily justify;

● Innovation (scientific).

Multiple Intelligences

According to Multiple Intelligences and related

theories, we each possess all types of intelligences invarying degrees.

Let's take a (brief) test and find out!

A Return to (the Science of)

Consciousness

There is no direct relationship between intelligence and consciousness.

Toward a Science of Consciousness

● Salient features (Walling, 2000):● Involves short-term memory;● May occur independently of sensory input;● Displays steerable attention;● Capacity for alternative interpretations;● Disappears in deep sleep; reappears in dreaming;● Binding: contents of several sensory modalities into

a single, unified experience.

Elements:

SubjectivitySelf-awareness

SentienceSapience

Perception of relationship between self and environment

“Easy” vs “Hard Questions

Red Herrings:(1) Not dependent upon language;

(2) Can't be equated with self-awareness

Sense of an 'objective I' controlling all is an illusion :● Competing events across the brain;● One gets recognition, most filtered out;● We overestimate scope and power of consciousness;● Voluntary action can be foiled and the brain made to

believe;● A healthy brain will explain away damaged

portions.

● Measurement: EEG (time) or MRI (space) but not both;

● Intracranial electrical probes: both time and space;●

fMRI: conscious responses exhibited in twocomatose, “vegetative” [brain-dead] patients;● Diffuse throughout brain (= only in brain?);●

“Exorcism” of “ghost in machine”; AstonishingHypothesis (Crick).

Exercise: No Boundary

In this exercise, we will expand from a sense of self located in the mind, to the brain, then the central

nervous system, then the head / torso, then the full body, and finally: beyond.

Matter is an illusion.

Consciousness is everything.

The Nature of Reality

In a way, what sense organs do is assist our brains toconstruct a useful model and it is this model that we

move around in. It is a kind of virtual reality

simulation of the world.[Richard Dawkins]

Reality is merely an illusion,

albeit a very persistent one.[Albert Einstein]

Talk for Thought:

On Being Fully Conscious

Dr Anne Hilty

Integrative PsychologistAcupuncturist

Somatic Therapist

annehilty@gmail.comhttp://drannehilty.wordpress.com

presentation to hk mensa: on being fully conscious

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