Friday 16 November 2012

The map is not the territory....


Plato used to say... 
'The objects we perceive are not the ultimate reality, but more like a shadow of reality.' 
He explained this in the following analogy, 'The Cave'.

A group of people, living in an underground cave since they were born, are forced to sit with their backs to the entrance. All they can see is the far wall of the cave. In the mouth of the cave is a large fire, and between the fire and the people’s back parade various creatures, whose shadows are cast by the fire on to the cave wall. 

The prisoners in the cave cannot turn their heads to see the creatures, all they can see are the flickering shadows on the wall in front of them. Since this is all they have ever seen since the day they were born, they presume these shadows are all there is.

Then, one of the prisoners manages to free himself and, looking around, realizes that everything he took to be reality up to now... is but a shadow. 
Outside he finds the true world of color and three-dimensional forms! 

Overjoyed with his discovery, he returns to the group to tell them the wonderful news. But try as he might, he cannot convince them that everything they see are but flickering shadows of the "real world". In the end the other prisoners kill him rather than accept such a nonsensical notion.'

What this means is, that our perception of reality is not reality itself 
but our own version of it, or our "map".

No two people will have entirely the same 'map'. While, most of us have similar neurological structure, it functions differently in each of us. We all use what is called are Subnomalities or our 'senses'. These are made up of Visual (Sight), Auditory (Sound), Kinestetic (Touch & feeling), Gustatory (Taste), and Au-factory (Smell). We use a combination of these senses and often more of our preferred ones, to come to our conclusions of things.

This can be the basis for many of the problems we encounter in our daily lives, when we presume to 'know' something is 'as it is', or trying to impose our 'map' onto another person. 
Learning to recognize the structure of another person's map allows us to more accurately 
"see the world though their eyes" and therefore be able to understand and relate to others on a deeper level.

Remembering this can help us change our old beliefs, therefore often changing our old habits. 

Change your way of thinking and you will change your actions.
Always remember 
'The map is not the territory' 
and your discoveries will be enlightening.

Below is a really interesting article with a cool demonstration on how we sometimes see things differently then the actual reality...
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/do-we-perceive-reality-the-checker-shadow-illusion/

If you want to understand more how the mind works and the link between the conscious and subconscious then lets look at the process in more depth.....(-:

When you develop a thought, it is firstly analyzed by the conscious mind which then sends electro-chemicals to the brain. As the electro-chemicals travel through the brain, neural pathways are opened up and the data passes through. The conscious mind then attaches emotion to the thought based on its 'perceived' interpretation of this data. This increases the vibration of the thought and it is at this time that a belief is created and then stored in the subconscious mind.

This belief may be based on truth, reality, or even a lie. It depends on where the thought came from and how it had been interpreted. It can then be accessed and utilized in the future by the conscious mind, to either support or deny any future thoughts that are inputted into the conscious mind.

When the conscious mind receives this same input again, the subconscious mind will locate and provide the data which was stored previously and then send it back to the conscious mind with an emotion of some type, which was also stored previously with this data. This will create a vibration based on the frequency of the data presented. 

This may result in the creation or manifestation of what that thought was intended to provide. 
So keep in mind (-: if your thoughts are helpful and positive or not.
Remember, the subconscious mind does not know the difference between what is real or imagined. 
It only responds to what is fed to it. 
So for it to work correctly, you must be sure and clear of what you are feeding it, 
if you really want to succeed at creating the life of your dreams....
  
'Everything you can imagine is real'
Pablo Picasso

To all your dreams,

Danielle x
Your Mind Coach
info@theblackbeltmastermind.com
00353(0)863845299
More on this here....
http://neurocombatives.blogspot.ie/2012/08/are-our-boundarys-real-imagined-or.html


Thursday 15 November 2012

Good decision, bad decision...gut decision...

Sometimes we all struggle with making decisions, some big, some very small,but..... how do we come to make them?
If you are struggling with a decision at the moment and feel like you are going around in circles, then maybe...                     not making a decision (at least for a while)
is a good decision!

In fact, you are probably already doing that, at least unconsciously, so how about you let up on yourself a little, give yourself a break and go back to it when you feel more clear headed.

A good way to help with this clarity is to visualise.
Simply take each of the considered scenarios, and visualise what it would be like if you chose that path.
See how it feels and how you react to each one.
Then, probably your 'gut' or 'instinct', will tell you which one to choose.
This is generally the right choice for you.

You see, if the problem is not a logical one, like say...'Will I put petrol in the car as its in the red, before I go on this long journey?' Well, you can probably deduct you will run out and the car will stall, so you clearly know the consequences.
Not all decisions are this logical, so this is when turning it over and over, hoping for the 'correct' answer may never happen. Its down to your gut now... Trust it.

One things for sure, if you don't make any decisions, you are never in control of what happens next and you may never move forward.
The lost important part is that we actually really 'think'. Not fret, stress and worry, getting ourselves all in a muddle, but when we are ready, we really think.
Sometimes the solution is logical and we will figure it out, sometimes its our gut and sometimes its a mixture of the two. I will leave you with this super little tale....

'Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and cunning, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

So the cunning moneylender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
a) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
b) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
c) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the money bag.
The Moneylender, then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the money bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. 
What would you have done if you were the girl? 
If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful thought would result in three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the money bag 
and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father 
from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. 
Think of the consequences if she chooses. What would you recommend to the girl to do?
Well, here is what she did ...

'The girl put her hand into the money bag and drew out a pebble. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble strewn path, where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the money bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. 
And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one!

So remember, most problems DO have a solution. 
We simply have to think to find it.

To all your wonderful decisions,
Danielle x

00353(0)863845299