Fluid Minds, Brains, Bodies
Minds change continually. Brains change continually. Bodies change continually. According to the chosen viewpoint: with many overlaps or influences.
We like to think of ourselves as solid.
Daily life gives that impression. We don’t change a lot day after day. We can think of ourselves as we were yesterday or last week, last year, and feel about ourselves, correctly, as strikingly the same person.
But there is also another picture.
Looking at it as the earth
One can move across flat earth – at least in appearance – and go on and on, and if not looking far ahead, it remains flat. It is not, of course.
At the same time, one may think this flat earth is nothing but a relatively solid surface. Wrong again. Beneath our feet, deep enough, it’s all movement at a big scale.
We, too, are not as flat and solid as may seem.
We are fluidity.
It’s pretty visible, unfortunately perhaps as visuals may show, in the body. In mind, we have no objective visuals to turn to. Also, the mind may be even closer to who we think we are. That is, we may not want it to change so much for fear of losing ourselves.
Yet, for instance, no memory is an accurate recollection. It is a construction of the past from the present with the goal to make sense of it all. Within this reconstruction, our past influences our present and vice versa.
Something of now may make you think of something from the past? This is only partly true.
Changes in minds/brains/bodies
From short sight, consciousness may look like the earth’s crust: flat, solid, present by itself.
If we look under the hood, we may notice another dimension, fluidity, and interdependences in every way. We also see that changes in minds, brains, and bodies happen simultaneously. One may see overlaps or mutual influences in this. One may look at them as separate or unified according to one’s viewpoint.
Eventually, they act in a very unified manner. So, functionally at least, the mind is one with the brain and one with the body. Talking about the ‘mind’ is a way of speaking.
This may make us respect our minds much more.
Taking care of the mind = taking care of the body. Mind is not just some ephemeral no-thing. It is as real as the body.
Also in healthcare.
The implication to coaching/psychotherapy is huge. It can lead to changes in the mind, and these are also changes in the body.
That may make it more respectable until one realizes that it should not even be a basis for respect.
We should respect our mind because that is who we are: one organism of body and mind, simultaneously and continually fluid.
This fluidity doesn’t change us into someone else.
We are fluidity.
Related Posts
The Role of Belief in Mental Change
Belief and expectations seem to play a crucial role in mental transformations, especially in mental coaching and psychotherapy, though they may merely be enablers. In this text, ‘belief’ refers to the act of believing rather than the content of what is believed. Toward the belief that belief is crucial. When seeking the causes of mental Read the full article…
Is Change Difficult?
Especially deep change. It’s a cultural thing to find it difficult. And so it is. Is it? Coaching is about change, one way or another. [see: “Coaching is everywhere“] Being a coach Your opinion as a coach matters in this. If you think change is difficult, then you risk conveying this to the coachee. In Read the full article…
The Essence of Poetry
Poetry, in all its forms, not just the written word, resonates with deeper levels of human experience. It invites us to explore the subtleties of our minds and emotions, often leading to profound insights and personal growth. Beyond the written word, poetry manifests in the rhythm of a song, the brushstrokes of a painting, the Read the full article…