37. 1.5 Years of Mindless COVID
Boring news: We still don’t know much directly about the influence of the mind on COVID, nor about the placebo effect of COVID vaccinations. The world of science is unfathomably silent. June 5, 2021 Daily Total Cases worldwide 475,717 172,894,435 Deaths worldwide 10,737 3,716,853 This time of the year, as last year, in Belgium, Read the full article…
In-Depth Compassion
This is a very complex phenomenon. It is very difficult to reach and has very important implications. The usual view of compassion in relation to empathy Empathy is usually seen as part of a bigger sum that leads to compassion. This is straightforward, as in this simple scheme: If we go somewhat more profoundly into Read the full article…
The Responsibility of Mind-Science
Call it psychology, including psychotherapy. The responsibility is huge. Making the world go ’round? In many fields related to the human mind, the world is going increasingly square. Superficial roundness in such a circumstance is hurtful to many people. Therefore, outward solutions – basically making people feel comfortable – are not enough. The answers to Read the full article…
Open Leadership (Animated Video)
Without further delay, in this animated video, I bring you an introduction to Read&Do Open Leadership. If you want to cooperate, please contact us. If you have feedback, please let us know. Here is the full written text. Hi, my name is Jean-Luc Mommaerts. I am a physician and master in cognitive science and Artificial Read the full article…
What AURELIS is About
This text is no special revelation. You find openness in all blogs. In this one, I just put elements together. See also: [see: “Introducing AURELIS (Animated Video)”] Basically AURELIS is about the total-person, being fundamentally different from mere-ego. [see: “AURELIS Philosophy in a Nutshell (Animated Video)”] The total-person is one whole in body/mind, as well Read the full article…
Are You Your Thoughts?
This may be the question on which the answer depends most upon the question itself. Who is asking? Conceptual / subconceptual Time and again, what reaches consciousness is pretty crystallized (conceptualized). Therefore, we have the continual illusion that the concepts start as such where they come from. In reality, it’s a very different world. So, Read the full article…
Words don’t Matter
Words are things. If not imbued with life, they are like water that flows to the sea on an eternally lifeless planet. Concepts matter. Emotions matter. Depth matters. Beauty matters. Culture matters. People matter. Life matters. Words don’t matter. They’re just letters, one after the other. All the above matters within words ― not the Read the full article…
From Neurons to Neuronal Networks
Few people are aware that this scientific revolution is ongoing. Also, few people/researchers within the ongoing itself are aware of its revolutionary breadth. The neuron doctrine For a long time (since +/ 1880), it has been thought that the neuron is the structural, functional, and perceptual unit of the nervous system ― however, leading to Read the full article…
Psychotherapy and Placebo
To the degree that psychotherapy amounts to placebo, we may need to rethink it. Placebo >< depth The concept ‘placebo’ is used here in the sense of deception. [see: “Placebo Without Deception?”] It’s crucial to make a full distinction with the concept of empathy. [see: “Landscape of Empathy”] I clarified the difference in [see: “Empathy Read the full article…
From Mirror Neurons to Mirror Brain
Seeing the brain as a ‘mirror brain,’ we can see how empathy plays a crucial role in many things mind-related. Empathy is not an add-on. The human thinking is basically empathic. This is an excerpt from [see: “The Journey Towards Compassionate AI.”]. (This blog text is no easy reading.) Some researchers see mirror neurons as Read the full article…
How to Unify Ideologies
In four steps. I hope this clarifies the direction to take and which one not to take. In-between lies a huge but not insurmountable hurdle. Ideology = deep values In due time, these may become an integral part of one’s conscience. [see: “What about Conscience?“] An ideology is (almost?) always based on preexisting values. It Read the full article…
What about Conscience?
At first, I see conscience as part of the ‘natural you.’ Then it can become occupied by cultural rules and regulations. The way one handles this can be either Compassionate or precisely not. This is an excerpt from [see: “The Journey Towards Compassionate AI.”]. Conscience as a concept is – don’t be surprised – hard Read the full article…
Resistance to Change
People may want to change at the surface, but not in-depth. If the cause of some maladaptation lies in depth, change may be simultaneously sought and resisted. Resistance as fence >< as lack of motivation A particular reason for not wanting to change is like a mental fence that protects the person from uncomfortable feelings Read the full article…
How to Turn a Square into a Circle
‘Turning a square into a circle’ is a metaphor for psycho-therapy. There are two opposite directions: from the inside out and from the outside in. Preliminary In this text, I denote with the term ‘psycho-therapy’ the domain of psychotherapy and mind-related coaching in a broad sense. This text describes a conceptual landscape. Any practitioner, any Read the full article…
Insight is a Path
The way one reaches an insight is at least as important as the insight itself, viewed as an accomplished piece of knowledge. This is highly important in many situations. Please read [see: “Insight is Not a Supermarket“] Close to wisdom As I use the term, insight is more than just an intellectual idea. It always Read the full article…
How Empathy Works
This is an explanation at the mental-neuronal patterns level. Encompassing this, empathy goes beyond the purely conceptual, towards ‘big-c-Compassion.’ Please read [see: “Landscape of Empathy“], [see: “Essence of Compassion“] This text is a high-level explanation Being theoretical, it doesn’t delve into the how of making empathy work better depending on the goal. It does show Read the full article…
Always Avoidance, Always Attraction
From bacteria onwards, life has been about avoidance and attraction. This is still the case within the human being, including the mind. Depending on this, we heal or become sick. The mental-neuronal level As neurocognitive science increasingly shows, our ‘universe inside’ contains a myriad of mental-neuronal patterns. [see: “Patterns in Neurophysiology“] These are activated and Read the full article…