What is Thought?
18th August, 2017
Random question isn’t it? But have you ever really thought about what exactly thoughts are? Maybe asking:
- Where do they come from – do they just bubble up from nowhere?
- How do we know which thoughts to pay most attention to?
- At what point do thoughts become feelings – physically noticeable sensations?
In a mind that is distributed, thought location matters… Ask yourself:
- “Where is a thought located within me at the point I become consciously aware of it?”
… This will vary from situation to situation and can help you to become curious about the very purpose of the thought itself.
Are the thoughts there to provoke or inhibit passion through connecting in with your values or assessing your sense of emotional buy in and alignment with others or the cause at hand? We have all experienced our hearts fluttering or an aching sensation in our heart from time to time… this is real information to pay attention to.
Are the thoughts “ideas generators” seeking possibility or perhaps even highlighting perceived limitations? We have all known what it is like to have a busy mind going around in circles trying to “figure things out” during moments of indecision, or developed internal chatter when we are resistant to or confused by new information.
Do the thoughts come from a deep place within you, a sense of unease or a compelling awareness of a desire or necessity to take action of some kind, those feelings of “this is so very me”, or “this is really not me”… sensations without words that can either lead to confident and congruent behaviour or halt progress without a clear explanation of why.
Why does it matter you may well be asking…
Well it matters because thoughts are the result of neurons firing and wiring together they are the actions of complex and adaptive neural systems responding to stimuli.
Our nervous system is distributed throughout our body and when we acknowledge that thought resides not only in our heads, a whole world of possibility arises for how we can go about our decision making and our ways of knowing.
This links to embodied cognition… and mBraining is one method of deliberately checking in with the signals our nervous system offers. We know that the nervous system provides clearest signals when we are balanced… neither hyped up nor lethargic… so we start with mBIT balanced breathing and methods to enable clarity of mind… those who practice mindfulness will recognize this state of being.
We then use a variety of mBIT approaches to establish / maintain / enhance communication with the signals available from our heart, our head and our gut… this process in itself wires new pathways to these areas of the nervous system enabling a clearer flow of information.
We become curious about the signals we are receiving from our heart, our head and our gut using a number of mBIT methods to ensure these areas of our nervous system are working optimally in terms of their sequence, roles and alignment with one another. Many of the tools of NLP and other applied psychologies come in to play here. This is an exciting aspect of mBraining because we are learning how to work with our nervous system to interpret signals, to address internal conflicts and to develop self-alignment tools that we can each apply to all areas of our lives no matter what the current goal is.
Our thoughts become clearer, our decision-making becomes more embodied, our actions come from a place that lacks dissonance, we become able to explore and navigate inertia, truly connected with what matters, really creative in our solution finding, expressing ourselves fully and with inner strength that comes from a new level of awareness of the role that our nervous system plays in enabling us to develop an authentic lifestyle.
So what is conscious thought? In truth scientists are still arguing on a precise definition… It certainly bubbles up from situational perception and what we do know for sure is that the way we perceive the world is through our nervous system… so if you are still arguing that the head is the only thinking domain, it might be time to get wise!
Find out more about mBraining and mBIT here:
Bring mBraining into your life through experiencing mBIT Coaching for yourself or attending / hosting a 2 day mBIT Evolve Your World workshop.
Enable others to do the same through training to become an mBIT Certified Coach – a 4 day workshop… Next courses with availability are October and November!
Develop your business, bringing mBIT into your organization with a 2 day mBIT Leadership Decision Making programme.
If your curiosity has been sparked please get in touch to start a conversation or perhaps comment below / share this blog article with your networks. Thank you!
*mBraining – Aligning / Using your multiple brains.
*mBIT – Multiple Brain Integration Techniques
