“The mind isn't made for thinking.”
It was a conclusion that a client came to, when we’d reached the space of insight together, and things were seen with clarity.
I gotta admit, as we sat there, reflecting on what had just been said, we both felt a tad uncomfortable with the phrasing—like it didn’t truly nail what we’d just seen together—but we both immediately knew exactly what was meant.
It’s that importance of seeing that the mind—the chatterbox, thinky-thinky, here-have-a-thought bit that we’re aware of—is not the SOURCE of anything.
It’s a data repository through which we become aware of experience.
Here we go, think of it like this:
🤔
A helpful metaphor
Unwittingly, we’d stumbled upon a notion that is the basis of lots of exciting, progressive thinking from the neuroscience community (who are finally demonstrating what ancient philosophies have always known) where Cognitive Scientists like Donald Hoffman talk about the “primacy of consciousness,” suggesting that,
“Consciousness isn’t a product of the brain. The brain is a product of consciousness.”
Which is brilliant and erudite and thought-provoking… and for this here simpleton, a bit too hard to get my head around.
So how about thinking about it in terms of a good old fashioned radio?
📻
Every single radio station you could possibly want to listen to is already there. The radio doesn’t create the signals, it just tunes into them.
It’s a receiver (radios literally used to be called ‘wireless receivers’), not a transmitter.
And what’s the ‘reality’ we get? A very real experience of a programme that can be enjoyed to the full; one that to all intents and purposes looks like it’s being created by the radio.
But it’s not. The radio’s just tuning into something that’s already there.
That's you, that is
And, in no doubt overly-simplistic, but ultimately helpful terms, consider that this is how the mind works, tuning in to the infinite, already-there, vibrating mass of energy.
What's the ‘reality’ that we get? A very real experience of Thought-perception that can be enjoyed to the full; one that to all intents and purposes looks like it’s being created by the mind.
But it’s not. The mind’s just tuning into something that’s already there.
And there are a bazillion other thought-experiences up for grabs.
😯
“The mind isn’t made for thinking” – see?
Decisions, decisions
One of the most show-stopping IMPLICATIONS of this understanding of how the mind works, is that when it comes to decision-making, the answer we’re looking for, technically speaking, is already there.
We don’t come up with an answer.
Ooh.
😳
That’s different, isn’t it?
💟
Giles
This is the direction we look in, in the Decision-making Video Masterclass, available in the store now, either as a stand alone self-study course, or paired with a 1:1 personalised coaching session to deepen your insights and apply them to your unique situation.
If choices in life seem to carry a weight that you'd now like to shrug off—and you're open to seeing something more fundamental about their nature—then this one is probably for you.