pdf - Dr. Dan Siegel

72
MII]DSIGHT: THE T,{EWSCIEI,{CEOF PERSOI,{AL TRAI/SF ORMATI ON
\ /l'l'lI DR.
I:XCIRP'|S
AND IN'l'l:RVll:W
DANIEL SIEGEL
D a n i e Si
t egeh
t a sa c c o m p tished
a featthat no brai nsci enti sthasbeforeor si nce:
of
Aw o rk i n gd e fi n i ti o n
th a t a n sw ersthe questi onW hati s mi nd?"Thei mportance
c o mi n gto s o m ek i n do f c ta ri t yaboutw hatthe mi ndi s, evenas a starti ngpl acef rom
research.
cannot be underesti mated.
w h i c hto a s s e s sa n dadvance
H i sdefi ni ti on
i s si mpte:
process
monitored,
measured,ohservedand modified.
regulatory
that
can
be
Mind is a
,".r.""f
're
".""-,".*.$
W
73
n a n e x te n s i v e
i n te rv i e ww i th D r.S i egeL,
he sharedthe processof comi ngup w i th
I
th i s d e fi n i ti o n
o f " mi n d ."
I
I
I am trained as a scientistin both biologicalsciencesand chemistry,and alsoin narrative
sciences,thestudy of how we createmeaningin our livesand our senseof identity of who
we are. l'm also a scientistin studying relationshipsand how they are involvedin wellbeing.l'm trained through the NationalMental Health lnstitute in studying attachments.
ln addition to all of that, l'm alsoa physician.I'm a healthcare provider and specifically
a psychiatristfor adults, adolescents,and children.
Asapsychiatrist,whatlfoundwasthatthesystemsusedtocategorizestatesofmentalillness
didn't really makea coherentpicture of how to understandpeoplewhen they becameill.
It was quitelrustrating to nothavean overarching,conceptualframework to understand
wellness or lack
of wellness. 0ver
twenty years ago,I
beganby thinking
deeply about the
nature of wellbeing and what it
might be.
I rana group
composed
offofi scientists
andourjob
wast0 simply
discuss
theconnection
between
themind
andthebrain.Thebrainwastheeasypart:Thebrainwas
easyt0 define.
Butnoneofthemcouldcomeupwitha
definition
ofthemind.
What I discovered
was that the fields of mental health, psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing,
occupationaltherapy, and educationaltherapy,didn't havea definition of the mind. We
didn't even havea definition of mental health. 0ver the courseof the last nineyears, I
have askedalmost 90,0A0officialsfrom every disciplineof mental healtharound the
globeif they ever had even one lecture about what the mind is or if they ever had a
lecture defining what mental health is. WeII over 95o/o
of professionalsin the field of
mental health don't havea definition of the mind or mental health. I personally felt
this was a crisis becauseafter all, if we are mental health practitioners, what is it we
are practicing?
Eventually,I ran a group composedof forty scientistsand our job was to simply discuss
the connectionbetweenthe mind and the brain. lhe brain was the easypart: Thebrain
was easy to define, But none of them could come up with a detinition of the mind. They
were evenarguing about the descriptionof the mind.
The group was about to dissolve. I took myself for a walk and thought there must be
somekind of phrasingthat can serveas a working definitionof the mind. I cameup
with a def inition that 100o/o
of the academicsagreed on. Thisdef initionrevolutionized
parents,
as mental health professionals, as teachers. The
what we could do as
definition helped us to understandhow to make the mind stronger; how the mind
is working weII and when it is not working well, and it actuallygives you a place
to begin to deepenthe discussioneven with peoplein various sciencesas well as
practitioners,and even philosophers.
ww\ /.superconsctousness.com
74
In this short excerptfrom his latest
book, ltindsight; fhe IUewScienceol
Personal Translormation Sieget provides
u s w it h ins ightint oh i s " o v e r-a rc h i n g
fra m ewor k . "His m a n yre fe re n c e s
" t u d ea [[ fo rm s
to "m inds ight inc
of
meditativeand contemptative
practices.
l e tsu s " nameandtame"the emoti ons
we are experiencing
ratherthan be
overwhetmed
by them.
Considerthe differencebetween
s p e a k i n gor thi nki ng," l arnsad"and
" l fe e ts ad."S i mi Lar
as thosetw o
statementsmayseem,thereis actuatty
provided
Excerpt
withpermission
fromMind a profounddifferencebetweenthem. "l
Yo u B
r r ain.I nc .@201 0
a m s a d ."i s a ki ndof setf-defi ni ti on
and
a v e ryL imi ti ng
one." l feelsad,"suggests
it hineac ho f u s th e rei s a n
th e a b i ti tyto recogni ze
andacknow tedge
int er nalme n ta lw o rtd- w h a t I
a feetingwithoutbeingconsumedby
hav ec om eto th i n ko f a s th e s e a it. Thefocusingskitlsthat are a part of
i n si de- a wonder f u ri
I c h p ta c efi tte dw i th m i n d s i ghtmakei t possi bte
to di sti ngui sh
th o u ght sandf eelin g sm
, e m o ri e sa n d
b e tw e enthe feeti ngoverthe i denti ty,
d re am s ,hopesandw i s h e s .l t c a na ts ob e a c c e p the
t presentmomentof that
a tu r but entplac ewh e rew e e x p e ri e n c e feeting,tet it go,and thentransformit.
th e dar k s ideof at [ t h o s ew o n d e rfu l
fe e tingsandt hough ts- fe a r,s o rro w ,
M i n d s i ght
actsas a veryspeci al[ensthat
d re ad,r egr et ,night ma re s .
g i v e su s the capaci ty
to percei ve
the mi nd
Wh ent he inner
se a s eem st o
cra s hin on us ,
th reat eningt o
d ra g us down
b e to wt o t he dar k
d e pt hs ,it c an
ma k e us f eeIas if
w e a r e dr owning.
Wh o am ongus
h a s not at one
ti me or anot her
fe tt o v er whet m ed
b y th e s ens at ionsge n e ra te dfro m w i th i n
o u r own m inds ?S ome ti m e sth e s e
fe e t ingsar e jus t a p a s s i n gth i n g ...b u t
so m et im est heys ee mto b e s o m e th i n g
mu c h m or e int r ac t a b tes,o m u c h p a rt o f
th e v er yes s enc eof w h o w e a re th a t i t
mi g ht not ev enoc c u rto u s th a t w e c a n
ch anget hem . T hisi s w h e reth e s k i tt
th a t I c at t ' m inds ig h t"c o m e si n . l t h a s
th e pot ent iaIt o f r ee u s fro m p a tte rn so f
mi n d t hat ar e get t in gi n th e w a y o f ti v i n g
o u r l iv est o t he f ut t e s t.
with greaterctaritythan everbefore.This
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mindsight
T H E N E W S C I E N C EOF
P E R S O N A LT R A N S F O R M ATION
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Mindsight
isa kindoffocused
attention
thatallows
usto
that under t ies
everythingwe
meanwhen
w e sp eakof
havi ngsociaI
and emot ionaI
i nte[tigence.
seetheinternal
workings
ofourownminds.
lt helps
us
processes
to beaware
ofourmental
without
being
swept
awaybythem,enables
usto getourselves
offtheautopilot
ofingrained
behaviors
andhabitual
responses,
andmoves
We now know
usbeyond
thereactive
emotional
loopsweallhavea
from t he f indings
tendency
togettrapped
in.
of neu r oscience
Mi nds ightis a k indo f fo c u s e da tte n ti o n
that attowsus to see the internal
wo rk ingsof our own m i n d s .l t h e tp su s
to be awareof our mentalprocesses
wi th outbeings wep ta w a yb y th e m,
enabtesus to get oursetvesoff the
autopilotof ingrainedbehaviorsand
h a bit uatr es pons es,
a n d mo v e su s
b e y ondt he r eac t iv e m o ti o n al[o o p sw e
a [[ hav ea t endenc yt o g e t tra p p e di n . l t
SuperConsciousness
Summer2010
researchthat
the m ent aI
lens is somethingthat virtuattyeveryone and emoti onalchangesw e can cr eat e
can devetop,
and oncewe haveit we can throughcutti vati on
of the ski l. of
t
d i v ed e e ptyi ntothe mentalseai nsi de,
mi ndsi ghtare transformati o naI
at
exptoringour own innerlives.A uniquety the veryphysicat[eve[of the brain.
h u m a na bi Li ty,
mi ndsi ghtattow sus to
B y devetopi ng
the abi ti tyto focusour
e x a mi n ecl osetyi n greatdetai Ianddepth, attenti onon our i nternaIw orld,we pick
th e p ro cessby w hi chw e thi nk,feet,and up a " scatpet"
w e canuseto rescut ptour
behave.lt alsoatlowsus to reshapeand neuraIpathw ays,
sti mutati ngt he gr owt h
redirectour innerexperiences
so that
of areasthat are cruci aIto me nt aIheat t h.
we havemorefreedomof choicein our
everyday
actions,more powerto create
B ut changeneverj usthappens;it 's
th e fu tu re,to becomethe authorof our
somethingwe haveto work at. Though
o w ns to ry.Mi ndsi ghti s the basi cski l .t
the abi ti tyto navi gate
the i nne rsea
Auniquely
human
ability,
mindsight
allows
ust0 examine
closely
ingreatdetailanddepth,
theprocess
bywhichwe
think,feel,andbehave.
lt alsoallows
ust0 reshape
and
redirect
ourinnerexperiences
sothatwehavemore
freedom
ofchoice
inoureveryday
actions,
morepower
t0
create
thefuture,
to become
theauthor
ofourownstory.
75
w w w .5upe rcon s c rous neS s .c om
to
e q u i ti b r i um
that enabtesus to cope
with the smatl and largestressesof our
livesT
. h r oughthe abi ti tyto focusour
a tte n ti on,
mi ndsi ghtatsohel psthe body
a n d b ra i nachi evehomeostasi-sthe
i n te rn a bal
l ance,
c o o rd i n ati on,
and
a d a p ti v e ness
that
Ho wdo we dev et op
t h e a b i ti tyto p e rc e i v e fo rm sth e coreof
a th ought- notjus t h a v eo n e- a n dto
h e a tth Mi
. ndsi ght
kn o w it as an ac t iv it yo f o u r mi n d ss o th a t also improves
our re[ationships
we are not takenoverby it? Howcanwe
b e re c ept iv teo t he m i n d ' sri c h e sa n d n o t w i th o u r f ri ends,
just reactiveto its reflexes?Howcanwe
c o tl e a g u es,
ano
5 p 0 u s e s,
d i rec tour t hought sa n dfe e ti n g sra th e r
th a n be dr iv enby t he m ?A n d h o wc a nw e c h i td re nbut
,
kn o wt he m indsof oth e rss o th a t w e c a n most importantty,
truty understand"wheretheyare coming th e re l a t i onshi p
from" and can respondmore effectivety w e h a v ewi th our
T h?ea b i ti tyto l o o k own setves.
a n d c om pas s ionate ty
w i th inand Der c eivteh e mi n da n dto
reftecton our experiences
is essentiaIto C re a ti n gw ett-bei ng- i n our mental
and
o u r wet t - being,
c an h e L pu s b u i tds o c i a t [i fe ,i n o ur cl oseretati onshi ps,
e v e ni n o ur bodi es- i s a l earnabl e
a n d em ot ionalbr ain p o w e r,
m o v eo u r
l i ve sf r om dis or dert o w e [t-b e i n ga, n d
s k i tt.W henw e exerci semi ndsi ght,
h e [pus c r eat es at isfy i n g
re ta ti o n s h i p s w e a c tu a l tychangethe physi cat
the
fi tte dwit h c onnec t ioann d c o m o a s s i o n . s tru c tu r eof the brai n.D evel opi ng
[e n sth a t enabl esus to seethe mi nd
m o rec l e artysti mutatesthe brai nto
l n o ur indiv iduat
liv e s ,m i n d s i g hot ffe rs
g ro w i m p ortantnew connecti ons.
Thi s
u s the oppor t unittyo e x p to reth e
re v e l a ti on
i s basedon one of the most
subjectiveessenceof who we are,to
of the
e x c i ti n gsci enti fi cdi scoveri es
cre a t ea t if eof deep e rm e a n i n gw i th a
ri ch erand m or ec omp re h e n s i b il ne te rn a l last twentyyears:Howwe focusour
a tte n ti o nshapesthe structureof the
wortd.We are betterabteto batance
supportsthe i dea
b ra i n .N e urosci ence
o u r e m ot ionsandach i e v ea n i n te rn a t
o f o ur m inds- t o hav emi n d s i g h-t
i s o u r bir t hr ightit
, do e sn o t c o me
a u to m at ic at ly
any
, m o reth a n b e i n g
b o rnwit h m us c t esm a k e su s a th te te s .
Th e realit yis t hat we n e e dc e rta i n
to devetopthis essential
experiences
h u m anc apac it y .
that devetopingthe reftectiveskil.Ls
of
mi ndsi ghtacti vatesthe verycir cuit st hat
createresi ti enceand w etl -be ingand
that underti eempathyand com passion
as w ett.
W ett- being
emerg eswhen
w e cre at e
conne ct ionsin
our l i vesand het p
the brainachieve
and maint ain
i ntegr at ion,
a processby
w hi ch separ at e
el ement s
are l i n ked
togeth erint o a
w orki n gwhole.
l ntegrati oni s at the heartof how we
connectto one anotheri n hea t t hyways,
whit e
honori ngone another' sdi ffer ences
wide
of
communicat
ion
keepi ngour [i ne
open.l t i s atsoi mportantfor ret easing
the creati vi tythat emergesw h en t he
teftand ri ght si desof the bra inar e
functi oni ngtogether.
theabilityto focus
Through
mindsight
also
ourattention,
helpsthebodyandbrain
homeostasis
achieve
theinternal
balance,
coordination,
and
thatforms
the
adaptiveness
core
ofhealth.
Su oer Cons c iousSu
n e mme
s s 2r 0 10
l ntegrati on
enabtesus to be ft exibt e
andfree:the [ackof suchcon nect ions
promotesa l i fethat i s ei therrigidor
chaoti c:stuckand dul t on the one hand
on the
or exptosive
and unpredictabte
comesw i th a sense
other.Integrati on
77
o f v it alit yandwit h o u ti t w e c a nb e c o m e
i m pr is onedin beh a v i o raru
I ts - a n x i e ty
a n d depr es s ion,
g re e d ,o b s e s s i o na,n d
a d dic t ion.
W it h m i n d s i g h t,
w e c a na l te r
the wayt he m indf u n c ti o n sa n d mo v eo u r
l i v est owar dsint e g ra ti o a
n n da w a yfro m
the ex t r em esof r i g i d i tyo r c h a o s a
, nd
a re abt et o f oc uso u r m i n d i n w a y sth a t
ti ter at Ly
int egr at eth e b ra i na n d m o v ei t
towar dsr es it ience
a n d h e a tth .
promotesthe growthof new connections
a mo ngexi sti ngneuronsandseemsto
stimulatethe growthof myetin.the fatty
s h e a t hthat speedsnervetransmi ssi onNoveltycanevenstimutatethe growthof
n e w n e urons- a fi ndi ngthat tooka l ong
ti me to w i n acceptance
i n the sci enti fi c
c o mmuni ty.
N europtasti cican
ty be
a c ti v ated
by attenti onal one,or w henw e
p a rti ci pate
i n an acti vi tythat i s i mportant
a n d meani ngful
to us, but i f w e are not
e n g a g edemoti onatland
y the experi ence
is lessmemorabte,the structureof the
b ra i ni s LessLi kety
to change.
B eingm indf uL,
ha v i n gmi n d fu t
a w ar enes sis, of t e nd e fi n e da s a w a y
o f int ent ionaltpa
y y i n ga tte n ti o nto th e
p res entm om entw i th o u tb e i n gs w e p tu p
. r a c ti c e d
b yjudgm ent sP
fi xedmentaIpercepti ons
i n th e E a s ta n d D i s s o tvi ng
the W es t .in anc ie n ti
t m e sa n d i n m o d e rn c re a te datongthe brai n' sf i ri ngpatterns
within
so c iet iesm
, indf u L
a w a re n e ste
s c h n i q u e s and reinforcedretationatty
h e t ppeopt em ov eto w a rd sw e tt-b e i n gb y o u r c u l turalpracti ces
i s no si mpte
tra iningt he m indto fo c u so n mo me n t-to - a c c o mpti shment.
0ur retati onshi ps
patterns
m om entex per ie n c eO. fte n ti m eps e o p te e n g rai nour earl yperceptuaI
h e art he wor d m in d fu tn e sasn dth i n k
a n dd eepenthe w aysw e cometo seethe
"r et igion,but
" t he re a l i tyi s th a t fo c u s i n g w o rtdand beti eveour i nnernarrati ve.
that
o u r at t ent ionin t h i s w a yi s a b i o l o g i c a I Wi th o utan i nternaIeducati on
p roc es st hat pr om o te sh e a L th
- a s a fo rm te a c hesus to pauseandreftect,w e may
o f br ainhy giene- n o t a re ti g i o nV. a ri o u s te n dto l i veon automati candsuccumb
to th e secul turaIandcorti caIi nftuences
re t igionsm ayenc o u ra g th
e i s h e a tth p rom ot ingpr ac t i c eb, u t l e a rn i n gth e s k i tt th a t o u shus tow ardi sol ati on.
P artof our
i n achi evi ng
w ett-bei ngi s to
o f m indf ulawar e n e s iss s i mp tya w a yo f
c h a l tenge
d e v e t op
enoughmi ndsi ghtto ctearus of
whatw e h a v ed e fi n e da s th e
cu t t iv at ing
th e s erestri cti ve
defi ni ti onsof oursel ves
of c on s c i o u s n e s s .
i n t egr at ion
timesand
Practiced
intheEastandtheWest,inancient
help
techniques
in modern
societies,
mindful
awareness
people
well-being
bytraining
themindto
movetowards
focus
0nmoment-to-moment
experience.
i nterconnecti on,
bei ngconsider at and
e
concerned
w i th the [argerwor t d becom es
a fundamentaL
shi ft i n our way of t iving.
In a [engthyi ntervi eww i th Dr .Daniet
S i eget,S uperC onsci ousness
Edit or i n-C hi efD ani etteGrahamd iscussed
the manyi mpti cati ons
for the hum an
experi ence
as a w hoteas a whot ewhen
w e uti ti zeMi ndscope.
H ereis an excer pt
from that di scussi on:
art of the reftective practice,
ironicatly,is that it makes our
sensesstronger and bodity
wett-being ctearer, and increases
empathy towards others, which then
strengthensour connect ionst o peopt e
i n our l i ves.W e becomem or e open in
a toving and wonderfully exciting new
way. ln fact the reat definition of setf
becomesw e, and att of a suddenwe
begi nto thi nk that there i s hope f or
the pl anet.W e begi n to re at izet his is
our cottectivehome. There is real hope
to turn thi ngs around.
I am incredibtyoptimisticthat with
reftectivepracticesthere is hope for our
species.We haveto understandthe brain
so that we can grasp how non-integrated
thinkingputs us at risk for p[anetary
destruction,but atso to harnessthe
power of our creativityto turn it all
aroundand turn this into a much more
integratedhome in which we live.
Whenwe understandhow our social
networksinterconnectin that intimate
way, we realize the potentiat is huge.
The ultimateoutcomeof integration
so that we can growtowardshigher
is compassion.Whenwe tatk about
Thebr ainc hange sp h y s i c a tty
i n re s p o n s e d e g reesof i ntegrati on.
integrationwithin the contextof
and n e wme n ta Is k i tl sc a n
to ex per ienc e,
personatheatth,we are atsotatking
Se e i n gthe mi ndcl eartynot onty
b e ac quir edwit h i n te n tl o n aeI ffo rt,w i th
of
aboutimpticationsfor culturaI
the vari ousdi mensi ons
foc us edawar ene s as n d c o n c e n tra ti o n . c a ta ty zes
evolution.In that way, heatthbecomes
i n te g r ati on
as i t promotesphysi caL,
Ex per iencac
e t iv a te n
s e u ra Ifi ri n g ,
p
ro
d
u
c
ti
o
n
p
s
y
c
h
otogi
cat,
w
etta
secutaressencethat att peoptehavea
and
i
nter-personaI
of
whic hin t ur n lead sto th e
the opti cat right to receive,and we can aU work to
b e i n g i, t al sohetpsus di ssotve
o r ot einst hat enab ten e wc o n n e c ti o nto
s
We
bring that heatthystate of integrationto
of our separateness.
b e m adeam ongn e u ro n si,n th e p ro c e s s d e tu si ons
for oursetves ,n" *o116.rir.i
morecompassi on
ca t ledneur opt asti c tty
B e. s i d e sfo c u s e d d e v e t op
a tt ent ion.ot herf a c to rsi n c tu d ea e ro b i c a n do u r l ovedones,but w e atsow i den
to i ncl ude
D r.D ani etS i egeL'wsork can be f oLlowed
nov et t ya, n d e mo ti o n aaI ro u s a t. o u r c i r cteof compassi on
e xer c is e,
at http://drdansieget.com/
other aspectsof the wortd beyondour
we
W i thi ntegrati on,
i mmedi ateconcerns.
whenwe are
We tearn more effectivety
Photos:Thinkstock
p hy s ic at tac
y t iv e.N o v e l tyo, r e x p o s i n g
see ourselveswith an expandedidentity.
o ur s elv es
t o new i d e a sa n d e x p e ri e n c e s , Whenwe embracethe reatitvof this
ouSness.com
www.suDerconScl