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Your mind as universe & what you can do to change it
Do you like it when a new way of looking at a situation or phenomenon comes to mind or is introduced to you by someone else? If your answer is “yes” then you probably will enjoy what I am about to share.
Back during junior high I was riveted by Einstein’s General Relativity and the unified, very cogent spin it offered on gravitation. Before your eyes glass over rest assured what I have to share does not get into physics but, rather, borrows something from it you will readily understand and (I hope) appreciate.
Einstein described gravity as a geometric property of what is called spacetime. Picture spacetime as a trampoline, and then mentally set a heavy object on its surface, let’s say a bowling ball. What happens? The bowling ball produces an indentation in the trampoline fabric or curvature. This is what the sun and earth and other objects in the universe do to spacetime. If one increases the mass of an object then the curvature increases. This very brief YouTube video does a smashing job of graphically illustrating this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoaOHvy5AcA
Now I want to analogize this to human psychology. Here is how:
We are all born into this world with anything but a tabula rasa or blank slate. In addition, to built-in brain circuits (modules) that favor survival as well as give rise to and sustain all kinds of behavioral propensities, there is evidence of stored memories including elements of language acquired in utero and emotional and mood wiring at unconscious as well as conscious levels.
Using the spacetime analogy, the trampoline fabric in this instance is affect (mood, emotions and affective logic circuitry) as it animates and informs most non- or un- conscious and conscious brain processes. This fabric is studded with various objects – bowling balls or planets or whatever image tickles your fancy – which are variously non- & un- conscious as well as conscious predispositions, drives, et cetera.
With this picture in mind, let’s say you reach adulthood and spend a great deal of time engaging in helping others, say as a volunteer or medical professional or cleric. This feeds the objects on the trampoline that both feed & inform charity and altruism which grow and by so doing dwarfs other objects (pursuits, needs, desires, etc.) and eventually produces enough deformation in the fabric to bring smaller nearby objects into orbit (or subjugation, as it were). The same process is true of people who, say, feed their sexual appetite or conversely, starve it (Perhaps 20% or more of marriages in the US are sexless according to some experts. While this may reflect large numbers of people with attachment or other personality disorders, it may so reflect neglect of one dimension or object in the sexual constellation of self and the feeding of others, say cyber-fantasies).
So of what real world good is there in knowing this? In-a-word your universe consists of objects whose size and influence reflects your focus or conversely neglect. So if you something is wrecking your peace or that of your marriage or professional life, sketch out your universe and see which aspects (objects) are being overfed or underfed. Then focus on shrinking or conversely growing them.
How to do this? It really is simple but this is not to say easy. Change your behavior,… your conduct. The rest of you will follow suit if you do so and stick with it.
Don’t believe remodeling your personal universe can be done in this way? Go to Amazon or whatever shopping website you prefer and search out “Strangers to Ourselves” (subtitled “Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious”) by Dr. Timothy D. Wilson (Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia). If you are in a rush after receiving this insightful tome, turn to chapter 10 and read it in its entirety.
TO READ MORE ON ATTACHMENT DISORDERS GO TO http://bit.ly/Xjqsja
SUPPLEMENTAL READING:
University of Pennsylvania Dorothy Swaine Thomas Professor in Sociology Dr. Randall Collins classic work “Interaction Ritual Chains” (Princeton Studies in Cultural Sociology)
From a review of Dr. Collins seminal work by Gary Alan Fine that appeared in Social Forces Volume 83, Number 3, March 2005 pp. 1287-1288 | 10.1353/sof.2005.0029
“Simply put, Collins argues that interaction rituals produce emotional energy, the gathering of which is a central motivating force for individuals. Affect is the engine of social order. Those interaction rituals that are most effective in generating emotional energy are the ones that bolster institutional stability. We seek emotional energy the way that felines seek catnip—it gives us a buzz. Collins stands athwart the cognitive turn in social psychology, finding affect where others find thought, and indeed valuably devotes a chapter to demonstrating the various ways in which thinking must be linked to emotional entrainment.”
https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/social_forces/v083/83.3fine.html
AFFECTIVE LOGIC: http://affect-logic.com/5.html
EXTENDED BEING: http://extendbeing.weebly.com/
© 2013 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
EXTENDED BEING (Hubpages article)
FROM DR. PAYNE’S ARTICLE “EXTENDED BEING” on Examiner.com
“The quiet punctuated by the flow of water in that aqueduct made it possible to experience not just quiet and relaxation but more so (for me anyway) a unique situation in which conscious thoughts and awareness dipped and other things came to light. One of these was a dynamic running “mental clip” (representation) of Kaoru that was interacting with me at a very subtle level. There was a spoken and unspoken dialog going on. I realized that part of her was alive within me but not solely as memories and warm associations; there was a dynamic sort of circuit at play which was influencing not only my thoughts and mood but also some elements of my personality, i.e., I was being influenced by specific personality traits she exhibited that I found appealing and was even internalizing some of them (And while mirroring and mimicry mechanisms were undoubtedly involved in this process, there was seemingly more to it than this). She had become part of the “we” that is “me”!”
CLICK TO ACCESS MY HUBPAGES ARTICLE: http://anthonypayne.hubpages.com/hub/Extended-Being-The-You-That-is-Many
EXTENDED BEING WEBSITE: http://extendbeing.weebly.com/
EXTENDED BEING: Connective-dynamic circuits twixt thou and emotionally significant others
FROM DR. PAYNE’S “EXTENDED BEING” (previously posted to the now defunct Examiner.com website)
“The quiet punctuated by the flow of water in that aqueduct made it possible to experience not just quiet and relaxation but more so (for me anyway) a unique situation in which conscious thoughts and awareness dipped and other things came to light. One of these was a dynamic running “mental clip” (representation) of Kaoru that was interacting with me at a very subtle level. There was a spoken and unspoken dialog going on. I realized that part of her was alive within me but not solely as memories and warm associations; there was a dynamic sort of circuit at play which was influencing not only my thoughts and mood but also some elements of my personality, i.e., I was being influenced by specific personality traits she exhibited that I found appealing and was even internalizing some of them (And while mirroring and mimicry mechanisms were undoubtedly involved in this process, there was seemingly more to it than this). She had become part of the “we” that is “me”!”
EXCERPT FROM DR. PAYNE’S MORE DETAILED INTRODUCTION TO “EXTENDED BEING”:
“Extended being involves the creation of dynamic, largely affective neuro-subroutines that are, in effect, a form of dynamic connectedness or connective circuit between individuals; circuits that incorporate the other, their image (sighted people), mannerisms, attitudes and other significant aspects of their person and conduct; circuits that are fed by as well as facilitate and enhance certain aspects of socialization, behavior and self-awareness as well as distinctly human consciousness; circuits that predominately operate in our pre/unconscious and influence judgments and choices and etc. made there, as well as conscious thought flow and content, mood, and actions. But circuits, too, that mean that part of our being is operating external to our bodies (It is not that this circuit exists in the sense it can be detected and measured outside us but, rather, that our emergent sense of being, the “we” that us, includes the other and experiences him or her as both an internal reality and an external, connected one. This circuit is reinforced and additional content added while in the other’s presence and may be diminished during their absence, but is unlikely to be extinguished entirely even when the emotionally meaningful other ceases to be a part of our life for whatever reason).”
Click this link to read “Extended Being” in its entirety: https://biotheorist.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/extended-being-by-dr-anthony-g-payne.pdf
EXTENDED BEING WEBSITE: http://extendbeing.weebly.com/
KNOW YOURSELF — BETTER: Free on-line tests (Empathy-systemizing, Attachment style, moral foundation, implicit biases, etc.)
How Does Your Mind Work? Psychological tests developed by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Sally Wheelwright, and their team at the University of Cambridge, England, can give you insight into the way your brain functions. Take the tests to find out your EQ (empathizing quotient) and SQ (systemizing quotient.)
Romanticizing/Pragmatizing Test (RQ/PQ)
What is your attachment style? This interactive survey takes about 5 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is designed to measure your ‘attachment style’–the way you relate to others in the context of intimate relationships. When completed, the site will reveal your attachment style, and provide a brief summary of what is known about your attachment style on the basis of contemporary scientific research.
Attachment in Past and Present Relationships
Marriage Builders® Forms and Questionnaires – Tests & effective intervention methods developed by one of America’s most successful marriage & family therapists, Dr. Willard Farley, Jr.
What are your moral foundations? (On-line Test) – This test is designed to explore the kinds of moral foundations you use when making judgments about what is right and what is wrong
Personality, Leadership, and Self-Esteem – This test is designed to explore your personality, leadership preferences, and your sense of self-worth
Implicit Association Test – The “Implicit Association Test” offers one way to probe unconscious biases. In this 10-minute test, you will be presented with words or images and asked to respond as quickly as possible.
Depression Screening Test by Ivan Goldberg, MD – -brief 18-question online automated quiz to help you determine if you may need to see a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment of depression
Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale
Partners of Internet Addicts Test
Sexual Addiction Screening Test (Women)
Sexual Addiction Screening Test (Men)
Know Yourself Tests – PSYCHOLOGY TODAY – Career Health IQ Personality Relationships
EXTENDED BEING WEBSITE: http://extendbeing.weebly.com/
Mind expansion: Recommended Reading
ALL THE BOOKS LISTED BELOW ARE ONES READ & RECOMMENDED BY DR. ANTHONY G. PAYNE
CRITICAL THINKING
Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science by Martin Gardner
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan, Ph.D.
Snake Oil Science by R. Barker Bausell, Ph.D.
The Scientist As Rebel by Freeman Dyson
Any and All Books by James Randi
Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine by Richard P. Sloan, Ph.D.
Ignorance (How It Drives Science) by Dr. Stuart Firestein
Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks by Ben Goldacre, M.D.
A Skeptic’s Guide to the Mind: What NeuroscienceCan and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves by Robert A. Burton, M.D.
DEEP ECOLOGY
Deep Ecology: Living As If Nature Mattered by Bill Devall & George Sessions
Deep Ecology for the Twenty-First Century by Bill Sessions
Green Rage: Radical Environmentalism and the Unmaking of Civilization by Christopher Manes
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
FICTION (with a powerful message)
House of Earth by Woodie Guthrie
HEALTH & MEDICINE (including stem cell medicine)
Click this link to access Dr. Christopher Centeno’s new 52 page e-book titled “The Stem Cells They Don’t Want You To Have” (FREE download): http://bit.ly/NPlVmZ
Snake Oil Science by R. Barker Bausell, Ph.D.
The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness by Jerome Groopman, MD
How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, MD
Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine by Richard P. Sloan, Ph.D.
HISTORY/POLITICS
1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Turning Points in Ancient History) by Eric H. Cline
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Mataxas
Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower
Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great (The Arts of Leadership & War) edited by Larry Hedrick
Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers by Filip Muller
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Dr. Stephen Greenblatt
The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths by Leonard M. Scruggs
Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives by Paul D. Escott
Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity by Dr. Daniel J. Goldhagen
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto by Vine Deloria, Jr.
The Face of Imperialism by Michael Parenti, Ph.D.
The Rich And The Rest Of Us: A Poverty Manifesto by Travis Smiley & Dr. Cornel West
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn
Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee by David Crockett
HUMAN NATURE & PSYCHOLOGY
Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World by Suzanne Woods Fisher
The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Sciences, and the Myth of Free Will by Heidi M. Ravven, Ph.D.
The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity by Bruce Hood, Ph.D.
The Illusion of Conscious Will by Dr. Daniel M. Wegner
What Do Women Want?: Adventures in the Science of Female Desire by Daniel Bergner
A Skeptic’s Guide to the Mind: What NeuroscienceCan and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves by Robert A. Burton, M.D.
The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions by Drs. Jaak Panksepp & Lucy Biven
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths by Michael Shermer, Ph.D.
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True by Guy P. Harrison
Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind by Robert Kurzban, Ph.D.
Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose by Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D.
The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty by Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen
Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower
Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families by Pamela Paul
Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality by Dr. Gail Dines
Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto by Anneli Rufus
The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D.
The Biology of Belief by Dr. Joseph Giovannoli
Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning by Viktor Frankl, M.D., Ph.D.
Faces in the Clouds by Stewart Guthrie, Ph.D.
RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY
Purity of Heart by Rev. Bert M. Farias [In “Purity of Heart” Rev. Farias eloquently states things which, I daresay, most mainstream and even many Charismatic and neopentecostal congregations either gloss over, tiptoe around or mangle (oftentimes resulting in their landing in the thorn patch of profound legalism). Two thumbs up and kudos to Rev. Farias, whose ministry website is http://holy-fire.org/]
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Mataxas
Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Finding Sanctuary (Monastic Steps for Everyday Life) by Abbot Christopher Jamison
Breakthrough Faith: Living a Life Where Anything is Possible by Larry Sparks
PSALM 83, The Missing Prophecy Revealed – How Israel Becomes the Next Mideast Superpower by Bill Salus
Sooner Than You Think: A Prophetic Guide to the End Times by Sid Roth
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection by Benedicta Ward
Jesus’ Words Only (Free in its entirety on-line) by Douglas J. Del Tondo, Esq.
My spiritual watering hole website: http://summerclouds.weebly.com/
The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity by Dr. James D. Tabor
Blood Kin of Jesus (James and the Lost Jewish Church) by Kenneth Hanson, Ph.D.
Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity by Dr. James D. Tabor
The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity by Rev. Jeffrey J. Bϋtz
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan, Ph.D.
How Jesus Became Christian by Barrie Wilson, Ph.D.
Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus by Dr. Robin R. Meyers
The Bible Against Itself: Why the Bible Seems to Contradict Itself by Dr. Randel McCraw Helms
Forged: Writing in the Name of God–Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are by Bart D. Ehrman, Ph.D.
The Ancient Roots of Christianity: A Native American’s Look Through Christianity by my fellow Choctaw Nation Tribal member, Rainbow Eagle
God and His Demons by Michael Parenti, Ph.D.
The Real Kosher Jesus: Revealing the mysteries of the Hidden Messiah by Michael L. Brown, Ph.D.
The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? by David James
The Rainbow Covenant: Torah and the Seven Universal Laws by Michael Ellias Dallen, Esq.
Faces in the Clouds by Stewart Guthrie, Ph.D.
Rats in the Cosmic Laboratory: Is God A Scientist? by Dr. A. G. Payne
Hitler and HaShem (The Almighty) by Dr. Anthony G. Payne
Heart of a Missionary by Dr. A.G. Payne
The Spiritual Aspect of Holistic Medicine by Dr. A. G. Payne
Religion is not about God by Prof. Loyal Rue
The Secret Origins of the Bible by Tim Callahan
Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith by George E. Vaillant, M.D.
The Undercover Philosopher by Michael Philips
Why We Believe What We Believe by Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman
“WALKING AROUND THINKING ABOUT STUFF”
EXTENDED BEING WEBSITE: http://extendbeing.weebly.com/
Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine by Richard P. Sloan, Ph.D.
“Living Longer, Yes! But, Living Well?” by Dr. Anthony G. Payne
Fascination with Dying and Death as Participation by Dr. Anthony G. Payne
Is an attachment style problem complicating or undermining your life? (Examiner article) by Dr. Anthony G. Payne
For Seekers & Other Heretics 