The Wise Mind
Posted on February 01, 2020 by Chris Wagnor, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
The human mind can be our greatest ally or our most troublesome enemy if we don't fully understand it, or how we can manage it
Recognizing how our minds works can be the first step we take towards mastering it.
The human mind has three contrasting (yet interconnected) states: The Reasonable Mind, the Emotional Mind, and the Wise Mind. While we each possess these states of mind, most people will habitually operate inside of a specific one most of the time.
THE REASONABLE MIND: An individual uses the rational part of their mind when approaching a situation intellectually. They will often plan ahead and make decisions based on the facts. The reasonable mind weighs deeply on information and facts, sometimes to the detriment of productivity or effectiveness. The reasonable mind can often become stuck in opinion and debate. It is often uncompromising and likes rules.
THE EMOTIONAL MIND: The emotional mind is used when feelings control an individual’s thoughts and behaviours. They may act impulsively and give little consideration to the consequences. The emotional mind doesn’t necessarily work with facts, but it generally works on what it believes the truth is, or a perception of truth, or merely a projection of what it thinks the truth might be.
THE WISE MIND: The wise mind is the balance between the reasonable mind and the emotional mind. Where an individual recognizes and respects their feelings, but they are able to respond to them rationally and maturely. The wise mind is that place where the reasonable mind and the emotional mind overlap. It’s that part of every person that can know and experience truth; it’s where the person knows something to be true or valid.
THE WISE MIND EXERCISE
Define and describe a recent experience that you’ve had when you were operating in each of these three states of mind. Note: Be observant of the difference in outcomes and try to interpret why the differences were.
The Reasonable Mind
The Emotional Mind
The Wise Mind
Using the Wise Mind is like riding a bike, which takes effort, balance, and steering. We can learn to use the Wise Mind, just as we learned to ride a bike, only by experience. Just as we must pedal to start a bike rolling – we must be willing to make a little extra effort to initiate the Wise Mind.
Just as we must find balance in order to not fall off our bike – we find the Wise Mind by making an effort to find the balance of our emotions and thinking. Intuition steers us toward the Wise Mind. The onslaught of uncomfortable emotions (anxiety, depression, anger, shame, guilt, etc.) is like speeding out of control and losing our balance. We can learn to activate the Wise Mind and do the best we can to maintain and regain balance.
As we bring Wise Mind skills to our emotional activation, we naturally and gradually develop a sense of inner confidence to move through the challenging moments. Confidence does NOT mean we won’t make mistakes or lose our balance. Confidence is just trusting our capacity and willingness to use (on the spot) our learned skills to tame our emotional triggers.
When we access Wise Mind we are able to:
Regain calmness when attacked or confronted
Intuitively sense what will calm emotions when in the heat of internal crisis or conflict
Find clarity of choice when confused
Many benefits accompany developing the Wise part of your Mind (which just requires a little bit of practice), and they are as follows:
A more peaceful and pleasurable participation in life.
Increased capacity to identify, understand, and tame self-sabotaging beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and habits.
The elimination of destructive thought patterns that feed future suffering.
The reinforcement of patterns that seed future happiness.
Ongoing effective emotion-regulation (especially during times of extreme crisis and challenge).
Increased capacity to tolerate painful life events.
Emotional resiliency.
Enhanced interpersonal and emotional intelligence.
QUESTIONS FOR SELF-REFLECTION:
What step/s can you take today to further develop the growth of the Wise part of your Mind?
How might you encourage yourself to further develop the wise part of your mind?
How might you benefit from developing the wise part of your mind?
