Tag: internal representations

How does the Brain represent Reality, Part 2

More on Representational Systems

Interestingly language gives us some clues about the primary representational system used by ourselves and others. Ever heard the phrases, “Oh I see what you are saying”, “I see what you mean”. At one level it doesn’t seem to make sense how can they see what I’m saying or meaning?

What’s coming through is leaking from their primary representational system, in this case visual. Let’s look at some examples in the following figures.

Figure 1 visual                                       Figure 2  auditory

Figure 3 kinesthetic

When you respond in the moment,  what is the prime system V, A, K, you use?  Use your ‘Observer’  to notice which system seems dominant?

It may be kinesthetic (feelings) in the moment and  perhaps you recall it later using visual.
Knowing for example that you get a feeling, in the moment, can enable you to do something different, ( respond )
When I get this feeling in a meeting I will say something out loud to register my discomfort and buy myself some time, to reflect on how I will respond. e.g. “Er just a moment here, that doesn’t feel quite right, I’d like to reflect on it and come back If I may”

If someone was being annoying in a meeting, what is the prime system you use in recalling that memory?

Using the ‘Observer’ in the moment of making a judgement about a person, which system is dominant?

What would the judgement be if you used another system?

In general, just start to be aware of language used by others and yourself.

Do you have the same preferred representational system as they do? If not can you switch to using their kind of language?  That really helps rapport and communication if you match others in language.
Think about a ‘vision’ for yourself. Use each of the representational systems
o What do I see?
o What do I hear?
o What do I feel?

Knowing your preferred representational system and being able to exercise the others, will give you greater flexibility in  connecting and communicating.

It will help you enrich your internal experience of  reality, the ‘world’ out there. 🙂

That critical voice in your head!

 

Do you have a voice in your head telling you stuff?

Is the stuff it tells you always helpful?

If you answered yes to the first question and no to the second question then read on.

This phenomenon has one or two descriptions, the voice in your head, your inner critic,  as my colleague Debbie calls it, ‘The Crow’, The  Gremlin (and others). This last description is used by Rick Carson in his book Taming Your Gremlin. 

Rick talks about, that we are not our beliefs, we are not our thoughts.

Actually as this picture implies, perhaps our thoughts are not facts, just maybe,  they are not actual facts.

How can that be?

Because they are internal representations of ‘facts’, that we each create and build, from what  we perceive of reality, through our ‘lenses’, our(beliefs).

Yet we treat them  and sometimes defend them as if they are! 

This all means of course when we hear that voice, that Gremlin, telling us stuff, we believe her/him/it! Then we act upon what is said, quite often to our own or other’s detriment.

What to do?

Have a look at Rick’s video

Rick talks about the life force within you and how the ‘Gremlin’ interferes with your experience.

I like these:-

  • You do not live life, life lives you.
  • Life is the dancer, you are the dance, what kind of dance are you?

Let’s use a technique here to get at who’s in charge:-

Think of a ‘recent conversation’ with your Gremlin, have it run in your head, you don’t need to say anything out loud. As you run it, do these things:-

  • Locate the voice, where specifically is it? At the back of your head? To one side? Above?  Etc?
  • Who’s voice is it? Your mother’s? Your father’s?  Your brother’s / sister’s? Yours? A voice from a scary movie? Someone else’s, No idea?
  • Repeat the conversation once more, as it normally runs.
  • Now run again, this time make the voice very, very quiet, a tiny whisper
  • Again, this time,turn the volume way up, it is screaming very, very,  loud, Rock Concert Amp LOUD!
  • This time, normal volume, but it is speaking very slowly, veeerryy slloowwlly.
  • Now, same conversation,  speed it up, very, very, fast, Mickey Mouse fast,
  • Then answer this question.  Who is in charge, You or the voice?

From my Twitter tag line:- If you permit your thoughts to have control, guess what? You lost control!. Ask, what are my thoughts about this? Observe them, don’t be carried away by them.

  • What have you learned about yourself in reading this BLOG entry?
  • How will you now begin to be, in relationship to that inner Gremlin?
  • How will you now be learning to  deal with the dialogues?