I watched a wonderful video. It is of a scientist dancing some information about the brain. Be sure to take a look at Scientists explain their work through the medium of dance (BPS Research Digest blog). Beautiful. So much conveyed with no words.
I have posted before about embodied cognition and about the brain's language of images. Relying only on words when resolving a dispute leaves out so much potential wisdom and creativity. Although not in a conflict process, I was reminded of the power of body expression in a recent Brains on Purpose™ class.
The students in groups were reviewing seven points about the brain by drawing images. One group included a professional dancer; they chose to choreograph for her a dance presenting the seven points. After watching the dance, the class was silent. I think we were all surprised that so much could be communicated through that medium. From the Scientists explain . . . post that I linked to above: "the human body is an excellent medium for communicating science--perhaps not as data-rich as a peer-reviewed article, but far more exciting."
Am I suggesting that disputants dance? Perhaps, in a minority of arenas where it would not be too far outside the mold of
Continue reading "The brain dancer: How about a little movement in your mediation? Just a little?" »
Denyse O'Leary is posting parts of the transcripts from the morning panel of last month's UN conference Beyond the Mind-Body Problem: New Paradigms in the Science of Consciousness. (My earlier post about Beyond the Mind-Body Problem.)
Here are the excerpts she has posted
I will add links here as she posts more excerpts. You may watch or listen to the whole of both the morning and afternoon panels here.
The idea that we carry many people within our personas is not new. As examples, I recently blogged about subpersonalities and in that post mentioned Bonnie Badenoch's aligned concept of the inner community. Now this notion of an inner multitude has just been addressed by Professor Paul Bloom in November's Atlantic in an article with an apt title: "First Person Plural."
Bloom brings the brain into his discussion of multiple selves right away. An excerpt from his look at the brain:
Some scholars argue that although the brain might contain neural subsystems, or modules, specialized for tasks like recognizing faces and understanding language, it also contains a part that constitutes a person, a self: the chief executive of all the subsystems. As the philosopher Jerry Fodor once put it, “If, in short, there is a community of computers living in my head, there had also better be somebody who is in charge; and, by God, it had better be me.”
He goes on to list some of the things we lose if the brain with its squabbling selves is in control.
More-radical scholars insist that an inherent clash exists between science and our long-held conceptions about consciousness and moral agency: if you accept that our brains are a myriad of smaller components, you must reject such notions as character, praise, blame, and free will. ...
The question of whether we are governed by our brains or have a mind, a master self-mediator that can mediate between our sometimes unruly and competing brain patterns, is not just for scholars. For conflict resolution professionals, that question is also very important. Your role and goal in the conflict is going to be largely determined by how that question is answered. Are you mediating at the brain level or facilitating the self-mediator in each party? The number of parties in the room, their resolution, their ability to craft a solution, will vary widely according to your answer. How do you answer the question?
An international symposium was held at the UN on September 11. We are able to watch and listen online to the speakers and panels. Jeff was a panelist in the morning session titled "Mind-Body Connections: How Does Consciousness Shape the Brain?" (Listen here or watch here. If you are watching the U.N. Webcast, the panel begins at about 55 minutes.)
Others participating in the symposium:
Take a look at the program and listen to any of the speakers you find of interest. The speakers and panelists are top-level from around the world. I highly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity to sit in at the U.N.
Below is a photo of Schwartz, Stapp, and Beauregard (l. to r.).
I have been reading Dr. Badenoch's new book Being a Brain-Wise Therapist: A Practical Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology. I recommend it to you. Not just therapists can gain valuable knowledge about the brain from this book; anyone who is in the vicinity of others who have brains can pick up some helpful ideas about how interacting brains change, shape, and impact each other. And readers will learn practical techniques, too. Much of what the author has written will assist practitioners of dispute resolution.
If you wish to learn more about the book, click over to Psychjourney Podcasts to hear an interview of Badenoch. At one point in the interview, I was happy to hear her talk about the important role of the mind's focused attention in changing the brain, one of the foundations supporting Brains on Purpose™.
Badenoch also talks about the inner community, which is like Roberto Assagioli's subpersonalities, a very helpful concept that I learned years back in a psychosynthesis training. But back then we had no neuroscience underlying the concept. What are subpersonalities? From What We May Be by Piero Ferrucci (a book on psychosynthesis):
Understanding subpersonalities can be extraordinarily enlightening, especially in conflict situations. When you realize the multitude of subpersonalities that can be present in the room, confusing dynamics make more sense.
As a mediator, you have the skill to mediate between your own subpersonalities to improve your life, both personally and professionally. Badenoch and I agree that a person working with clients (in her case patients) has the obligation to maintain a high degree of mental health and self-awareness. Interpersonal Neurobiology explains why; your brain is effecting your client's and vice versa. You have the ability to do much good with a healthy mind and brain, and much harm if you do not practice good mind and brain hygiene. Read this new book to learn much more about why.
Note: Watch a video of an interview of Roberto Assagioli (starts about 2 minutes in).
Note (added July 3, 2009): Here are a large number of articles on the topics of Roberto Assagioli and psychosynthesis.
Note (added October 3, 2009): The Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis Web site.
