Where do you know what you know?

I am sure you will immediately answer, "In my mind!"

But what is in your mind? And are you putting your own spin on it?

Pipe Dreams

The word 'pipe' is not a pipe! An image of a pipe is also not a pipe. If neither the word nor the image are actually a pipe, what did you think I meant by the word pipe?

Did you picture a storm sewer pipe or a smoking pipe or maybe a plastic pipe?

If we can't arrive at the same idea with a simple word like pipe then how do we understand each other when we talk about ideas like anxiety or depression or mental health?

If words and images are not the real thing (we certainly can't run water through either of those) then what about a scientific equation of a pipe?

Personally I would say that is purely fiction, a figment of somebody's imagination. Even Einstein just imagined a person riding on a light beam to arrive at his theory of relativity.

And if the engineers insist that their formulas are any better, just remind them of the buildings that fall when they are not expected to and the bridges that collapse when they gave no indication they were about to.

No formula defining the strength of materials has ever held 1 gram let alone even the weight of the simplest bridge. Mathematical formulas are just another way of putting a spin on something.

This is a model - Not Reality

Even this idea that I use to understand how we think is just so much vegetable soup.

This way of thinking about thinking is just another model, as are all psychological approaches including that devised by Freud. His way was no better than any other, and may actually have split too many peas, to continue our soup analogy.

This model is based on systems theory. A computer is an example of a system. The brain is much more complex than any computer system devised. 

A system has inputs, a processor of some kind and outputs. It also has feedback so that it knows that it has reached its target.

Our mind model as a system starts with inputs, which are sight, hearing, and touch and other senses. The processing is in our brain. By thinking about what we sense, we have reactions that are emotions and which lead to chemical changes in our bodies and a response that may cause us to do something.

There it is. A simple model that is the basis of many new psychological insights. More ingredients for the soup.

Stirring the Pot

So what does all this say about our minds and how we think about the world? 

Experience is not the same as a memory of the experience.  Memories are words and images and emotions mixed into the soup of our expectations and our interpretations.

Since we are dealing with soup,  we can add any ingredients we want to the mix to arrive at the exact flavor we want. We are the master chefs of our minds. We choose what goes in and what goes out.

If you have read any of my other articles, that I have arrived once again at this point should not come as a surprise to you. Here we are again, all of us responsible for  choosing the ingredients and dishing out the soup.

So now, when you say to yourself I can't do that. You are really saying that you are choosing not to do that. Even if you add 'because' you are consciously making the choice of not doing whatever you think you can not do.

More Than One Way

If someone speaks in an angry tone and you respond in the same way, you have chosen to speak that way. There are so many more ways to respond. You could make a joke, or laugh or stay calm or walk away.

There isn't just one response to anything that happens around us.

So next time you think you know exactly what you remember about something, go back and think of several possibilities for your interpretation of that event. 

In fact do that every time you feel like you are very sure you know about your experiences, your beliefs, your attitudes and your habits.

You'll realize then that you are truly the master chef of your mind adding the spices to flavor it to your tastes.