Beginning again ...

So some of you actually made it through or at least past that last blog of mine ... the good Dr. and all ... Grave(s) material as I've said before.

Yet another good doctor friend of mine likes to remind me that it's always best to go back to basics ... and so we shall.

Let me begin by recapping very briefly (this will be the only hard "stuff" I promise - then comes the easy stuff, i.e.: very accessible "stuff"):

1. The basic form of human experience is inter-subjectivity, the premise that what is known is only known in relation to other(s)
2. The default position one can and does assume is diametric; either exicitatory - i.e.: organized around the positive form of possibility, or inhibitory - i.e.: organized around the negative form of limitation
3. The interaction between and among individuals "creates" the world as we know it, literally the interaction between individuals generating a co-creation of reality
4. As individuals interact and in the process co-create the reality they share, the system-at-large evolves as a result and the individuals within it make adaptations co-evolving with it
5. The result of the adaptations made by the individuals within a system-at-large give the system form and generate the contextual conditions for the neurobiological evolution of the species, i.e.: our brains evolve gaining neurological access and integration unavailable previously.

So what makes this so damn important?

Let me repeat some thing from yesterday's blog in a simpler form:

When you consider the world from the filter set of "problem solving" what you'll find are problems.

Now this doesn't much matter if you apply it to you personal life, your relationships, your professional life or career, the local communities we live in, the larger society that we inhabit or even the world at large ... if you organize in relationship to problem solving you'll find problems to solve ... even where problems don't exist.

That's right "... even where they don't exist." Being a "problem solver" is an identity position and when a person identifies with being a certain way they will pretty much do whatever they must to sustain that identity regardless of the cost to themselves or others. So problem solvers don't just organize to find problems they will create them if necessary so they can do what they do and remain who they perceive themselves to be.

Now let's take this two more steps deeper into the rabbit hole:

1. If we go back to the basic idea that we co-create reality and you gather a group of "problem solvers" imagine all the problems they'll find to be solved, even creating them along the way as necessary
2. If the system-at-large creates the conditions for the individuals within it to evolve in relation to those conditions, and the conditions are built in relation to problems, the way the individuals within it will evolve will also be in relation to problems

It doesn't take much to see that if this continues two things must be occuring simultaneously, we keep getting better at solving problems which demands that we create "better" problems to solve. What I'm suggesting is that the "serious" problems that we find in the world - increasing escalation and frequency of violence and conflict worldwide, looming environmental disaster, panepidemic disease scenarios, etc. - are in fact those "better" problems.

Yet by the time most people in "Western" society have become "educated" they have been thoroughly enculturated in this very kind of thinking I'm referring to here, i.e.: problem solving. The basic pattern of perception is to notice for "making things better" by finding out "what's not working." This pattern for most people then generalizes out into their personal lives and they begin organizing the same way in their personal lives as well, "What's not working in my life that I can make better."

So the net effect for most educated people, the more highly educated the more this will be true, is to constantly be working on themselves, on their lives, on their relationships, on the world at large ... endlessly running to no avail on the treadmill of working something. Everyone running as fast as they can and getting no where even faster ... losing ground with every step.

The alternative is remarkably simple ... organize in relation to something different ... choose to notice for "what's working."

Choose to perceive the world first as already working perfectly and notice how that's possible. What in fact is working?

• What's working in your life? Regardless of how simple or mundane begin by noticing for and finding something that requires no work on your part whatsoever ... something that's already working perfectly by any measure.
• What's working in your relationships? Identify a relationship you have, in spite of how casual it may be or loose the association, that simply works well ... somebody with whom you get along, even if it's only the person you buy coffee from each morning for the ten seconds that takes.
• What's working in the world at large? Find one article in the news about something positive that's happened today or even just something that went exactly as it should have ... high tide came just as expected.

What happens for you as a result of this simple exercise?

First of all you've just made a different set of brain chemicals, a positively concocted neuro-cocktail. This will linger for a minimum of twenty minutes. Each time you organize to notice what's working you have saturated your brain in these positive neuro-chemicals, and your brain will begin to build the capacity to use them more efficiently and effectively over time extending and enhancing the effect as you do.

Next, as you do this repeatedly you take advantage of a natural characteristic of the brain and neurological system, habituation. The tendency to develop and run patterns of habit. In this case the habit you're building is to notice for what's working and to feel good about it. This results over time in the growth of your brain where you run these patterns. You will literally build a bigger brain in relation to these specific patterns, what neuroscientists refer to as neuronal mass.

Now what's happened?

You've begun to develop a new identity, you're becomming a positive person. Just like with the "problem solver" a "positive person" will do whatever they must to maintain this identity. The world will begin to reshape around this identity position to allow it to be maintained.

1. If we go back to the basic idea that we co-create reality and you gather a group of "positive people" imagine all the positive things they'll find, even creating them along the way as necessary
2. If the system-at-large creates the conditions for the individuals within it to evolve in relation to those conditions, and the conditions are built in relation to what's working, the way the individuals within it will evolve will also be in relation to what's working

When these two things are occuring simultaneously, we keep getting better at finding what's working, which demands that we create "better" more of what's working. What I'm suggesting is that when we get "serious" about finding things that are already working in the world - and begin increasing the intensity and frequency of them happening we will in fact be co-creating a different world than the one we've inherited.

Now just for kicks ... imagine a life that works, relationships that work, a world at large that works ... would that be news worth spreading around?

If you're interested stay tuned ... more to come.

Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Applied Behavioral Technologies Institute | Princeton

http://www.josephriggio.com

http://mythoself.com
http://mythoself.blogspot.com
http://exquisiteperformance.com