The Argument for Design

By the time this is being read, I will be in the middle of delivering my first 4-week mindfulness training course in a corporate environment. It is loosely based on the book I’ve recommended recently, Peak Mind by Amishi P. Jha, PhD. I’ve also leaned on some of the background research papers that formed the basis of that book and my own experience with mindfulness and meditation.

This morning, just after my own daily meditation, I was thinking about the challenge I’m about to face - convincing my peers, many of whom tell me often how busy and overloaded their lives are, to make time each day for mindfulness. Something struck me that I thought was worth sharing.

Many aspects of how the human brain works are starting to be proven within the neuroscientific community. We know, for instance, that the way we pay attention is driven by three separate, often competing, systems:

• Orienting – governs our ability to focus on detail and track events/conversations/objects

• Alerting – the way we become alert to potential danger or changes in the wider environment

• Executive function – how we balance the inputs from other systems and make decision on what to follow and what to tune out

These systems almost certainly developed eons ago, because what we know of brain physiology and evolutionary capacity for change in general suggests that the human brain is unlikely to have changed much since we first started walking about (arguably also when we first started yearning for good quality sports shoes).

It’s certainly not difficult to see why these systems needed to exist – just imagine survival in a world where everything either wants to kill you and eat you or is convinced you probably want to do the same to them! You needed to be able to identify a food source, track it as it moved, decide which possible target in a herd gave you the best chance of success, and then forget all that and run like an Olympic qualifier (wishing you had those special shoes), if you spot something scarier than you are doing the same attentive dance as you are.

I was balancing this knowledge with what I know of recorded evidence, which is that for at least the last 2600 years, various groups have understood that these attention systems can be controlled in a different way, and for a very different end goal. Simple mindfulness techniques, practiced often enough, can strengthen your ability to focus, control how and when you allow your mind to be diverted, and pause semi-automatic reactions long enough for your executive function to decide how to proceed. But this can only make sense if you have some confidence that your immediate surroundings are not about to chew you up and spit out the bones!

“The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.”   – Adam Judge (The Little Black Book of Design)

So, back to my morning epiphany: this simply must be by design! My contention is that the human brain is designed in such a way as to be able to consciously evolve by changing the way we elect to think. 

Studies involving long-term meditation practitioners, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, show that the internal structure of the brain, and its operational patterns diverge from non-meditators; observed practically as an ability to electively experience physical pain and a variety of emotions. There is also widespread evidence showing that targeted mindfulness training (sessions 12 – 20 minutes per day) can increase productivity, improve management of anxiety and external stressors, reduce negative emotional reactivity, and increase life satisfaction. 

So, what if the next step in human evolution is not some successful mutation that becomes or some digital-mechanical augmentation that makes our physical selves largely redundant as covered in both science fiction and popular scientific speculation? What if that next step is simply to step outside our current selves into a mindful future?

“Look at usual things with unusual eyes.” – Vico Magistretti

So, who do I credit with the design? In a previous post I talked about the importance of acknowledging a higher power, that we are not built to function in isolation, and we serve ourselves and others less well when we have no practice in surrendering to something greater than ourselves. You might be wondering whether I imagine this higher power as the great designer who saw this need in our distant future and programmed it right in? I think the best answer I have is ‘maybe.’ I’m barely able to understand my own motivations and processes so I am unlikely to ever attempt to define what is by definition, somewhat beyond mortal comprehension.

What I believe is more practical and grounded, which is that through the careful application of mindfulness, we can transcend beyond who we are; we can become more beautiful and complete. We can do this without acquiring, negotiating, demanding, or pleading for anything. It’s almost cost-free, because within weeks of beginning the training it starts to pay you back in productivity gains, improved relationships, and more control over your life.

“Get in over your head as often and as joyfully as possible.” – Alexander Isley

As always, I want to give you a starting point. This time it is an invitation to join me in a guided meditation. You can find a playlist of episodes here on the Agility For All mindfulness channel.

If, after that, you want to go further and explore how to make mindfulness a fixture in your daily life; if you want to learn how to unlock the benefits I’m seeing in myself and writing about here, then reach out and connect with me – maybe we can do this together!

About the Author:

KYLE RICHARDSON

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