What peaked my interest after reading the introduction was how quickly the book relates to a few of other books I have read recently.
The introduction of the books reads:
"...our own minds sabotage us.
Your mind is your best friend.
But it is also your worst enemy"
I immediately think of book I just finished called, Your Instincts are Killing You by Dr. Marc Schoen. Dr. Schoen provides support for the theory that some of our basic primal instincts are being triggered for situations that are really not a threat to our survival at all. Our minds perceive the situation to be a serious threat and therefore our bodies act accordingly, resulting in a conundrum of problems.
Mr. Chamine extends on this by saying that not only are we still using our basic primal instincts to react to situations but also because of this we have not fully developed the parts of that...
" ...give us access to our greatest wisdom and insights
[which] have remained weak from years of not
being exercised."
- pg 11
As a researcher in the field of Cognitive Sciences as well as being a psuedo-spiritual person, I enjoy these type of books (clearly). I never get a sense of repetition. If anything, it's a sense of confirmation.
My research does not directly relate to the claims in this book but I could see how all of this is possible from my standpoint. I work in a lab that specifically deals with memory and decision-making. So from my standpoint, none of this is all that far-fetched. I mean, we plant false memories in peoples' heads all the time, so nothing is impossible to me. Moving on.
At the end of each chapter, Mr Chamine provides a question for 'Inquiry.' When I hear the word 'inquiry' I automatically think of pretty much any book written by Ms. Byron Katie. Her whole premise is to inquire thoughts to see if they are actually true. Interesting to see a book make this connection from an entirely different angle.
In Chapter 2, Mr. Chamine talks about the different 'Saboteurs' in the mind that can stunt our potential. He describes these saboteurs as the following:
"The Saboteurs are the internal enemies. They are a set of
automatic and habitual mind patterns, each with its own voice,
beliefs and assumptions that work against your best interest."
- pg. 16
This is funny. Because my lab focuses on memory, we deal a lot with the inter-workings of the conscious vs subconscious mind. We use words like heuristics, schemas, biases, and habits to describe short cuts that the brain makes (usually subconsciously) so that we are able to function optimally (in theory) in our world.
To some degree I understand how these 'sabotaging monsters' could be created in relation to the type of research that I do. I also understand how if you are not aware of this possibility it could be near impossible to do anything about it. The sabotaging is something that would occur subconsciously.
Mr. Chamine lists a total of 10 saboteurs in the mind. Two of them stick out to me; the Judge and the Victim. 'The Judge' is described as one that "constantly find faults with yourself, others and your conditions and circumstances." The Victim is described as wanting you "to feel emotional and temperamental as a way of gaining attention and affection.'"
Both of these terms came up in another book I recently finished called, The Fifth Agreement by don Miguel Ruiz and done Jose Ruiz (a follow-up to The Four Agreements).
The Fifth Agreement gives nearly identical definitions about The Judge and The Victim, but from a completely differently point of view (the Toltec belief system). Like I said, I do not read this as repetition, but as confirmation. Hearing people from different walks of life and beliefs systems come up with the same conclusion is always fascinating to me. Being able to apply my line of work to it, is only that much more fun.
Looking forward to continuing my read.
Sidenote: In case you haven't noticed, I can't read one book at a time. I currently have 12 books checked out the library. All of them have been started.
Be lovely.
Laney
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