Mountain Quest Institute
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Mountain Quest Institute
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Reality and Consciousness As you read these words, you will realize that the information you are receiving is not an attribute of the letters or words themselves. The print on this page is not information, it transmits information. The letters and words on this page are symbols, which have learned and agreed-upon meanings connected with them. Similarly, when we speak to another person, our actual words convey information. Though thoughts and feelings may also be communicated, they are quite different things than the words themselves. Feelings, thoughts, and mental images serve as the medium of exchange for creating our reality. These feelings, thoughts and mental images are derived through a sense of knowing, a deep personal, subjective sense that an idea or thought is important and when connected with other thoughts provides us with insights and understanding of both ourselves and our surrounding world. An important first step in harnessing the power of self as an agent of change is to understand the different perspectives and theories about how we as humans create our reality. In Creating Our Reality (MSWord, 11 pages), we explore reality from the perspectives of literature, living systems, consciousness, science and spirituality. Each of us participates daily in this process of creation as we share our thoughts and feelings with others and, in turn, stay open to the thoughts and feelings of others. There are many aspects to this process of creation. These aspects help determine the richness of the reality we are creating, and our ability to effectively promote this reality. Some key aspects that come to mind are: discernment and discretion, balance, trust, sharing, context and flow. Consciousness is a process, not a state. It is private, continuous, always-changing and felt to be a sequential set of ideas, thoughts, images, feelings and perceptions. Another high-level property of consciousness is its unity. The mind is continually integrating the incoming signals from the environment as well as connecting many different processing areas within the brain and combining them into a coherent flow of conscious thinking or feeling. When we see a snapshot of the visible world, it appears as a coherent, unified whole. Ordinary consciousness represents the customary or typical state of consciousness. To access tacit knowledge an individual needs to move beyond ordinary consciousness to what we call extraordinary consciousness, acquiring a greater sensitivity to information stored in the unconscious in order to facilitate the awareness and application of that information and knowledge. Extraordinary consciousness may be created through such techniques as meditation, lucid dreaming, hemispheric synchronization, and other ways of quieting the conscious mind, and by doing so allowing/encouraging accessibility to information in the unconscious. Such techniques create a heightened sensitivity to, awareness of, and connection with our unconscious mind together with its memory and thought processes. See Moving from Knowledge to Wisdom, From Ordinary Consciousness to Extraordinary Consciousness (PDF, 9 pages) and its supporting Graphic (PDF, 1 slide). Also, Engaging Tacit Knowledge in Support of Organizational Learning (PDF, 25 pages) and supporting Graphic (PDF, 2 slides) builds on the extraordinary consciousness concept. Other Resources
Key Aspects Discernment and discretion. Taken together, these terms address the concepts of selection, valuing and laying aside, i.e., the ability to identify and choose what is of value, and the equally difficult ability to toss aside that which is not of value. What is important to focus on now? What can I come back to later? What can I toss aside and forget? Balance. As complex human systems, we continuously have priorities that compete for attention. How much attention and energy is needed to create this reality? Do I have enough personal resources available to develop and promote it? How do I feel about this idea? How strong is my commitment to this? And, very important, how much passion do I have for this idea? How we balance our life’s work significantly determines what and how much we achieve. Trust. Trust concerns not only the trust other’s have in you and your idea, but the amount of trust you have in yourself and in others. Do I believe in what I am doing? Does it align with my value set? Do I feel it is the right thing to do? Sharing. Spreading is affirmation of the value of our ideas. Control is a sure way to limit them and the reality they have the potential to create. In today’s rapid and complex world, the patterns that generate new ideas are often discerned and acted upon in the same time frame by more than one individual. In other words, the same new ideas are emerging in multiple places around the world. With that realization, the continuous flow of new ideas becomes an imperative for organizations that seek competitive advantage. Am I willing to share this with others? Am I willing to let it go? Context. Context is unique at any given point in time and to any given situation. It is based on environmental factors, human interactions and recent events. It is also based on our knowledge of potential future possible actions. We cannot decide on future actions that we do not know about. Information communicating ideas and concepts needs to be embedded in context in order for others to make the same or similar sense out of them as the creator’s intent. How will I ensure others understand my intent. Flow. Flow deals with the availability, access and movement of ideas and thoughts, both within individuals and to others. How will I facilitate my creative juices? How does this new concept and thought intertwine with what I perceive as my reality? How will I ensure the free flow of my ideas to others? |
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This Web Site copyright 2008 by Alex and David Bennet. For educational and knowledge sharing purposes and in the context of knowledge mobilization, permission is given to copy and distribute materials on this web site with attribution.Send mail to adean@mountainquestinstitute.com with questions or comments about this web site.Send mail to dereklowe@mountainquestinstitute.com with problems or technical difficulties with this web site. Last modified: 07/08/09 |
