Neuroscience: The Good, the Bad, and the Transcendent. Part 2: Dualism and Non-dualism

As neuroscience has turned its attention to
feelings,
consciousness,
the self,
it has become clear that a lot of simple everyday concepts
that we all (scientists too!) assumed were valid—
—are not good descriptions of what is really going on in the mind and brain.

This is HUGE. These insights, although hard to digest,
point towards a whole new way of experiencing.

For instance, basic concepts like
“perception”,
“action”,
“thought”,
“emotion”,
“I”
“it”
turn out to be flawed.

Stunning! Who’d‘a thunk?

These concepts separate and distort the underlying reality,
which does not divide things up into separate categories like this.
These categories are relics of a dualistic way of thinking.

(Image: Birds by M. C. Escher)

We need to find a different way.

 

Another example of the dualistic bias of our conceptual mind.
is the tendency to think of the brain/mind as modular,
with separate regions performing separate specialized tasks.

This is only a small part of the story.

In reality, The brain/mind operates as a coherent whole,
Not separate from body and environment;

more like an orchestra, or the ripples on the ocean
than a machine or computer.

The more awake you are, the more connected the brain is;
this means that large areas vibrate at the same or similar frequencies,
this is the same principle behind musical chords that sound pleasant (consonant).

In addition, the more awake & balanced you are,
the more brain activity hovers
“on the edge of chaos”;
poised between too much order & too little,
at the “Goldilocks” place!

This “Natural State” is inherently pleasant, just like a resonant chord. (On the left: Antique Sound, by Paul Klee)

Moving into this connected state
necessarily must involve mind, feelings and body;
separating them inherently reduces connectivity!

When the whole system works without obstruction, we call this the Natural State.

In this state, we are fully connected, acting effortlessly & spontaneously, without inner conflict, and fully integrated with the environment.

Unfortunately, we are not often in this state!
Everybody gets in their own way, more than we realize.
The essence of Bodymind Training is
to learn how to let go of interference
and move towards the Natural State
in all situations of life.

Below is a little map:
Through Bodymind Training
we can move into the Natural State directly
through experiencing the wholeness of our being in the moment:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing solidly on the earth,

floating lightly towards the sky,

open to what is all around us.

 

 

 

More about this “map” to come–stay resonant!

NEUROSCIENCE-The Bad, the Good, & the Transcendent. Part I: The limitations of the dualistic world-view

Neuroscience—the word itself carries an air of authenticity
an esoteric & authoritative flavour
which (seems to) legitimise any cultural dish to which it is added.

Science, the arbiter of truth & reality,
focused on the brain itself, the organ of consciousness–
what could be more compelling?

With a build-up like that, I am obviously about to take it down a notch or two.

There is a lot of “Neuroporn” out there:
seductively clear hard factoids,
which usually involve a narrow & stereotyped view of brain & mind.

Although they are rapidly evolving,
the current tools of neuroscience are very blunt instruments—
or, cannot be used with humans.

But certain branches of contemporary neuroscience
are even more fascinating & important
than most people imagine!
Recent developments in neuroscience
offer nothing less than
a reunification of the long-separated realms
of science & spirituality.

Science is fundamentally based on the idea of objectivity.

From its earliest formulation by Galileo,
….it aims to remove bias & opinion
…….& to move towards the objective truth of reality
by a systematic process of hypothesis, experiment, & outcome.
The result is a set of laws,
formulated in mathematical terms,
E = mc2
                predicting the processes of objective reality.

Gravity:
it’s not just a good idea…
it’s the law!

This approach has been stunningly successful,
but with a big caveat:
by its very nature, this process cannot deal with “subjective reality”,
as science require removing the observer (the subject)
from the experiment.

This has led to a dualistic,
and ultimately untenable,
view of reality, dividing reality into

objective &
                        subjective,

with the latter very much the “weak sister”.

In the mid-20th Century,
……..attempts to establish a rigorous science of psychology
……..……..led to the absurdities of Behaviourism,
……..……..……..which denied the reality of feelings entirely.
Although that madness is in the past,
……..to this day some aspects of mainstream psychology
……..……..have an awkward gloss of abstraction & dehumanisation;
……..……..……..which, when you think about it,
……..……..……..……..is natural for an endeavour
……..……..…….……..………that aims to make humans
……..……..……..……..……..……..into objects of study.

“Yes, very interesting (I guess), but what does it have to do with me?”,
…….. I imagine you might say.
Well, more or less everything.

Most of our unhappiness & discontent
……..is based on our fixed dualistic view
……..……..of the world & ourselves.
We have learned to create
……..an apparent separation between
……..……..mind & body,
……..……..thought & feelings,
……..……..self & other,
……..……. my group & your group,
……..……..self & world,
……..……..ego & the Divine.

These disconnections cause a poorly regulated system,
……..which is not able to settle into comfort & ease,
……..……..nor to respond vigorously & effectively in a crisis.

In the early 20th Century
……..came the first intimations of
……..……..the limitations of the scientific approach;
……..quantum theory still challenges our assumptions
……..……..about the separability of the observer from the thing observed,
……..……..& the existence of objective space & time.

But of all the sciences,
……..neuroscience meets this challenge most directly.

Neuroscience simply cannot get away with
……..denying the reality of feelings & of consciousness;
……..& yet it is based in a method
……..……..which has denied these very things.

In its earlier phases,
……..neuroscience confined itself
……..……..to investigating behaviour:
……..……..the processes of stimulation & response,
……..……..……..in simple organisms
……..……..……..(oh, the poor mice!)

Later, it focused on
……..the more superficial aspects of mind:
…….. “cognition”, a poorly defined word
……..……..which referred mostly to conscious rational thought.

But here is an interesting recursion:
this rational, thinking mind is thinking about the rational, thinking mind.

The conceptual mind has to put things in neat categories—concepts—
……..& find simple, linear connections between them.
……..It can’t really handle a lot of complexity.
So,  if this is a limitation of the conceptual mind,
……..is it right to impose this simplistic categorisation
……..……..on the mind itself?

(Hint: the answer is NO!)

To really understand mind and brain,
……..we need to go beyond dualism
……..……..and find a new way of thinking
……..……..……..which includes both science and spirituality.

Read Part II to discover how the latest developments in neuroscience do this.

After the National Qigong Association conference

Just back from the National Qigong Association East Coast conference. Overall, an enjoyable and productive time! Mardi and I gave a presentation, early in the conference, based on the sequence of our published papers; you can see the Power Point here. We were delighted with all the positive feedback and interest, and look forward to continuing the conversation with others who are engaged in bodymind work.

Chris Bouguyon, current president of the NQA, presented about his work with first responders, particularly police. With a background in law enforcement, he has “street cred.” He is currently involved in a fairly large clinical trial of Qigong for first responders, which is wonderful! How long will it be, I wonder, until this is standard training?

Much qigong training is closely related to the “internal” martial arts—this means the martial arts which emphasize centering, grounding, interoception, intention, and the use of core breath power rather than the peripheral muscles. (Breath power is a specifically defined skill, which I will write more about later.) In qigong, and of course our Bodymind Training, one can learn these skills without the need for learning martial arts, cutting down immensely the time required and making these skills much more accessible. In the martial context, the centering etc. shows one how to remain calm, flexible and aware even under great pressure; this of course is exactly what first responders need. And really, these skills are so easy to learn with the right instruction!

For instance, just bringing the attention to your center of gravity (just below the navel, in the middle of the body) will immediately move you towards a calmer, more alert state, ideal for handling crises. (My “right instruction” comment covers how exactly to locate the center, when this practice is NOT a good idea, and the difference between paying attention TO, and paying attention FROM, this region of the body.) Contemplate the sketch to the left, and feel what happens in your body.

Now, back to the conference. Each day there were a variety of workshops offered, and the instructors lined up at the start of each day to describe their offering. I made my decision by looking at their postures. Francesco and Ambhika really stood out (pun intended). Ambhika in particular was grounded, radiantly open, and balanced around her centerline. It turned out they were presenting about the link between Qigong and Yoga, which intrigued me, so I opted for their workshop series. Although I was curious to hear a systematic framework for the overall topic, I found them both to be wonderful human beings, with an extraordinary depth of experience and a wise and balanced view of the world—in other words, they agreed with me ?. But the relationship between yoga and qigong remains a very complex issue for me.

For me personally, the highlight of the conference was Mingtong Gu, a Chinese Qigong Master now living in New Mexico. I had heard of him before, and was deeply impressed with him in person. He radiated happiness and well-being, but not in an obnoxious or oblivious way; he is very aware of the need to embrace all experience, the painful and the pleasurable both. In the few personal interactions I had with him I felt that he was authentic and genuinely present. He was very generous with his time and his teaching, and is actively using the web to make his teaching more widely accessible. Dr. Gu shares our interest in developing videos to teach qigong and Bodymind Training—he told us, “Everything can be taught by video!” And we hope to prove him right!

I came away with feeling that Bodymind Science and Bodymind Training has a lot to offer that was not obviously present at the conference. People seemed hungry for sophisticated information about how to conduct scientific studies, as well as about the neuroscience of qigong and the use of sophisticated video techniques; we hope to have future opportunities to present about this. Current developments in neuroscience and neurophenomenology, as well as the neurobiology of trauma, in many ways provide a Western scientific vocabulary for translating, and in some cases expanding, the traditional teachings of qigong. The potential integration between traditional qigong and current biology-based, somatic therapies (notably Somatic Experiencing), is particularly interesting to me. Somatic Experiencing offers an extremely sophisticated and precise, neuroscience-based approach to even the deepest levels of the human psyche, and also resonates with qigong in the aspiration of its practitioners to high personal and moral development.

Stay Tuned!

On the way to NQA (National Qigong Association) conference

Well, I am sitting in the Dartmouth Coach (a welcome feature of life in the Vermont/New Hampshire Upper Valley), on my way to Asheville, North Carolina and the National Qigong Association conference, where my colleague Mardi and I will be presenting about our research on Qigong.
Qigong (pronounced “chee goong”) is a traditional Chinese healing art, which is the biggest influence on Bodymind Training, so this seems like a good time to write about it.

Like many people, I came to Qigong via T’ai Chi, which is much more widely known. Everyone has seen images of groups of people in Chinese parks, moving in unison in graceful slow-motion. Although it looks like a dance, Taijiquan (to give it’s full name) is a powerful martial art; the slow-motion sequence is just the first step. And a difficult one! Although there are simplified versions, one of the more popular styles has 108 precise movements, which can take over a year to learn; and only then can one focus fully on the deeper aspects of the art.

I first learned Taijiquan in London in the early 70s. At that time it was not widely known in the West, and little information was available about its deeper aspects. I gleaned every nugget I could from my teacher and from books. I was already familiar with the concept of “chi” (also spelled “qi”, and translated as “life energy”), and I recognized that a central aspect of Taijiquan was to promote the free circulation of qi throughout body and mind. Whatever exactly that meant!

My early studies of the martial arts led me into teaching—initially self-defense, but gradually I found I was much more interested in teaching about centering, grounding, and awareness. These are core aspects of most martial arts training; but I wanted to be able to teach them without the necessity of learning long movement sequences or specific martial techniques. That is where Qigong comes in! Qigong uses simple, easily learned movements, clearing the way for a deep focus on the more meditative and healing aspects.

So what are these deeper aspects? Traditionally, Qigong is said to involve “balancing the body, the breath, and the mind”. This formulation demonstrates the Chinese worldview, which sees body, breath and mind on a continuum; this is radically different from the traditional Western view, which (after Descartes) posits the mental realm and the physical realm as fundamentally distinct—thus giving rise to “the mind-body problem”: how do these two realms manage to influence each other?

The Chinese word for “breath” is “qi”; the same word as used for the mysterious “life energy”. (In fact, most traditional cultures have a similar word, meaning both breath and life energy.) Qi forms a bridge between “body” and “mind”; mind is seen as a subtle form of qi, and the body as a coarse form. Again, this is very different from the Western view. Science grappled with the concept of “life energy” in the 19th Century, and concluded definitively that there was no such thing, a conclusion which has only been reinforced over the decades by a massive body of research. Any mention of qi, prana, or life energy. To a scientist, will immediately result in eye-rolling and mutters of “woo-woo”.

This is a big problem! Without the support of science, methods based on this view (which I call Bodymind methods) have no chance of mainstream adoption and acceptance by government or the medical and academic communities. Although over the past 4 decades an increasingly large number of people have embraced these arts, they have either been watered down to fit into the “physical” or “mental” dichotomy (as has happened to yoga and meditation respectively); or, as is the case with Qigong practitioners, the idea of qi is embraced as a mysterious energy not yet discovered by science; or alternatively qi is equated to a known scientific energy such as electromagnetic fields, sub-sonic vibration, or quantum effects. For reasons beyond the scope of this blog, this is a non-starter with scientists, and the gulf remains.

My own view is that neuroscience offers a way of resolving this apparent split. To explain “qi” in a way compatible with science, we must look to the brain and nervous system, not to undiscovered energies. In the past couple of decades, neuroscience has made incredible advances; and I am not talking of the undeniable technical achievements, but of an overall understanding of the way the brain works. This understanding has profound philosophical implications for our view of the nature of human experience and of reality itself.

Hopefully in forthcoming blogs I will be able to explain this in more detail; and in the meantime, I will be fascinated to see how (and whether!) presenters at the NQA conference address these issues.

What Am I Doing Here?

All my life I have been fascinated by the Bodymind arts.

I started when I was 11 with Judo. I was living in Geneva at the time, and as a precociously intelligent and bookish child, I was picked on at school. My half-brother Kenny, 10 years older than me, suggested Judo. I loved it! Something about the rituals, the language, the accoutrements, and above all hints of mysterious energies, drew me in. To the right: me at age 12, demonstrating with my long-suffering younger brother!

At the same time I was very intellectually oriented. I wanted to be a nuclear physicist when I grew up! I couldn’t wait to be able to take science classes at school.

Of these two divergent interests, the science came easily to me; but my own emotional pain kept pushing me in a different direction, towards the martial arts first, then meditation, psychotherapy, and Western somatic systems like the Alexander Technique.

As I made slow and painful progress on my personal journey, I kept exploring and seeking to understand the subtler, deeper aspects of these systems. Although I gradually experienced and understood more, I was always aware of the painful Cartesian gap between what rational science could grasp, and the realities revealed in my direct experience.

With time, I started to teach and to develop my own system, integrating many of the systems I had studied. In particular, professional certifications as an Alexander teacher, a Somatic Experiencing practitioner, and decades of study of Qigong, contributed to what I now call “Bodymind Training”. This integrates methods and insights from traditional Asian methods, Western Somatic practices, and the trauma-oriented body psychotherapies.

In 2012, I began a collaboration with Dr. Mardi Crane, and returned again to my interest in science, specifically neuroscience. To my great excitement I found that modern neuroscience was now capable of understanding most of the phenomena I encountered in the Bodymind systems, without dumbing them down. Together with Dr. Crane, I published a number of papers on this topic, drawing on recent developments in affective, embodied, enactive neuroscience and neurophenomenology. Finally I felt the apparent split between the bodymind systems and the scientific view begin to dissolve. The developing understanding of the brain and nervous system provides a new (in the West) view of the nature of reality and of the person, which is remarkably coherent with the traditional Asian view.

Although there is now widespread awareness of many forms of Bodymind practice, it seems to me that much of the old Cartesian dualism lingers on under the surface. This gets in the way of a real grokking[i] of the bodymind systems (to grok = to know in fullness), which are based in a worldview which does not regard “body” and “mind” as entities at all. And this non-dual perspective, although coherent with modern neuroscience, is not easy to truly understand. Although “mindfulness” has been widely embraced, there is often little recognition of the traditional use of this skill to move beyond mind and body. Likewise, practices such as Tai Chi or Yoga tend to be reduced to skilled martial or athletic performances, and their depth and power as Bodymind practices overlooked. Even the body-oriented therapies may aim at symptom reduction and ignore the extraordinary therapeutic potential of direct recognition of our innate wholeness.

Just as it pained me to feel my own inner dividedness, so it pains me to see people unaware of the profound possibilities of the Bodymind practices, or unable to practice them due to lack of a teacher or misunderstanding of the methodology. In developing Bodymind Training, we have drawn on many sources, attempting to find the simplest, most accessible, and most effective practices. One big difference from most practices is the idea of “daylong practice”. This means that a practice is not something you do for a defined period of time every day; instead the practice is something you do all the time, right in the midst of whatever your usual daily activities—like standing, walking, sitting, lying down, moving around, and interacting with other. And rather than being a mental or a physical practice, every practice involves the whole of our being—in fact, what makes it a Bodymind practice is exactly that it does involve the whole of oneself!

In future blog posts, I will indulge my life-long passion, and continue to do my best to convey what the Bodymind arts are, and how to practice them. If you are already a practitioner, be it of Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga, Meditation, the Alexander Technique, Somatic Experiencing, or any other, I can guarantee you will find new perspectives here which will deepen your appreciation and open new possibilities. If you don’t practice any, I will show you extremely easy and simple ways to begin a practice.

If you would like to be informed of future posts, please sign up on our Contact page.

Hope to see you again!

Peter Payne

[i] To grok means “to know in fullness”; from the ancient Martian language. See Heinlein’s science fiction book, Stranger in a Strange Land.