14 Jan Ability to Forget Gives You a Healthy Mind?
Last week Tom Ashbrooke had an intriguing conversation on his NPR radio show about the Ability to Forget
Much of the conversation centered on the value of forgetting without clinging to memories which is an enormous change from the previous 100 years of psychology. This change that Dr. Mike Anderson and other cognitive neuroscientists are inviting us into is to explore not delving into every repressed memory, a radical change for many of us brought up on Freud.
The idea they present is that it’s not about not dealing or processing the unpleasant, traumatic material but rather the “judicious dumping of memories” that are not necessary and supporting the functioning of the mind’s ability to switch off the ruminating, difficult thoughts.
Regarding we have known for years that it’s important to reduce the intrusive memories that undermine our capacity to have a full and satisfying life.
Ingrid Wickelgren writes a blog for Scientific American and Alison Winter from the University of Chicago brought their thinking to the subject.
One thing they brought out which was worth exploring is how to shift memory such as re-associating new, more positive things with specific memories that you no longer which to have.
What it does bring up is the importance of cultivating a focused and concentrated mind where we can turn our attention to something we want to focus on without have other memories or thoughts intrude in a disruptive way.
If you’d like some support in training your heart and mind to focus I’d love to have you join us in the next round of the Embodied Practices Course starting January 27, 2012. For more information click here. To read what others have said about the course click here.