Concentration is usually associated with thinking – problem solving and overall mental performance.
So, what do you expect of concentrated, intense thought?
- Is it, as Descartes decided, the pinnacle of humanity (”I think, therefore I am”)? So are “thinking” and “concentration” a means to “improve” ourselves?
- Is it a luxury that can be entertained only when we have enough for survival?
- Or, in this time and age, has it become a basic survival tool.
Whatever the reason, and I’ve suggested a few , lets take a radical look at the question of whether this is at all the way to go.
All of the possibilities I’ve listed are, well… how can I put it…. heavy, weighty options. They imply “focus”. In fact, “focus” is a pretty common synonym for “concentration”. This in turn implies effort, which suggests paying a price.
What would happen if we turned it around and viewed thinking as a playful game, a dance that we can do with ourselves at will? How much effort (cost) would be entailed in having fun (benefit).
So I’m going to offer a new question:
What’s makes thinking fun?
I can tell you what it is for me: finding new ways to see (old ) things. When I do that, I create something new, and one thing leads to another. They have a name for it: Problem Solving. Einstein said (roughly) You can’t solve a problem using the same thinking that created it. So, I prefer thinking about thinking as a creative process – looking for something new.
But how do we look for something new?
Where do we begin?
Nowhere!
We don’t have to. All we have to do is ask the question.
Let me explain.
When I say “we”, I’m referring to the conscious analytic mind – the one that asks the question. That’s the part of our brain that uses words and numbers. It’s logical – very serious!. It’s very orderly …. arguments are developed systematically in a way that …literally…can make your head spin.
But once that question is asked…. the magic begins. There is another part of the brain…the one that we feel with. It’s called the intuitive brain. In fact the languages that the intuitive brain works in are pictures/images, feelings/emotions and patterns.
And guess what, fun is in the realm of feeling!
So if your looking for fun in thinking – the chances of finding it are better in the intuitive brain.
It’s called creativity. And it frees up a lot of energy.
I’ll show you how this all works in my next post.
For a review of the different characteristics of the analytic and intuitive brains, see a separate post.
