Nine months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 294. Yesterday, I talked about just focusing on one thing and just doing it. Today is a new day.
The main misconception in that movie is that we aren't only using 10% of our brains. Rather, whenever we do any task, be it reading, writing, talking, etc. we use different parts of the brain in order to perform different tasks. The whole 10% thing comes from how much of our brain on average we're using to perform certain tasks, but even then that's just an estimate because we're still discovering new things about the brain every day.
Imagine a gallon-sized jug filled with water. This jar represents your brain and the water the total cognitive resources you have available. Now imagine a bunch of cups that each represent parts of the brain. Let's say you started to run. You would pour some of the water from the gallon jug into various cups to activate those parts of the brain. The amount of water in the cups represents how much of your brain's cognitive resources you're using. Imagine now running and singing while solving math problems in your head. You'd have to fill a lot of glasses with more water and went from using maybe 10% of your total resources to using maybe 20+%.
Some might notice that they're no longer running at top efficiency anymore. Going back to filling the cups, some might be overfilled when trying to do multiple tasks because just like the jug, cups too can only hold a finite amount of water and different tasks might use the same parts of the brain, so you'd end up with cups that get overloaded with demand for resources and they overfill. For this reason, while multitasking is possible, it generally comes at the loss of quality/efficiency. That's why focusing on doing just one task tends to be more productive for people.
Instead of "unlocking" the brain and our potential, what Lucy was describing in that scene was what it means to be fully mindful and aware. To feel the mind-body connection whenever we take a single step, knowing which muscles are being engaged and how much of our energy is being exerted. To hear something and know where it's coming from. The cold touch of a morning breeze caressing your cheek as you step outside to go for a walk. There is so much going on around us that we tune most of it out because it makes it easier for our brains to focus on the necessary details. While we are capable of noticing everything all at once, we have a limited amount of cognitive resources to allocate so in order to be efficient we only focus on the task at hand.
However, learning to be more aware also comes with the ability to just figure things out and accomplish what you set out to do. In a way, Lucy became "enlightened" in that she let go of everything and in turn saw everything. It's like she, like Neo, learned to see the Matrix for what it was - just code - and learned how to manipulate it according to her will. In other words, she learned that the world is what we make of it. It's a matter of perspective and the more we realize this the more we learn to take matters into our own hands and believe in ourselves. It's the difference between believing whether something is possible or not.
To unlock the mind is to realize that the potential was always there. That's the real message. It's a matter of what we're open and willing to do.
Peace
"Inside every human being there are treasures to unlock." - Mike HuckabeeAfter years of never giving it a chance, I finally saw Lucy and it was really interesting. There's a particular part where she calls her mother and describes feeling everything. From the external connection with the sun, the moon, and the Earth's rotation to the internal connection of her memory, each cell in her body, etc. It made me think about what happens when we tap into and channel our full potential. Unlike being born with super powers from a chemical or crazy experience, what if we taught ourselves how to do the 'impossible"? What if we could train ourselves to see magnetic and radiation waves and tap into computers, phones, and TV's? How crazy would that ability be?
The main misconception in that movie is that we aren't only using 10% of our brains. Rather, whenever we do any task, be it reading, writing, talking, etc. we use different parts of the brain in order to perform different tasks. The whole 10% thing comes from how much of our brain on average we're using to perform certain tasks, but even then that's just an estimate because we're still discovering new things about the brain every day.
Imagine a gallon-sized jug filled with water. This jar represents your brain and the water the total cognitive resources you have available. Now imagine a bunch of cups that each represent parts of the brain. Let's say you started to run. You would pour some of the water from the gallon jug into various cups to activate those parts of the brain. The amount of water in the cups represents how much of your brain's cognitive resources you're using. Imagine now running and singing while solving math problems in your head. You'd have to fill a lot of glasses with more water and went from using maybe 10% of your total resources to using maybe 20+%.
Some might notice that they're no longer running at top efficiency anymore. Going back to filling the cups, some might be overfilled when trying to do multiple tasks because just like the jug, cups too can only hold a finite amount of water and different tasks might use the same parts of the brain, so you'd end up with cups that get overloaded with demand for resources and they overfill. For this reason, while multitasking is possible, it generally comes at the loss of quality/efficiency. That's why focusing on doing just one task tends to be more productive for people.
Instead of "unlocking" the brain and our potential, what Lucy was describing in that scene was what it means to be fully mindful and aware. To feel the mind-body connection whenever we take a single step, knowing which muscles are being engaged and how much of our energy is being exerted. To hear something and know where it's coming from. The cold touch of a morning breeze caressing your cheek as you step outside to go for a walk. There is so much going on around us that we tune most of it out because it makes it easier for our brains to focus on the necessary details. While we are capable of noticing everything all at once, we have a limited amount of cognitive resources to allocate so in order to be efficient we only focus on the task at hand.
However, learning to be more aware also comes with the ability to just figure things out and accomplish what you set out to do. In a way, Lucy became "enlightened" in that she let go of everything and in turn saw everything. It's like she, like Neo, learned to see the Matrix for what it was - just code - and learned how to manipulate it according to her will. In other words, she learned that the world is what we make of it. It's a matter of perspective and the more we realize this the more we learn to take matters into our own hands and believe in ourselves. It's the difference between believing whether something is possible or not.
To unlock the mind is to realize that the potential was always there. That's the real message. It's a matter of what we're open and willing to do.
Peace
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| We are made from the same stardust that formed the stars and galaxies we look to every night. Everything is all connected. |
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ReplyDeleteHave a great day and Merry Christmas~