How do we as humans function?

It is our belief that in order to help ourselves we have to be honest with what is actually happening.  That honesty comes from honestly perceiving the world around us.

 

So, what is actually happening?

 

Assumption: There is a difference between the inputs that enter our brain and the processing that takes place within the brain.  The brain’s functions are used on the inputs it receives.

 

Assumption: If the inputs (information) coming into our brain is corrupted by filters and translations on reality then the proper functioning of the brain can still come to mistaken conclusions and decisions.

 

Question: Can it still be considered a mental problem? Or is it a perception problem?

 

Question: If we focus on the perception problem and fix the filters and translations going on in our perceptions would that fix the problem before it even starts?

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YES

 

We function according to the way our brains process the world around us.  So to better understand how we function we need to understand how and what information is coming in from our inputs.

So how do our perceptions process the world around us?

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Duality is the name of the game.

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Our brains work under what could most easily be called a dual process of perception, and there are scientific theories to describe them.  From dual process theories of habituation(A dual process theory of habituation: neural mechanisms, Philip M. Groves and Richard F. Thompson; 175-203) to dual process models of impression formations (A dual process model of impression formation, Marilyn B Brewer, A dual model of impression formation: Advances in social cognition Pg 1-30) and all the way to the eclectic big theory of “cognitive experiential self-theory”Cognitive-Experiential Self Theory or for short CEST(Epstein, S. (in press). Cognitive-experiential self-theory: An integrative theory of personality. In J. Tennen, & J. Suls (Eds.), Handbook of Psychology, Vol.5, 2 nd. Ed. Hoboken,NJ: John Wiley & Sons.) which we will use as the core scientific process to describe our methodology.

 

In a nut shell, when we are exposed to external stimuli we have two options, CEST calls it cognitive vs experiential processing.  It says that when we receive inputs to our brains from the world, our brain has two options on how to process them. 

One, is the experiential processor, which we call the pattern system.  It takes the input and then goes back to past experiences that are related by a common thread and utilizes those past experiences as a roadmap on how to react to the present situation, patterns are a natural extension of this, wherein they are a grouping of experiences unified by a common thread.
The other is the cognitive processor or the objective system as we call it, which looks at the variables of the input cleanly and utilizes only the logical, objective details to analyze the input or situation.

 

How does all this translate into my day to day life?          

Depending on the processor used, we either analyze or react to a situation, our brain creates a perception of what is happening right in front of us. The question is if the perception is true or an illusion of our patterns. 

If we analyze the situation utilizing the objective system then our perception is a cleaner picture. If however we utilize the pattern system, which is what usually happens, to process the situation then our perceptions will be based less on what is in front of us and more on our reactions to our past experiences; to our patterns. 

Science has given us the foundations to be our own f**king gurus, we are giving you the rest.
Take it and change your life.