One of the mysteries of the human mind that we are just beginning to delve into is the relationship between thought and movement—how our brains and bodies relate to each other. That the journey of our physical bodies through space profoundly affects our thinking is not in doubt. What is uncertain so far is what the effects are and to what extent we can become aware of the connections and optimize them.
The naive view of this connection is that our minds are responsible for our bodies.
The more sophisticated view emerging from brain research shows that there is a much more complex interaction between mind and body. For example, we switch to an unconscious goal before we are aware of it.
We go to get the glass of water and quench our thirst, based on an unconscious, unconscious urge. The only reason we can't see our arms and wonder why they're moving is that the brain cleverly eliminates the millisecond gap, putting movement and thought in the "right" order for our brain to feel in control.
As we age, we have more difficulty retaining new memories because we are more easily distracted by "noise." By consciously working to eliminate old or unwanted memories, we can make room for new ones. And we can intentionally work with traumatic memories to change them—and reduce their power.
Previous studies show that if you give us a warm cup of tea, we'll think more warmly of the person we're in front of. If you give us a piece of sandpaper to hold, we'll think the interaction isn't going so well.
We can control our environments to a remarkable degree. So speakers, teachers, leaders, and anyone for whom a particular human interaction is important, think carefully about how your mind and body—and the mind and body of the person in front of you—are interacting.
As we learn more about the mind-body connection, the possibilities for sophisticated maximization of both grow in number and power.
Prepared by Nick Morgan, Ph.D, verbal and non-verbal communication expert
