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The
Other Mind's Eye: |
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During my Health Certification Training at Anchor Point Institute in Salt Lake City the participants were invited to do a research project to share with the rest of the group. I decided to explore how I could improve my mind's eye efficiency, and made an interesting discovery. I found that we not only have "a mind's eye", but we actually have two, one coded in the left hemisphere and one in the right hemisphere of the brain. The purpose of this article is to share some of what I've learned so far, and how this new technology is already being used to assist people in achieving their desired state. Just a little bit of background information before experiencing your other mind's eye - - The brain is divided into two sections, the left hemisphere, which is responsible for logical linear thinking, and the right hemisphere, which is responsible for spatial relationship thinking. The two sides of the brain are connected by the corpus callosum which transfers information back and forth between left and right hemispheres, allowing the brain to function as a whole unit. Both hemispheres of the brain are receiving information from input received from each eye. For each eye, one half of the pupil sends information to the left brain, and one half goes to the right brain. If a person has only one eye, they are still getting visual information into both sides of the brain. Milton Erickson found that we shift between being dominant in the left hemisphere to being dominant in the right hemisphere approximately every ninety minutes, then we shift back to the left. When events occur throughout our lives, they will be automatically coded dominantly in the side of the brain that we happen to have been in when the specific event occurred. Since each side of the brain has a separate role to perform, each side will record information specifically to its special interest. This is not to say that information will be coded only in one side or the other, it is to say, however, that it will be coded dominantly with that side of the brain's special interest in mind. Since the brain hemispheres are coding information differently, the pictures, sounds and feeling will have a different overall evaluation (emotion) for each specific hemisphere. For example, have you ever noticed that sometimes when another car cuts you off on the freeway, it has less of an emotional impact on you than at other times? Of course, many other factors need to be considered in this example, and which side of the brain you are in dominantly also makes a difference. Many NLP techniques use alteration or mapping across of sub-modalities in order to elicit change in internal perception. The content of what we see, as well as how and where we see it, makes a difference in how we respond to it emotionally. This concept goes even deeper into our reaction to sub-modalities. What we see in our "minds eye" can also effect internal and external auditory, along with what we feel kinesthetically both tactily (touch), and proprioceptively (visceral) for the imprinted event. In other NLP techniques we begin with an image and change sub modalities to create a new experience, often just guessing at what sub-modality change will be the difference that makes a difference. By using the Hemispheric Integration model we are accessing the different sub-modalities that already make a difference for the individual explorer automatically. Since our internal pictures will have an effect on our internal experiences, it is important to mention that all of us have all the resources we need to keep us safe, and to ecologically determine what is just the right way for us to explore something that is new to our conscious awareness. I encourage you to check inside and see if there is any part of you that has a concern about this process before continuing. If you have any questions please see a qualified NLP practitioner experienced in using the Hemispheric Integration Model, or contact me directly to assist you. It has been my experience that a high majority of "second pictures" (pictures seen with the non-dominant internal eye and are often out of conscious awareness) do improve the initial internal response. There have been, however, a few examples of the "second picture" being the less desirable of the two depending on the content or context chosen. If this occurs to an uncomfortable level, simply say to the explorer or yourself, "put the experience back to the original internal eye". An example of this happened when working with a client on a relationship issue that was still generating a strong negative emotion. My client knew the relationship was over and this was her choice, yet there was a strong feeling of anxiety attached to thinking about the other person. Changing to the other internal eye destabilized the picture, made the feeling more "jittery", and temporarily felt worse. When I asked my client to put the experience back to the original internal eye, the picture stabilized and the original negative emotion was gone, leaving her with a simple knowing that the relationship was over and she felt no further need to spend energy being concerned about the other party. Another example came after a presentation of this model at the World Health Conference in Santa Cruz this year. One of the participants had recently ended a relationship and yet was still bothered by the internal image of the other person. When asked to change to the other internal eye the picture of the person went away completely, giving her a sense of closure on the relationship. Now, how to experience your Hemispheric Integration. The first thing to remember is that as you look at something with your external eyes, one eye is more dominant than the other. This can be experienced by first looking at an object, then pointing at it. After pointing at it, alternate between closing one eye and then the other noticing which open eye keeps your finger pointing directly at the object. The open eye that keeps your finger on the object is your external dominant eye. This same phenomena is happening with your internal visual experience, therefore, this will give you an example of the sensation you will be noticing as you discover your Hemispheric Integration. We are using either the left or right eye dominantly in our external vision even though it may appear initially that we are seeing equally out of both eyes. The same often holds true with our internal vision. Once we get an internal image it may seem as if we are seeing equally in both eyes. I have found however that we are actually seeing the picture through either the right or left internal dominant eye. Once you can determine which internal dominant eye you are seeing the mental image with, you can simply change the internal eye to get the "second picture". When you get the "second picture", you also get a new choice of initial internal responses. To experience more choice by accessing your internal dominant eye try the The Hemispheric Eye Model Foreground-Background process, first introduced at the NLP World Health Conference at the University of Santa Cruz in June 1997. By doing this exercise you will be able to experience the Hemispheric Integration Model, and you can begin to experience how this model can be useful and powerful in your life. More detailed information is available through SDI's seminars and my book, The Other Mind's Eye: The Gateway to the Hidden Treasures of Your Mind.
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Since the beginning of my NLP
training I had considered myself to be "minds eye
challenged". Some people were able to see pictures so
clearly that they almost had to walk around them, while I was one of
those who had to pretend "as if" I were seeing a picture.
Although I continued to practice seeing with my mind's eye, I
thought I was destined to be someone who "doesn't get
pictures". I began to wonder what was the difference
between myself and those who could easily access visually.
