A Map to Peace of Mind
by Glenn Hartelius
Over twenty years ago I bought a book entitled, Maps of the Mind, a wonderful compilation of 60 ideas about the structure of mind. I bought it because I had discovered how hard it was to govern my own restless mind, and I thought that having an actual map would be of some help.
To me, a map is something that shows me easy-to-read patterns of how the important parts of something are arranged. A map of a microprocessor shows me patterns of circuit pathways as I might see them through a powerful microscope, and a street map of San Francisco depicts the patterns of roadways as they look from the air. Maps of brain function show which parts of the brain are active with various kinds of stimulation and activity. Here was a book that claimed to map not just the brain, but the mind. I was fascinated to see what such a map might look like.
As I studied the book I was disappointed to find no maps of the mind at all. There were only maps of the brain and drawings that illustrated ideas about the mind. There were no mind-maps of the sort I had wished for—no diagrams of mental structure that might help me with the mind that I experience.
But the seed had been planted. I began to look in my own experience, and in my work with clients, for clues and directions. I attended workshops and learned mind/body techniques from other therapists and teachers. I learned how to “feel my spine,” “center” myself, and get “grounded.” It was all interesting, but there was something missing.
One day I noticed that when I looked out of my eyes, “I” seemed to be looking out from right behind my eyes. “I” was not in my heart, my belly, or anywhere else. I could feel the rest of my body, but “I” was feeling it from that place in my head. There was a sensation behind my eyes that felt closer to “me” than any of the sensations in the rest of my body.
Of course, I thought it was probably just my imagination, or a trick of my nervous system. But I was curious. I wondered if I could move this sensation to another part of my body, and whether anything would happen if I did. So I focused on the sensation in the middle of my head, and imagined that it was slowly moving down through my skull, my neck, and along the front of my spine.
To my amazement, something happened. I felt myself shift into a different state of consciousness. My thoughts stopped. It was quiet inside. Yet I was still completely aware of my surroundings. In fact, I was more aware of my surroundings. When I looked out, it felt as if the “I” that was looking was sitting somewhere in my chest.
This experience opened the door to what has become Attention Dynamics. There are many others who teach awareness skills and mind/body techniques, some of whom I have gratefully learned from. I like to think that this method has benefited from my own hard-headed impatience with any approach that requires faith, or that asks me to persist for months in order to see results. As a consequence, the approach is direct, practical, and tangible.
In the years since, I have used this system successfully with thousands of clients—sometimes by teaching them how to shift their own state of mind in various ways, sometimes simply by using the techniques myself so that I can sit quietly and be a better listener to their words and the language of their body. These many experiences have taught me how to take the basic process and break it down into simple steps that not only work for complete beginners, but also bring new insights to people who have practiced inner techniques for years.
Working with many people has also allowed me to see that attention operates quite similarly in different minds. When attention sits here, it produces one result; when it sits there, it produces something else—whether it is my mind or your mind or your best friend’s mind. This is what allows us to begin sketching a map of the mind that shows you how to get from one state of mind to another. When your attention is here, you get this state. If you would rather have that state of mind, move your attention down there.
This is a practical map, a map of the mind as you find it in here, inside your own experience. It is an anatomy of the mind that shows you, not how the brain is organized, not how ideas of the mind are organized, but how your experience of the mind is organized. In other words, it is a map you can use to find your way around your own mind. What if focusing your mind was as simple as checking your rearview mirror while driving? What if letting go of stress was no harder than washing your hands?
The map also points the way toward your own deeper resources, the part of your mind that lies below the busy level of everyday thinking. This is the part of your mind that holds creativity, intuition, and peaceful inner silence. The map is designed to show you how to find this deeper part of your mind so you can access these parts of yourself whenever you want. Imagine knowing where to go in your mind to find your own creative instincts.
But that is not all. It is not just about using more of your mind from the vantage point of the same old swivel chair. It is about finding the rest of your mind so you can move into it, and be yourself in a fuller, richer and deeper way. It is about learning how to “be” from a different part of your mind, a part that is wiser, deeper and more connected with life. It is about being the better part of yourself.
