I have recently been contemplating the idea that the way that we think and talk about our experiences, often changes/shapes those experiences to be more consistent with the stories that we ourselves create. This is one of the basic premises behind cognitive therapy, that if we change our thought process, we then change our feelings and vice versa. A somewhat recent podcast by Radiolab spoke about the concept that the act of thinking follows directly from the development of language. This program implied that the more words we have to describe our various experiential and emotional states, the greater the repertoire and complexity of our intellectual and emotional experience! http://www.radiolab.org/2010/aug/09/words-that-change-the-world/
It really seems that the narratives that we give to our experience, not only shapes, but changes our very experience if things. It is as if the experience itself is unimportant--what is important however, is how we think about and remember that experience.
A recent interview with professor Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel-Prize winning psychologist points to the same concept. He distinguished between the experiencing self and the remembering self and states that when thinking about a past experience, humans can only access the narrative of the remembering self, which in itself is subject to the influence of other variables, like one's current mood, one's current physical state, and perhaps one's personal narrative style. http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/interview-with-daniel-kahneman-on-the-pitfalls-of-intuition-and-memory-a-834407.html
It seems that, at least in our society today, we have a very difficult time staying in the experiencing part of ourselves--the here and now. Perhaps that is why eastern philosophy and the practice of Buddhism, with its emphasis on the present is in such high demand. I do not think that we will ever stop remembering our experiences, because after all, our memories shape the story and meaning of our lives. Yet, I believe that if we are able to recognize that we have the power to change the tenor of our self-created stories about our lives, we will be able to experience life in a totally different way.
It really seems that the narratives that we give to our experience, not only shapes, but changes our very experience if things. It is as if the experience itself is unimportant--what is important however, is how we think about and remember that experience.
A recent interview with professor Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel-Prize winning psychologist points to the same concept. He distinguished between the experiencing self and the remembering self and states that when thinking about a past experience, humans can only access the narrative of the remembering self, which in itself is subject to the influence of other variables, like one's current mood, one's current physical state, and perhaps one's personal narrative style. http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/interview-with-daniel-kahneman-on-the-pitfalls-of-intuition-and-memory-a-834407.html
It seems that, at least in our society today, we have a very difficult time staying in the experiencing part of ourselves--the here and now. Perhaps that is why eastern philosophy and the practice of Buddhism, with its emphasis on the present is in such high demand. I do not think that we will ever stop remembering our experiences, because after all, our memories shape the story and meaning of our lives. Yet, I believe that if we are able to recognize that we have the power to change the tenor of our self-created stories about our lives, we will be able to experience life in a totally different way.
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