Awareness Purpose, Intention, Force
Dr. Buhl, a podiatrist who supports my staying on my feet in spite of the consequence of congenitally deformed ankles, concluded a recent check up by approving of my progress.
"Just don't overdo it," he said.
"You'll have to be more specific," I responded, "Overdoing is kinda how I roll."
Dr Buhl laughed and gently reminded me of the limits of force. In this case, it involves the force we call, Mover,. the activation of skeletal muscles.
May I pass along the gentle reminder that our intentions are bounded by the forces we have available to apply.
Our force from within is delivered through our attention and energy.
At Kairos Cognition we recognize seven forces from within: Associative, Sequential, Listener, Observer, Mover, Reader, Talker.
Associative Is our force for rapid integration. It powers our ability to link thoughts together based on similarities, patterns, or shared characteristics, often leading to creative problem-solving or new insights.
Sequential Is our force for slow and focused systematic processes. It powers our ability to slow ourselves down, screen out and ignore the stuff around us, so we can put the full weight of our attention on one thing, in order to follow it through to completion.
Listener is the force that regulates the amount of sound processed by our brain's auditory process. It powers our ability to filter out distractions and prioritize important auditory stimuli.
Observer is the force powering our discernment of two types of visual information: the functional utility of something. and the implicit or underlying narrative conveyed by an object or situation.
Mover is the force powering the activation of our skeletal muscles. Have any of you never overdone this?
Reader is the force powering the activation --beginning with our ocular muscles -- of the neuromuscular process of reading.
Talker is the force powering the smooth muscles that activate when we speak, sing, hum, whistles, and breathe.
All of these forces are renewable resources, and all have limits of intensity and duration.
Start to recognize when you're applying one of these forces individually. We're rarely activating only one. It's hard to leave out breathing, for example. Nonetheless, we can be aware of a process so we can monitor the limits of its intensity and duration.
Next post will revisit awareness in the service of observing and measuring your seven forces.