One Brain, Three Minds
This is a screen shot from the Human Dymensions program One Brain, Three Minds. The purpose of the program is to show how our brains work in three distinct ways but that many of the processes we create to manage risk don’t work this way. Most of the time people respond to problems which have developed with Minds 2 & 3 with solutions from Mind 1? How does it make sense when a problem was created from a non-systems cause to think it can be fixed with a systems solution? How can a problem developed by an arational characteristic be solved by a rationalist response???
The program seeks to connect people to this way of thinking and then help them tune in better to the way these three minds appear at work. The key is being better observers and then more highly skilled conversationalists. The most effective leaders know how to prime and influence others. They know how humans really make decisions and they know how to target and influence arational and unconscious decision making. They know that the rational systems mind is slow and starts slow, but that the others minds are quick but can often lead humans into dangerous territory.
The program helps people better identify which mind is being used in situations and then responding with the right approach to the right mind. The program explores the powerful effects of priming and framing and strings together 10 experiments with participants to establish how priming works in the negative and positive.
Tao Buddhism has for centuries believed in One Brain and Three Minds. They call the three minds Tan Tiens, these are the upper, middle and lower “minds”. We in the West know these as: the head, the heart and the gut. We know from science that we don’t really “think” with the heart or our stomach even though thinking with the heart and gut are common throughout many ancient scriptures, including the Bible.
Yet, when I get stressed and anxious, my heart races, when I feel overwhelmed with some sensations such as excessive guilt and fear, I get physically sick. It is not uncommon for people who are not coping to physically go to the toilet and soil themselves, to cry uncontrollably or to have killer blood pressure. These sensations may come from the mind which triggers the body to shut down, but the sensations are felt in the heart and gut.
The One Brain, Three Minds Program is one of the many extensions from the Observations and Conversations Program. The Program helps people observe the ways the rational mind and arational minds 2 & 3 work. It shows that people can be “primed” in minds 2 & 3 and behave in various ways regardless of what rationalisations are made for behaviour. It shows why many rationalist and systems approaches to solving problems don’t work and indeed make organisations worse, simply by not knowing how language and environment prime culture. The Program then teaches what “primes” should be avoided eg. stereotypes and what primes should be used eg. gain framed language.
Once you know about the 3 minds and can observe them comfortably, then it is important to practice using good primes to help others manage risk and to foster a more mindful risk culture at work.
