Controlling Your Mind

29 September 2021

 Last week we looked at flow; this week we’ll look at Csikszentmihalyi’s take on the control of one’s own mind or consciousness.  Here’s how he gets to it:

The thesis of this book is that becoming an active, conscious part of the evolutionary process is the best way to give meaning to our lives at the present point in time, and to enjoy each moment along the way (The Evolving Self, 1993, p. 11).

There’s a lot there.  First, becoming an active, conscious part of the evolutionary process needs to be unpacked.  The words becoming and active tell us that Csikszentmihalyi is on board with human agency; he agrees that we have the ability to direct our minds and lives, at least to a significant extent. 

The evolutionary process takes us from the scale of the individual person to the species Homo sapiens.  But it also unites Homo sapiens (us) with the direction, quality, and speed of planetary (and maybe broader) change.  A lot of work for one clause.  In plainer language, Csikszentmihalyi is saying that by working on self we work on our contexts, the places we live, work, and play.  Further, working on our contexts gives us meaning and allows us to function as well-spirited members of our community. 

That’s an interesting claim.  If true, good fosters more good i.e., acting virtuously, in favour of your deepest values, brings more virtue into being.  Think about it.  The way I’m reading that sentence (second paragraph, above), is that acting positively, productively, and virtuously i.e., fostering more order, love, peace...improves the cumulative evolutionary momentum of life on earth.  Not bad.  Being good is doing good.

But he’s also thrown meaning in there.  What’s meaning?

The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy devotes six double-columned pages to that word.  I’ll try to be more succinct.  “3. That which is interpreted to be the goal; intent or end.  4. That which is felt to be the inner significance of something...” (Morris, 1975, p. 811).  Zeroing in.  What is the goal of a human life?  By my standards, that’s easier to answer than you might guess: the goal, intent, or end of a well-spirited human life is self-actualization.  Self-actualization is becoming fully what you are capable of becoming.  According to Carl Rogers, self-actualization implied congruence (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014) or, per Polonius, being true to oneself.  So, to live a meaningful life is to be as fully, honestly, and openly oneself as possible.

If we take that quote, and break it down to its core message, this is what we get: Living positively, productively, and virtuously advances the evolutionary momentum while helping the individual become fully herself. 

So how do you do that?  In the language of the 12-step culture, by doing the next right thing.  The next right thing is that thing you know is good for you but that you’re resisting e.g., a workout, a savings plan, practicing a difficult skill, reading a challenging book, etc.  After doing that next right thing, look under the hood.  What you’ll find is a core value: full health, financial independence, increasing skill or talent, or expanded, challenged knowledge. 

That, I believe, is how one begins and sustains the control of one’s own consciousness.  Consciously. 

Dan Chalykoff is working toward an M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology and accreditation in Professional Addiction Studies.  He writes these blogs to increase (and share) his own evolving understandings of ideas.  Since 2017, he has facilitated two voluntary weekly group meetings of SMART Recovery.

References:

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1993). The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium. Harper Perrenial Modern Classics.

Morris, W. (Ed.) (1975). The Heritage Illustrated Dictionary of The English Language.  American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc.

Seligman, S. & Reichenberg, L. W. (2014). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: Systems, Strategies, and Skills, 4^th Edition. Pearson Education Inc.