If you’re setting goals for 2023 it’s important to identify meaningful and achievable targets. Beware of magical thinking (e.g., 10x results over last year) AND beware of win/lose dualistic thinking (e.g., I will only be successful if I outperform the previous year).

Quick tangent: Dualism is the concept of two opposed or contrasted aspects. For example, to say something is tall there must be something that is short. To say something is up, there must be something that is down. Either/or, better/worse, win/lose. Another of the most common dualistic thoughts is the mind/body separation (e.g., promising more than you can deliver).

Matthew Hutson, a New York City science journalist and former news editor of Psychology Today, tells us that “Several studies show that people who think more intuitively are also more susceptible to magical thinking. One intuition that’s been proposed as a foundation for religious thought is Cartesian mind-body dualism, the idea that a mind can exist independently of a body.”

Hutson continues, “Dualism (is) the strongest predictor of the three types of supernatural belief. It’s the foundation for belief in God, a disembodied mind. It’s also necessary for belief in spirits, part of the paranormal package. And it may encourage belief in life’s purpose because people see disembodied intentionality acting everywhere, or because belief in the afterlife enhances life’s meaning.”

Take another look at the diagram above. It’s worth noting that at the entrance of that maze of boxes and lines haunted with ghosts and witches and talking trees is one simple item: mentalizing. Which means that if you’re a fully developed human, with an understanding that minds exist, then through one path or another you’re probably going to end up in magic-land.” http://www.magicalthinkingbook.com/2013/09/all-paths-lead-to-magical-thinking/

Today’s senryu: Beware Mind/Body Separation

consult the Divine,

stars, life coaches, blog stats … just

don’t forget to walk