Mindfulness: Wise Mind and Monkey Mind

Traditional mindfulness concepts include about "monkey mind" and "wise mind."  I cannot pretend to understand all that is meant by these two terms because my training is in cognitive therapy and not mindfulness therapy.

However, I believe that "monkey mind" involves much of the ceaseless, annoying chatter which can bubble up in our brains when we try to achieve calm, deliberative silence.  (Think of the jabber of monkeys in the trees.)  Wise mind is a compassionate, observing mind which can learn to ignore monkey mind.  There.  That ends my knowledge about the concepts.

However, in my work with clients I have come to understand that there are at more important states of mind that my clients need to understand--probably several more.  But let's start with the most important four.

First of all, there is emotional mind.  This state of mind occurs when we are dominated by our emotions: sadness, anger, grief, fear, panic, anxiety, jealousy, envy, and so on.  It is not all bad.  Grief is normal.  In fact, most emotions have some important place in life.  However, many patients consult with me because they are overwhelmed by their emotions and they need some new way of coping with them.  They want an alternative to emotional mind.

Emotional mind is probably associated most with the limbic system.  This is the midbrain, sometimes called reptilian brain.

What are the other three types of mind which can compete with "emotional mind?" They are observing mind, logical mind, and sensing mind.  Each of these provides an alternative to being submerged in our emotions.

Let's start here with observing mind.  This would most likely be associated with the pre-frontal cortex.  It is associated with the executive function of self-awareness.  When we are in the state of observing mind, we are aware of what is going on within us.  We can observe, in a somewhat detached way.  We can become aware that our anger is rising, or that we are feeling panicky.  We can be aware of our negative thinking, and we can watch it come and go.  We can see how our negative thinking is producing painful feelings, and vic versa.  We can also detach ourselves from our emotions.  When we are observing them, they do not have to stick to us.  They are simply clouds passing in the sky.  They come, and they go. 

Then there is logical mind.  This is the part of the mind which is trained the most by cognitive therapy.  If I fear that I am going to lose my job because the boss has been in a bad mood recently, my logical mind can realize that I am personalizing my boss's behavior and seeing it as aimed toward me.  Logical mind can realize that there is a very low rate of people being let go.  Logical mind can think about all of the written counseling procedures and safeguards which have to be accomplished before someone can be let go.

Finally, there is sensing mind.  No matter what I think may happen tomorrow, I am currently sitting at my computer.  I can feel the chair beneath me.  This morning, from where I was sitting, I could look up and see the colored spot lights.  Then later, I noticed the blue sky, and even the yellow stripes on the road.  My center shifted from logic and from emotions to heightening my awareness of what was coming in through my senses.  I became aware that I was hardly aware of the colors around me and that it was actually quite enjoyable to look at the colors of the world, even the man made world.

When we are submerged in emotional mind, these other three states of mind offer us alternatives.  We can observe the coming and going of our thoughts and feelings.  We can logically challenge any irrational negative thoughts which lead to the negative feelings.  Or we can simply focus on our senses and enjoy the world around us.