In the initial article describing Two Minds Theory, we argued that mindfulness interventions work by strengthening connections between the Narrative and Intuitive systems. We suggested that mindfulness helps to focus the Narrative System on experiences occurring at the Intuitive System level, which could improve decision-making. Like motivational interviewing, mindfulness is a popular intervention approach without a single, clear theoretical foundation, and we suggested that TMT might provide a basis for understanding its effects.
A recent review on the state of mindfulness research showed a dramatic increase in references to mindfulness since 2005 in both scientific literature and popular media. But despite this popularity there are still major gaps in the literature including the lack of a standard definition of mindfulness. In some studies mindfulness refers only to an awareness of one’s self or one’s surroundings, while in others it means a set of formal practices such as meditation. Mindfulness practices come from Eastern religious and philosophical traditions, but in the West they are often unmoored from these traditional underpinnings. Leading expert Jon Kabat-Zin offers a simple definition of mindfulness for Westerners as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Other definitions of mindfulness similarly emphasize (a) the element of attention, which could involve attention either to the body or the environment, and (b) the idea of non-judgment, holding whatever thoughts or sensations may come without interpreting them. Our understanding of mindfulness in Two Minds Theory addresses both of these aspects.
The element of attention is identified in Two Minds Theory as part of the Narrative System. This is in part based on the sense of conscious control that most people have with regard to attention, and in part because attention has the “sparse” or “limited resource” quality associated with Narrative Shstem processes. Neurologically, attention seems to be associated with the thalamus, a lower-brain structure that nevertheless has strong connections to the prefrontal cortex (the brain area with the strongest role in Narrative thinking). If attention is part of the Narrative System, this implies that it cannot directly affect behavior, because the Narrative System never operates fast enough to do this. But paying attention may in fact be an alternative behavior, a substitute response that takes the place of other more problematic ones. One could learn through practice to stop and pay attention in response to various stimuli (maybe especially distressing ones), which might then lead to a different pattern of behavior and different outcomes as a result. The idea that attention is a learned response, developed through deliberate practice, also fits with descriptions from mindfulness experts. Alearned response to “pay attention” in response to environmental cues could be helpful in two ways: First, it might interrupt the flow of behavior long enough for new information or a new interpretation of events to be considered as part of the Intuitive System’s process of selecting a behavior. Second, if the things that one learns to pay attention to are Intuitive-level experiences (symptoms, sensations, perceptions, feelings, etc.), then paying attention might yield a more realistic appraisal of the situation, and also of one’s Intuitive response to it as something separate from the environment itself (e.g., a person with social anxiety might recognize that he or she feels afraid and want to run away, and also recognize that nothing in the situation is objectively very threatening; the combination of these observations might lead to a different response than the initial impulse to just escape the situation).
The second aspect of mindfulness, non-judgment, also fits within TMT’s conceptualization of the Narrative System. Judgments are part of narratives, something a person “adds on” to experiences that they have. In the absence of Narrative processing, there could be no judgments of good or bad, only unfiltered experience. Some experiences might be pleasant and others not, but the Narrative System is where labeling and interpretation occur, where a meaning becomes attached to the experience itself. Mindfulness practices, then, involve suppressing some aspects of the usual narrative function. In some cases, practitioners are asked to focus on alternative narratives involving gratitude, savoring, or love. These narratives may in turn become habitual responses, allowing the mindfulness practitioner to see the same situation in new ways. In TMT narratives cannot affect current behaviors, but once they become habitual or characteristic ways of seeing the world they can affect future behaviors. Part of mindful awareness involves learning to see unpleasant Intuitive-level experiences (fear, pain, symptoms, etc.) as “simply sensations,” without labeling them or trying to push them away. Another part may involve learning to notice other Intuitive-level experiences like a sense of gratitude, a feeling of hope, or an experience of connectedness. Because the Intuitive System is very good at parallel processing, these positive aspects of an experience may be really present, coexisting with the more negative aspects but initially not accessed because of the serial, linear nature of Narrative thinking. Focusing on either the positive or negative aspects of experiences can become a habit, and one can therefore develop habitual personal narratives that emphasize the positive aspects and minimize the negative aspects of new experiences. Similar to practicing the mere behavior of paying attention, practicing narratives of gratitude and hope can lead to a more adaptive future response when negative experiences arise.
In both elements of mindfulness, attention and non-judgment/gratitude, there is a clear role for practice. Because these elements are centered in the Narrative System, they cannot be used after a person encounters a situation that calls for some response. In that situation, the Intuitive System will produce a response faster than these Narrative responses can be brought to bear. Instead, the mindfulness practitioner hopes that he or she can develop a response through deliberate practice that will be automatically elicited by the new situation. When stopping to pay attention or reframing events in a non-judgmental way have become the default response, that is when mindfulness techniques can begin to produce changes in behavior.
Image from American Nurse Today, American Nurses' Association (2019).
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