Mindfulness without the Bells and Beads

Chapter 4How Do Our Brains Work outside a Brain Scanner?

As wonderful as science is, the descriptions of findings in research papers typically fail to illustrate the practical value in any meaningful or memorable way for the layperson. It is not that researchers are incapable in this respect, it's more that these papers are written by researchers for researchers, in the hopes that they expand the bounds of human knowledge on the subject and to do that they have to speak in very precise scientific terms that don't always easily translate to real-world descriptions. So, let's go through some real-life examples of common situations you might find yourself in from time to time and see how your brain reacts.

I'm going to take you through two scenarios. What I'd like you to do is put yourself into the scenario, mentally visualize it as vividly as you can, and notice what emotions, thoughts, and impulses come up for you in reaction to what is happening in the scenario. If you have a piece of paper handy, it might be helpful to note down your reaction to each question before moving to the next page.

Scenario one. You are on your morning drive to work and traffic is moderately heavy. As you approach your exit from the highway, a silver Mercedes SUV zooms ahead on your left-hand side and quickly pulls into the exit lane directly in front of you.

1. What emotions came up?
2. What thoughts did you have?
3. What impulses to action did you have?

Scenario two. You are walking down a hallway at ...