A schema (plural schemata or schemas), in psychology and cognitive science, describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior.

It can also be described as a mental structure of pre-conceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information. Schemata influence attention and the absorption of new knowledge: people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schema, while re-interpreting contradictions to the schema as exceptions or distorting them to fit. Schemata have a tendency to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradictory information. People use schemata to organize current knowledge and provide a framework for future understanding. Examples of schemata include academic rubrics, social schemas, stereotypes, social roles, scripts, worldviews, and archetypes. In Piaget's theory of development, children adopt a series of schemata to understand the world. Through the use of schemata, most everyday situations do not require effortful processing. People can quickly organize new perceptions into schemata and act without effort. However, schemata can influence and hamper the uptake of new information (proactive interference), such as when existing stereotypes, giving rise to limited or biased discourses and expectations (prejudices), may lead an individual to "see" or "remember" something that has not happened because it is more believable in terms of his/her schema. For example, if a well-dressed businessman draws a knife on a vagrant, the schemata of onlookers may (and often do) lead them to "remember" the vagrant pulling the knife. Such distortion of memory has been demonstrated. Schemata are interrelated and multiple conflicting schemata can be applied to the same information. Schemata are generally thought to have a level of activation, which can spread among related schemata. Which schema is selected can depend on factors such as current activation, accessibility, and priming. Accessibility is how easily a schema comes to mind, and is determined by personal experience and expertise. This can be used as a cognitive shortcut; it allows the most common explanation to be chosen for new information. With priming, a brief imperceptible stimulus temporarily provides enough activation to a schema so that it is used for subsequent ambiguous information. Although this may suggest the possibility of subliminal messages, the effect of priming is so fleeting that it is difficult to detect outside laboratory conditions. Furthermore, the mere exposure effect which requires consciousness of the stimuli is far more effective than priming. What are archetypes? They have been described in various ways: 1. Archetypes are the "seeds" from which all things originate, both animate and inanimate. o Human life. They are the common foundations from which human beings develop their lives. That is why the people in different cultures tend to have

similar emotions, behaviors, rituals (social and religious), symbols, social organizations, and ways of perceiving and thinking; each of those phenomena is based upon an archetype which exists in everyone. o Animal life. If universal human behaviors can be attributed to archetypes, we can attribute animals' universal instinctive behaviors to archetypes. o Inanimate objects. If the behaviors of living things can be attributed to archetypes, perhaps we can attribute the "behaviors" of inanimate objects to archetypes; those "behaviors" would include the chemical activities, electrical activities, etc., of rocks, water, stars, galaxies, etc. -- and the universe itself. 2. Collectively, archetypes have been compared to a blueprint or a genetic code which presents predetermined plans for the structure and function and development of each aspect of human life. We might wonder whether some or all of the archetypes are biologically based in the genes themselves, with one archetype per gene; if so, then our awareness of archetypes is founded on our intuitive awareness of our own genetic structure. (Carl Jung said that the archetypes are "present in the germplasm," i.e., the genes [Jung 1959, page 75].) 3. They are the primary contents of the "collective conscious." In contrast to the personal unconscious (which contains entities which are unique to each person's experience) the collective unconscious holds the archetypes -- the entities which are common to all of humanity. Although Carl Jung was credited with the "discovery" of the collective unconscious, previous writers in philosophy and religion had offered similar ideas about a common source from which we all draw; for example, the Jesuit philosopher Teilhard de Chardin described a "noosphere" which is "composed of particles of human consciousness ... formed by the inner experiences of mankind." The collective unconscious does not exist in geographical space (or in a specific part of the brain); it is merely the "field" (like a magnetic field which surrounds a magnet) which is created in the presence of archetypes. This field surrounds each archetype, and it also reaches out to connect with the archetypes which are in everything else. 4. They are aspects of spirit. Spirit is one homogeneous substance, but it has various distinct functions when it expresses itself into material form; when we perceive each function, we attribute it to an archetype. For example, the soul -- through its human embodiment -- can act as a healer; therefore, we can say that there is a Healer archetype within the substance of spirit. Archetypes per se, do not exist (i.e, they are not actual entities, like a physical object which we could hold in our hands); the theory of archetypes is merely a conceptual model by which we understand and categorize the distinguishable aspects of life.

Benefits from an understanding of archetypes.

1. We recognize the common ground which we share with other human beings (and with everything else). Some spiritual teachers claim that the foundation for this oneness is in our undifferentiated spiritual essence; however, if we do not perceive that spirit, we can surely recognize the archetypal expressions of it, e.g., our similar emotions, etc. With this commonality in human society, we understand one another's feelings and behaviors, because those people are responding to the same archetypes which we know. (Without archetypes -- if such a scenario can be imagined -- humans might not be able to communicate at all from our separate, individual worlds.) Through our connection to the archetypes, we are linked with all other people, and with everyone's ancestors and everyone's future descendants -and with the rest of creation. 2. We clarify and simplify the tasks of human life and of spiritual growth. We "clarify" in the sense that we recognize underlying archetypes in each situation; we "simplify" in the sense that we are not bewildered by the infinite variations of life but instead we can methodically deal with the finite number of archetypes from which those variations arise. The clarification and simplification assist us in both our human life and our spiritual explorations. o Human life. Sometimes life seems to be a random array of experiences; at other times, we recognize recurring events, e.g., a pattern of unpleasant relationships. As we look deeper, we realize that these patterns are based on our continued attempt to understand the underlying archetypes. (In the case of relationships, those archetypes might be Power, Love, or another). When we understand the nature and dynamics of those archetypes, our future relationships improve. Thus, our life is simplified -- because we are not confronting a large number of relationships but instead we are confronting the same one or two archetypes. o Spiritual explorations. In one sense, the "spiritual path" is merely our experiments in dealing with archetypes. In our human life, spirit does not confront us with its totality; instead, it reveals itself in its individual aspects, so that each aspect can be studied one-at-a-time. Those aspects are archetypes. Thus, as we learn about archetypes, we learn cumulatively about spirit itself. Our spiritual explorations are simplified because we are not caught up in the diversity of religious concepts and rituals; instead, we recognize the few archetypes which underlie those concepts and rituals, e.g., humility, service, love, forgiveness, detachment, etc. And we work directly with those archetypes, in a manner which suits us, knowing that our examination of archetypes can be equally enlightening in either a religious context or in everyday life.

The archetypes have been known throughout history. Carl Jung developed his concept of archetypes when he noticed the recurring symbols and themes in his patients' dreams, and as he realized that those same symbols and themes have appeared in both ancient and modern art, mythology (particularly in the assortment of Greek gods and goddesses), fairy tales, legends, and religion (including Buddhism's Tibetan Book of the Dead, where the archetypes are encountered in "the Bardo"). Archetypes have been described by Plato as

"ideal forms," and by Europe's rationalistic philosophers as our innate tendency to perceive and understand in a particular manner, and by practitioners of various types of divination (such as numerology, runes, I Ching -- and astrology with its "signs of the zodiac").

There are many archetypes. Potentially, human life contains an infinite number of possibilities -- but those possibilities are based on a finite number of archetypes. (In another section of this book, I have listed some of those archetypes, such as Teacher, Parent, Birth, Servant, etc.) Despite the limited number of archetypes, human life is varied because we each express the archetypes in our own way. The archetypes are impersonal and autonomous. But when we create our lives, we flesh out these pre-existing archetypes in accordance with various factors: 1. Cultural factors. For example, in a modern culture, the Home archetype might present itself as a house or apartment; in another type of culture (or sub-culture), the Home archetype might present itself as a tipi, tent, cave, or another type of housing. While the collective unconscious is shared by all of humanity, groups of people create their own "group unconscious"; in any sub-culture such as a family, ethnic group, religion, or corporation, there are shared myths, symbols, legends, heroes, and other indications of the presence of archetypes which are being expressed in a manner which is unique to that group. 2. Personal factors. These factors can include our intuitive perceptions regarding the needs of the moment, and our logical analysis, and our habitual responses, etc. For example, at any moment, we might be a compassionate Warrior or a vicious Warrior.

Techniques for developing our ability to recognize archetypes. We can look for the underlying archetype or constellation in every object and action in our life, and in the world around us. 1. Empirical evidence. For example, we know, by simple definition, that a human mother is expressing the Mother archetype. 2. Logical deduction. For example, if we are looking for the Death archetype, we can logically expect to find it in words (such as "fatal" or "funeral"), or in the presence of a hearse in traffic, or in a memory of a deceased relative, or in the sadness which we feel when we see a dead animal next to the road, or in a movie or novel featuring a murder mystery, or in the perception of death in a remotely related subject such as autumn leaves (which are, of course, dead). The Death archetype can be present even in something which seems to be completely unconnected to the subject; for example, it could be evoked by a photograph of Star Trek's "Mr. Spock" because we saw a Star Trek movie on the day when our sister died. 3. Literature. We might notice that a story from mythology, legends, or fairy tales is being played out in our life. 4. Dreams. Archetypes are represented in the characters, objects, settings, and scenarios of our dreams.

5. Nature. As explained earlier, archetypal behavior can be viewed in animals and in inanimate objects. 6. This book. Archetypes are specified throughout the book, particularly in the chapter regarding "archetypal cycles." The chapter regarding "archetypal fields" helps us to discern the contents of those fields; as we explore the fields, we learn about the archetypes themselves.

Other chapters regarding archetypes. Throughout this book, we will explore the influence of archetypes upon the various aspects of our life, particularly the human mind, emotions, and behaviors. Some chapters deal specifically with archetypes.
1. Archetypal fields. These fields (which can be compared roughly to magnetic fields)

surround an archetype, and they retain an impression from every thought, image, energy tone (i.e., emotion and feeling), and action which we generate whenever we encounter that archetype. Then, in future encounters with that archetype, we tend to re-use those previous "elements" (i.e., the thoughts, etc.) which have been recorded in the archetypal field. 2. Archetypal field-work. This is a collection of techniques by which we deliberately implant new elements into our archetypal fields, so that our automatic response to archetypes tends to be effective and vibrant. 3. Archetypal constellations. These are the groupings of related thoughts, images, energy tones (i.e., emotions and feelings), and actions corresponding to a particular archetype. 4. Archetypal cycles. In this chapter, we examine the relationships among archetypal situations, and we recognize the many archetypal roles which we play in life. Archetypes are not merely an academic theory; they are the heart of everyday life -our material life, our psychological life, and our spiritual life. Emotional Intelligence - intelligence of the heart - has its roots in the concept of 'social intelligence,' first identified by E.L. Thorndike in 1920. Psychologists have been uncovering other intelligences for some time now, grouping them mainly into three clusters:
1. Abstract intelligence (the ability to understand and manipulate with verbal and

mathematic symbols).
2. Concrete intelligence (the ability to understand and manipulate with objects). 3. Social intelligence (the ability to understand and relate to people).

Thorndike defined social intelligence as, "The ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls - to act wisely in human relations." And Gardner includes inter- and intrapersonal intelligences in his theory of multiple intelligences. These two intelligences comprise social intelligence. He defines them as follows:

Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand other people: what motivates them, how they work, how to work cooperatively with them. Successful

salespeople, politicians, teachers, clinicians, and religious leaders are all likely to be individuals with high degrees of interpersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself. It is a capacity to form an accurate and truthful model of oneself and to be able to use that model to operate effectively in life.

Emotional Intelligence (often given the acronym EQ, the emotional-intelligence equivalent of IQ) encompasses social intelligence and emphasizes the affect of emotions on our ability to view situations objectively and thus to understand ourselves and other people. It is the ability to sense, understand, and effectively apply the power of emotions, appropriately channelled as a source of energy, creativity and influence. It includes a person's ability to understand their own emotions and those of others, and to act appropriately using these emotions. Balancing and integrating the head and heart, channelled through the left and right brain, is the mission of personal growth work in the domain of emotional intelligence. E EQ includes such things as:

Identifying your feelings and needs, through body-awareness. The ability to read others feelings, and to listen to others with empathy. Knowing how to express your feelings with words and/or body-language. Choosing when to contain (not repress) emotion, and when to communicate emotion appropriately. The ability to process and let go of emotion when necessary. The willingness to give ourselves time to feel, and to enjoy the depths of our selves through feeling. The ability to lead wisely or follow with grace. The ability to honor our own limits, as well as to celebrate our talents. The ability to give and receive love.

A rich and colorful tapestry of emotion gives meaning to our lives, and depth to our experiences. Even when we are not consciously aware of emotion, it motivates our behavior, and drives our every gesture and choice. Many of us have learned early in our lives to hide or ignore our feelings, and that is why relationships can become stunted and dull. Relationships cannot be truly intimate, nor can they grow, without a sharing of our emotional inner worlds. Emotions are the primary source of human energy, aspiration and drive, activating our innermost feelings and purpose in life, and transforming them from things we think about, to values we live. The key factor is the way that we

interpret our circumstances, based on our prior experiences and belief system, to either respond reactively like a stimulus-response machine with an emotion that is outside our control and may be inappropriate and self-defeating, or to respond proactively with selfdetermined responsibility - and freedom of choice. Only part of our success in life is attributable to intellect. Other qualities: trust, integrity, authenticity, creativity, honesty, presence and resilience, are at least as important. These 'other intelligences' are collectively described as Emotional Intelligence. There was a time when IQ was considered the leading determinant of success. Based on brain and behavioral research, Daniel Goleman argued in his ground-breaking book, 'Emotional Intelligence,' that our IQ-oriented view of intelligence is far too narrow. Instead, Goleman makes the case for emotional intelligence (EQ) being the strongest indicator of human success. He defines emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to love and be loved by friends, partners, and family members. People who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful relationships. The good news is that EQ can be learned or developed, it's not something you're stuck with. We can develop in ways that can improve our relationships, our parenting, our classrooms, and our workplaces. Our temperaments may be determined by neurochemistry and long-established patterns of behavior, our genetic and cultural programming, but we can recover control. We could turn society on its ear if we learned to recognize our emotions and control our reactions; if we combined our thinking with our feeling; if we learned to channel our flow of feelings into creative expression, an expression of love. Emotional intelligence plays an integral role in defining character and determining both our individual and group destinies. It involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions. In short, to embrace the power of emotions intelligently. It involves abilities that may be categorized into five domains: Self-awareness: Observing an emotion as it happens; realizing the prior ideas and conceptions that underly an emotional response; being open to intuitive insights; emotional honesty - a developed sense of integrity and authenticity. 2. Emotional maturity: Facing up to fears and anxieties, anger, sadness and discontent and expressing that energy constructively, whilst retaining spontaneity. 3. Self-motivation: Channeling emotional energy in the service of a goal; openness to new ideas; the ability to find breakthrough solutions and to make sound decisions; resilient optimism based on competence; sense of responsibility
1.

and personal power to get things done in accordance with what is needed and wanted. 4. Empathic understanding: Sensitivity to others' feelings and concerns and willingness to respect their perspective; valuing the differences in how people feel about things; the capacity to trust and be trusted, to forgive and be forgiven. 5. Quality communication: Managing emotions in others through communication based on empathy and understanding, to build mututal trust; social skills, including constructive handling of disagreements and the ability to create and sustain friendships; leadership effectiveness.

Where Do Emotions Come From?

The word emotion is a fascinating word. Look at it this way: E-motion, or Energy, put into motion. That is what our emotions do. They move energy and bring things into motion, or manifestation. The force behind what we feel is what allows us to create. First we have our thought, or perception. But it is the emotional energy, the fuel, that allows something to get created. "I felt so strongly that I just had to rush out and do it". Therefore, to create in a positive way, we must generate positive emotions from clear thoughts and perceptions. Thought triggers emotion. See what kind of thoughts you are thinking, and what kind of emotion that creates. Tune into how you feel. Use all your senses to ask if something doesn't feel right or comfortable in the way you are responding or feeling. If you don't like the emotion you are feeling, change the thoughts you are thinking that are the reason for you creating that emotion. Get a new perspective, in other words. Healing comes from taking responsibility: to realize that it is you - and no-one else - that creates your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. The Reactive Response The opposite of being response-able is to be 'reactive' - in this case one's response is not conscious and self-aware, it is mechanical, like the trigger of a gun. Rather than being objective in the present, one is subjectively in the past. A situation reminds you of the past and there you go. The thoughts that go through your mind - thoughts from the past - trigger an unpleasant or self-defeating emotional reaction, and result in behavior that is not in your best interest. In other words it is your beliefs and your perspective on things that determine your emotions, which then drive your resulting behavior. These thoughts derive from times when they seemed like the best solution to trying circumstances, and they may be an agreement with a dominant, authoritative or persuasive force, or derive from the conclusion to an episode in your life of success or failure. If the original circumstances were unpleasant and become painful to think about, the accompanying thoughts, decisions and purposes become suppressed too, but continue to operate subconsciously.

When brought to light, it is apparent that the thoughts are affecting current life unnecessarily, as they are usually an over-generalization, an exaggeration, a negativity or an intolerance that is irrational. To become responsible again rather than reactive, one needs to become aware of these thoughts and examine them objectively. And to be conscious of the present moment, and so act (rather than react) as circumstances change. The route to the underlying thoughts and beliefs is to recognize the situation or circumstance that triggers unwanted feelings and subsequent behavior, then see what thoughts are driving that reaction. Most often these are fleeting and subconscious, since they are associated with painful experiences or because they have long been installed in the mind as seemingly safe solutions to the situations of life and have therefore become taken for granted - 'built in' as part of one's identity. Normally you can't see what you are being first you need to fully experience, accept and release the emotion. Finding the underlying thought pattern is crucial to resolving the reactivity, and when it is seen in the light of an objective view this is a great relief, because the past decision - and the beliefs surrounding it - can normally be changed quite readily. It may mean finding a new solution to the problem that it has been 'solving' in the mind, but the clearer view makes this possible. If the previous solution is used to make one feel right (or justified if connected with bad actions) and/or to make others wrong defensively or manipulatively, then some courage is needed to adopt the new, more rational view. If you have done something wrong in the past, it is best to be thankful you made that mistake, because it gives you the opportunity now to learn a valuable lesson. These principles are common to much of humanistic psychology, and are also the basis for further transpersonal work. To recap, the way it works is this: 1. The person has a traumatic experience, of pain or loss. 2. As a result of the experience, s/he makes a decision or intention for the future, such as "men are selfish bastards, I can't trust them" which becomes part of their belief system. 3. Because the incident was painful it is suppressed, and the accompanying decision is identified with, but both remain in the mind and continue to have influence. 4. When the incident is restimulated by similar circumstances in the present, the old decision is subconsciously dramatized. The tape replays subconsciously. 5. The decision may have been relevant and appropriate to the original circumstances but it is probably not appropriate now - it is therefore irrational and somewhat stupid, i.e. it may contain an assumption or generalization that causes intolerance or negativity. 6. The current situation is interpreted according to the restimulated beliefs and considerations, and so the person creates unpleasant emotions (sadness, fear, antagonism, anger, etc), which then drive the him or her to behave in an inappropriate and self-defeating way; rather than the appropriate and selfempowering way that a rational and objective interpretation would encourage.

To resolve the cycle of irrationality > painful emotion > negative behavior pattern, you can use the technique of Releasing, described here. The Releasing procedure helps you to re-experience the painful emotion, to the point that you realize that you actually create the emotion based on your interpretation of events, and that you are not the emotion, i.e. "I create the feeling of being angry" rather than "I am angry". With acceptance of the emotion, so that you can have it or not have it and still be content, then you can let the emotion go. For the releasing to be permanent you also need to spot the underlying irrational thought, assumption, decision or intention, and how it has been driving your emotions. Now the emotion is cleared it will no longer be dominating your view of the situation and these thoughts will be exposed. Upon examination it becomes clear that you can change your mind about this and see things differently, so will you no longer need to feel upset in similar circumstances and have new freedom to behave in ways more aligned with your goals in life. The Shadow Self We each have a belief system full of ideas imprinted by our culture and upbringing, and as the effect of earlier traumatic experiences, and even influences we are born with. They are here with us all the time in the present and effect our view of things and interpretation of events, so that we are not really free to be ourselves, and to know our true selves and our true goals and purposes in life. Part of our belief system is conscious and makes up the personality we knowingly present to the world. Another part is less conscious and these are beliefs that we suppress because they are uncomfortable to face - they make up our 'Shadow Self'. It includes aspects of ourself that we resist - qualities we have that we don't like, things we've done we are ashamed of, things we've believed that others have told us that are negative evaluations or invalidations. Accompanying these beliefs are put-downs, self-invalidations. For example, I found myself feeling afraid on occasions and judged myself a coward: "I despise this cowardly streak I have." To help in suppressing painful aspects of the shadow self, we then use these put-downs against others too, e.g. criticizing someone because he is cowardly to speak up, to reinforce the suppression of the belief one has about oneself. So when you resist, deny or suppress a belief about yourself, you then reinforce this by projecting the same suppression on others. I might suppress the belief that I'm not a kind

person by criticizing another for being mean. Ironically, when we realize someone is being kind, this is only possible because one has recognized that kindness within oneself, otherwise it would not be real to you. Men who deny the feminine aspect of themselves often then criticize other men for being soft or over-sensitive. And women who through their conditioning suppress their masculine aspects may criticize other women for being tough or aggressive. As we become more aware, through practices such as meditation, self-remembering, applying the Releasing method, and in particular through the in-depth technique of The Insight Project, we can let go of these 'Shadow' aspects of our personality, we no longer need them as 'safe solutions', their lies have been exposed. And the energy we put into anger, hate, jealousy, guilt, envy and so on is freed up and transmuted to its true nature, which is our own true nature, love. Responsibility - Yours or Mine? Another's determinism (including their emotional responses) is their responsibility, not yours. This is a hard lesson to learn. If I promise to my wife that we will have a holiday this year, but this turns out not to be possible, she may be upset and angry. It is easy to fall into the trap of taking responsibility for this upset, to feel that I have caused it. But it is your wife who causes her own grief, not you. You are responsible for doing what you think is right, according to your ethical judgment. If you do something wrong according to your own ethics, you are responsible for that. You are not responsible for the other person's reactions though, that is their determinism, their freedom. If you do something you think is right and someone gets upset about it, even if you could have predicted that, the upset is nevertheless that person's responsibility. Sometimes you do something you know another probably won't like, because it is the right and therefore responsible thing to do. The other person's reaction is their personal responsibility. You may decide to withhold an action because of a predicted effect, although that effect is another's responsibility. Here it is an ethical judgment - withholding that action, if it is the right thing to do, may be a wrong-doing in itself. For example if you were to withhold doing personal development because your partner has said they do not want you to change in any way, perhaps because they project their personal fears and insecurities, that is your choice. But if you consider making a better life for yourself is the ethical thing to do - for the benefit of yourself and ultimately for others too - and you tell your partner that and she gets upset, it is your partner who is responsible for the upset - it is her interpretation of your actions that creates her own upset, not your action in itself, which is a responsible action. You can genuinely love someone whilst nevertheless doing something they don't like or agree with. You do it because you feel it is the right thing to do, though you still understand and have empathy for their different viewpoint (which causes their emotional reaction, part of their 'case' which they have created by their own choices and belief system).

If one only did things others can easily accept then the status quo would never progress. That would truly be a trap. The solution here is better communication, leading to increased understanding of each other's viewpoint, and therefore acceptance of the differing personal realities. There is strong cultural conditioning to feel sad, guilty, etc. for painful emotions that our actions, however well meant, may cause to others. In society there's a general misconception that you are your emotions. "I am angry" and "you make me angry". This is conditioning not truth. In terms of cause and effect, it's a viewpoint at effect. Some say that to be happy only do what others can easily experience - it's the same lie. The Church teaches "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you". This is evidently true, as if you are being ethical then it's going to be OK for others to do the same to you. And if it isn't then you'd better re-think whether you are indeed doing the right thing. It is one definition of a 'wrong' action: that which you would not like another to do to you. It's a basic principle of respect for others (as one would wish for oneself) that they are responsible for their actions and reactions - that is their freedom of choice. They are not a slave or puppet. From your interpretation of reality you make decisions and your decisions and choices and emotional tone have enormous influence on the direction of your life and what happens. Looking at life and relationships in terms of Communication, Understanding and Empathy (CUE) is a spiritual viewpoint. It is like the 'love of God' - it can seem harsh but it's about the 'greatest good'. It has no room for the 'victim' identification, jealousy and those kinds of very human responses, that are based on conditioned lies. Consideration for the other person comes into play when you judge ethics, what is best overall, not just for oneself. However the other may not agree with your judgment nor like it. That is an aspect of the unknown and randomness of the game of life. You try to make it a win-win rather than competitive game by increasing the qualities of CUE. You are responsible for your choices, decisions and actions. For being true to your judgment. For communicating with honesty and integrity, developing and maintaining an open mind, and promoting understanding and empathy. For never compromising your freedoms and rights nor trampling on another's. For always acting from the primary motivation of love. That's all and quite enough.

Brain Lateralization
What is the theory of "brain lateralization?" Lateralization is the idea that the two halves of the brain's cerebral cortex -- left and right -- execute different functions. The lateralization theory -- developed by Nobel-prize-winners Roger Sperry and Robert Ornstein -- helps us

to understand our behavior, our personality, our creativity, and our ability to use the proper mode of thinking when performing particular tasks. (The cerebral cortex is a part of the brain that exists only in humans and higher mammals, to manage our sophisticated intellect.)

Ideally, we develop "lateralization." This is the use of the proper hemisphere for the task which we are doing. For example, when we are playing a friendly game of softball (a righthemisphere activity), we would lose the essence of the game -- the fun -- if we were overly apprehensive regarding left-hemisphere matters such as rules and discipline. And when we are balancing our checkbook (a left-hemisphere activity), we don't want to be distracted by the right hemisphere's fascination with creativity and emotions. In every task, one hemisphere is dominant, but the other hemisphere participates to some extent; for example, we do have rules during the softball game, and we can feel happy when we notice that our bills are not as costly this month. When we understand lateralization, we become more efficient: we can consciously allow and emphasize the correct hemisphere, knowing that the sense-oriented right hemisphere is a better softball player, and the analytical left hemisphere is better in math. We also benefit from knowing which hemisphere to use during a particular stage of a task; for example, during problem-solving, we use the left hemisphere for the information-gathering stage, but we use the right-hemisphere during brainstorming and incubation of the ideas.

We tend to use one half more than the other. During childhood, we develop "brain dominance" -- the inclination to act and think in the mode of either the left or right hemisphere. The decision is affected by our genetics, childhood experiences, and family environment. The dominance is not total; whether we are "right-brained" or "left-brained," we permit the other hemisphere to lead occasionally.

We tend to distrust or even dislike the non-dominant half. If we generally use our left hemisphere, we might be annoyed by our right hemisphere as though it were an undisciplined child; contrarily, a right-hemisphere person might consider his or her left hemisphere to be a spoil-sport. These same attitudes might be projected onto other people. For example, if we favor the right hemisphere, but our co-workers are oriented toward their left hemisphere, we are likely to judge them as boring and rigid; if we favor the left hemisphere, we probably view our right-hemisphere co-workers as unreliable and disorganized. But both types of people can be effective if permitted to work in their own way, as some employers have discovered.

We need to develop both hemispheres. This is necessary because, as stated previously, some tasks require the left hemisphere primarily, and others predominantly call on the right hemisphere. Our brain dominance stays the same -- a right-hemisphere person does not change into a left-hemisphere person -- but we can develop the skills of the other half, so

that that half will be more effective when we need to use it. We can enhance our nondominant hemisphere in the following ways: 1. First, we can become more aware of the two modes. What do we feel when we are in a right-hemisphere mode, and what do we feel when we are in a left-hemisphere mode? Refer to the lists of tasks that correspond to each hemisphere, and then note the various sensations throughout your mind and body while performing the tasks; while monitoring yourself, be certain that you are using the proper hemisphere (e.g., the right hemisphere while singing). We need to be able to sense the differences in order to ascertain whether we are indeed using our dominant or nondominant hemisphere. 2. We can become aware of the shift itself. To develop this perceptiveness, we can do an activity which predominantly calls for one hemisphere, and then switch to an activity which uses the other hemisphere, and pay attention to the feeling of transition in mind and body. When we know what the shift feels like, we can use this knowledge to verify that a shift has occurred on any occasion when we want to willfully change hemispheres. 3. We can sense the requirement of each task as we perform it. We can change backand-forth between hemispheres (by approaching the job playfully or analytically), to determine whether we feel better (and are more efficient) when we are in the right or left hemisphere during this task. For example, when we are housecleaning, we might think that that is a left-hemisphere task because we are attending to details and goals; however, because we are engaged in physical activity, the task is easier if we do it in the right-hemisphere mode -- relaxing and enjoying our body's movements and rhythms (and the aesthetics of a clean home). If we become more sensitive to the differences between the right- and left-hemisphere modes during our day's activities, we will become more aware of the needs of each task -- and we will probably be surprised by the number of tasks which are simpler and more delightful when we do them from the right hemisphere, with a sense of play, adventure, spontaneity, and creativity. Or, conversely, perhaps we will discover that some of our chores need to be switched from the right to the left hemisphere. If we do not yet have sensitivity regarding the appropriate use of hemispheres, we can make a logical estimation by asking ourselves, "How much analytical thought is required for this task?" In many cases, we are probably "thinking too much" about a chore that instead requires imagination and feeling. 4. We can acknowledge the presence of the other hemisphere during any task. For example, while engaging the left hemisphere, we can be careful not to be too "serious" (and repressive of the right hemisphere); we may permit some creativity and delight while still accomplishing our goals. One way to involve the right hemisphere is to change our attitude from "I have to do this job now" to "I get to do this job now"; the statement invites the right hemisphere to cooperate and to find its little unobtrusive pleasures while we do our work. However, if the right hemisphere demands more attention than the task allows, we can simply promise to attend to it later; for example, "When I finish my work, I'll relax with a snack." 5. We can make alterations in our lifestyle. For example, if our job keeps our left hemisphere engaged (particularly in an occupation such as accounting or computer

repair), we can plan our free time and home life to utilize the right hemisphere. At work, we can try to schedule some times (however brief) to let the other hemisphere express itself; for instance, we can enjoy some personal conversations during our coffee break at work, instead of discussing business matters. 6. We might become aware of the 90-minute cycles in which the brain tends toward one hemisphere and then the other. There is no practical way to schedule our lives around this cycle, but we might make some concessions to the fact that one 90period will allow us a sharper intellect (from the left hemisphere), while the subsequent 90-minute period will grant us more creativity (from the right hemisphere). This cycle is probably identical to the 90-minute sleep cycle (i.e., the REM cycle); during sleep, the brain proceeds through a 90-minute cycle which is characterized by various levels of brain activity, with REM dreams commencing at the same point in each cycle. 7. We can notice the frustration and exhaustion which occur when we use the improper hemisphere for a task; perhaps we habitually use the same hemisphere for virtually everything we do. For example, for some people, sex is a left-hemisphere activity because they are concerned with performance, goals (such as orgasms), size of body parts, and duration of time. The result can be impotence in the man, and frigidity in the woman. One approach in sex therapy is to teach the people to relax and enjoy, i.e., shift to the right hemisphere, which is the proper mode for sex. 8. We can acknowledge other people's hemisphere-preference, to enhance our communication. After just a few minutes of conversation, we might be able to discern their preference by observing the following qualities in their speech. A right-hemisphere person tends to exhibit more feeling, emotion, visual imagery, humor, and a musical quality in the voice. A left-hemisphere person prefers logic, details, and a conversational structure that has an obvious direction and purpose. When we talk to either type of person, we can use the respective qualities so that we will be understood more easily. However, we need to give our listener a balance; many public speakers intentionally make frequent changes between the left and right hemisphere -- facts and emotions -- to keep the audience interested.