[Tom Huntington]

Thank you Zak. I too found/find Iain’s conversation with Dougald Hine very stimulating and worth my time and attention and intriguing enough for me to buy his book At Work in the Ruins and to find out more about him. I was very happy to catch this conversation at The Stoa with Stephen Jenkinson, Bayo Akamolafe, and Vanessa Adreotti together expanding on the themes Dougald and Iain discussed. I think you will find it worth your time and attention too. I was only a lttile familiar with Stephen Jenkinson before watching their conversation. I’d really enjoy/recommend a conversation between Iain and Stephen Jenkinson.

[Tom Huntington]

Hi Joseph

Thank us again for our team learning on Zoom the other night (Friday). I so appreciate us, the each of us and the both of us, for ‘making’ the time (even us Fire Makers don’t ‘make’ time) and attending together for the time of out living & learning in synchronous time (as opposed to asynchronous time . . . eg. in writing in audio in video in our thoughts).

One thought/question I had the next day when I reflected on ‘our’ time and attending together was whether you had read what I had posted in the private group I started that I’ve provisionally titled The Hemisphere Hypothesis Self-Scientists Testing Team.

I know you accepted my invitation to join this private group, because you are the only one I’ve invited and therefore the only other member. I am not sure you read what I posted as an example of the kind of topic or theme I’d propose for a “team learning experience” Zoom meeting for a small group of us “self-scientists” for our brains, our bodies, our biology . . . for our being & becoming . . . and for our behavior.

And . . . I can imagine that it might not have been clear . . . (IMCO the platform Channel McGilchrist has chosen is very not user friendly . . . at least not without some syncronous online Zoom trainings where we can learn the platform and ask questions It is very annoying, “time consuming,” and off-putting to need to learn by the trial and error method).

I’d love for you to schedule another team learning session for us, the two of us, to discuss what I posted in that private group . . . and to share our experiences of “The ‘Dreadful’ Question of Purpose” I had posted there . . . Please read Part 1 first and then the 2nd post where at the end I highlight two quotes from page 479 of TMWT and A Suggested Self-scientist experiential-study/exploration: If I were more skilled at communicating in asynchronous time in writing using this platform, it would have been only one post . . . and I think more easily accessible . . . At any rate, I’m not expecting that you would have or should have known what I was/am suggesting as an example of one possible TMWT topic/theme for one (or even more than one) Hemisphere Hypothesis Self-Scientist Testing Team Zoom team learning experience session.

One of the values/guidelines/principles of the culture I’m wanting to encourage and lead and learn is the truth that I only know (and can know . . . know in the experiential sense) my own experience in any moment of the always flowing Time of ‘my’ life and in any moment of the always flowing Time of ‘our’ lives while we are team learning together in synchronous Time. (Oh! Time is Always Synchronous with Time. It is only us humans, I suggest, who so frequently get out-of-synch, out-of-balance with Time).

AND only you, only every other human on our learning team, can know, experientially know, what you or they know . . .
Wanting the best for us, for our brains, our bodies, our biologies . . . for our being & becoming . . . for our behavior too

[Tom Huntington]

The ‘Dreadful’ Question of Purpose (Part 2) . . . selected quotes on pages 477 to 479

Biology has a problem with teleology. In J.B.S. Haldane’s oft-quoted words, ‘teleology is like a mistress to a biologist; he cannot live without her but he’s unwilling to be seen with her in public. However, avoiding teleology results in vacuity . . .

. . . those scientists – and they exist — who want to avoid making specific teleological observations of behavior, such as ‘a turtle comes ashore and lays her eggs’. This seems like a hangover from the bad old days of behaviourism, where all inner life is denied, even in humans.

. . . one of the fundamental characteristics common to all living beings without exception is that of being objects endowed with a purpose or a project, which at the same time they show in their structure and execute through their performances . . . Rather than reject this idea (as certain biologists have tried to do), it must be recognized as essential to the very definition of living beings.

Are we talking of the purpose of a single cell, or a single organism, or an evolutionary strain to which the organism belongs? All three: separating them out is to a large extent artificial, since they are different aspects of one process. . . . At the micro level, a single cell of the creature is capable of reacting to unforeseeable circumstances so as to preserve its function in the whole organism, in ways that suggest intelligence.

Importantly, the idea of teleology, or purpose, does not entail determination: no prior plan, involving a sequence of predetermined steps to bring it about, is required. . . By doing or not doing certain things, the desired outcome can be made more likely. Both at the individual and universal level, purpose exists through what one might call a shaping of the probability landscape. Thus we tend towards certain ends, while leaving exactly what happens, and how, in any one case, undetermined.

>>>>>>>> These last two quotes from page 479 I am highlighting for Self-Scientist study:

To move from a focus on things as the ultimately important constituents of reality, to one in which processes are the important entities, requires a shift in our perception of space. We relinquish the idea of causation as strictly ‘bottom up’, from parts to wholes: we come to accept that whole systems, contribute to the properties of their parts. The first is the only one that makes sense to the left hemisphere. It takes the right hemisphere to understand that the parts can be understood only in light of the whole.

But it also involves a shift in our perception of time. It is not just that chains of causation work from the past towards the future: the future, in the sense of internalized potential, pattern or telos — may be as important a driver in the emergence of phenomena as the past.

>>>>>>>>>

A Suggested Self-scientist experiential-study/exploration:
how to each make the shift in our perceptions of space and time
how to practice and keep improving our skills at shifting our experiential perceptions of space and time in our daily lives . . .

[Until watching Iain & Alex’s Dialogue on Chapter 12 and re-reading the chapter I had no context for “the teleology problem” in science. Wikipedia’s page on Teleology and Teleology in Biology gave me a good overview. I now have more understanding of the problem and some sense of how big an impediment it is to the Life Sciences (and probably the Social Sciences as well) . . . which IMCO is a big reason for getting THE MATTER WITH THINGS on the curriculums of all the Life Sciences (List of Life Science Disciplines) and all the Social Sciences (List of Social Science Disciplines)

[Tom Huntington]

Imagining that the site will work easily for me (and maybe for all of us) is not being successful . . . .😅 I’m quite sure fantasy or magic incantations won’t be any more successful 😊

@chrissie.archbold @maryattwood

I spent a couple of hours the other day to format and share my idea and invitation for a small group weekly discussion I’m tentatively calling “The Hemisphere Hypothesis Self-Scientist Testing Team” and post links to 3 short videos and despite my efforts, I fell short in being able to succeed in posting the video, so I left note. (And this was after percolating my ideas for such a group since I finished TMWT . . . even before you did all the work for the beautiful new version of the website for Channel McGilchrist)

And now with this post . . . it took me an hour and a half to post and format in a way that I thought would be most easy for anyone interested to read it quickly . . . only to find it had the formatting in the text (Yikes 😰) But . . . this time I figured out (or hypothesized) that the “show formatting” button must be involved. . . . And then I found “the edit” button and spent another 15-20 minutes to edit and remove the junky looking formatting . . . I was so momentarily pleased with myself to keep making the effort to share my idea and my not giving up 🙂. . . only to get a red flag saying this post could not be edited!!!!

I know I know I know that the two of you (and maybe more than the two of you) have done such a great job in upgrading Channel McGilchrist to make it more user friendly for members and non-members . . . and I can only half-imagine (with empathy and not fantasy) how much time and effort (and maybe a little frustration now and then 🙏) it must have taken.

[Tom Huntington]

Wow @Jeff Thank you, thank you, for sharing your experience👏 So glad you were so skilled at staying in balance with yourself and living to share your experience. I’m inspired by your story.

Now that you’ve shared the story with your analysis of The Hemisphere Hypothesis with us, I encourage you to keep telling the story with your RH/LH learning . . . maybe even at some Open Mike story telling venues 😁 Even if you live in a place where there are none, there are now many more venues online, thanks to the Covid Pandemic.

Tom

[Tom Huntington]

Thank you Paul . . . I bet you’ll also find this recent (and apparently very rare) talk he gave at The Nature Institute . . . Gestures of a Life – talk by Stephen L. Talbott

[Tom Huntington]

The words you’ve written here make perfect sense to my left hemisphere’s analytic reasoning skills . . . but not to my right hemisphere’s more whole brain, experience-learning skills. My RH brain needs experience and practice at what you’re describing as a very simple process (in the abstract, representational sense), which it probably is. However, for most of us live humans, when we’re learning a new skill, a new process, even one as simple as it is to you and as it will probably be for most of us once we’ve had at least 1 or 2 or 3 times of experiencing in real life situations, which, in this case is communicating most effectively with other living humans who are members of Channel McGilchrist and wanting to learn and support Iain’s work and The Hemisphere Hypothesis in the world.

Does this make sense Armando? I’m sure I could devote a half-hour (or more) to figuring out the logistics (“the map”) of what you’re saying about “the subscribe” feature, but I doubt I’d feel very confident or competent in using it with any facility for connecting and communicating and collaborating with other CM members. I think a few simple tutorials for how to use the BuddyBoss platform within the context of the purpose/goals of all us members of Channel McGilchrist. Some of us are newbies to Iain’s work and The Hemisphere Hypothesis and are wanting to learn more . . . others of us have been students of Iain’s work for 10 or more years since reading The Master and His Emissary and want to keep changing our brains to be more skilled at “whole brain” living and relating in all areas of our daily lives . . . and some of us want to help Iain and his Channel McGilchrist team get The Hemisphere Hypothesis more and more “out there” in the world to help change the LH cultural patterns in the world that are not healthy for the planet and all us living humans and all living things. I’d be very happy to chat with you Armando to share some of my ideas about how we can help the Channel McGilchrist members’ platform be more successful in meeting the needs and wants of the members.

[Tom Huntington]

Thank you Armando . . . and thank you Peter. I had almost given up on even trying to participate at all in Channel McGilchrist. I’m glad I chose to check in on Channel McGilchrist this morning to see what, if anything, was going on in any of the groups I’ve joined. I won’t give up . . . I will keep trying. Can we DM you Armando when we have a glitch or question about the platform and how to use it most effectively?

[Tom Huntington]

Quoting you, @donsalmon

My favorite topic related to Iain’s work is attention, and the vast and varied ways Christian, Buddhist, Taoist and other traditions – as well as modern psychology and neuroscience – have found we can shift attention in a way that leads to profound transformations.

Hi Don, I’m just now finding your conversation with @JamesWillis . . . and I too am “a fan” of Attention. Thank you for sharing the Zen story. I don’t think I ever heard it. I did come to this realization/conclusion/opinion some years ago. I’d been kind of a “spiritual zealot” in my late 20’s to mid 40’s, with a very committed daily “spiritual practice.” And then had an experience in my 45th year that led me to begin to question “the spiritual wisdom” of my practice ‘in the world’ (the work world and the relationship world) and I became more open and interested in, and a student of, personal growth workshops, which included more than a few that were Gestalt based/informed. Eventually this led me to become interested in therapy-effectiveness research . . . which then introduced me to learning science and neuroscience and developmental science and social psychology . . . I now self-identify as a ‘human nature science geek.’

I’d kept up my daily ‘spiritual practice’ (aka a mindfulness/meditation practice, which my spiritual teaching chose to call “contemplation” rather than “meditation”). I’d also, along the way, discovered the benefit of mind-body integration practices, especially the moving ones, such as QiGong and ‘movement meditation’ practices.

Over the course of my serious study of healthy human nature science, including learning science and brain science beginning in the summer of 2002, I soon became aware of the was growing interest in ‘Mindfulness’ programs in the U.S. This was, and still is, especially true in California. When I moved to Santa Monica in early 2011, I was in walking distance of Insight LA . . .

“the only organization of it’s kind offering secular, evidenced-based mindfulness training and traditional Buddhist teachings within the Vipassana or Insight tradition” (from their website).

I’d learned/heard about the well-researched 8-week MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) program developed by Jon Kabatt-Zinn . . . research showing positive brain change results (in ‘stress reduction’). I’d been curious about the program (not for me – I felt quite happy/satisfied with my ‘mindfulness’ and ‘stress-reduction’ skills) but to check out for me to be able to recommend to others (with the integrity of having ‘checked it out’). There was a program starting in a few weeks after moving here. I signed up and committed to doing the program and the daily/weekly exercises and meetings. I not only got the validation to be able to recommend it to others with caring confidence, I found that it helped me and my daily “attention practices” . . . I’d already, several years earlier, had the opinion that the purpose/goal of “meditation” and “mindfulness” practices . . . as well as the mind-body integration movement practices I’d been doing . . . were all in the most basic sense for helping to improve our “attention/awareness” skills in all areas/domains of our lives.

It was about that same time when my brain science mentor, Dan Siegel, recommended The Master and His Emissary, introducing me to The Hemisphere Hypothesis, which has helped me continue to improve my attention/awareness skills every day since then.

While I agree with/appreciate Iain’s reluctance to recommend any specific “mindfulness practices” or even any specific “right-hemisphere-leadership-improvement” . . . because (IMCO) of the unique, idiosyncratic, subjective, always changing, nature of each of our brains and the danger of many of us making the “left-hemisphere-leadership-errors” that leads to rigidity for our selves and our daily “human team relationships” and to cults, polarized politics and wars . . . I do think, agree, that focusing on helping ourselves and our human cultural leaders at all levels know about The Hemisphere Hypothesis and prioritize our human attention/awareness self-skills, team-skills, brain skills be more “right-hemisphere-skilled”.

[I do apologize @donsalmon and to anyone else who reads this . . . that I don’t know how to format my post to be easier/more inviting to read . . . nor do I know how to share links . . . and that is a shame (IMCO), because this is a great opportunity for those of us who want to be champions for helping get The Hemisphere Hypothesis out to the cultural leaders of the world who also care about our world.]

[Tom Huntington]

I first hit the video icon in the menu on the reply post and it would not let me (or I could not figure out how to) “attach video” either my Vimeo links or my Dropbox links [I’m not wanting to bother you, @rosalinda, with my tech challenges, but I am thinking this is the best way to alert “the powers that be” for the well-being of Channel McGilchrist, that there is room for improvement . . . 🤔 🧐 ]

I know this is not the best solution, but I will try this . . . pasting the vimeo links in the text of my reply:

The Hemisphere Hypothesis Self-Scientist Testing Team . . . Invitation 01 (2+ min) https://vimeo.com/759667540/1d38411d51

The Hemisphere Hypothesis Self-Scientist Testing Team . . . Invitation 02 (3min)
https://vimeo.com/759667668/6ccb8d169c

The Hemisphere Hypothesis Self-Scientist Testing Team . . . Invitation 03 (3.5min)
https://vimeo.com/759667625/1cdfda054e

It is my understanding of Vimeo functions, that anyone with the link can access the videos. I did not post them as “public” on Vimeo. You (and any others who might be interested in knowing what I have in mind) “should” be able to copy the link and watch on your computer or notebook or smartphone.

I will also send you a DM with a link for scheduling a Zoom meetup with me after you’ve had time to watch the videos. If you’re not able to access the videos, then go ahead and schedule a Zoom meetup with me, and I’m sure I can send you the Vimeo links in a DM and I know I can send them in an email.

Thank you again for your interest . . . AND congratulations on reading THE MATTER WITH THINGS👏 👏👍🙏

[Tom Huntington]

Hi @rosalinda

I apologize for my slow response. I am so glad you are interested. I attribute my slow response to my frustration at learning to navigate the Channel McGilchrist website . . . I have had an intention to devote an hour a day to connecting with other committed learners of The Hemisphere Hypothesis . . . my frustration with the platform has been a non-conscious disincentive to show up the past few days. I’m so glad I committed to this 1 hour to be here and to find your message. I will send you a link to schedule a Zoom call with me to share more about what I have in mind and to hear what you think about my ideas.

And I will first make another effort to post the short videos I had tried to post when I originally posted my invitation.

[Tom Huntington]

Hi Peter . . . congratulations on your new poem direction. I can relate. Bravo! I don’t consider myself “a poet” either . . . and yet as a long time student of how to change my brain to be more Right Hemisphere wise and aware and “in charge” . . . I’ve discovered that expressing myself in poems or “poem-like” writing is much more enjoyable than trying to write to convince anyone that my experience or my opinions or my understanding is “the one and only right answer”!

I created a short poem today about my “We’re the Self-Scientists of Our Brains” opinion iI’ll see if I can share the link . . .

Nope . . . can’t figure out how to . . . THANKS again Peter for responding.