Solve the really important problems by reclaiming your whole mind.
You didn’t do it intentionally, but somewhere along the way, you lost a part of your mind. Maybe it was in that first biology class, or something your parents taught you, or even culturally the way we categorize, label, define, and thereby constantly separate things. However it happened, you learned that the mind and the heart were two entirely different things. You also learned that you could – and maybe even should – choose one over the other in certain circumstances. This fragmentation puts a limit on your potential for the highest level of communication, leadership, and success. It’s also impossible to do while still maintaining wellbeing.
How did this phenomenon occur? It began with us losing the original meaning of the word “mind”. Since beliefs are rooted in language, when the word lost its potency, collective thinking was reshaped. Choices and actions then lost something, too. As we think, so we are.
Disintegrating The Mind
As a communicator by trade, language fascinates me. Over the last 25 years as a consultant, I’ve seen words make or break teams, company cultures, brands, and countless personal and professional relationships. The words we choose have very real power. In fact, at any given time, you are either building up relationships or breaking them down by the words you use. In every moment, the words we use are quite literally creating the reality we are living.
A long time ago, the word “mind” was closer to “heart-mind,” meaning thoughts and emotions are one system.
Mind, late 12c., mynd, “that which feels, wills, and thinks.”
From the Old English gemynd “conscious mind, intellect, intention.”
German minne “love,” originally “loving memory.”
Even on a biological level, this makes sense. From the very beginning, the human embryo’s head is tucked tightly into the heart chamber, slowly unfurling as it develops. In the fully formed human, this connection is maintained through nerve endings that travel from the brain to the walls of the heart, ensuring constant communication. As a result, mental health can have a dramatic effect on heart health and vice versa. So, why do we walk around in the world forgetting that our MIND is the whole package—the unified strength of the heart-mind?
If we are to function at our best, we need to see the reality that the mind remains whole, always connected to the heart center. The art and practice of creating a more beautiful mind begins with recognizing this integration, and leading and communicating from that place of wholeness.
As we begin 2021, the time has come to set the record straight and reclaim the full power of your mind. Living and working at your fullest potential means bringing the full you to the table. That can only be done by integrating all of your gifts and instincts and applying them toward your goal.
