Dr Itai Ivtzan
Let us make a little experiment. You will need pen and paper, and may wish to invite the people around you to participate as well. When you are through reading this paragraph, take a close look at the picture of the clock. The relationship between Spirituality and Psychological Schemas well-being was stronger in the human mind and spirit group of students. Now, take a few minutes to draw the clock you have just watched. Include in your drawing every detail you remember. When you are through, go back to the original picture. Are there any significant differences between your drawing and the original picture? Although we have all seen many clock faces with 4 represented as IIII, most of us would represent 4 by IV immediately after having watched closely the face of the clock. Schema theory The results of this experiment are explained by the psychological schema theory, which maintains that previous knowledge has an important role in shaping the data our memory is taking in. Schema theory contends that the schemas existing in the mind enter into action when we try to recall information, and take over our memory processes. In reconstructing the information, we do not refer exclusively to the mental image of the clock. Instead, we are likely to fill the gaps with any available schematic knowledge. This schematic knowledge is so powerful that it overrides the actual image of the clock. What we actually do is use our past experience and knowledge to restructure our memories. This is an inadvertent process that results in a distorted memory of whatever has happened. A classic psychology experiment carried out by Bartlett26 as part of his study of reconstructive memory provided a good example of this phenomenon. Bartlett presented the participants of his experiment, all white Americans, with a series of drawings, paintings, and poems. A story called “The war of the ghosts”, based upon the Native American culture, illustrated perfectly the point he was trying to make. Because this story originated in a culture that was thoroughly different from that of the participants, it clashed with their own schemas. Bartlett found significant distortions in the participants’ reconstruction of the story, which kept growing with time. The participants’ schemas were gradually taking over, and their recollection of the story increasingly leaned on their own cultural background, discarding the original Native American features. Priming The influence of ego concepts does not end with reshaping our memories. Ego concepts also shape our relationship with every moment of our life. The psychological concept of priming best illustrates this process. Psychological studies show that subtle hints coming from certain words and concepts are capable of bending your behaviour in their direction. In 1996, John Bargh and his colleagues asked the participants of a study they were conducting to form sentences from a store of scrambled words. The participants were divided into two groups. The first group was given words that included the words “old”, “bingo”, “wrinkle”, “gray” and “lonely”, all words that we associate with old age. The second group received no words from this semantic field. The participants were then sent down the hall to complete another task, but they did not know that their walk down the hall was being timed. The results were amazing: The first group took significantly longer to walk down the hall than the second group. This led to the conclusion that the participants of the first group were primed by the words associated with old age, and their ego concepts about getting old were triggered. Their predictions, beliefs and ideas regarding the experience of getting old came alive in their mind, and had a direct impact on their behaviour, making them walk more slowly. This example is a good illustration of the connection between your ego concepts and your bearing. Most significantly, this process is not conscious, and you are unaware of it. If you asked the participants of the first group why they were walking more slowly they would not know what you were talking about. Similarly, a situation you believe to be reality as it is actually a product of your ego concepts shaped by your beliefs and expectations. Let me give you another example: Imagine that you are opening a new dental practice. Are you going to refer to your patrons as “customers” or “patients”? This indicates that the labels “customers” and “patients” trigger each a different ego concept or schema in your mind. Each incorporates different attitudes, expectations, and beliefs, generating a different behaviour. As already mentioned, most of this process happens unconsciously, and you will not be aware of the way the priming (the choice of name for the patrons) triggers an ego concept that determines the way you approach the patron. Processes of this kind occur every moment of your life. In the course of your psychological journey you will see these unconscious processes gradually become conscious. Unless you are fully aware of your motivations you will find it hard to see yourself as autonomous and free. As a result of this recurring process, we keep shaping our reality in a way that “proves” our beliefs, thoughts and assumptions to be ostensibly right. A psychological theory that illustrates this point is that of the self-fulfilling prophecy. This theory suggests that schemas are reinforced by situations involving the person/place/thing they relate to. For example, if one of my schemas maintains that North-European women are not smart, this will influence the way I behave in the company of a Scandinavian girl: I will probably not ask her interesting questions or listen to her with attention. As a result, the girl would feel uncomfortable and close up, giving the impression that she is indeed uninteresting. The prophecy has fulfilled itself. Our approach to a specific moment is influenced by the schema (ego concept) and shapes it accordingly. In turn, this strengthens the original schema, and here we are, entrapped in an ever growing false understanding of the world, that hinders us from seeing life as it is. Spirituality and schemas A fundamental spiritual insight maintains that life is a mirror that reflects your mind. In a famous Buddhist story, two monks had an argument about the temple’s flag that was blowing in the wind. Not only does the mind interpret every moment, in doing so it follows your most powerful ego concepts. When this happens, you perceive the moment as it was shaped by your ego concepts. Here is an example from my own experience. In a yoga class I have attended, several students used to wear spotted swimming suits. The teacher, who did not know their names, addressed them by this feature: “The girl with the spots in the back row, lock your elbows”. The student replied defensively: “It’s because of the mosquitoes”. The girl interpreted reality according to her most powerful ego concepts (“everyone thinks my skin looks horrible, people often make fun of me or of the way I look”). Had she been an aware individual she would have recognised the reflection of these ego concepts in the situation; she would have been able to observe her ego concepts, using the situation as a mirror. Every situation in life mirrors our ego concepts, but do we have the courage to look in this mirror? As a child, I read the book “The Never Ending Story” by Michael Ende. The hero, Atreyu, had to stand several trials. As he was approaching one of them I remember thinking “What is it going to be? Facing a lion? Fighting a Dragon?” Was that really all? No fighting? No glory? The neutrality of life The things that irritate you, make you happy or sadden you do not exist in life as it is. These are your interpretations of the situation as structured by your ego concepts. The moments themselves are neutral, and do not carry any positive or negative weight. We build mental stories around reality as it is:
- Reality as it is: I have £120 left
Mental story: I’m broke, I’m a failure
- Reality as it is: The girl refused to give me her phone number
Mental story: I’m ugly; no one will ever want me The bottom line message is simple: situations in life are all neutral. It’s all about the interpretation we create.
Dr Itai Ivtzan is passionate about the combination of psychology and spirituality. It makes his heart sing. He is convinced that if we befriend both psychology and spirituality, and succeed in introducing them into our lives, we will all become super-heroes, and gain super-strengths of awareness, courage, resilience, and compassion. Isn’t this an amazing prospect? His main areas of research are mindfulness, spirituality, and wellbeing.
Dr. Ivtzan is confident that mindfulness meditation has the power to change individuals – in fact, whole societies – for the better. He is convinced that if we befriend both Spirituality and Psychological Schemas, and succeed in introducing them into our lives, we will all become super-heroes, and gain super-strengths of awareness, courage, resilience, and compassion. Accordingly, he has been investing much time in studying mindfulness academically, writing books about it, teaching it, and running mindfulness certification courses. His training is teaching you how to become a meditation teacher, providing you with an inspiring and formal meditation teacher certification
