An article I read recently discussed the idea of a “stream” of consciousness. This is a concept known to many and felt by most – that our thoughts and emotions flow like a continuous stream through our minds. The metaphor of a stream has several connotations that we take for granted and never question, and those connotations go change the rest of our conscious experience. For example – this stream is continuous from the point of our birth and flows in one direction, from the past to the future, and ultimately ends at death. Sometimes the stream is rough, sometimes calm. Sometimes we feel the way to succeed is to press on to the next part of the stream where it’s better, and other times we feel success is being able to relax and enjoy the ride while it lasts. As the article says, “there is no disputing the aptness of this metaphor”. But what the article goes on to say intrigued me because it basically changes the underlying connotations that we get from the stream metaphor.

“We actually perceive the world in rhythmic pulses rather than as a continuous flow.”

I often talk about “thought patterns”, repetitive conscious habits we use to deal with reality, and the above sentence summed up my point perfectly. Rhythmic pulses represent a Cycle, not a continuous stream. We experience the world in cycles. The cycles move at a different rate and rhythm and we can measure their fluctuations over a timeline. We’ve actually known this for years – describing the fluctuations as quantifiable measurements of electrical activity within the brain (see Neural Oscillation) and even going so far as to tie the different frequencies (alpha, beta, theta, etc) to specific states of consciousness. And yet the importance of this “common knowledge” becomes another concept/fact and not a realization because of the very phenomenon it is describing. We get caught up in thinking about things in a certain way (pattern) and forget that there are other ways.

Here’s an sample of an Alpha wave pattern (indicating combinations of focus and relaxation)

It’s looks like a continuous ride through ups and downs, much like we imagine when contemplating the “stream of consciousness” metaphor. But this graph is mapped out over time and our conscious experience is not. It is a “rhythmic pulse” – meaning that this timeline is inaccurate from our conscious point of view. Our experience would be better mapped out as an ever-changing circle, where we start from a state of rest and move continuously to and from that state of rest in varying degrees.

So it would be the difference between this:

and this:

both of the above graphics are showing the very same basic sine wave pattern, but one is expressed over a continuous timeline and the other is not. If we were to map out the previously shown Alpha wave in the same way, we would see a constantly changing “circular pattern” that gets faster and slower, bigger and smaller, as it progresses.

Our thoughts move exactly like this from moment to moment. We start in a state of rest and then we create a thought-driven action or series of actions that eventually return us to a state of rest – and then we repeat the whole thing over and over again. How quickly we return to that state of rest and how fast the cycles occur is dependent on our conscious actions. For example – If you are in a anxious, stressed out and hectic state of mind, you are unlikely to even notice the quiet moments that go by because your thought is focused on what to do next so that you can ease your anxiety and stress. The opportunity to slow down and appreciate those quiet moments is available, but we just dive back into thought-driven action and quicken the pace of the cycle (ironically, in the hopes of ending that same cycle)….leading to more anxiety and stress and influencing the nature of the next cycle. Each time we dismiss or ignore that moment of rest it becomes more difficult to notice it on the next time around. Until we do take notice of these opportunities to slow down our thoughts, because of necessity or wisdom, we continue to speed up and eventually feel “like we’re running in circles”.

Cycles mean something entirely different than the metaphor of a stream. It implies a different sort of learning and a different human condition entirely. Think of it as the difference between walking down a path or walking in repetitive circles.

I find this interesting because it makes a big difference to how we look at our development from infancy to adulthood. Our development tends to be looked at as progress along a path towards a point of understanding rather than the continued refinement of conscious cycles.

Addiction is a very good example of a conscious cycle.

I Want so I can feel better –> Action –> I Get and feel better –> I can see that Getting = Feeling Better –> I Want so I can feel better (again)

It isn’t until we identify the underlying consequence of this cycle that we change it. Until the cycle is questioned it continues to be self-perpetuating.

I Want so I can feel better –> I realize that Wanting only leads to more Wanting –> I can see that wanting does not equal feeling better –> I stop wanting

Now we start another cycle but with a different origin/rest state and thus a different outcome and experience.

The point of this insight is in knowing that our cycles/thoughts are largely habitual – we learned them and continue to repeat them because we remain mostly ignorant of their existence, our dependence on them, or our role in creating/perpetuating them. Understanding that we are in a repetitive loop puts the responsibility of changing that loop directly into our own hands.

And we know that what we consciously think/do within those loops has a definite impact on our thoughts and experience. Let’s look at the patterns of neural oscillation I mentioned earlier.

Notice that our the typical adult state of mind (beta) is the least relaxed state. If we were to represent this as a circular pattern we would see a very fast repeating cycle. This is the experience of divisive analysis and logic and is often associated with experiences such as anger, worry, fear, anxiety, and tension. We get trapped in a logical progression of thoughts based on an underlying mentality/perception (and its corresponding positions) because we forget that there is another way to look at the world. This is not to say that a beta state is not useful as a tool, but its flaws and consequences cannot be addressed so long as we remain within it.

The addict doesn’t continue their cycle of addiction because they want to, they do it because it makes sense to them (overwhelmingly so) and they forget that there was an experience before that logical trap.

Once we discover new information that makes the cycle seem less beneficial, we can return to a more restful cycle (alpha state) and our experience changes accordingly. Once we accept that our current way of thinking is not necessarily as beneficial as that state would have us believe, we can transcend it. An alpha state is often related to insight, imagination, creativity, focus, and attention – rather than being divisive and judgmental, it is inclusive and empathetic. This is the state where we can truly reinvent our lives, our culture, and our existence on this planet.

There is a state where life is more meaningful, less stressful, and full of insight – but to get there we must break the cycle of our current thinking. And to do that, we must first recognize that there is one. Once we recognize the trap and see the consequences of it, change is inevitable. It’s easier than we think – because our current way of thinking is the trap.