Both-And

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BrainDao: Can We get Beyond Either~ Or Thinking?

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As some of you may know, I’ve been writing a book for many years now. My practice, my health, and Life seemed to keep getting in my way. But now that I’m (semi-)retired, I’m working again on finishing it. 🤞

Play in the Between Place

The second chapter of my book — Play in the Between Place — talks about the importance of the "between-place" in moving beyond our typically either~or thinking. One of my clues that I’ve been taking WAY too long to finish writing this book is that more and more writers are now arriving at (or re-discovering) this same notion. Today, it’s a brief article from Atmos introducing their next issue, which apparently will be on just this topic.

Dusk Till Dawn | Atmos

So what?

My first chapter talks about why our human brain tends to do Either ~ Or thinking. It’s a strong tendency, a pattern of thought we can’t (and probably don’t really want to) avoid entirely - when it’s working for us.

But when it’s not working, we find ourselves creating dilemmas, getting “stuck between a rock and a hard place”, or finding ourselves at odds with people or positions around us. (Ahem. Politics, anyone?)

So recognizing the importance of finding a way out, around, through, between, beyond the polarities is critical. And it’s amazing what our brain can do when we use one of these ways and let it discover new perspectives.

So., a spoiler….Yes, we can. We must know when and how to get beyond Either~Or for our personal and social growth and wellness.

Do you have ways you get Between and Beyond Either~Or? Or a time when it spontaneously happened with an interesting outcome?

Preferring Stability

Do we have a sense of our tendency to "Both-And"?

And do we therefore actively work to maintain our sense of "stability"?

Research suggests a definite Maybe.

This is from the American Psychological Association (I've bolded key bits for you skimmers ;-):

We swim in a sea of information, but filter out most of what we see or hear. New analysis of data from dozens of studies sheds new light on how we choose what we do and do not hear. The study found that while people tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe, certain factors can cause them to seek out, or at least consider, other points of view.