Have there been times in your life when you needed to answer an important question or find the right solution? Have you needed clear, specific guidance or at least some kind of hint in those complex and confusing circumstances?
How can we get closer to that much-needed and coveted moment, which Archimedes joyfully marked for the first time and for centuries to come with the word "Eureka!" and we most often call it "insight"?
Let's talk about that.
What is an insight?
Insight is a term from psychology and psychoanalysis that describes a complex phenomenon, the essence of which is a sudden breakthrough to the understanding of the problem or finding its solution, which is the result of a long intuitive or unconscious thought activity.
In psychotherapy, insight refers to an insight and catharsis into a person's realization of a problem or his or her condition.
More often than not, the concept of insight, discovery, or insider knowledge is associated with the concept of intuition.
Intuition is a property of our consciousness, a form of cognition and discernment. It is a person's ability to instantly and without any visible logical evidence get answers to his questions, to understand better what is going on and to make right decisions. In other words, intuition is when we understand something without quite understanding how we know it.
But intuition, in my opinion, is used by us all the time and is more relevant to the everyday issues of our lives. Insight should not be confused with a simple solution to a pressing problem or a new vision of some situation.
Insight is something else. It is something that turns upside down our usual notions, concepts, and principles in an entirely unexpected way. It is Mendeleev with his table of chemical elements, it is Einstein with his theory of relativity, it is Steve Jobs with his revolutionary gadget design.
In my experience, insight is not just illogical, it is paradoxical. It is a breakthrough into something completely new - other temporal-spatial, causal and other dimensions. And every time I searched for an answer or chose a solution from two possible options, the insight always showed me a third one.
There are two approaches to achieving the "Eureka" state.
I would call them intellectual and spiritual.
An Intelligent Approach
It is explained by the appropriate qualities of our thinking, using our knowledge and experience.
As we know, the human brain has two hemispheres. Left hemisphere controls the logic, relies on concrete data, builds logical chains, arranges the processes. Right hemisphere is connected with creativity, emotions, inspiration and gives us an opportunity to dream and fantasize.
Psychophysiologists say that intuition manifests itself due to the very rapid work of the right hemisphere of the brain, which helps people to grasp new connections between objects, surrounding people and virtual images. They are sure that thanks to intuitive "grasping" the links not included into the logical chains, the discoveries in science occur, which cannot be achieved by sequential analysis of available facts.
Thus, manifestations of intuition are the result of our experience and superfast work of the right hemisphere. And if you regularly create conditions for a sudden "illumination" you may well develop your "sixth sense".
According to psychologist Graham Wallace's chart, there are four stages in the process of becoming insider.
The Four Stages of Insight
The first stage is preliminary preparatio.This includes the gathering of information and comprehensive research of the initial data about the problem. At the same time, the person tries to use the information obtained and to apply the methods of solution known to him/her.
The second stage is the incubation period. Shifting the focus to other tasks or usual rest - the brain gets a reset at this point.
This is the longest stage on the way to finding a solution. At this stage, one mentally distracts oneself from the problem and lets one's subconscious mind work on it on its own. While the problem is wandering through the subconscious layers of the psyche, the person can do anything unrelated to the problem.
As the French mathematician and theorist of scientific creativity Henri Poincaré admitted, many original ideas, which later promoted him to the ranks of outstanding mathematicians, came to him not at all in the course of purposeful mental activity, but in absolutely unexpected circumstances: one - on a bus step, another - while walking along the seashore, another - on the boulevard. However, the emergence of each innovative idea was preceded by a long phase of preparatory work, both conscious and unconscious.
Poincaré said, "What will surprise you first of all is the appearance of inner insight resulting from long unconscious work; the role of this unconscious work in mathematical invention seems to me unquestionable."
Poincaré made the assumption that rest is only visible; in fact, this "rest" is filled with unconscious work. The latter, according to the scientist, only bears fruit when preceded by a period of conscious work. Inspiration is not a gift from heaven, but the result of labor, and sometimes enormous, not always visible and conscious.
The third stage is insight or Eureka itself At the moment when a person has accumulated a critical mass of information and manages to unload his consciousness, the subconscious finally "gives out" a solution. Although the solution has been in the subconscious mind all along, the realization usually comes quite spontaneously. Each person comes to the realization in different places and conditions. Science knows many examples: Archimedes in the bathroom, Mendeleev in his sleep, and Newton under an apple tree.
As a rule, insights are always accompanied by an experience of great joy and inspiration.
The fourth step is the verification of the insight This crowns the entire process. It is at the verification stage that the solution is put into practice, and it becomes clear whether it works or not.
So when Archimedes realized that a body submerged in a liquid has an expulsive force equal to the weight of the volume of liquid displaced by the part of the body submerged in the liquid, he immediately put his theory to the test.
Before giving an answer to King Heron II whether his crown was made of pure gold, he tested his discovery with improvised means. After making sure that everything worked correctly, Archimedes wrote his famous treatise on the density of matter and ruined the lives of many dishonest jewelers.
Spiritual Insight
The second approach to insight is that people endow the process of obtaining unexpected solutions with mystical properties and consider it the result of the intervention of higher forces whose source is the spiritual realm.
It is as if the Spirit of God is communicating new knowledge to our spirit. "The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."(Psalms 119:130)
It is as if the universe you trust is helping you - responding to your intention and manifesting the inherent power of the universal mind to manifest.
I am more of a proponent of this approach. Most of my major discoveries about myself and my life have taken place during intense prayer and dedication to waiting for God's revelation.
As an eternal spiritual entity, man is infinite. And the human mind, though powerful, is limited. That is why spiritual knowledge is all-encompassing knowledge, which is radically different from ordinary knowledge and allows us to separate ourselves from the illusions of the material world. It goes far beyond the boundaries of everyday life, material practicality, and gives us answers to transcendent questions of existence. It is a powerful force that enables us to take giant steps toward personal growth.
So how can we approach insight or illumination?
Despite his own proposed plan, psychologist Graham Wallace believed that it is absolutely impossible to induce insight by artificial means-because we cannot predict how the brain and neural connections will work at any given time, much less control them consciously.
Nor can we control a sovereign and omniscient God, who manifests His will as He pleases. And the universe, despite our intentions, can act completely unpredictably.
But there are things we can do to help us get closer to the desired Eureka state.
The main condition for getting insight, or illumination, is uncertainty.
Uncertainty is the beginning of all beginnings. The answer that comes from our «nothing».
To comprehend the basics of this experience, you must comprehend the wisdom of uncertainty. In this wisdom you will find the freedom to get whatever you want.
The unknown is always hope, it is the source of new knowledge.
The unknown is fertile ground of pure creativity, it is an open field for new manifestations. And the field can organize an infinite number of spatiotemporal events in order to obtain the desired result.
But the unknown can be dangerous. Therefore it frightens people, as a dog is frightened by an unknown passerby. But sometimes it is the uncertain that is the answer to all questions.
So when you experience uncertainty, you are on the right track. You don't need to have a complete idea of what should happen and how, because when your intention is fixed by the rigid setups of your mind, you lose the flexibility and spontaneity inherent in the field of possibilities and block out the full range of new discoveries for yourself.
So the first thing to do on the road to illumination is to stop seeking.
Excessive striving only gets in the way. Sometimes we want something so badly that it makes achieving it impossible because we spend all our energy on it, burn out and give up. So sometimes you have to give up in order to get it. To stop looking in order to find it.
It is a well-known fact that most of the right decisions come not through brainstorming or through long deliberation, but through rest and relaxation.
As John Kehoe says, humility is spacious. You still have intention, you still have purpose. However, between point A and point B, an infinite number of possibilities form. And if you just watch the uncertainty, waiting for your solution to emerge out of the confusion and chaos, the result can be startling.
Come out of the tunnel
All of us are limited by various constraints. Our habitual minds cling to familiar patterns and stereotypes. We walk along the same habitual mental trails.
There is such type of thinking - tunnel thinking, when all decisions, all options for further development of events are limited to a very narrow corridor. You do not see and do not notice the huge space of variants, and every step forward occurs according to a clear, predictable scenario.
In life, such tunnel can be beliefs, stereotypical thinking, mental attitudes and habits of a person, which have arisen due to upbringing, beliefs, experience, attitude to oneself, way of thinking, social status and many other factors.
But tunnel thinking is a barrier that prevents us from seeing new things. It does not allow us to look at a situation from different angles and limits us in making decisions. The result of such thinking is "trampling in place" and making the same mistakes.
But how do you get out of the tunnel?
Try something new. To see something new, you have to commit to something new. "A ship never gets anywhere until it loses sight of the shore..."
When you realize that in these conditions of life you can no longer find anything in yourself or in the world around you - you have to change the picture of your life.
Change your usual surroundings. A good option is to go somewhere, at least for a while, in order to find yourself in a new unknown environment. And then new places, new situations, new challenges can be the catalyst for your breakthrough.
We know many stories of people who dramatically changed their attitude toward themselves and their place in the world when they decided to make a drastic change of scenery. It gives good results.
My favorite writer Ernest Hemingway, with his motto "Write drunk, edit sober," used an interesting way of releasing limitations and activating the creative process. And although, besides him, this method has been used by many famous creative personalities, it should not be abused)..
The third piece of advice is to go into the wilderness.
"Go into the wilderness." Insight almost always comes in silence. It needs to make room in your mind. It was not without reason that Jesus went into the wilderness. It's not for nothing that many hermits were wiser than highly educated scholars and theologians. Find a secluded place - an island, a forest or a mountain - where you can get away from people and the usual hustle and bustle.
Use physical exercise. Even short-term physical activity is very useful for the whole body and the brain as well. They have a positive effect on the cognitive functions of the brain - improving memory, attention and thinking. Moderate cardio exercise - running, walking, biking, swimming - stimulates the development and branching of neural spines. This, in turn, stimulates the creation of new neural connections, which is beneficial for learning, mastering new knowledge, and applying existing knowledge.
Practice meditative practices. Meditation is a state of relaxed concentration in which there is detached observation of what is going on. A person who practices meditation tries not to control anything, not to evaluate anything, he gives rest to his feelings and thoughts. Meditation implies that as we free ourselves, we make room for something new.
In some meditative practices, as well as when taking powerful drugs (such as the Ayahuasca ritual), one is able to completely abstract away from one's usual personality, "lose oneself" and gain new, completely unknown and unexpected knowledge about oneself and the world.
In general, your main goal in achieving insight is to try to quiet your consciousness so that it gives way to the subconscious. Or connect with a higher power, according to your spiritual beliefs.
So, as the theoretical physicist Lev Landau said, "Method is more important than discovery," so let's summarize.
Do we understand how the Eureka state comes about?
" - Amazing! How can you predict correctly again?" - asked me @sodomlv, organizer of the Euro 2020 Football Championship prediction contest, after I managed to guess the exact score of the main time for 5 of 9 playoff stage matches, including all decisive matches - semifinals and finals.
All I could answer was "I don't understand myself ...) something inside shows... not even in my head..."
We are often surprised by the great and unexpected discoveries that others make. When artists dream of their future genius paintings, when poets write beautiful poems in the same breath, when scientists shout "Eureka!" and in their dilated pupils converge into an exact formula what was only a faint premonition.
So what is Eureka?
Divine inspiration, the magic of unearthly revelation, or the result of the brain hemispheres and obsession with their work? Is it a state possible for everyone, or is it a secret cocktail available only to the chosen few?
And what should we do - should we act, trying to achieve enlightenment, or wait until the veil of mystery is lifted and new knowledge is transmitted to our spirit?
It is up to each of us to decide for ourselves.
In the meantime, I wish you that the word Eureka will become frequent and familiar in your vocabulary)