Through the use of exhaustive questionnaires, Dr. Martin Seligman found that the most satisfied, upbeat people were those who had discovered and exploited their unique combination of "signature strengths," in finding their life’s work. In eastern philosophy such truly happy states are defined as ‘Dao/Tao’, ‘MUGA’ or ‘ZEN’ states which strikingly resemble MihaylCsikszentmihalyi’s discovery that people find genuine satisfaction during a state of consciousness called ‘Flow’. In this state they are completely absorbed in an activity, especially an activity which involves their ‘signature strengths’. In the evolutionary and neuro-scientific perspective this seems to be related to the previously made statement that behavior and mental activity that
…show more content…
Yoga, Buddhist or Zen philosophy and meditation techniques are presumably aimed at shaping the ‘mental model’ of the individual to face the harshness of environment and thus at fostering the ability to return to the default positive mood .Interestingly , in line with these philosophical assertions about individual’s ability to change and rejuvenate the capacity for nurturing a happy state of mind, most recent advances in neuroscience has shown, human brain has enormous plasticity .So, fortunately, humans can replace or overwrite inaccurate, irrational, parental, absolute ‘mental models’ by learning and practicing accurate, flexible, rational, and logical thinking, thus improving overall adaptability. As neuroscience and EP shows, humans probably have conscious access to a larger fraction of brain processes than other animals, resulting in the awareness of a ‘self’. This recently evolved cognitive capacity can be used to transform autonomous, habitual responses to more productive, adaptive and useful ones. The assertions of these religious and philosophical techniques are in line with Wind’s and Crook’s assertion that we can consciously change our mental models before the world forces us to do so. We have these rational tools available, but due to lack of
Yoga, Buddhist or Zen philosophy and meditation techniques are presumably aimed at shaping the ‘mental model’ of the individual to face the harshness of environment and thus at fostering the ability to return to the default positive mood .Interestingly , in line with these philosophical assertions about individual’s ability to change and rejuvenate the capacity for nurturing a happy state of mind, most recent advances in neuroscience has shown, human brain has enormous plasticity .So, fortunately, humans can replace or overwrite inaccurate, irrational, parental, absolute ‘mental models’ by learning and practicing accurate, flexible, rational, and logical thinking, thus improving overall adaptability. As neuroscience and EP shows, humans probably have conscious access to a larger fraction of brain processes than other animals, resulting in the awareness of a ‘self’. This recently evolved cognitive capacity can be used to transform autonomous, habitual responses to more productive, adaptive and useful ones. The assertions of these religious and philosophical techniques are in line with Wind’s and Crook’s assertion that we can consciously change our mental models before the world forces us to do so. We have these rational tools available, but due to lack of