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Center for Enlightened Leadership
 
THE LENS E-NEWSLETTER/JOURNAL

Wise Mind
By MAYBETH CONWAY

  Maybeth Conway
  Maybeth Conway
Senior Associate

What makes a wise man wise? What is the source of a wise woman’s wisdom? Is it intellect or reasoning skills? How about creativity or imagination? Could it be ingenuity, or even charm? In part, the source of wisdom could probably be any of these attributes. But it also seems that it might be something more.

Practitioners of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a therapeutic model that has gained popularity and research validation within the past two decades, attempt to answer these questions and describe that mysterious something more. They call it Wise Mind and assert that it is actually an acquired skill.

The DBT model, developed by researcher Marsha Linehan at the University of Washington, combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotional regulation and reality-testing with mindful awareness techniques largely derived from Buddhist meditative practice. The model holds that there are three primary states of mind:

• Reasonable Mind
• Emotion Mind
• Wise Mind

As we might expect, Reasonable Mind is all about the intellect. Its neurological home is in the prefrontal cortex where we think logically, analyze the past, and plan for the future. The emphasis is on rationality and empirical facts. Cause and effect rule the day.

Emotion Mind is predictably subjective. In its mind space within the limbic system of the brain, feelings trump thoughts and our less rational impulses take center stage. Our emotions may be soft and gentle or highly charged. They can lead us to love selflessly or lash out recklessly.

Our reasoning and emotive capacities are the pillars of our very being. They are in large measure what make us human. When they are well calibrated, they support the very best of our humanity as we think clearly and emote appropriately. When they are misdirected or out of alignment, problems and suffering arise. Too much thinking fosters detachment while emotional excesses lead to disorientation and hysteria. This is when we need to search for Wise Mind.

Wise Mind is the place where the best of Reasonable Mind and Emotion Mind come together. Our most cogent thoughts and our most desirable emotions are blended with a healthy dash of intuition to generate a transcendent level of knowing that leads to a life of meaning and contentment. Ms. Linehan describes Wise Mind as “a deep-seated intuition that comes from an integration of direct experience, immediate cognition, and the grasping of the meaning, significance, or truth of an event without relying on intellectual analysis” (Linehan, 1993).

For most of us, the clarity and comfort of Wise Mind are elusive. Occasionally, we may have the kind of irrefutable gut feeling that impels us confidently in the best possible direction. More commonly, we find ourselves meandering aimlessly between confusing thoughts and conflicting emotions. Ms. Linehan describes the challenge this way:

"Wise mind is like a deep well in the ground. The water at the bottom of the well, the entire underground ocean is Wise Mind. But on the way down there are often trap doors that impede progress. Sometimes the trap doors are so cleverly built that you believe there is no water at the bottom of the well. The trap door may look like the bottom of the well. Perhaps it is locked and you need a key. Perhaps it is nailed shut and you need a hammer or it is glued shut and you need a chisel. (www.dbtselfhelp.com., p. 1)"

Fortunately, Dialectical Behavior Therapy provides a number of useful techniques to help us hammer, chisel, and unlock our way to the true bottom of the well. To promote greater integration and stronger intuition, practitioners develop interpersonal effectiveness skills, emotion regulation skills, distress tolerance skills, and core mindfulness skills. Through a series of structured exercises that center on thoughts and emotions, they identify the imbalances that are the source of their confusion and misery. They then develop a practice of disciplined mindfulness that helps to clear away the excessive thoughts and emotions that are obstacles in the well that leads to Wise Mind. Over time, through repeated mindful meditation practices, the impediments gradually diminish and the intuitions and insights of true wisdom become more consistently accessible.

The journey down the well to Wise Mind requires patience and perseverance. It takes time to hear that still, small voice within that knows what is best. Each time that we do reach the source, we find clarity of thought and an abiding sense of equanimity. While we may not always welcome the specific message, we know that we have found the wellspring of a balanced and meaningful life. We have arrived at the source of true wisdom.

What makes a wise person wise? If we are to believe the proponents of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, it is a balanced blend of cogent thinking, harmonious emotions, and the transcendent knowing of pure intuition. It is Wise Mind.


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