 |
 |
|
|
|
(Psychological Literacy)
Self-Awareness
Lecture 4: LISTENING TO THE BODY, TEMPERAMENT,
AND OTHER SOURCES OF SELF-AWARENESS
Adam Blatner, M.D.
This series of lectures will include: 1. An orientation to the process of self-awareness. 2. Motivations and Ideals 3. Wiser and More Foolish Coping Maneuvers 4. (This Lecture): Body Cues and Other Subtle Perceptions 5. Social Connectedness and Preferences 6. Intuitions of Meaning and Greater Connectedness (Spirituality, Inspiration) and Conclusion.
Let's look at some other sources for self awareness:
Body Cues
The field of nonverbal communications is rich, and the point to be made here is that we not only communicate with others with the way we stand or sit, our expressions, our voice tone, but we also communicate unconsciously to ourselves. To feel more powerful or brave, we take on a facial expression, "attitude," that we unconsciously believe will intimidate others. To communicate a socially placating attitude, we may compulsively smile or hold our head at a slight angle. The problem is that some of these behaviors are learned in childhood and continue on automatically. Sometimes they're adaptive in the here-and-now, and you might want to continue to use them, at least in certain roles. But almost certainly there are other roles where you do not want to do these behaviors, and indeed may want to learn the opposite behaviors! Role flexibility includes your repertoire of nonverbal communications. The other key principle is that every time you do these behaviors your body-mind reinforces certain feelings and thoughts that go with that early reaction pattern. (The term "complex" implies that a reaction pattern might include a variety of memories, feelings, body postures, associated thoughts, and other associations, all mixed together.) To learn more about the various nonverbal communications, look over my website that discusses their different forms.d
d
d
d