As I continue to read further into the book, "Cured: The LIfe-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing" by Dr. Jeffrey Riediger, I am amazed at the findins and wisdom. I was fortunate enough to be sitting at a table back in 2019 at the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology with Dr. Rediger and Lissa Rankin MD. I discovered not only was he a psychiatrist but also had a Master of Divinity degree like me.
His book is a gem. In his chapter on "The Power of Placebo" he writes about the
difference between Tacit knowledge/beliefs and Conscious knowledge/beliefs.
He postulates that there is more than just conscious
beliefs at play with healing. He defines tacit beliefs as what we would call
subconscious beliefs in Intention Tapping.
In many of the self-improvement and in performance
psychology books, you will find an emphasis that focuses on conscious knowledge
and beliefs. Conscious knowledge is explaining how to change a tire or reboot
your computer. It is about consciously focusing your mind in a particular
direction or way. This is important and good to teach.
Whenever I can consciously observe I have an emotional
attachment to something it reminds me to apply IT, to breathe deeply or listen
to brainwave entrainment music.
But ultimately, in Intention Tapping when we follow the breadcrumbs,
we get to beliefs and knowledge at a tacit or subconscious level. Tacit
knowledge is what we believe about ourselves, others, the world, and the
Universe at a deeper level in the body, or subconscious nervous system.
Let's take a closer look at my love of playing tennis and
winning. I have won first place in my league often enough to get attached to it
(belief: I should win). Of course taking first place over opponents 20 years younger
also creates an emotional attachment about the rejecting the aging process.
Using my conscious belief that age doesn't matter and that
I am a good tennis player is why sometimes I can perform at a high level when
playing in a match.
What I consciously believe is driving my perceptions. But
when I mess up or get behind in the score, my subconscious or tacit beliefs
begin to drive my perceptions and my mind and body get out of sync. I start
telling myself what I need to do, instead of reacting and just hitting the
ball.
I experience this as getting up in my head and getting out
of flow. I'm sure it can be seen in the look on my face and body language.
Using my conscious knowledge and beliefs does help to
manage my nervous system.
But I also discovered that working at deeper level by using
a one word statement of "flow," addresses my monkey mind and helps me
to return to flow in real time while playing match.
One could argue that my cue word is just using my conscious
mind. But it feels deeper and more implicit. Something shifts without effort.
Intention Tapping is a wonderful way to access the
subconscious mind or tacit knowledge. I am always amazed at its elegance,
simplicity and depth.
I like the fact that it can be used on the fly while
playing tennis, during my meditation practice or with another practitioner.
Dr. Rediger at the end of his book writes about the shifts
people made in their lives. He states that what is common to the studies of
spontaneous remissions was people healing their diets, immune systems, stress
response and their identities (the way they see themselves in the world).
Healing in my mind doesn’t mean cure but rather wholeness.
I witnessed my late wife experience healing of her mind/soul during her last
week of life, while her body was not cured from cancer.
Exceptional cases of healing is not about blaming others
who don't get better. The study is about empowering people to participate in
the healing process.
Intention Tapping is a wonderful way to assist in that
process.
Dr. Rediger suggests these areas for exploration.
-What are my triggers?
-What is the vision I have for my life?
-Who can I trust to counsel me in this situation?
-What "reward" can I give myself for following through?
-What will help me understand my value and worth and see
the importance and goodness that I bring into the world?
-Why did I decide to make this change in my life?
