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our conscious selves to be perfect. Some think the "self" we know is
just a highly verbal part of us that tries to understand our other parts.
Obviously, there are many different notions about the self.
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
-The Buddha
Humans have always, I suppose, been fascinated by the mind. Yet,
the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry only started studying the
mind or cognition about 100 years ago. The universe of the mind is
still a dark, vast, unexplored place. It mystifies us. Yet, it is a region of
great promise. If we could learn to develop our values, master basic
psychological principles, and increase our self-awareness and
motivation, great strides might be made in self-control or self-
actualization. Many wise people have thought that it would be much
more lasting and meaningful to change a person's basic self-concept or
personality than to try to modify thousands of his/her specific,
isolated, overt behaviors and superficial emotions. Some theorists
think the mental image of ourselves (or of our potential) must change
first, then the behavior will change; others think it works in the
opposite direction, i.e. behavior changes first, then the self-concept (I
think both ways may work). Psychoanalysts, cognitive psychologists,
behavioral psychologists, and others will, no doubt, continue this
debate.
When minds study themselves or each other, a number of
paradoxes appear: While we know much about our mental processes,
there is far more we don't know, and, as individuals, there are some
things about our minds we don't seem to want to know. Likewise,
while the brain is a fantastic sensing, remembering, thinking, problem-
solving machine, it still, without our awareness, makes many foolish
mistakes, and, certain individuals seem to want to make mistakes.
Much of this chapter is devoted to straightening out our thinking, both
as a rational process and as an attitudinal process.
All this "internal activity"--ideas, memory, imagery, hopes, and
self-evaluation--is complexly intertwined with simple behavior,
motivation, and emotions (chapters 4-8), including self-help methods
using plans for behavioral changes and self-instructions (chapter 11),
for expressing our emotions (chapter 12), and for learning skills that
alter our choices and increase our effectiveness (chapter 13). Clearly,
the brain and "mental processes" are involved in everything we
humans do. However, for clarity, this chapter includes the more
complex and cognitive self-help methods, such as:
