GP document - Mindful Timekeeping

A Conscious Brain
Consciousness is a spectrum. When we speak
of a conscious mind, it can be anywhere on the
spectrum as illustrated in Fig 2.5.
It is important to train our consciousness as
that is what will help us be attentive and
sustain our attention. Brain is otherwise prone
to distraction and habituation.
Awake: A function of Reticular Activating
System (RAS) by secretion of nor-epinephrine.
Aware: A function of Thalamus. Thalamus is
always aware of all the inputs.
Function : Sense stimuli > Process > Respond
With meditation and mindfulness we intent to
attain higher levels of consciousness. While
meditation is a well establised method for
training consciousness, mindfulness is
application of the technique in more adaptable
formats.
FC
ACC
thalamus
Alert: Intermediate state between awareness
and being attentive.Thalamus acts like a
security guard to executive functions. It
selectively sends inputs to the conscious mind
making it alert.
Sense >Process>Respond> Select one stimuli
Research on meditation suggests,
interoception is crucial for training mindfulness
as it gives our conscious self access to the
autonomic nervous system. [27]
RAS
Attentive: A function of Frontal Cortex(FC).
Choose to pay attention to the one stimuli
when alerted by the thalamus.
When moderately high consciousness is
sufficient to regulate positive emotions, it takes
higher levels of consciousness to regulate
negative emotions. [28]
Fig 2.5 Levels of a conscious mind
Concentrated: Prolonged or sustained
attention. A function of Angular Cingulate
Cortex.
Vigilant: Heightened state of concentration
on multiple stimuli.
National Institute of Design | Graduation Project | 2020
49