The ability to perceive without external stimuli.
The ability to perceive without external stimuli.
Goal: Get better at imagining more vividly
I want to develop a powerful mental safe haven.
Hugging your virtual mom
The Psychology of Wonder
My son recently asked me if it was possible that we lived on a speck of dust in a much larger universe. He explained that he had just watched Horton Hears a Who again and it had him thinking. I, ever eager to promote the impossible, said I don't see why not.
www.psychologytoday.com
Building a model of the world in our heads allows us to simulate reality. This idea is supported by theĀ simulation theory ofĀ cognition. Hesslow (2002) has done a lot of work outlining this theory, but the basic idea is fairly simple. If the mind can use its own output as new input, then it can simulate reality. We can imagine that we are going on vacation, getting hit by a bus, or falling in love. When we do this, areas in our brain are activated that are associated with our actual experience of realities similar to the one we envisionāboth in sensory and motor areasāand their probable outcomes are activated as well. If we imagine playing the piano, our brain wiggles our cognitive fingers. If we imagine flying to the moon, our brain looks out the window at the shrinking blue earth in our minds. Just imagine giving your mom a hug, and immediately consequences begin to proliferate in your mind. Your brain is hugging your virtual mom, who is in turn virtually hugging you back.