thoughts in his mind. Some were fueled by deeply embedded
implicit memories that required an in-depth approach for healing.
But she also helped him understand the power of his mind, and
how by directing his attention, he could take control and, to a great
extent, actually choose how he felt, and how he wanted to respond
to diʃerent situations. For Josh, the breakthrough came when Tina
introduced him to the idea of mindsight.
MINDSIGHT AND THE WHEEL OF AWARENESS
Dan coined the term “mindsight,” and as he explains in his book of
the same name, the simplest meaning of the word comes down to
two things: understanding our own mind as well as understanding
the mind of another. Connecting with others will be the focus of
the next chapter. For now, though, let’s focus on the ɹrst aspect of
the mindsight approach, understanding our own mind. After all,
that’s where mental health and well-being begin, with achieving
clarity and insight into our own individual mind. That’s the idea
Tina began teaching Josh about. She introduced him to a model
that Dan created, the wheel of awareness.
The basic concept, as you can see from the diagram on this page,
is that our mind can be pictured as a bicycle wheel, with a hub at
the center and spokes radiating toward the outer rim. The rim
represents anything we can pay attention to or become aware of:
our thoughts and feelings, our dreams and desires, our memories,
our perceptions of the outside world, and the sensations from our
body.
The hub is the inner place of the mind from which we become
aware of all that’s happening around and within us. It’s basically
our prefrontal cortex, which you’ll remember helps to integrate the
whole brain. The hub represents part of what’s called the executive