Dear Readers, Welcome to SC Musings Blog 10,
This blog, with the theme Connection and Connecting follows MRR- Managing, Regulating, Realigning Psycho Social Boundaries in Blog 9, which we concluded last fortnight.
Let’s begin to unravel the role of Connection and Connecting, for making meaning of our experiences of self, our relationships and our environments. I am eager to explore this theme, personally, professionally and organisationally. Because, I have come to the realisation that our lives are determined by our connections, within self and with others and our context. So, in this blog we begin with our connections within self and then pursue them with others and context later.
On a working holiday in the Nilgiris, I had the opportunity to visit a waste management plant in Coonoor yesterday, known as the Resource Recovery Centre.
Managed and run by Dr. Vasanth, a retired medical practitioner, inspired by Ms. Rajsri, from Hyderabad, the Resource Recovery Centre, drew my attention for various reasons. From absolute waste, to life giving manure, tons of waste are converted daily by a team of ten or less individuals. Working with waste, sorting, recycling and disposing them, they work tirelessly, taking time to pause and smile at a visitor like me.
The awe and interest inspired by the Resource Recovery Centre sent me on a spiral of curiosity, questions and reflection. Why?? How?? What?? When?? - How does one engage with discarded unpleasant materials, turning them to finished products with interest and commitment. The emergent answer led me to the basic concept of Connection and Connecting.
Used in common parlance, Connection and Connecting largely refer to the physical world of persons and objects. Defined as “the act of joining or being joined to something else, or the part or process that makes this possible” in the Cambridge Dictionary (2024), connection also denotes links and relationships at subtler, invisible layers and dimensions, which we will be exploring here.
The NG Holistic Model of a Human Being in Figure 10.3, mentioned in the previous blogs can help us elaborate and delve into Connection and Connecting.
As human beings, we are multi-layered and multi-dimensional; that is, we are made up of 6 layers and dimensions, namely, the physical, psychological, cognitive, behavioural, social and spiritual. Connections between these layers and dimensions, make us dynamic, living and functioning beings. Identity of self, others and our environment existing within us as consciousness, encompasses the layers, and is represented with cartesian co-ordinates, the vertical and horizontal lines in the Holistic Model.
Thus, the NG Holistic Model establishes the multifarious connections within human beings; we are also connected in space and time, to our surrounding and carry our past within. Each layer and dimension within has abundant connections. It will not be an exaggeration to declare that existence is about connecting within and without in time and space.
This foundation of Connection and Connecting brings us to the question, what do we do with them?? Let me introduce a case study here in an attempt to answer this question.
27 year old Sam*, successful as an entrepreneur, sought alcohol to take care of his loneliness; he was considered aloof and distant by his family. In counselling, Sam discovered that the trauma of his parents’ divorce and his attempts to patch the rift between them was still raw within. Though he had logical explanations, which he thought helped him move on in life, and taste success, the vacuum and hurt within remained. These cropped up as emptiness, mind voices, and shame, which he tried to douse with alcohol.
We can understand Sam’s predicament using the Holistic Model. Trauma had broken the Connection between the cognitive and emotional layers in Sam. This disconnect resulted in him functioning largely in his cognitive layer, which used up most of the energy. The result was that Sam’s behaviour was controlled by his thinking, while his sensing and emotions, faded into the background.
Awareness of his cognitive overload brought tremendous relief to Sam. By Connecting with his Counsellor, he began to sense the Connection between his thinking and his emotions, and how they showed up as tightness in his body- especially around his chest region. Thus, what is termed the body-mind Connection began to emerge for Sam.
Dear Reader, we have had a glimpse into Connection and Connecting. Signing off here, I invite you to reflect on your mind-body Connection. This can be done by reflecting on your sensations- what signals are you getting from your body? Tightness, dryness, etc.
More in Blog 11 about Connection and Connecting.