Schema Academia

People are interesting to me, so diverse, so unpredictable. That is why most of my college coursework was dedicated to psychology and sociology. I was thinking about something that I learned in one of my psych classes. Schema's. Here is the breakdown:

"A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. Schema's can be useful, because they allow us to take shortcuts in interpreting a vast amount of information. However, these mental frameworks also cause us to exclude pertinent information in favor of information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs and ideas. Schema's can contribute to stereotypes and make it difficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established schema's. "

Whoa, hope that was not too boring for you. Here is another take. My schema for a dog is a four legged furry mammal that barks at cars. He also happens to be white, weigh close to a hundred pounds and be named Jaxson. This is helpful because when someone talks about a dog, I have a mental picture to attach to the word dog. But, when I see Paris Hilton carrying around a chihuahua in a crystal studded Juicy purse trying to pass it off as a dog, it doesn't work for me. It is closer to my rat schema.

Ok, now that the school lesson is over, and we all know what a schema is I can get to my point.

We have to keep our minds open, learn to adapt, be open to possibilities! Allow me to be real with you for a second (as if I haven't been), probably one of my biggest mental blockades have had to do with the institution called church. Having spent my most formative years here, it is no surprise that I have schemas galore! I have mentally packed things very neatly in their little boxes. "This is prayer, and it goes here. This is praise...oh right here." Occasionally, I would hear things that conflicted with my ideas, but the brain is so automatic, it was immediately filed in the miscellaneous folder.

The prayer one went a little like this. Prayer: most effective when done at church, but could be done at home when church is not in session. Need to be kneeling or laying prostrate in candle-like lighting. Sounds best in King James verbiage, heavy on the thee's and thou's. You want to kind of sing the words as you pray with a Native American chanting tone. This is what God likes!

Sounds ridiculous, right? Seriously though, this was my mental picture to correlate with prayer. And ok, I cheesed it up a little for your entertainment, but I bet many people have some version of this idea.

Well, let me tell you something, not knocking any King James chantings, but I have recently opened my mind to something new.

A few years ago, I went on a LONG road trip with my best friend. We know all about each other, so it did not take long for us to run out of conversation. That does not mean however that we stopped communicating. There was the nonverbal (most of communication anyway), the music we played back and forth for each other, and even if one of us were sleeping, there was the constant knowledge that we were still right there, together, close enough to touch.

That is how I feel right now. Like I am on an even LONGER road trip, and He is right here...close enough to touch.

It is by no means easy to undo years of existing beliefs and ideas. It is a battle, full of carnage, that we fight with our brains, but it can be done. It is like being shut inside a stuffy house. You may just need to opens the windows (of your mind) and feel the fresh breeze of the wind on your face. I will tell you, it feels great!