Self-reflective awareness

I will address the mechanistic implications in the following section on cortico-limbic interaction. With respect to function, the most immediate and compelling hypothesis is that the subtraction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex from the otherwise highly activated forebrain maps on to the subtraction from waking consciousness of self-reflective awareness (self-evaluation), lack of capacity to direct thought (active evaluation), and failure to enact deliberate behaviors, however fictive, in dreaming consciousness (volition). 

Just as we expect (and find) selective activation of brain circuits underlying emotion and related percepts in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, so we seek (and find) selective inactivation of brain circuits - and chemicals - underlying memory, directed thought, self-reflective awareness, and logical reasoning. 

The kind of factors that might come into play - needs, preferences, perceptions, emotions - and divert us from being as effective as we might have been, were discussed in Chapter 2. It is not always easy to be fully conscious of all the nuances of our motives. Nevertheless, some self-reflection, coupled with awareness of the more common forms of distorted managerial behaviour, can be a first step to bringing our surreptitious agenda under conscious control. 

But why are hypnopompic hallucinations even more unwelcome than hypnagogic ones Probably because most people find that falling asleep is easily understood as a time of increasing disorder of the brain-mind and, as such, better tolerated because it is also a time of diminishing awareness of internal experience. Waking up, on the other hand, is a time when increasing orderliness is expected, and waking is followed by persistent awareness that allows critical self-reflection. 

As is inherent in these concepts and the required self-examination, the quest for inclusion is not possible without the willingness to be vulnerable and honest about oneself. Self-awareness and ongoing self-reflection are the foundation for enhancing cultural competence and one s ability to think and behave inclusively. 

Helping mentees to solve problems by analysing, reflecting and enhancing their self-awareness. 

Learning-in-action demands heightened self-awareness. As well as reflecting on events - before, during and after, you need to be aware of your surreptitious agenda . By this is meant those inner, not always conscious, forces that cause us to handle situations in ways that accord more with the needs of our ego than the needs of the circumstances. 

Molecular self-assembly is a widespread phenomenon in both chemistry and biochemistry. Yet it was not until the rise of supramolecular chemistry that attention has been increasingly given to the designed self-assembly of a variety of synthetic molecules and ions. While success in this enterprise has to a large extent reflected the learning of Nature s lessons, it has also been aided by an increased awareness of the latent steric and electronic information implanted in individual molecular components. It seems that there are few areas in contemporary chemistry where human creativity can be so readily expressed. 

---