The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted worldview from the point where human interest for material gain, the success of numbers, quantity and volume to the worldview of significance, satisfaction and belongingness or relatedness. The latter was visible in the human desire to relate, self-care and promote general well-being. This worldview reinforces the phenomenon that the human race’s ontology is held in the ecology of humans to humans and the entire universe.
The strategic medium where self-care and well-being become essential for good health, innovation, ideation, creativity, compassion, courage, passion, benevolence, etc., with a high level of consciousness, is at the mastermind levels. In his books and many works on Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill mentioned “mastermind” as of the 13 principles which great minds deploy to lead. He said that mastermind is “the coordination of knowledge and effort between two or more people who work toward a definite purpose in a spirit of harmony”. This is because “No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third – a third invisible, intangible force that may be likened to a third mind”.
Coming together is an ontological phenomenon of the human race, and is common in even other living species. So it is not by accident that Ubuntu, which is common in Eastern and Southern Africa, means ‘humanity’ in ancient wisdom. But the full expression ‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’, which means “I am because you are, Or I am because we are”, was coined in Zulu.
What is fascinating about coming together to create a mastermind hinges on science, through neuroplasticity. Grant Sosoolu and Marvin Oka’s years of research on ancient wisdom and science showed that humans have multiple brains or intelligence: cephalic, enteric and cardiac. Our brains are a beautiful make of neural networks found in the Head, Guts and Hearts. Science characterises brains with the following 1. A large number of neurons and ganglia, 2. Neural cells, 3. Support cell and components, 4. Functional attributes, 5. Able to mediate complex reflexes, 6. Chemical warehouse of neurotransmitters etc.
Grant and Marvin’s works bridged the gap between ancient wisdom (wise sayings from various cultures and faith practices) and science, where meaning was brought to why we make some of the following statements: “It is a man that swallows a bitter pill”, “when a gun fires, it first rests on the chest of a man”, “ abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”, “I cannot wrap this around my head”, etc. All these ancient wise sayings and many more go to drum home the point that humans are not just thinking beings but also feeling and intuitive ones.
Grant and Oka also established that the head-brain is in-charge of Creativity, the heart-brain is in-charge of Compassion, and the gut-brain is in-charge of Courage. Below are the prime functions of all the multiple brains.
Head: Cognitive Perception; Thinking; Making Meaning
Heart: Emoting; Values; Relational Affect
Gut: Core identity; Self Preservation; Mobilisation
Something occurs when people assemble for meetings, brainstorming sessions, troubleshooting, planning, etc. Because our brains produce electrical activities that form waves in the personal sense, it then suggests that, in a group or meetings where a common focus is established, a more significant wave is formed in the space from all the individual brain waves. Neuroscience confirms that these electrical activities carry information and many other functions.
Hans Berger, a German psychiatrist, invented a device called electroencephalography (EEG), used to measure these brainwaves in 1924. They were grouped into five kinds or types, named after the Greek letters alpha, beta, delta, gamma, and theta. For example, the Alpha frequency (8–13 Hz) occurs during ‘reflection or resting’, Beta frequency (13–30 Hz) occurs when the brain is ‘busy or active’, Delta frequency (4–5 Hz) occurs when ‘sleeping or dreaming’, Gamma frequency (>30Hz) occurs during ‘problem-solving and concentration’, and Theta frequency (4–8 Hz) occurs during ‘drowsiness’. Since Hans’s invention, other devices for more detailed results have all come into being, such as the Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Near-infrared optical imaging, Positron emission tomography (PET), Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), Magnetic resonance imaging spectroscopy (MRIs), etc.
The heart-brain also generates 60 times greater amplitude with 5000 times stronger electromagnet field than the head brain in electroencephalography (EEG), according to the HeartMath Institute.
So the collective ‘invisible and intangible third mind’, as Napolean Hill will call it, is why great minds meet for whatever purposes. It is essential to have a coach with expertise and experience to help maximise the ‘third mind’ that would be formed. Let us not forget the Gut-brain in this equation because it is the intuitive hub of the human body.
With the above insights, the question then is, when people meet, how does the ‘third invisible, intangible force’ likened to a ‘third mind’ emerge from, what exactly occurs, and what are the benefits and ramifications?
What is critical to appreciate is that all the multiple intelligences are autonomous and can highjack the human being to produce specific results that do not lead to the benefit of the said individual, the company and humanity at large. I have asked why tempers can quickly fly in the boardroom and other kinds of teams and group work. In a boardroom, where a lot of intellectual laced with ego drives the session, it is obvious the head-brain is in charge, and the outcome is purely academic. In many cases, no tangible results are adduced no matter how novel the final idea is. The more creativity abounds, the more inhuman we are becoming, and it is evident that something is missing in the equation.
The same can be the case for the heart-brain, where emotions will trigger all the emotionalities which can be aggressive or overly sympathetic, resulting in blind compassion. In such an instance, the challenge is not uprooted, but only garnished. The amount of money pumped into philanthropic works across the globe with seemingly little impact pose an observation.
When the gut-brain highjacks, we see identity clashes, resistance, etc. Where do we think the global conflicts and confusion are coming from? The quest to lead and impose culture, religion and lifestyle on others’ sovereignty, etc. We can see the length competitors go in business and politics to outdo each other instead of mutual contribution for our clients or customers’ collective benefits.
The brains can also oppose each other, or two join forces to highjack the body and sideline the other remaining one. The individual uncoordinated brain results are visible in the corporate space and governance. There could be corporate culture, identity and brand value, then a change in a few C-suites roles sways the entire company to a ditch. The department, team or group was in equilibrium until someone joined or resigned. The team was performing averagely until someone was assigned, and life got triggered in the team once again.
Whichever of the brains that dominates through the collective ‘third mind’ gives birth to a space or being, which I call the ‘quantum being’, then becomes the organisation’s mastermind. And because it is a frequency or wave, almost everyone falls in line with a few defiances here and there.
Which individual, pair, or team stimulates the core of the mastermind of your company, national politics, religion, family, friendship or network? Corporate bodies have invested vast capital in team building, team bonding, teamworking, retreats, training, workshops, refreshers, etc. But unfortunately, the kind of ‘magic’ or transformation after these forms of training they wish to experience evaporates when work resumes.
Kindly continue from the next publication for a full grasp and impact of the article!
Co-authored by
Scofray Nana Yaw Yeboah, PCC
Transformational Coach | Certified Professional mBIT Coach| Certified Professional Corporate Trainer | Lead Consult for Zoweh Global Consult, Ghana
Contact: +233243-085932 Email: [email protected]
Shani Naidoo
Master NLP Practitioner | Certified Professional mBIT Coach| CEO Nemesis Accounting, South Africa Email: [email protected]
