Mindful decisions require awareness. Most decisions are made by the brain without active consideration in awareness. A select few decisions reach awareness in the stream of consciousness.
Memory also requires awareness. All activity occurring outside of the stream remains unrecorded or at least inaccessible to our narrative memory. There’s a difference between asking two different questions: “Do recall making this decision?” and “Why did you chose this option?” One requires a subjective report of recall, the second is a request for rationalization and is subject to reconstruction effects if the decision wasn’t a mindful one..
The power and strength of narrative memory depends on emotion. Interestingly it depends not only on emotion in the moment, but memory can be strengthened over time by being recalled, strengthened by being repeatedly brought back into awareness. If an action seemed trivial at the time and the decision was not made with awareness it won’t be remembered. However if that trivial event takes on great significance later, the memory of the action will be stronger and the retrospective choice made can become the memory of a decision made rather than a mindless action taken.
An thoughtless remark, barely remembered might cause the end of a friendship. Regret and guild may build a strong, lifelong memory of the seemingly insignificant words.
Emotion also drives moment to moment awareness since we pay attention and place awareness on the meaningful. We find significance in things that matter, things we care something about. Of course we’re often in an open, exploratory mindset in which nothing in particular has engaged awareness through emotional significance. In the moment we don’t know what’s important until the stimulus occurs. Stimulus leads to response and it is that space between stimulus and response in which mindful decisions can be made. How will we respond to our child’s request? With annoyance or with openness?
This seems to be a foundation of mindfulness. There’s a moment of opportunity in moving from unengaged to mindful. S
o fleeting but potentially so very important.
