KB: I think the most significant contribution you have made to educational theory and practice is your understanding and formulation of stimulated self-organization. Having myself been a beneficiary of the neuro-cognitive methodology, I can quite easily vouch for that. Would you like to say a few words regarding it?

Dr. BSR: Yes, spontaneous self-organization is perhaps the most powerful open secret of Nature in existence. It is powerful because nothing quite matches up to its scope and magnitude, open because it is there everywhere in Nature and secret because being so open it is inconspicuous by its presence. Indeed, it is humbling to recognise that it dominates most processes both in the external world and in the brain-mind. Where it has been even unconsciously recognised and its power acknowledged, the results have been deep. Where it has been underestimated and ignored, the results deplorable. And nothing could be so illustrative of this than in the field of education and management as these two dominate much of human activity. I mention this because these are fields in which the results obtained by gross ignorance of this truth have been and continue to be truly deplorable! Now spontaneous self-organization can be thought of as an unconscious process of Nature and stimulated self-organization can be thought of as the same process made conscious by human intervention. Spontaneous self-organization is almost intuitive knowledge to us. But stimulated self-organization though ubiquitous on a lesser scale is, on the contrary, not so intuitive. And yet, it has been in use from the very dawn of humanity and is the whole meaning of the scientific handling of natural phenomena. But when it comes to cognition and human potential, there has not been much work in understanding the role of this possibility. In fact, it is in these domains that stimulated self-organization makes real sense.

KB: Could you please elaborate?

Dr. BSR: Sure. And to do that there are several things we need to grasp. First, the meaning of stimulated self-organization. One could think it is a simple play of words, replacing spontaneous by stimulated. But that would be to completely miss the point. I use the term stimulated in a precise sense. Let me tell this to you in a simple manner. Take spontaneous self-organization. The discovery and recognition of this marked a great turning point in science. Till then, many natural processes appeared mysterious and miraculous. Complexity being all-pervading seemed beyond the grasp of any of the sciences including quantum theory. 

But the recognition and more so, the formulation of spontaneous self-organization at once explained a host of such processes, the origin of order out of chaos, of simple systems exhibiting complex behaviour and complex systems exhibiting simple behaviour. Once this was grasped, it was realised that to achieve results one had to follow nature in its processes by either going along the natural direction of the process or against it but intelligently, by manipulating energy and entropy or taking together both, the free energy. The results obtained by this have been enormous and patent. But surprisingly, all these applications have been in the objective domains. Hardly any work has been done to apply these to the subjective domains of the human brain-mind-consciousness, I mean in the formulated version I am speaking of. But of course, in the intuitive phenomenological manner, it has been in use. All human disciplines and training are actually certain forms of stimulated self-organization but as it is not recognised as such, their scope and efficacy are not quite complete.

KB: Why do you think it has been like that?

Dr. BSR: Let us first clarify a few things. Spontaneous self-organization has always been present in Nature and also recognised to a certain extent. But it was its formulation as an explanation for emergence that made it possible to exploit it meaningfully. Likewise, stimulated self-organization has always been present whenever human intervention aided spontaneous self-organization. But if we can formulate it, it becomes possible to exploit and channelize it in ways one cannot even imagine. The reason it has not been formulated as such is I think because of the kind of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary work that is required to apply these findings to the brain-mind-consciousness, or in other words, to fields like education management and systems. Due to the fragmentary manner in which most disciplines are pursued, it requires one to have mastered several fields to be able to apply something like spontaneous self-organization to the subjective domains. Also, the very moment one tries to apply it to these domains, it begins to look so much less rigorous that one gives it up as being speculative. But that need not at all be the case. In my own work, I have been consistently applying the findings of spontaneous self-organization and obtained long-lasting results and continue to do so on a daily basis. Stimulated self-organization as I call it has resulted from my practical experience first and only second, by theorising. I have seen the results it can give and then formulated it so as to be able to extrapolate it into as yet unexplored and unexplained domains.

KB: So what exactly is stimulated self-organization?

Dr. BSR: Spontaneous self-organization is the emergence of ordered complexity from an apparent disorder. This happens spontaneously in nature, it is inherent in nature. All you can do is to aid it by going along its direction or reverse it by opposing the conditions. But these need not be the only options. It is possible by so studying the nature of the ordered complexity so as to mirror the natural process and pace and lead the process. By pacing you induce a resonance of orders and amplify the process. By leading you not only amplify but turn the linear into an exponential process, the local into a global, the ordinary into a purposeful or deep or deliberate process. This requires one to have a profound understanding of the nature of the order inherent in the processes and then capitalize on it by pacing and leading. 

KB: How did you arrive at this idea?

Dr. BSR: As I mentioned, it was experiential and phenomenological first and only later, theoretical. And somehow, it was perhaps because of my prodigious efforts during high school to rise above the difficulties and problems I faced with the educational system, that I had an instinctive and intuitive idea of what was necessary to initiate deep learning in an individual. And Pratiti B R had also a similar tryst with the educational system and had conquered tremendous difficulties in her life and work. We brought together our insights into formulating our methodology. In course of actual work with students and individuals, Pratiti and myself accumulated a tremendous amount of insight into the nature of order in the human brain-mind from a nuts-and-bolts working perspective. We realised that the most vital point to consider in making learning happen in an individual is to respect the natural order inherent in the individual’s brain-mind and to first understand and appreciate it. 

Next, to so tune one’s communication, both conscious and unconscious, verbal and non-verbal as to begin to mirror the individual’s learning style, and strategies. And then, to await in patience the inevitable moment when the individual relaxes into the deep resonating atmosphere created by the mirroring and then, gently, imperceptibly, to induce and guide the individual along a purposeful direction. After this, to go into a mode of meta-learning and let the individual arrive at a major definite purpose within that has been unconsciously driving the individual’s cognitive-conative-affective growth. Once this is done, to begin pacing the individual and slowly take the lead in moving both yourself and the individual along a desirable direction. 

At this stage, it is necessary to bring in ignition, to unleash powerful emotional energies towards the purpose and to lead the individual to move from unconscious incompetence directly to unconscious competence bypassing the two intermediate stages of conscious incompetence and conscious competence. Therefore, stimulated self-organization incorporates deliberate practice as an essential component. It is impossible to initiate deliberate practice unless one recognises and acknowledges in some form or the other, the meaning of stimulated self-organization. 

KB: From your description I gather that stimulated self-organization requires a tremendous amount of understanding of the brain-mind sciences from both theoretical and phenomenological perspectives!

Dr. BSR: Of course, and that is inevitable and inescapable. In the earlier eras, people knew this somewhat better. They did not presuppose that anyone and everyone could teach such things. They appreciated that one needed a certain amount of development and self-mastery to be able to make another learn. And by learning, they unconsciously meant initiating spontaneous self-organization. This was what they meant by the phrase, ‘all knowledge is within,’ or as Plato said, ‘know thyself.’ The potential was there and needed nurturing to actualize it. In modern education, one grossly overrules this when they try to teach by lecturing in classrooms. Such a method does not allow for spontaneous self-organization as it forces an external order on the brain-mind of the student without respecting the internal order.

KB: Could you elaborate on this internal order you speak of?

Dr. BSR: Yes, to grasp the role of order, it is helpful to go into the meaning of order itself. I think the best definition of order is that given by David Bohm and David Peat in their insightful book, “Science, Order and Creativity.” They define order as “similar differences and different similarities.” Once you take this as a starting point, we need to also understand that there are two kinds of orders involved in self-organization, the implicate or enfolded order and the explicate or unfolded order. Both these go into forming the total order. The implicate or enfolded order is what is potential, that is as yet unexpressed and invisible. The explicate or unfolded order is what is expressed and visible. This division of orders is necessary to explain how something comes out of apparent nothing. That apparent nothing is also something. Only, it is not perceptible to the “senses” that are tuned to the “something.” Now generally, one knows the nature of the two orders. What one does not know, however, is the link between the two, how one flows into the other, how the explicate or unfolded order emerges from the implicate or enfolded order. In most cases, this link is completely missing. It is as if the modes of perception necessary for these two orders are incompatible. Or, perhaps, a third mode of perception is required to grasp the link.

KB: Why does one need to know about these orders?

Dr. BSR: Because that is the only way to avoid mystifying processes. No doubt this formulation does not really explain emergent phenomena in the sense of addressing the ‘why’ questions. That anyway is not the method of science. It only outlines the ‘how,’ that is what matters for science. Without this formulation something seems to come out of nothing and is likely to be open to all kinds of beliefs and belief systems. Once it is formulated, however, it is possible to grasp, if not predict, emergent phenomena. 

KB: You generally allude to the examples of instinct and intuition. Would you like to elaborate?

Dr. BSR: Instinct and Intuition are very good examples of levels of orders. Instinct acts as the implicate order with respect to reason that acts as the explicate order. Instinct is hidden in the animals and out of it emerges reason in humans. Likewise, reason acts as the implicate order with respect to intuition that acts as the explicate order. This distinction becomes important especially in personal development. 

KB: How so?

Dr. BSR: In personal development, one makes use of both instinct and intuition and channelizes them. Reason emerges from instinct and intuition emerges from reason. So you take care not to inhibit instinct and not to bar intuition by the reason. For example, in goal setting, one unleashes the instinct for goal seeking via the reticular activating system and allows the intuition to guide us towards undreamed possibilities. Reason by itself is unable to do that. That is why, paradoxically, though neuroscientists discover the intricacies of the brain by dint of their reason, they are most often unable to apply their discoveries in their own lives and are subject to a learned helplessness. Alfred Korzybski brings this out with great clarity in his book, “Science and Sanity.” This reminds us of what the great physicist Paul Dirac said rightly that the discoverers of a field rarely develop the field further as they are attached to their idea and are afraid to spoil it by probing it further. 

KB: How much of this idea do you plan to develop?

Dr. BSR: Not too much, as I am more interested in its application and I have ample proof of its efficacy to continue to do that. Perhaps by and by, I may document the results into a theoretical framework. But that would be a byproduct. 

KB: And then, you have also developed the concept of the Beginner’s Brain-Mind. What and how is that related to stimulated self-organization?

Dr. BSR: The Beginner’s Brain-Mind is a term I use to signify the tremendous power of the human brain when it is in the process of firing the Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF). The BDNF is a learning hormone that primes the brain for learning at a phenomenal pace. The corresponding mind is of course the beginner’s mind that is quite well-discussed especially in Zen and the Martial Arts. I have put together the two into a synthetic formulation via stimulated self-organization. And this is not a mere gimmick. It allows us to draw conclusions not so natural when studied in isolation. But bringing the neuroscientific and philosophical insights together leads to a host of working concepts that we may employ in initiating and reigniting the beginner’s state at any age whatsoever. 

KB: Which findings of neuroscience allows for that possibility?

Dr. BSR: Neuroplasticity. According to this the brain is not rigid but plastic and can at any stage, turn itself on for any directed function including severe conditions like strokes. Obviously, in its role in learning, it is much more simpler.

KB: Stimulated Self-Organization can be deployed towards reigniting the beginner’s brain-mind?

Dr. BSR: That is in fact, one of its primary motivations.

KB: It just occurred to me that you often speak of the term brain-mind. Is there a particular reason for that usage?

Dr. BSR: Certainly, I use the term brain-mind to emphasise the unity of the neurological and cognitive components of the system that supports consciousness as an emergent phenomena. I don’t go by the idea that they are independent and that either the mind is an abstract construct while the brain is concrete nor that the brain is merely an organisational structure while the mind is the entity that matters. As I already alluded to above, I take the point of view of complexity theory and view the brain-mind as an implicate-explicate ordered unity, the mind as emerging from the brain but actually present with an implicate order in it.

KB: That explains it very well. Now coming to stimulated self-organization, is there any experience to back it?

Dr. BSR: Yes, and also quite direct in the sense that I have myself been involved in reigniting the beginner’s brain-mind in adult learning. At CFRCE, one our students was a 46 year old corporate professional who had a childhood dream of becoming a theoretical physicist. He was mentored in part by a 11^th grade student who was so advanced that he had crossed the Ph. D level of learning in theoretical physics, mathematics and computer science.

KB: That appears really striking.

Dr. BSR: And if you observe it quite carefully, you will find one of the clues to stimulated self-organization.

KB: And what is that?

Dr. BSR: Stimulated Self-Organization has it that all real teaching is by example and influence and not by instruction. You learn to be a learner by watching other learners. For example, at school if you watch other school teachers you can become a school teacher but not necessarily a learner! To stimulate your brain to initiate spontaneous self-organization you need to be in the neuro-cognitive atmosphere of other learners. This atmosphere induces self-organization by a resonant effect. And once that happens, it is possible to take it along an exponential pathway rather than the linear one of conventional education. Now how this is actually done requires a great deal of experience that cannot just be stumbled upon. There is quite a body of tacit knowledge and strategies from embodied cognition at play here. All these have to be carefully deployed with a great deal of sensitivity in a spirit of wise intervention and not interference with the learners.

KB: How did this happen in the case of this person you mentioned?

Dr. BSR: In just over a year, he mastered all that a good theoretical physicist needs, to embark on serious research. He is now working on the foundations of quantum mechanics and quantum computation after having covered all the basic branches including Classical Mechanics, Classical Theory of Fields, General Relativity, Quantum Field Theory, Differential Geometry and Topology and Contact Geometry. 

KB: That’s remarkable.

Dr. BSR: Perhaps more so is the power of the brain-mind in reigniting the beginner’s state in itself!