Discover Your Inner Detective
"In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, but people do not practice it much."
- Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet
The aim of all IBA modalities is to support us in using our minds in a very different way--a way that can help us, instead of forever hindering us. It all comes down to cultivating our inner detective.
You might ask why would anyone want to reason backwards? And, what on earth is "reasoning backwards" anyway? It would be audacious to try and improve the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but let's take a closer look at Sherlock's explanations.
On reasoning forwards:
"In the every-day affairs of life it is more useful to reason forwards, and so [reasoning backwards] comes to be neglected ... Let me see if I can make it clearer. Most people, if you describe a train of events to them, will tell you what the result would be."
On reasoning backwards:
"There are few people... who, if you told them a result, would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result. This power is what I mean when I talk of reasoning backwards."
Even if you understand Sherlock, how we go about reasoning backwards might still feel elusive. But maybe he piqued your curiosity? If he has, you are already experiencing two key elements we rely on in BreakThrough, BodyTalk and MindScape: Curiosity and our Inner Detective. Why these two are crucial to IBA practices is because our work is all about searching for clues; about exploring.
Let's look at some questions we might ask about the process as it relates to BreakThrough.
Q. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR CLUES TO?
In BreakThrough, we are searching for clues that led up to a particular event and to our particular experience of it.
Q. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE?
We are trying to solve a mystery. The mystery is: Why do we experience distress both during and long after certain events happen.
Q. WILL KNOWING WHY I HURT STOP THE HURT?
Once you start practicing BreakThrough, each time you explore an event, gather clues, and see them all laid out, it is a revelation. What is revealed is something you never expected. This is the big difference between reasoning forwards and reasoning backwards.
When we reason forwards, we piece together the facts we know about, and then we come to a conclusion. As Sherlock says, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." But, when we reason backwards, the clues we discover are always totally unexpected ... and yet, they make total sense.
The astonishing thing about reasoning backwards is that, as soon as we see all the clues pieced together, we simply know, in our gut, that we have hit on the culprit of our distress. It is suddenly obvious that the event that so upset us was quite incidental to something that began happening in us long before the event ever took place. While this may not stop the hurt right away, the peace we gain from our newfound clarity has profound effects on us over time.
Q. IS BREAKTHROUGH DIFFICULT TO LEARN?
The most difficult part of BreakThrough is in remembering how to be curious--no longer reasoning forward and jumping to our usual conclusions. If you were to "learn" the BreakThrough concepts and process, it would not be useful to you without your curiosity. However, armed with genuine curiosity, even a very simple and basic understanding of BreakThrough will serve you well. In BreakThrough 1, you set out on an adventure, discovering a very different way of helping yourself.
Q. IS BREAKTHROUGH AN ONGOING PRACTICE THEN?
If you enjoy BreakThrough 1, chances are you will want to take it deeper and continue to practice it. After all, life goes on until it stops. Between now and that day, helping ourselves just makes sense. And if we find a way that is fun and supportive, why not explore it further?
Q. HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO BODYTALK OR MINDSCAPE?
In BodyTalk sessions, we never reason forwards toward a conclusion. Another way of stating this is that we never have an agenda; we don't come with assumptions. We allow our inner detective to guide our yes-no questions. While we may not reason "backwards" as actively as in BreakThrough, as we sink into the zone, we become very curious. In this place, we see clue after clue revealing itself, illuminating what wants to resolve in regard to the client's present state. At the end of a formula, sensing all the clues laid out before us, it too is a revelation. We often see something we did not expect, as do our clients.
MindScape is also best when used in this way. If, in our mental workshop, we search for information in a linear way from beginning to conclusion, MindScape can never reach its full potential. But, by being curious and reasoning backwards, sideways, and all around, we can start to see things in an entirely new light.
The aim of all IBA modalities is to support us in using our minds in a more curious, creative and holistic way. As our minds change, our whole experience of life will change.
"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
- Sherlock Holmes
Print this ArticleSpotlight
BreakThrough is a well-organized system of steps designed to show us our built-in defenses and deep-seated, limiting beliefs from childhood that prevent us from living life fully. Learn how you can break out of your defensive shell.