Multifocal Intelligence: What Is It?

Multifocal intelligence is a theory developed by psychiatrist and psychotherapist Augusto Cury. She analyzes how we develop thoughts and what effects this has on our emotional well-being. It is an existential approach whose primary goal is for you to learn to use your mind constructively.

The way you think and also the way in which you process the information available to you has a decisive influence on how you position yourself in the world. This will determine how your attitudes and behavior develop.

If you use multifocal intelligence properly, you will be able to direct your thoughts in the right direction. This will help you develop more constructive attitudes and behaviors that focus on the goals that are most positive for you.

Multifocal intelligence

Multifocal intelligence is defined as the result of the interactions that take place between the psychodynamic structures of your mind. In simpler terms, this means that there are numerous processes going on in your brain. The way they relate to each other is known as multifocal intelligence.

Four processes take place in multifocal intelligence :

• Thought construction
• Transformation of psychic energy
• Self-training
• Organization of memory and memories based on conscious and unconscious history

Our own being is the unit that controls and manages these processes. This means that we can consciously control all of these processes. This theory suggests that we can do this if we are able to undertake critical analysis. This allows you to look at things from different perspectives and angles. Plus, you can give meaning to whatever negative happens to you.

The basics of this theory

The theory of multifocal intelligence is based on philosophy, existential psychology and archetypal psychoanalysis. It’s a perspective that aims to encourage you to think logically. By doing this, you can analyze how some thoughts are derived from other thoughts like a chain reaction.

Also, the positive aspect of this process is that you can break one of these “connections” and thus stop the further course of your thoughts. This will help you avoid further potential negative thoughts affecting you.

This theory aims to induce us to critically question and analyze all disturbing thoughts that come to mind. These thoughts are the result of your conscious and unconscious emotional story. According to this theory, stressful thoughts and anticipatory suffering take only five seconds to leave a negative mark on your brain.

Open a “window”

All of these memories are stored in our cerebral cortex and this opens a kind of “window” with a destructive purpose. We want to illustrate this with an example. Imagine that you have to give a presentation in public and are convinced that everything will go wrong. These negative thoughts will open this “window” in just five seconds and you will begin to imagine a whole range of negative situations. Because of these negative images, you will then get all kinds of destructive emotions.

If you manage to face this scenario with rational thinking, then you will be able to prevent this “window” from opening. That is exactly what this theory says. In addition, it also states that, over time and with enough practice, you can acquire sufficient skills that can help prevent negative thoughts from arising in the first place. And that is exactly what mutifocal intelligence is.

How can you train your multifocal intelligence?

Augusto Cury has suggested various activities with which you can train your multifocal intelligence. All of these activities have to do with pausing and becoming aware of the thoughts that are causing you to act. This is known as “thought management”. Cury recommended the following activities:

• Several short relaxation phases. You should take a few minutes to relax your mind several times a day. Use these minutes, take deep breaths and think about the meaning and logic of what you are or will be doing.

• Reinforce positive stimuli. This means that you should train your alertness so that you mainly focus on the positive things that you are experiencing during the day.
• Constructive and creative activities. If you read, write, engage in any type of art, or engage in activities in which you are making a positive contribution (like caring for a plant or caring for the environment) then all of these activities will help keep your mind flexible and to make it more constructive.
• Sufficient rest periods. You should never, under any circumstances, reduce the number of hours you sleep. It is also very important that you differentiate between working hours and rest hours. The latter is absolutely sacred.

Control your thoughts

• Control your anticipatory thinking. If you have ideas that anticipate imaginary things that might happen in the future, you should be very careful with them. The only thing you should really worry about about your future are clear goals and concrete projects. In addition, you shouldn’t imagine future scenarios. If your imagination and fantasy are too stimulated, you should take a break and think about it quietly.
• Be aware of the quality of your thoughts. If you get disturbing thoughts that threaten to get stuck in your mind, you should look at them carefully and then analyze them critically.

All of these are ways you can train your thoughts while transforming destructive emotions. This theory says that over time, all of these activities will result in you living smarter, more relaxed, more peaceful, and more constructive lives.