Incubation

by Richard Reeve on December 4, 2008

in AziMuth

Roman statue of Urania from Churriana (nowaday...

[third in a series built off post requests from Twitter, @cllecr offered this possibility here, and here.]

“Not far from the Muses’ Hall is an old altar, which also, according to report, was dedicated by Ardalus.  Upon it they sacrifice to the Muses and to Sleep, saying that Sleep is the god that is dearest to the Muses.” ~ Pausanias, Description of Greece, II, xxxi, 3.

By way of exploring the proposition that procrastination and incubation are two sides of the same coin, it might serve all of us to get a handle on just what incubation is.  Psychological incubation takes place “behind the scenes” when we are faced with a difficult problem.  It is the subconscious process whereby the elements of a difficult problem seemingly rearrange themselves so that when reengaging the same problem at a later time, the answer comes “out of the blue.” Ritual incubation was practiced in ancient Greece when a supplicant would go to a sacred place and sleep with the intent of receiving a divinely inspired message or a cure.

Considering these definitions of incubation, perhaps procrastination is not the opposite side of the same coin. Here’s why. The experience of putting off is quite different from the experience of letting go.

With procrastination, the ego devises distractions that allow for further avoidance of the problem. The ego remains in control of it’s inability to find a solution, thereby hampering if not completely shutting out the ability of the subconscious process to propose a solution.

Incubation on the other hand resorts to a power beyond the ego’s ability at the given moment to find a solution.  It occurs when the person has reached the end of their capability to solve the given problem. Having expended themselves completely, they are now able to turn to the help from beyond their control.

As an interesting jumping off point, I’ll add this observation of William James from the conclusion of his Varieties of Religious Experience:

“Meanwhile the practical needs and experiences of religion seem to me sufficiently met by the belief that beyond each man and in a fashion continuous with him there exists a larger power which is friendly to him and his ideals.  All that the facts require is that the power should be both other and larger than our conscious selves.  Anything larger will do, if only it be large enough to trust for the next step.”

(Image via Wikipedia)

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  • Joy
    A very meaningful post - and good timing for me to read it on this particular day. Incubation, to me, does mean leting go, and it also
    means acceptance. To procrastinate, for me, is a strong indication of non-acceptance. In my personal life I learned unexpectedly yesterday that I could no longer drive. My first reaction was to bargain with the eye doctor and get him to procrastinate in his decision. I did,
    however, choose to accept the situation for what it is and
    after facing it and allowing things to enter into an incubation period
    reached a higher lever of acceptance than I have ever known before.
    This was a 24 hour process versus the many days of agony that could have ensued. I was truly able to let go and accept.
    Your post was exactly what I needed to read. We do get what we
    need. Thank you.
  • Great distinction Richard - "The experience of putting off is quite different from the experience of letting go." I find myself wondering how often I "put off" when a better choice would be "letting go". I supect if I chose the latter more often I might be more productive not to mention more satisfied at the end of the day.
  • Hi Richard,
    Interesting post, and something I've contemplated recently. I look at incubation as more of a letting go process of the conscious mind (or ego) to allow other ideas to flow in. Keeping riveted to a problem on creates more blockage in my experience, but releasing it to allow for incubation to occur is a much easier process than consciously thinking our way out of things.

    I do sometimes wonder where some ideas come from, noting the religious quote your shared at the end. What I do know is that they are not all my thoughts, but thoughts that I've attracted by putting an intention out there. I've noticed how "thin" the air is lately, having tuned into many conversations around me, even with strangers in a coffee line. They all start with a stray thought, and I voice it and discover that the other person was "thinking the same thing". I also think this is how we come to discover the solutions in our incubation periods as you described, like a radio station we tune into streams of unconsciousness that match our intentions or desires. Then all of a sudden, we get that "a-ha" moment. Thanks for your thoughts, I love learning about Jung through your interpretations.
  • cllecr
    Ahhh, assuming that procrastination is intentional and the ego is devising the distractions.... I find more often that the distractions are unavoidable in the midst of problems ... and that the ego is merely engaged in the necessary "other tasks" at hand.... when the "out of the blue" inspiration is provided by the incubation process which has been going on "behind the scenes" in the meantime. I have found that knowing this is happening allows me to be a bit less frantic about the direct attempts to find a solution when it seems that there is too much else to attend to! Seems that the ritual incubation attempted, instead, to eliminate these other distractions to get to the aha! Thanks for pondering this and proposing a different way of considering the connection.. always appreciate a new way of looking at things!
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