Thought Mining

Anderson, N., & Olson, D. (2024). Thought mining: Constructing transformative insights by noticing and contemplating resonant manifestations of the mind. Journal of Transformative Learning, 11(1), 39-103. https://jotl.uco.edu/index.php/jotl/article/view/529/397 

Definitions

Thought mining

• noun: the act of extracting meaningful insights from an array of thoughts by noticing and contemplating resonating manifestations of the mind. Thought mining is an inflection of the term, thought mine. 

Thought mine

• verb: to extract meaningful insights from an array of thoughts by noticing and contemplating resonating manifestations of the mind.

• noun: an array of thoughts from which meaningful insights may be extracted.

Thought miner

• noun: an individual who engages in the practice of thought mining.

Types

Thought mining may be internal, external, or shared:

• Internal thought mining, prompted by thoughts within oneself, refers to the extraction of meaningful insights from one’s own array of thoughts. 

• External thought mining, inspired by others’ thoughts, represents the extraction of meaningful insights from an array of thoughts representing one or more individuals outside of oneself. 

• Shared thought mining, occurring between thoughts that are inside of oneself and though ts of one or more others that are outside of oneself, is the extraction of meaningful insights between the thoughts of oneself and at least one other person.

Practice

Here’s an example of how  you could engage in an internal thought mining practice. Be in a state of presence that allows you to maintain awareness of your thoughts. Simply observe your thoughts from a nonjudgmental perspective as they pass through your mind. If you find yourself beginning to feel a stronger sense of resonance with a thought as it enters your stream of awareness, the deeper connection that you are feeling may be an indicator that the thought is worthwhile to ponder further. You may engage with the thought by allocating a greater degree of attention to the thought and allowing other related thoughts to surface and begin synthesizing with the thought. Considering how you might respond to predefined reflective prompts may also help foster your engagement with the thought in a way that helps cultivate meaningful insights. Methods of engaging with a resonating thought may include interpreting the thought through subsequent thinking, oral dictation to oneself, or writing.

The concept of thought mining emerged through this process. Nathan woke up in the middle of the night and was unable to fall back asleep. His mind was racing with meandering thoughts. Eventually, he settled into a state of presence that was conducive to being an aware observer of the thoughts that he was thinking. The phrase, thought mining, emerged and captured his attention at a deeper level than the other thoughts that had been passing through his mind. He began to engage with the thought by pondering it further and jotting notes related to my interpretation of its meaning. The insights described in his initial reflections on the term are the result of an internal thought mining process that was prompted by the phrase, thought mining, which aimlessly passed through his mind at a moment when he was an aware observer of his thoughts.

CORCE Model

The CORCE model is a semi-structured frame of reference for guiding a thought mining practice.

The model comprises five phases: 

• (C)onsciousness: an individual enters into a state of consciousness in which they are able to be aware of and attentive to the authentic conditions of the present moment.

• (O)bservation: the individual observes thoughts as they enter into their field of awareness.

• (R)esonance: the individual allows themself to resonate with the energy of a thought they are thinking that may be attempting to connect with them at a deeper level.

• (C)ontemplation: the individual puts time and energy into contemplating their resonant thought.

• (E)xtraction: the individual extracts meaningful insights as a result of their contemplation.

On the surface, when viewing the CORCE model diagram beginning with the consciousness phase and following the framework through a clockwise fashion, each phase is a prerequisite for its subsequent phase. More specifically, CORCE suggests that being in a conscious (i.e., mindful, present) state is essential for an individual to be able to observe their thoughts; observing their thoughts is essential for being able to resonate with one or more of their thoughts; resonating with their thoughts is essential for being able to contemplate them further; and contemplating their thoughts is essential for them to be able to extract meaningful insights from their thoughts. In practice, though, it seems likely that a person will naturally weave in and out of the stages. For example, when they are in the contemplation phase, their ongoing state of consciousness may allow them to observe and resonate with new thoughts that pass through their mind, which could further influence their contemplative practice and, thus, the types of insights they extract through the process.