Diagrammatic conventions

The model of spiritual experience is a ‘function’ [or process]  and ‘data’ [or information] based model to help you see how spiritual experience is working when we look at the mechanisms. 

The soft boxes are the functions or processes – what is happening

The arrows show data and information ‘going into’ – being used by  - processes; the arrows going out of the process boxes show data or information that has been produced by the process.  [In computer circles this is known as a data flow diagram and it is used to describe systems]. 

The named objects within parallel lines are called Data stores and show data that is used by or created by functions.  The difference between flows and stores is that data stores are [as their name implies] stored on a permanent or semi permanent basis – they are like the database of the mind – data that is kept for longer than just the execution of the function.

So for example when we perceive something [function]  it gets recorded as ‘perceptions’ [data store] -  a log of everything happening including our emotions – a little like an unedited cine film of the action plus all the emotions that went with it.