The Tri-Council of Self: A Three-Entity Governance Model for Mental Stability
Khan Tahsin Abrar
August 11, 2025 DOI: 10.22541/au.175494726.68365817/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that modeling the self as three co-equal entities—Mind, Heart, and Body—each holding roughly 33% of internal decision-making power, promotes mental stability and resistance to self-destructive impulses by preventing any single subsystem from monopolizing agency. Proposes the Internal Council Ritual as a decision protocol and outlines a study design using experience sampling, heart rate variability, and dream integration. |
Abstract
The Tri-Council of Self: A Three-Entity Governance Model for Mental Stability Author: Khan Tahsin AbrarAffiliation: Independent Researcher, BangladeshEmail: khan.tahsin.abrar.kta@gmail.comORC-iD: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4631-6768 Date: 8th August, 2025 AbstractThis paper introduces The Tri-Council of Self, a novel self-regulation framework that models the human agent as three co-equal entities, Mind, Heart, and Body, each holding an approximate 33% dynamic share in internal decision-making. Unlike hierarchical or dual-process models, the Tri-Council emphasizes balanced, deliberative negotiation between affective, cognitive, and somatic subsystems. Grounded in clinical anecdotes, first-person phenomenology, and contemporary neuroscience research, the model argues that stability and resistance to self-destructive impulses emerge when no single subsystem monopolizes agency. We present a comprehensive theoretical framework based on established research in embodied cognition, self-regulation theory, and Internal Family Systems therapy, alongside an operationalized decision protocol (the Internal Council Ritual) and a detailed empirical study design incorporating experience sampling methodology, heart rate variability monitoring, and dream integration protocols. The framework offers practical implications for therapeutic practice, decision science, and neuroscientific understanding of distributed cortical-subcortical coordination.Keywords: self-regulation, decision-making, embodied cognition, Internal Family Systems, dual-process theory, The Tri-Council of Self