Ever hit your thumb with a hammer? I have and it can really, really hurt. And you are never particularly happy about it either... You may even hear a voice in your head saying: Why can't you be more careful? We've talked about this!
Looking back, it's never really the things that happen to us that cause us problems as much as the story we tell ourselves about the things that happen to us...
And that is what really trips me up! The buddhists sometimes talk about the second arrow. The first arrow is the fact of unpleasant stuff happening… but then we add a self-inflicted second arrow with our resistance to what is... with our reaction to the pain, and the ill-being. We may indulge in blaming and self pity and angry recrimination, often with the firm conviction: This should not be happening!
Like a dog with a sock, we can go round and round in a loop of self-flagellation, calling to mind the various sins of omisson and commission from years gone by, decades even, and building a solid case for why things will never change.
Looking back, it's never really the things that happen to us that cause us problems as much as the story we tell ourselves about the things that happen to us...
And that is what really trips me up! The buddhists sometimes talk about the second arrow. The first arrow is the fact of unpleasant stuff happening… but then we add a self-inflicted second arrow with our resistance to what is... with our reaction to the pain, and the ill-being. We may indulge in blaming and self pity and angry recrimination, often with the firm conviction: This should not be happening!
Like a dog with a sock, we can go round and round in a loop of self-flagellation, calling to mind the various sins of omisson and commission from years gone by, decades even, and building a solid case for why things will never change.
Sound familiar?
A new path starts by developing a habit of pausing... following the breath in and out for awhile. Just trying to cool the fires for a bit. Notice the sensations within. The ouch disappates and it is amazing what all we can discover when we start doing this practice! We may even begin to grow in understanding and effectiveness.
I started asking myself: Whose voice is saying this stuff? You need to be more careful!
Who is driving these nails in my coffin? Is this a parent’s voice?
Is the left thumb accusing the right thumb of negligence? (Typically thumbs tend to cut each other some slack - so its not them!) Then I started reading about feedback loops, both negative and positive, and how these loops can solidify in our brains. If you step back and just start noticing your thoughts, you might find them amazingly repetitive.
A new path starts by developing a habit of pausing... following the breath in and out for awhile. Just trying to cool the fires for a bit. Notice the sensations within. The ouch disappates and it is amazing what all we can discover when we start doing this practice! We may even begin to grow in understanding and effectiveness.
I started asking myself: Whose voice is saying this stuff? You need to be more careful!
Who is driving these nails in my coffin? Is this a parent’s voice?
Is the left thumb accusing the right thumb of negligence? (Typically thumbs tend to cut each other some slack - so its not them!) Then I started reading about feedback loops, both negative and positive, and how these loops can solidify in our brains. If you step back and just start noticing your thoughts, you might find them amazingly repetitive.
Like a broken record!
Our bodies are full of feedback loops. For instance, slice your thumb with a sharp knife and the body will send signals to blood cells called platelets, and these release a chemical, effectively telling all their buddies: Hey we’re all going to the injury sight! He’s done it again!
Our bodies are full of feedback loops. For instance, slice your thumb with a sharp knife and the body will send signals to blood cells called platelets, and these release a chemical, effectively telling all their buddies: Hey we’re all going to the injury sight! He’s done it again!
This activity attracts more and more platelets and, well, things begin to snowball. They all get together, build a wall, dry up, and become a scab. Miracle!
A feedback loop happens when the output of some process become the input for the same process. So if you make a mistake, and you start telling yourself: You are such a loser... always making mistakes!
Well, this not only is false information, false conclusions, but it also wastes energy and divides the concentration - causing more mistakes, and becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy!
A feedback loop happens when the output of some process become the input for the same process. So if you make a mistake, and you start telling yourself: You are such a loser... always making mistakes!
Well, this not only is false information, false conclusions, but it also wastes energy and divides the concentration - causing more mistakes, and becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Of course, you can easily see feedback loops on social media.
Post something on Facebook and some gal named Darlene likes it. This triggers something in you to say: How you doing? (And maybe triggering your wife to say: Well who the hell is Darlene? )
Anyway, this "like" also shows up on Darlene’s news feed and pretty soon her friends are checking out your post. Now Facebook starts to take notice of all of the attention your post is getting and starts feeding it into more news feeds. Feeding the beast!
Post something on Facebook and some gal named Darlene likes it. This triggers something in you to say: How you doing? (And maybe triggering your wife to say: Well who the hell is Darlene? )
Anyway, this "like" also shows up on Darlene’s news feed and pretty soon her friends are checking out your post. Now Facebook starts to take notice of all of the attention your post is getting and starts feeding it into more news feeds. Feeding the beast!
More people click, and like, and share and now things go viral!
Feedback loops can also be seen in nature. The average ant hill has thousands of feedback loops going on at any given time. A positive feedback loop excites the army, while a negative loop causes inaction. A positive loop occurs when, for instance, a foraging ant comes back from discovering your picnic basket sitting on the ground. At first only a few ants take off, following the chemical trail of the original ant, but soon more and more ants start to notice. Where's everybody going? I dunno but you better get in line or you'll miss out!
Before you know it, the whole colony is making a beeline, or an antline, straight to your picnic basket...with or without the conquering hero to guide the way. This is a “collective genius” we are only beginning to understand.
On the other hand, negative feedback occurs when the early ‘patrol’ ants do not return from scouting sorties. Everybody starts asking: Whatever happended to Charlie? He should be home by now. This warns the colony of dangers such as floods, or predators, or dudes with pesticides. The ants burrow deeper into the nest. Negative feedback loops are inhibitive and encourage stability and inactivity. Lets stay home tonight and watch Netflix!
This keeps you safe, of course, but it also keeps you from ever trying anything new, because, you know, you might fail! Remember what happened to Charlie! He coulda been a contenda!
On the other hand, negative feedback occurs when the early ‘patrol’ ants do not return from scouting sorties. Everybody starts asking: Whatever happended to Charlie? He should be home by now. This warns the colony of dangers such as floods, or predators, or dudes with pesticides. The ants burrow deeper into the nest. Negative feedback loops are inhibitive and encourage stability and inactivity. Lets stay home tonight and watch Netflix!
This keeps you safe, of course, but it also keeps you from ever trying anything new, because, you know, you might fail! Remember what happened to Charlie! He coulda been a contenda!
Neuro-scientists have discovered that our brains, with 86 billion neurons, operate very much like the ants on an ant hill. Each neuron can potentially connect to thousands of others. When a neuron fires, it sends a signal to nearby neurons, and they fire up and send signals back, effectively saying:Yeah me too. When two neurons fire together, the space between them, the synapse, gets smaller.
Thus the phrase: Neurons that fire together, wire together.
Given this science, we can now begin to understand how these unconscious feedback loops keep us stuck, linking current mistakes to the ancient past, and spiralling us down into a repelling negativity.
Given this science, we can now begin to understand how these unconscious feedback loops keep us stuck, linking current mistakes to the ancient past, and spiralling us down into a repelling negativity.
Conversely, we deliberately create new neuro paths in brain by employing skillful means. Stop and smell the roses. Listen to the birds and the wind. Notice the stillness between these sounds. Smile. Each time we try this practice of cultivating joy, we make new grooves in the record, new paths into the forest. This habit creates even more sunshine and magic!
Why? Because science!
Why? Because science!
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Peace. A'ho
-Ahorsewithnoname
