The famous neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett wrote a book called “How emotions are made” which had research in it that greatly influenced how I was able to understand the emotional connection to my physical body.
She followed that book up with “7 1/2 lessons about the brain” which is a book that as I read it, I underlined something on almost every. single. page. Here are a few notable points from the first chapter:
Key term: ****allostasis****
The brain is always searching for ways to save energy “body budgeting” meaning
The brain automatically predicts
Based on the past
How to respond
To all situations
Even before the situation has completed occurring
Similar to animals, our brains predict our future needs through remembering our past. (Page 8)
‘The brain evolved to predict in order to secure survival and pass genes to the next generation’ (page 10)
Lesson # 3
‘Our brain’s plasticity, enabling the hub or central command higher and higher complexity through tuning and pruning starting as infants’ (page 50)
This tells^^ us how the pathways that are used become theassumption making efficient energy saving machinations of our adult mind.
Lesson 4: Your Brain Predicts (Almost) Everything You do.
“Your brain asks itself in every moment, figuratively speaking, the last time I encountered a similar situation, when my body was in a similar state, what did I do next?” Your brain prepares your response even before you fully understand what you are experiencing using memory. (Page 67)
This understanding of neuroscience and why it is so hard to address triggers in my own life experience, as well as my clients’, has been so useful.
It helps with self attack and self criticism. One of the phrases I hear so often: “I have already dealt with this, why is it coming up again?” M
Many of us have core stories. Central themes of our lives that tend to reoccur, and we start to notice that we are the common denominator. It is after this precise time when we are supposed to be able to be reflective and conscious, as we see our own predictability. Knowing ourselves and the ingredients of our core stories helps, an understanding of the neuroscience really can lend to the compassion we need for ourselves. Our brain will always react the way our childhood body and brain chose to respond many years ago, without a commitment to self awareness.
I have tried many types of self reflection practices and none were successful turning into a daily habit YET. However, this neuroscience data was the strongest logical argument I have yet found for developing, committing to and maintaining a daily practice. If I am not getting intentionally centered daily to meet my life, I will clearly and obviously be allowing my brain to operate on a 3year old, 8yr old, possibly 12 or 13 yr old mind set in many occasions depending on my physical response to daily triggers.
As a happy and inspired student of the 4 Agreements, where we are agreeing to ” Do not make assumptions”, it is a relief to know that this seemingly simple sentence and rule is a close to impossible mastery level test. Our neuroscience is going to use assumptionmaking as an autopilot every single moment of our lives- so only through our conscious awareness can we become practiced at undoing the assumption making machine that our brain is, and hopefully see things newly and with a more curious and open mind.
Barrett, Dr. Lisa Feldman
Ruiz, Don Miguel