Cultivating inner strength

Understanding humans to gain strength in tough times

As a neuroscientist it is always interesting to combine ancient, esoteric, wisdom with cutting edge techniques as I am more and more convinced that we are working to prove now, what was widely accepted by our ancestors.

Inner strength is an example of this, as is working with the waxing and waning of the moon. Today is a full moon.

The farmer’s almanac is a well used guide to how to utilise the seasons and cycles to the best of their ability and there is much empirical research that supports the wisdom of this.

If you are a spiritual person then you will already be used to the effects (proposed) of the moon and how full moons are ubiquitous with development, growth and grounding. There is scientific evidence of a greater gravitational pull around full moons which can be utilised for different tasks and goals.

Why do I talk about this when the title is around cultivating inner strength?

Well the reason is that impermanence of cycles, promotes uncertainty and unpredictability. When life changes unexpectedly, we can often feel off balance, insecure, and unclear of what really matters and/or what to do next. This is normal. What can support us to reclaim our life and tap into our internal wisdom is re-asserting our strength of mind and heart.

Being able to draw on extrernal metaphors, visual allegories, the changing environment is all key to being able to reaffirm and reclaim that which is useful to us.

The waxing and the waning of the moon happens by clockwork every 28 days. It grows and fades in strength and light, with different phases having a different effect on the Earth.

We can use this as both a clock and a guide for our own processes. It is not practical or useful for us to be 100% all of the time, we need to ebb and flow much the same as time, tides and moon cycles.

It is in our ebb that we gain the energy to flow.

In order to gain the inner strength to enable us to keep going and to become the person that we wish to be, we have to take into account how our brain constructs our reality.

We have experience enabled neuroplasticity. In effect this means that we will construct our world out of the experiences we have, and what we pay attention to.

This is what is really important to understand.

Are you constructing your reality or is it being done for you through passive but deadly influences?

Your ability to manouvere through life is determined by three factors: the challenges you face, the vulnerabilities these challenges grind on, and the strengths you have for meeting your challenges and protecting your vulnerabilities.

Vulnerabilites are what we have that are capable of being physically or emotionally wounded and they can arise through human actions and behaviours.

The Halo Effect

In the early 20th century, psychologist Edward Thorndike conducted a survey of industrial workers, asking employers to rate workers based on personal qualities. What he found was fascinating: that those who were good-looking were believed to be more intelligent, despite no such evidence of intellectual ability. In other words, if you have got beauty, we’ll assume you’ve got brains too. This led to the concept and development of the Halo Effect. It still stands today, that we will have a bias towards those who we perceive as being good-looking.

The Optimism Bias

Have you ever had a situation where something seemed too good to be true, but despite the overwhelming evidence you should run to the hills, you say, “Well this <insert bad thing here> won’t happen to me"? That is a sign of a highjacked amygdala, that something or someone has made you doubt your own aversion to a situation and led you down a path that is not really for you.

The Ostrich Effect/Head In The Sand

The ostrich effect seems funny, but not so funny if you have found it a vulnerability. When our rational mind ignores glaring facts, in essence burying our heads in the sand because we don’t want to see what is painful, this is the ostrich effect. If this is you it is a good idea to open your mind and consider all information and data, not just the ones that confirm what you want to know… which leads to….

The Confirmation Bias

This is when you only pay attention to that information which makes you feel safe in the decisions that you are making. You discount all other possible data sources or information as being mis or disinformation. This is ultimately to keep you safe, but in reality keeps you on the wrong track.

So how can we start to construct a reality so that we can draw on inner strength to meet all challenges, as well as minimising vulnerabilities.

1. What would the wise person do? Seek opinion and information from all sources of people, those who love you, those who are ambivalent, those who dislike you, all of them. Seek out all data, all information, be ojective. Wisdom is the experience of knowledge, experience and good judgement, so make use of being wise in all areas of your life.

2. Regulate your emotional world. If you emotions are taking over, if you feel a lack of clarity, balance or brevity, take stock. Much of what is happening in day to day life now is praying on the emotional irregularlty of human beings. For many there is no control over decision making as it is coming entirely from a place of emotional reaction. Don’t be that person. Sleep on it, think on it, sleep on it again. Act only when you have no emotional reaction to the situation.

3. Practice your critical thinking. Critical thinking is within the prefrontal cortex. this part of your brain is very energy expensive so first and foremost ensure that you are feeding your brain the right foods and hydrating enough. Then you need to ensure that you are not being drained of the ability to think by allowing mind numbing influences - Tik Tok I am looking right at you. Being critical does not just mean finding fault. It means assessing evidence from a variety of sources and making reasoned conclusions. As a result of your analysis you may decide that a particular piece of evidence is not robust, or that you disagree with the conclusion, but you should be able to state why you have come to the decision you have. I see so much these days where it is just shouting and insultinh rather than considered, weighted, debate.

Cultivating inner strength takes practice, it takes courage so own your bias, it takes time to understand your influences and formulate a plan to create your experience from new influences, therefore improving neuroplasticity.

Use your strenghts to stand up to adversity, use your strengths to know when to retreat and rest awhile.

All of life ebbs and flows, it is not natural to be 100% on the case, 100% of the time.

Think about that.

Consider the strength in action.

Consider the strength in non-action.

Consider any bias.

Consider it again.

Only when you know you are in charge of your own construction can you trust the reality that you have created. If you do not like what you have created, create differently. If you have never created by yourself, start with a small idea and grow it from there.

We can all cultivate our inner strength and have this resource available anytime.

Start today, and enable your expereince neuroplasticity to be one that is exactly as you wanted it to be.

“You're going to meet many people with domineering personalities: the loud, the obnoxious, those that noisily stake their claims in your territory and everywhere else they set foot on. This is the blueprint of a predator. Predators prey on gentleness, peace, calmness, sweetness and any positivity that they sniff out as weakness. Anything that is happy and at peace they mistake for weakness. It's not your job to change these people, but it's your job to show them that your peace and gentleness do not equate to weakness. I have always appeared to be fragile and delicate but the thing is, I am not fragile and I am not delicate. I am very gentle but I can show you that the gentle also possess a poison. I compare myself to silk. People mistake silk to be weak but a silk handkerchief can protect the wearer from a gunshot. There are many people who will want to befriend you if you fit the description of what they think is weak; predators want to have friends that they can dominate over because that makes them feel strong and important. The truth is that predators have no strength and no courage. It is you who are strong, and it is you who has courage. I have lost many a friend over the fact that when they attempt to rip me, they can't. They accuse me of being deceiving; I am not deceiving, I am just made of silk. It is they who are stupid and wrongly take gentleness and fairness for weakness. There are many more predators in this world, so I want you to be made of silk. You are silk.”