tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post693609105101896311..comments2024-03-22T10:49:51.766-05:00Comments on Horizons: Do people really change?Nancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-9245894376269978212008-03-31T16:55:00.000-05:002008-03-31T16:55:00.000-05:00Wow tampopo, you've given me alot to think about. ...Wow tampopo, you've given me alot to think about. And I will check out Feldenkrais.org.<BR/><BR/>I also wonder if you've ever checked out the blog Docudharma (there's a link over on the right) I post most of the diaries I put up here over there as well, including this one which generated almost 100 comments. I think you'd fit in really well there and I'd love to have these kinds of comments be a part of the discussion there. I posted the video of Dr. Taylor there too and people really loved it. <BR/><BR/><BR/>So if you haven't checked it out yet, please do. And if you decide to sign up, let me know.Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-82486628760621503722008-03-31T15:31:00.000-05:002008-03-31T15:31:00.000-05:00NL - sometimes I feel you are in my head! I, too, ...NL - sometimes I feel you are in my head! I, too, have been thinking about whether people change or can change. Here's where I am right now:<BR/><BR/>1) People, as part of the planetary system, are primed for survival. Thinking of Jill Bolte Taylor, the part of the brain that is fully functioning at birth is the amygdala - where our emotional memories get stored. Our senses develop pretty rapidly...and then we try to make sense of it all with the primary drive to survive. Our "rationality" is one of the last things to develop. Imo, we are not very skilled at using "reasoning," considering how many things we do that we know are not really good for us. This is also why "facts" and "logic" are not very useful in changing beliefs. The tools of advertising are the visuals and music that tap our emotions - fears and wants.<BR/><BR/>2) Part of our survival skills is our ability to heal. Bones knit on their own. Now this does not mean they will knit with full usage or in the "best" way on their own. In the same way, I believe we "heal" emotionally. This does not mean it is the "best" or the "healthiest" we could be. Skilled care of bones and psyches makes a difference.<BR/><BR/>We make sense of the "world" with many of our "beliefs," particularly beliefs about the "self," becoming hard-wired by the time we are 5 or 6. These are not rational or logical. They can even be contradictory and conflicting.<BR/><BR/>It is in the space between the contradictions and conflicts that we can create change. I think this is why cognitive therapy can be pretty powerful, particularly when the change in the "self talk" is based on an existing, alternative contradictory belief than the belief used which created or contributes to an identified "problem."<BR/><BR/>We are creatures of patterns. But we also have imaginations and the ability to play with the patterns. The mind-body connection is one to explore - I really recommend checking out and finding a Feldenkrais class. (feldenkrais.org might help you locate one) Subtle changes in the way we organize our muscles in a movement can change the way we move, giving us a much larger spectrum of movement with ease. Changing the way we move subtly changes our interaction with the world around us. For sure, moving without pain allows us to live our day in a whole different way! Changing the body...changes the mind.tampopohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09033350123571938768noreply@blogger.com