Cool story bro, tell it again: Narratives on Repeat

Our brain is constantly coming up with shortcuts for how we operate. These cognitive biases are to help us function by not exerting too much energy and therefore increasing our chance of survival. Which are brains are wired to try and succeed in. One such way is switching between the conscious and non-conscious. Another way to think of this is between aware and automatic.

However, that automatic is laden with its own memories, reflections, future thoughts, and perceptions. Therefore, when the automatic is perhaps an untrue perception of self we can end in a consistent narrative loop.

The Default Mode Network (DMN)

The Default Mode Network is a network of regions that show high activity at rest. It is your brain when it is not in “problem-solving” mode and needs to exert little energy. It is made up of different areas of the brain but most notable is the posterior cingulate cortex as this is connected to memory system in a different part of the brain. This then means that the DMN is not free of bias in its automaticity but the opposite. It is using past recollections, personal thoughts and experiences.

As research continues to evolve and bridge the gap between the spiritual and scientific world some papers link the DMN to the concept of “the ego”.

The Ego as a part of self

The ego within Eckhart Tolle’s Power of Now book. The ego he believes rules the way we live as we continue to be caught up in our mind. It is the state of unawareness that we live in and an old, conditioned mind pattern. He goes on to express that complaining and reactivity are favourite mind patterns through which the ego is strengthened.

The ego is therefore not necessarily a negative perception of you but the “I” statements we govern ourselves by. Even if we believe this statement is deemed as positive in society it can still become a limiting belief.

One of my main roles I stepped up to play was the ‘people-pleaser’. This grew from the narrative of thinking others thought it made me “nice”. My automatic behaviours and tendencies would be to ‘give’ which generally led to a lack of boundaries life of ‘over-stretching’. I was always trying to do more for others than myself in order to keep the narrative of ‘I am nice’ well and fed in the ego. If you wanted your meal automatically paid for I was a great person to dine with. If you were moving house I was completely the admin. I would probably have found a way to give you an all-inclusive trip to Mexico if you worded it correctly.

These psyches can then play into cognitive psychology. A people-pleaser is much more likely to self-sabotage in imposter syndrome as they are worrying what everyone else thinks of themselves versus just being themselves. When we only focus on pleasing others, our nice level does not increase, but our burnout potential increases tenfold.

In a paper Carhart-Harris and Friston argued the link between the ego and the DMN as the DMN is essentially the controller of the information coming from the external world, and the ego is the controller of us when we are unaware. The DMN modulates the ‘attentional circuits’ of the brain and therefore control the representation of the external world. So remaining in an ego state I would only witness how to please. It would take the added exertion to switch the role up. But it is possible I can tell you that from the recovering-people pleaser stand point.

Taking down the ego

Becoming more conscious seems like an easy solution but it has so many layers to it. When you read The Power of Now it all seems so easy. How absolutely lovely for Eckart Tolle to wake in the middle of the night and become automatically conscious and never dabble in the past. But his experience is unique to him. I think it can be quite easy to read that book, begin practice that mentality, fail when the brain refuses to comply and feel disheartened that your enlightened experience was over much quicker than you expected. Nobody’s path is the same. But we do all (unless certain neurological conditions are present), have the ability to move between the two modes of conscious and non-conscious.

Meditation and breathing will get you that awareness. Current research shows that meditation has the ability to alter the DMN through changes in consciousness. Not only that it is shown that durable changes can occur based on experienced meditators. Using fMRI a group of researchers noted key reductions in the posterior cingulate hub of the DMN, along with increases in the right frontal and left temporal areas, in a population of meditators during rest and during meditation. In laymans terms that reduction in the posterior cingulate correlates with undistracted awareness. In layman layman terms, the feeling of being present and conscious.

Figure 1: DMN microstates during rest and meditation. Control group and meditators. Panda et al., 2016.

Slowing down your breath to the optimum 5.5 second’s count. If you do not have 45 minutes to meditate in the morning, then that is okay, but if you aim to consistently practice that same awareness checking in with your breath, noting what you hear, see this enables the same magick.

Particularly where you note any automatic reactions in your life, practice breathing before reacting. It might not always work and sometimes your brain might win the race, as she cheated and you didn’t hear the start gun, but keep trying and practice that one actionable sense. Eventually then it will take over.

Finally, the DMN is necessary. There is a reason our brain does not consistently function in the alternative state. It is too much exertion. We need tricks and shortcuts to survive. However, rather than letting our nervous system rule the show and choose what is fear and how we need to react, we need to take back control. Becoming a people-pleaser stems from a time in life I felt that was the easiest means of survival. Survival in terms of gaining love and attention. Your behaviours all have a place in your life. They just do not all need to stay if they are no longer serving you. So, take back the power with the pauses.

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