Monday 1 May 2017

Microblog Mondays: Subterranean messages

I discovered Dr. Jordan Peterson this weekend. I started watching his lecture on Maps of Meaning: Story and Meta Story and was riveted. As in, "I can't believe I am suddenly understanding how my brain works!" I do somewhat understand how my brain works, in general and in particular, but this lecture took it to a new level, for me.


From the blurb:


"In this lecture, I discuss how the basic or archetypal categories we use to frame the world are represented in image, where they existed long before their nature could be articulated. These categories include the individual (hero/adversary), culture (wise king/tyrant), and nature (destruction/creation). The heroic individual (the knower) is typically masculine, as is culture (the known), while the unknown is feminine. These categories can be conceptualized, as well, as explorer, explored territory, and unexplored territory. The most abstract category is the dragon of chaos, the monster who guards what is most valuable. It is from this most primordial of categories that the other three emerge. Our existence as prey and predator is reflected in the ambivalent representation of the absolute unknown."







Yes, it's two hours long. I should add that watching video of people talk is not one of my favourite things to do. I have never been into Ted Talks or similar things because I simply do not enjoy sitting through a video listening. I can read several times faster than anyone can or should talk, and hence I process the same message / information in a fraction of the time by reading as by listening. I see no reason why I shouldn't read or why people shouldn't bother to write an article if something is important to communicate.  For me to take even two minutes to watch a video, it has to be something really special or entertaining. Dr. Jordan Peterson is. And I absolutely will find 2 hours to hear this full lecture, although not all at once (I'm about an hour in at present).


One of the most relevant messages from the first hour is how our brains learn to ignore the vast majority of stimuli: Dr. Peterson says 99%. (And I thought it was just me! Ha!) Our sense of safety and sanity is mostly based on the belief that the 99% of stimuli are unimportant to survival. A crisis or trauma is an unexpected event that challenges that belief. It is like a monster (imagine the shark from Jaws) emerging from the depths of the unknown and disrupting/shattering our comfortable world. Suddenly, we start to wonder if we were wrong to ignore all the 99%. We start trying to pay attention to everything, to figure out the important thing that we missed, and that puts a lot of stress on the mind and body. Depending on the circumstances, and how the person frames their experience and reality, the experience can be mildly disturbing to completely life shattering. If it goes on for a prolonged time, brain structure may be permanently altered.


Do you think this sounded familiar? Heck yeah!


It feels relevant to my emotional sinkholes. To my infertility and pregnancy trauma. To the current conflicted feelings around further fertility treatments. I was in the middle of a post on that, and on my frames and beliefs, but it will probably wait until I've watched the entire lecture and my thoughts may change after watching it (or I may understand them better).


I think the lecture is speaking to me on a deep level already, because I've had some weird and arresting messages come up in my dreams. I won't be a dream bore here, also I'm trying to keep my posts short, but maybe I'll write about it in a follow up later this week.


Microblog Mondays

8 comments:

  1. The part that struck me was the 99% stuff. It does make you wonder if you could have done anything to not be in the situation; if you should be doing more to pay attention to everything.

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    1. I have no doubt we are missing a ton of information by ignoring 99%, but I guess most of the time, we get away with it. Just not all the time.

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  2. That is fascinating. I will have to come back another time as two hours is a really long time (and I'm with you on reading vs watching...I'm a very fast reader as well), but it sounds compelling! The 99% thing stood out to me, too. That figuring out the part we missed being stressful resonated, too. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome! I'm still trying to find a chance to hear the second half....BUT IT WILL HAPPEN LOL! sometimes you just find the thing you need to hear, and for me....well I haven't been able to find that thing in a long time. I will try to post more on what I am learning and thinking.

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  3. 99% sounds high but I have no data to back that up--so it is as reasonable as any other stat.

    Still, so relatable. I can see how it is vital to our survival to ignore much for even the stuff that pierces the veil is enough to overwhelm.

    Fascinating. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks for commenting. I've just started going through Peterson's work so I'll look for more detail on where he got the 99% stat. It doesn't surprise me too much, as I work with people on the autism spectrum and one thing they have a lot of trouble with is filtering that data. It's very anxiety inducing to struggle with that. It really makes me think about how we construct our reality and what is truly real and how we survive, which is crazy fascinating.

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  4. That's really interesting and makes a lot of sense in relation to infertility. I just always assumed I'd get married and have kids. When all of a sudden that has become incredibly difficult and potentially impossible it has really shaken up how I saw the world. Now I feel like warning everyone not to take their fertility for granted!

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    1. Oh, I know, I have that urge to tell people not to take fertility for granted too, and to correct misconceptions, e.g. "my mother had no problem conceiving at 40, so neither will I." Yeeeeeaaaah it doesn't work that way. I restrain myself because I don't want to be "that person!" but if anyone brings up the topic of fertility or family planning I am honest about my experiences and knowledge.

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