#WhyIMarch: ‘Let only the truth be the authority of your life; May you always be free.’ I will #March4Justiceau because I found the solution to justice: I switched from self-esteem (aka ‘survival of the fittest’) to self-compassion (aka ‘enlightenment’). 1/17 #Auspol
When I finished my psychology degree, I got the best mark across two university campuses. I was awarded a scholarship to undertake a PhD. I was teaching psychology at the university and my best friend was science. My PhD was on the neuroscience of emotion. 2/17
My research question was: Where is emotion in the brain? Well it turned out that emotion is not just in the brain. News flash: This is a living cosmos! Like it or not; we are all connected. Like star dust.🌟I challenged outdated theories; I even noted science’s reductionism. 3/17
A crazy beautiful mind: I presented my breakthrough to my supervisors. Of course, they both said no: “Follow the process.” Or in other words, follow the paradigm, or quit. By now I had been there for ten years. This was actually the first moment that broke my heart. 4/17
All I could think was:
‘How many other people have experienced their truth and were silenced?’
I knew I certainly was not the first. I know I certainly won’t be the last... 5/17
‘How many other people have experienced their truth and were silenced?’
I knew I certainly was not the first. I know I certainly won’t be the last... 5/17
This thought destroyed me. I had psychosis - I lost touch with reality - six months in hospital, three years to recover. I’m fully recovered now. With a lesson and tale to tell. I chose to follow the “process”. Exactly as asked. I will never forget the consequence of that. 6/17
Here’s what I might have done if I were given permission to follow my heart: 7/17
I’d #March4Justice because I know the solution to justice. The answer lies in Dr Kristen Neff’s research: on ‘self-compassion’. Most of us operate from self-esteem: wanting to be ‘special and above average’. Self-compassion is ‘kindness’, ‘common humanity’ and ‘mindfulness’. 8/17
Self-esteem is akin to ‘survival of the fittest’: competing against each other and if you win you are a ‘success’ and on the top. Self-compassion is akin to ‘enlightenment’: Consciousness knows nothing of this hierarchy. The insight instills awareness, compassion and action. 9/17
I’ve attached a thread on, ‘Why I switched from self-esteem to self-compassion?’, to help break the cycle of always wanting more. I have other threads that follow it and am happy to DM them to you. I don’t want anything back. Just your wellbeing. All life depends on it. 10/17
The other threads: ‘Our brains are experts at detecting threat’, which can be a recipe for trauma, so how to find the way out; ‘Window of Tolerance’, we consume to regulate our arousal, helpfully and/or harmfully; intimacy and play, the two greatest ways one can be. 11/17
One you read those my thread on psychosis will make perfect sense. You will see why we cannot “fix” injustice with science alone and only our “intellect”. History’s greatest minds have always known this. It’s time we integrate wisdom traditions with contemporary research: 12/17
The ‘Power Threat Meaning Framework’ is one contemporary approach: a trauma informed method for mental illness. A thread I made is ‘sexual abuse and rape inherent in power structures’. One wisdom tradition is ‘Adiyogi and Shiva’: it’s a simple and profound tale of freedom. 13/17
I’m not a politician. However, I’ve had a 20 year love affair with psychology: specifically, the neuroscience of emotion. I was silenced for questioning a power structure. However, I did survive and now I thrive. With tools for wellbeing. With much more clarity. 14/17
I met psychology at the perfect time in history. The brain is no longer seen as a fixed machine. It constantly changes and we can actively rewire it. We can heal trauma. We can learn new things. So, yes, psychology has a dark history. However, it’s future is very bright. 🌟15/17
My lesson: Never let authority become the truth of your life. If at all do the opposite. Let only the truth be the authority of your life; and may you always be free. So let’s switch self-esteem (aka ‘survival of the fittest’) to self-compassion (aka ‘enlightenment’): 16/17
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