112-2008-06-03

Mirrors of Everything
By W. Owen Thornton

Susan Hurley wrote about mirror neurons in her essay, “Imitation, Media Violence, and Freedom of Speech.” Essentially what the science is telling us that everything we experience, we feel exactly as if we were doing it ourselves.  This has repercussions upon everything we do.  From a human kindness perspective, it means that every single act we do is felt by every single person who experiences it.  Remember how I’ve spoken about our lives as threads in the massive tapestry of life?  Well now our thread not only weaves beautiful pictures (hopefully) but everyone is feeling what we’re sending at the same time too!  So … now … what kind of world do you want to live in?

When an employee is walked out of the building with a box in their hands and a security guard at their back, anyone who sees that scene has just been walked out of the building in the same way.  In fact, according to science, we’re inclined to imitate the action ourselves.  Only a small part of the brain inhibits us from wanting to follow that person out the door … walking and expressing and hurting and feeling in the same way as we see them walking and expressing and hurting.

I know that some employees do need to be released from their positions and that some of these folk could wreak a great deal of havoc if given enough time to hack the computer or mess up the order system or whatever.  Therefore when they are released they do have to be escorted out.  I don’t think that’s kind to the individual, but it is kind to everyone else who is left behind.  The sad thing is, that whomever sees the dismissal will feel as though they too were dismissed.  This new information has far more repercussions than we might like to think about.

Remember in the old days when lay-offs happened and offices sat empty?  We originally thought that those empty offices acted like reminders to everyone else that dismissal COULD happen to them.  Instead of becoming lean and mean or to use better language, lean and effective, we became intimidated and afraid (of losing our own jobs).  But those feelings, which bred disloyalty to our companies, were only the tip of the iceberg.  Each time those who remained behind watched someone leave the office for the last time, they lived those feelings themselves.  Each time they saw a friend, acquaintance, coworker … whatever you desire to call your fellow employees they too were fired.  They couldn’t help feeling these thoughts.  Mirror neurons are not selective, hitting some people and not others, they are inside of each and every one of us.

One of the big problems we have in believing all this is due to the following.  Because our adult brains have overrides to prevent us from actually imitating everything we see, we do not believe we desire to imitate everything we see.  This is a subconscious happening.   Yet when we are children and before our override mechanism is fully developed, we are true imitators.  And people with brain damage in the area that overrides our need to imitate also imitate everything they see.

We also don’t like this the idea that we feel everything we see because this notion makes us feel more like automatons than we might otherwise have thought about ourselves.  I won’t get into the argument here about whether or not we have free will (or if because of mirror neurons we’re all determined to do what we do) but this inbred fear of ‘not being in control’ also prevents us from actually believing the truth.

Lastly we won’t believe the truth about these facts because all this happens to us subconsciously.  It seems impossible to believe that we’re hot-wired to imitate when we KNOW we’re not … but … we ARE!

Now there is some news and some great news about all this information too.  The news is that it may be harder to change than we think.  Okay.  It was never easy to change, but now it appears that because we imitate and because neurons like to fire in friendly-similar ways, that patterns evolve and mirror neurons will keep us in those patterns … if we continue to see the same ones.  However, the great news is this!  Remember Bruce Jenner, US Olympic Decathlon winner?  I believe the first man to ‘envision’ himself succeeding was attributed to him, although there may have been someone else who was first.  At any rate, because he sprayed pictures of himself winning the ten events he needed to win at the Olympics all around his abode and because he ended up winning his event his ‘envisioning himself winning technique’ was introduced and it became a big deal.  Well … seeing yourself win, whether in picture form, or in mental form, or in watching someone else do the form well … it is as though your mind is doing it.  So now we know the science behind what Bruce Jenner did.

The test is in.  A group of 30 youth were tested to shoot free throws.  Their average number of baskets made, versus shots missed were recorded.  Ten were asked to go away for a week and do nothing.  Ten were asked to practice 20 minutes a day.  Ten more were asked to mentally practice shooting hoops 20 minutes a day.  They came back.  Those who did nothing … no change.  Those who practiced … better results.  Those who imagined shooting great hoops … EVEN BETTER improvement.  Holy Hanna this stuff really is only in our minds!  I say only because while it is in there in a pattern, we can envision a different pattern and really, effectively change it and feel that change each time we envision it!

So, sadly, if you repeatedly watched someone stuff themselves when they were down, you felt that action (did it in your own mind) and probably would later grow up to imitate it even if you didn’t really want to.  But if you can watch someone NOT do that, or if you can envision yourself refraining from doing that … and in fact if you can envision yourself doing something that would empower you in another, completely positive manner, then slowly, over time, you would A: feel the new feelings from the new, vision for yourself and I believe you would come to change yourself.  (So, in this manner, the free will to choose to sit down, close your eyes and envision yourself doing something terrific, would suggest we ARE creatures of destiny … AND imitation!) 

So, for those of you who can believe all this there is good, no great news!  Change only takes the time required to envision yourself succeeding in whatever endeavour you so choose.  Remember change must be relative.  You would improve your free throw shooting if you watched Toronto Raptors shoot hoops.  Would you become an NBA caliber player?  Maybe, but maybe not.  What you could guarantee is that you would become a better you-basketball player! 

A Great Responsibility

Lastly, I desire you to think about the following.  If what we have just read is correct, that when we observe someone else doing something that we feel it as though we have done it, then we have a great responsibility to the world to always do the best we can in all situations.  If every act of frustration, every unkind word is sucked up by every person and every other person’s actions are making us feel what they’re doing/feeling, then if we’re sending negative stuff, we’re a nest for breeding the negative.  If we cut others off while driving, they feel as though they have cut off someone.  If we flip the bird, everyone who sees it feels as though they have done it.  Every act of unkindness reflects in every living soul who sees it.
So it is up to us to do our best to always send positive reinforcing messages so that everyone else always feels those kinds of feelings … so they desire to imitate those kinds of actions.  This is also great news.  Maybe this knowledge acts as a filter for any unkind action we might like to humanly (for to be frustrated and upset is normal) express but can refrain from doing so where others can see us.  I don’t mean bottle it up.  Shoot, write down the frustration and shred it in the shredder.  Get it out, meaningfully and effectively without letting everyone else ‘feel’ it too!  And when we can, become actively kind.  Wouldn’t that environment be an interesting place to work and live in?

Cheers everyone.

Owen

 Here's a printable copy of the article.  Should you use the material anywhere I would apprecate contact from you and name credit, please!

July 3 HKP Newsletter article