‘What Fires Together, Wires Together’
Original Article: (The Developing Brain)
This quote by Carla Shatz, is often misattributed to Donald Hebb.
Hebbian learning and predictive mirror neurons for actions, sensations and emotions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006178/
Carla Shatz (but not Hebb himself) has paraphrased his principle in a rhyme: ‘what fires together, wires together’ [12, p. 64].
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006178/#RSTB20130175C12
The term Hebbian learning derives from the work of Donald Hebb [11], who proposed a neurophysiological account of learning and memory based on a simple principle: ‘When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A’s efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased’ (p. 62). A careful reading of Hebb’s principle reveals his understanding of the importance of causality and consistency. He writes not that two neurons need to fire together to increase the efficiency of their connection but that one neuron needs to repeatedly (consistency) take part in firing (causality) the other. Carla Shatz (but not Hebb himself) has paraphrased his principle in a rhyme: ‘what fires together, wires together’ [12, p. 64]. While mnemonic, this summary bares the risk of obscuring the importance of causation in Hebb’s actual work: if two neurons literally fire together, i.e. at the same time, the firing of one cannot cause that of the other. Temporal precedence, rather than simultaneity, is the signature of causality [13] and would indicate that ‘one took part in firing the other’.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006178/#RSTB20130175C13
Transformation
When the puzzling paradox is observed in stillness and peaceful curiosity, the way to clarity reveals itself with ease. ~LL
https://EmpathyMatters.org/now/transformation
While transformational change happens in a single moment, that isn’t to say it is easy. We have to be a bit strategic. Why?
Because for transformational change to occur, the brain must be confronted with two very specific sources of information simultaneously.
First, what what did we learn about reality in the past. This is called reactivation. In order to reactivate the schema stored in implicit memory we must help to emotionally experience the learnings and memories from the past.
This emotional is required to become aware of our brain’s deepest beliefs about how the world works (our schemas) and to open these neural nets up for rewiring. This is not an easy task since what our brain most fervently believes is often completely unconscious to us.
The second step is to notice examples from our current experience that don’t align with the old map of reality that we developed in childhood. This process is called disconfirmation. When a deeply felt schema from our past is juxtaposed ( placed side by side) against a disconfirming experience from our present then the brain is forced to rewrite (fire and re-wire) the schema in order to resolve this contradiction.
Through updating our outdated beliefs about reality we can alter the behaviors that derive from these old beliefs and achieve deep and lasting change.
Over this same period, there has been a gradual but overall dramatic increase in anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness, suicide, and narcissism in children and adolescents.
Based on his own and others’ research, Dr. Gray documents why free play is essential for children’s healthy social and emotional development and outlines steps through which we can bring free play back to children’s lives.
How Our Schools Thwart Passions
Peter Gray | TEDxAsburyPark
Ethics & Empathy Circle
Conversations That Matter
Sunday 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm ET
EmpathyMatters.org/now/ethics-empathy-circle/
Course Information and Schedule:
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Everything that we say and do arises from our thoughts. Behind every emotion and action lies a thought. The reality we experience is a consequence of the projecting nature of our minds. Each thought shapes what we perceive. Our thinking can limit us. How much of what we perceive is really true? Our tendency is to look externally rather than internally. We blame others and/or circumstances. Do we take responsibility for our thoughts and actions? Our emotional reactions and physical actions are affected by a complex mixture of our experiences, attitudes, perceptions and beliefs. Neuroscience says there is an intimate connection between our perceptions and attitudes on the one hand and our emotions and motivations on the other. So if we change our perception and attitudes towards someone, we can change the way we feel about them.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
HUMILITY is the attitude of experiencing the world and what it contains with wonder and awe. It is about seeing ourselves as a small part of a vast cosmos, inhabited by people and creatures from whom we can learn. Humility is quiet strength. In some cultures, it is considered quite normal to be loud and assertive about what we think and what we want. Yet there is something dignified about people who are sincerely humble. Even if they are prominent and successful, they have the wisdom and experience to understand their limitations. A person with humility can see beyond their own viewpoint and interests. Humility shifts our perspective from ‘me’ to ‘others’ and is delighted to do so.
A person with humility has the intelligence to recognize: that we are all completely dependent on each other; that what we consume depends on a web of connections across the globe; that we all depend on practical and emotional support from others for our existence. To realize this is to be in touch with reality.
16 Guidelines for Life: the Basics by Alison Murdoch
and Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw, pp. 7, 9
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
To practise patience is to taste the power of the mind. Life is full of uncomfortable experiences, from minor niggles and irritations to major confrontations and setbacks. When they happen, we have a choice about how to respond. We can either become agitated and upset, or we can stay calm and relaxed. Patience is the ability to control our reactions and retain our peace of mind. Patience gives us the flexibility and strength not to be a victim of circumstance. It is like having a protective suit of armour. It doesn’t make us passive or resigned, or take away the ability to respond appropriately to difficulties and harm. On the contrary, patience makes it far more likely we can respond in an appropriate way, because we retain the ability to think clearly.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Contentment is a state of mind that has nothing to do with money, objects, or other people. Nor does it concern itself with how much we have, or how little. Instead, it’s about finding a point of stillness within ourselves which allows us to be quietly happy whatever our situation might be, and to be at peace with who we are. Unless we learn to live in the moment, and to accept it as it is, we may never function well or feel fully alive. Contentment releases us from the restless desires that drive us blindly forward, and which prevent us from being open to the needs and gifts of others. It frees us up to direct our energy in fresh and more conscious ways.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Delight (joyful) is the taste we get when something good happens. Worries fade away, frustration evaporates, and anger disappears when a baby is safely born or a friend passes their exams, when a problem is solved or a conflict resolved. Delight opens the heart. Delight can change our minds and change our lives. It is a tonic that relieves the pain of envy and shifts the blight of depression. It brings us closer to the people we love and eases the difficulties we have with those people who are further away from us. It makes such good sense to practise the art of rejoicing that it is strange we often overlook it.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Every positive action makes a better world. Every thought and action has consequence. If everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made, then if you want a different result, you need to make a different choice. Human lives are composed of billions of actions of body, speech and mind which take place every minute from the moment of birth until the second when we take our last breath. How we choose to act defines and colours the quality of our life and experiences. How we act is not only important for our own welfare, but also for others. Through our actions we have the choice to nurture friendships, families, community and society – or to bring pain and disharmony. Everything we do sets in motion a chain of events. The deeper we probe into this, the stronger is the call to pay intense attention to how we think and subsequently behave, because the consequences can be so complex and far reaching.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Kindness says: ‘I want you to be happy.’ To be kind means to be friendly, caring, generous, benevolent, considerate, respectful, fair and affectionate. We all know in our hearts when we have received or offered kindness because of the warm feeling it brings. Is there anyone who does not want to experience kindness from another person? Kindness knows with exquisite wisdom when it is appropriate to say or do something. It is found in the small details. If we act in a kind way, it may seem that we are putting someone else’s happiness ahead of ours, but it doesn’t work that way. Being kind invariably feels good, lifts our own spirits, and nourishes us in ways that we don’t always acknowledge. Everyone benefits.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Honesty is an opportunity to move through the world gracefully without harming other people. To speak or act dishonestly is to put our own interests ahead of someone else’s. To distort what they experience to fit our needs, or to take their possessions for ourselves. This is why dishonesty causes such disappointment and pain. Whereas to be honest is to cherish the needs and wishes of someone else. It is a statement that we care about another person’s welfare. Honesty is a personal choice that arises every time that human beings connect with one another. Each individual has the opportunity to be straightforward and honest in their dealings with other people, regardless of their health, family situation, possessions or resources. In doing so, they help to create a culture of honesty for everyone.
and Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw, p. 54
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Generosity. In some ways generosity seems a crazy, counter-cultural way to behave. Instead of keeping our time, energy or possessions for ourselves, we give them away. There is something very powerful about choosing to do this. It is a fundamental shift away from the limited world of ‘me’ and ‘mine.’ Generosity is defined by the wish to benefit someone else. It is rarely the size of the gift or the gesture that matters most, but the message that comes with it. The heart knows this, immediately and unmistakably. We taste the uneasiness when a gift has an ulterior motive, and save our real admiration for the person who can give without seeking a return.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Words! Love them or hate them, it often feels like we’re drowning in the noise they create – not only in our own ears, or on the page, but in our heads. They have the power to uplift us and to cast us down, to liberate and to entrap. They create friendships and make enemies. They can gain us great wealth and lose us everything we possess. The power of speech is so great that words cannot do it justice. As soon as a child learns to speak, its life and relationships change. Countless daily choices come next. Whether to speak loudly or quietly, fast or slow. What words to use. When to speak or to be silent. We learn how to use our speech through trial and error, and in doing so create an image and style that will define our personality and shape our lives.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Every time we cherish others we are cherishing ourselves. Our happiness depends on the happiness of others. So to strengthen our relationships with the people around us is one of the most direct and effective routes to a happy life. Whether we like it or not, we cannot get by on our own but it is easy to forget the people behind the scenes who make our existence possible. Whether it is the farmer who grew the seed for our bread, the engineer who brought the water for our tea, or the van driver who supplied the shop: our connections with others are endless. If we pursue the matter, we find that we are linked to every being on the planet, past, present and future. Our tendency to overlook or ignore these infinite connections is unrealistic and a major obstacle to happiness. There is a deep rooted inclination to see ourselves as separate individuals who have worked hard to be ‘self-sufficient’ and ‘independent’. The result is often isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression. The happiest people are those who acknowledge their interconnection and who nurture warm and appreciative relationships.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Respect. Everyone wants and needs respect. It is a pre-requisite for human beings to relate to each other in a positive and constructive way. Respect acknowledges that we have the same basic needs, whether physical, psychological or spiritual, and that other people’s experience and wisdom can be helpful to us. Yet there is another dimension to respect, with even more power to transform. From our earliest years, we learn and grow through admiring and copying other people. In traditional societies this was and is a well-ordered process. Wisdom and life experience are seen as a form of wealth to be passed down the generations. ‘Elder’ does not just mean ‘old.’ All around us there are people we can respect and learn from, if we choose to do so, and if we have the necessary humility. Respect is something that we have to give rather than to demand.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Forgiveness is the capacity to reclaim our peace of mind when something has happened to disturb us. We have the choice whether to respond to hurts and conflicts with anger and bitterness, or with forgiveness. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting. It does not mean that we gloss over the harm that has taken place, or pretend that it never happened. What it does is to allow us to let go of the destructive attitudes towards the past that imprison us and the person who harmed us in a cycle of recrimination and guilt. Forgiveness can seem insurmountable, and has vast consequences, but in essence it is a shift of mind. The motivation to forgive has to come from a genuine wish deep inside to relieve the pain and discomfort of ourselves and of others. It cannot be forced.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Gratitude celebrates our connections with other beings and our capacity to offer mutual support. It is a form of openness and generosity that strengthens relationships and heals tension, resentment and anger. Gratitude calls us to strip away unnecessary complexities, and to be simple and natural with each other. It brings peace and harmony. Gratitude is grounded in the wisdom which accepts that we are neither independent nor self-sufficient, but part of an extraordinary continuum of events and beings on this planet. It encourages us to welcome reality, rather than to fight it – both what seems good, and what seems bad. Learning to appreciate every single thing that happens as a potential source of insight and growth is one of the key ingredients for a happy life.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Loyalty. When life is going well, it’s easy to forget that change happens in an instant. It is the nature of the universe. In an uncertain world, a sense of loyalty and mutual responsibility is often the glue that holds families and friendships together. It can be the lifeline that helps us to feel safe and supported and enables us to function well. It is logical to feel loyalty towards the people we feel close to, especially if we want them to be loyal to us. But can this feeling of closeness go further? Is it possible to extend the same warmth and support to people outside our inner circle? What can be done to develop an attitude of loyalty and solidarity towards the wider community and, ultimately, towards the entire planet?
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
If everything is changing, many things are possible. Your search for meaning will depend on your ability and willingness to explore new and unfamiliar territory. This is why it is often called a ‘path’. It is a challenge to venture deep into yourself to explore your inner strength and longings, and find out how to use them to create a happy and fulfilling life. The process may be tough, demanding, and exhausting, but also thrilling, liberating and profound. Who are you? What are you doing here? How can you make the best of the years you spend on Earth?
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Aspiration is the profound longing for purpose and fulfilment, joy and happiness, which lies deep – and sometimes buried – in our hearts, and in the heart of every living being. It is the voice inside that urges us to use our life well and to make the best of whatever gifts and passions we possess. The way we choose to respond to that voice will determine all the other choices we make in our lives. Aspiration is the fuel of change. It feeds on our hope that life could be better or more meaningful, and our willingness to do something differently to make this happen. It is a call to action. The happiest and most contented people are usually those who have found a way to put their aspirations for self and others into practice, and have thereby played an active part in creating a better world.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Principles. If we were each given a blank sheet of paper, how many of us would be able to list the principles that guide our lives? Day-to-day living makes so many demands that sometimes it feels more than enough just to react as best we can to whatever happens, hoping it will all turn out OK. Yet most of us have plenty of principles, even if we are not aware of them. What is it that angers us or gets the fire churning in our gut? Getting upset is often the sign that a principle we hold strongly has been breached. It touches on something that says ‘No!’ We may be surprised by the passion and strength that is alive in us.Principles give us strength. They provide the foundations from which we get the power and energy to make a stand about the things that matter to us.They keep our aspirations on track. Like the spokes of a bicycle wheel, they give stability and help us move forward in a purposeful way.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Service is the outer expression of a wish to benefit others – to increase their happiness. At its best, it is an expression of caring, sharing, and delighting in each other. When it arises effortlessly and spontaneously, it is beautiful to watch. Service can also be experienced as a duty. Instead of being light and joyful, it feels heavy and burdensome. For most of us, learning how to serve – and to be served – is a lifetime’s task. In every moment there is an opportunity to make someone else’s life a bit easier or nicer. Every thought, word and action that flows from us in a loving way has the potential to create happiness. As we discover and deepen our wish for other people to be happy, we also find the key to our own happiness. Nobody gets left out of the equation. This is the golden rule of heart-felt service that underpins the great spiritual and wisdom traditions of the world. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Courage is about stretch. It’s about seeing, feeling or realizing that something more or different can be done, developing the determination to do it, and then carrying it through despite all obstacles. We know in our bodies when we’ve been courageous. There is a glow of satisfaction and relief. Something has shifted, and we have grown in size. Courage is not defined by what we do, but what we overcome within ourselves. It comes in many forms. It is found in a steady approach to everyday difficulties as well as in the single spontaneous gesture. It is happening quietly all around us as well as in the news. Courage involves acknowledging our fears, but not being deterred from offering something that goes beyond our own immediate needs and comfort. Most courageous people have decided that the well-being of others is more important than their own, and have allowed this decision to drive their actions and the way they live. Invariably, they seem to find their own happiness in the process.
Source: CompassionAndWisdom.org
Facilitators
• Janna Weiss, PhD
CompassionAndWisdom.org/facilitator/janna-weiss
Educating the Heart: Ethical Mindfulness is the Key to Happiness
• Larry Lawhorn, OT (retired)
Bruce Ecker’s mentor was Dr. Robert Shaw, MD, who was very influenced by Werner Erhard.
I consider this work ontological fundamentally. Blessings
Dr. David Kamnitzer, DC
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.