It took me a while to decide how I wanted to respond to your recent segment, "Your Beloved Host Impugned and Ripped to Shreds.” I am from St. Louis and my Show-Me-State clap back was on tap when I first listened to you call my name in such an unflattering context. However, I managed to calm down and I decided to use the Empathy LOVE Skill that was referenced in the full interview. Your take on my explanation about mirror neurons implies to me that your amygdala reacted, shaping your interpretation of the sound bite to your own confirmation bias. What does all that mean? Stay tuned! I’ll explain. But first,...
As a trauma psychiatrist, I'm saddened to hear of your advanced stage lung cancer and the toll the chemo treatments are having on you. Recently, I’ve developed chronic neuropathy, which forced me to retire from clinical medicine. I appreciate you noting my youth; I am 39 years old in physical age, and much older in psyche. I hope that when you look at your life, you appreciate how influential you are to the most influential individuals on Planet Earth! I can appreciate that we are of similar heritage; I, too, now spend my energy devoted to educating the human species about our brain, body and behavior, so that we can evolve into a peaceful society. I hope to complete this mission soon, as I plan to truly retire and enjoy the remainder of my days enjoying my family and my peace. You may be able to imagine how I feel. However, I cannot quit until 7+ Billion Human-Creators know how powerful they are.
I listened with empathy to your perspective and upon review of the interview, I agree that the phrasing of the question seemed to imply that only humans who identify as “Conservative” have mirror neurons. I would expand my answer by adding that this concept applies to every single human being on Earth, regardless of whatever subjective label we place on ourselves: Liberal, Conservative. Black. White. Male. Female. Other. The beautiful thing about human anatomy is that it’s very consistent across all of us, no matter what “labels” we put on the individual parts. It is simply a part of the perfect design of the human race, all of us being 99.9% the same.
Mirror neurons are an ancient part of our brains (so they probably were present 32 years ago, too). They serve many functions; I’ll describe a few. Have you ever gotten a word or song stuck in your head after someone says it? Have you ever found yourself using an accent or saying a peculiar phrase because of someone you heard? Mirror neurons help us to pick up verbal, psychological and cultural clues from the environment. They are especially programmed by the dominant role models in our lives, as all humans have the tendency to gravitate towards people who agree with them. This leaves us subject to repeating other’s beliefs about something, versus thinking deeply about what WE think and feel, if we were independent of the feedback of the cultural environment. They help connect us to other humans by echoing experience. This is also why you may cringe when you see someone else sustain a obviously painful injury. We are designed to mirror each other and feel each other’s pain (a feature in us present long before modern day mirrors and camera phones made seeing one’s self a daily occurrence.)
The reason I am responding to this at all is because I could not let your audience of millions believe that I think the harsh and judgmental words that you used on 8/10/2020. This “arrogant snob” believes that your listeners are not just “mind-numbed robot” humans; they are actually powerful superhuman animal-human-spirit beings having a spiritual experience in Heaven on Earth. Creators capable of making heaven and hell, because we do not know that we are primitive. Each capable of operating at a higher level than we currently do.
In this turbulent moment of awakening, in the midst of a global viral pandemic and the realization of the many deeper pandemics of trauma, hate and addiction to violence and oppression, it is more important than ever for us to pause long enough to study OUR SELVES, looking at what part each of us can play in healing the damage the world has done to us all. We have the option to evolve and to do that means to unlearn damaging beliefs and update our thoughts about ourselves and the world. My mission is to challenge every person to learn more about their invisible Self. The best thing humanity can do right now is to focus on our mental health, reflecting and healing from our traumas by practicing Empathy Skills every chance we get. It is time to study how powerful our words are to program our mirror neurons and by default, our minds. Mirror Neurons matter. Thoughts matter. Words matter. Emotions matter.
