🧠Weekly Mind Sweep #85 | Manage Your Mind | Compassion
August 2023
Week 83: Curated Conversation; Compassion
Week 84: Mind Your Business; Compassion
*Week 85: Manage Your Mind; Compassion
Week 86: What’s On My Mind; Compassion
Week 87: Bonus Week; Compassion
New to the Weekly MindSweep? Past issues live here.
Let’s sweep the brain…
Last week, I made a bold statement that self-compassion is the foundation of where true compassion for others comes from. [*1]
It turns out that I was right.
Let’s sweep the brain…
Our mental default mode is being fundamentally compassionate to others. Society today moves much faster than our human ability has evolved to process. Hello, adrenaline!
Humans access compassion through the prefrontal cortex of our brain. Those following along for the past 85 weeks [*2] will know that we cannot access that part of our brain if our parasympathetic nervous system is activated.
When our body is under stress, our nervous system is chronically triggered, which reduces our capacity for compassion.
Your heart rate increases
Your blood pressure rises
You decrease the ability of your immune system to respond to threats.
In stress, we are quick to respond, often from a place of fear or anxiety.
“When we experience a threatening situation, the fight-or-flight response is triggered: The amygdala sends signals that increase blood pressure, adrenaline, and the hormone cortisol, mobilizing the strength and energy needed to confront or avoid a threat.
Although this system was designed by evolution to deal with physical attacks, it is activated just as readily by emotional attacks. By ourselves or others.”
Emotions are not set in stone. You can learn compassion.
When we shift our state into compassionate intention, it has a huge positive impact on our physiology. We step out of threat mode and move into rest and digest mode. THIS is where we access the prefrontal cortex of our brain, where good decisions are made.
Our heart rate and blood pressure lower, and we can access executive control where we function best.
“Research indicates that increased levels of oxytocin strongly increase feelings of trust, calm, safety, generosity, and connectedness, and facilitates the ability to feel warmth and compassion for ourselves.
Self-criticism appears to have a very different effect on our body. The amygdala is the oldest part of the brain and is designed to quickly detect threats in the environment.”
We cannot fully be compassionate to another human being if we are not first compassionate to ourselves.
So, Jamie - how do you practice self-compassion?
The beginning of self-compassion starts with your inner voice.
There are a lot of practices out there that I will link. [*3 ] For this week, I’d like to stay focused on the Managing the Mind.
I found this easy-to-remember method called Notice, Shift, Rewire. [NSR]
Notice: The first step is to Notice – become aware of what you say to yourself when you make a mistake or error. You may say things like, “That was stupid!” or “What an idiot!” Take a pause and notice what words you use.
Shift: The second step is to Shift – to redirect your attention to the present moment. You can do this by bringing your attention to any object of focus; the breath sounds around you, sensations in your body, or even something to feel grateful for.
Rewire: The final step is to Rewire – consider what you would say if a friend or family member makes the same “mistake or error.” What would you tell them? Practice saying that to yourself. Take just 15 to 30 seconds to savor this experience and reinforce the shift you just made at the level of neurobiology.
If we are in a constant state of fight or flight, we approach the world with less compassion. When conflict arises, we feel triggered or challenged and shut down in this state.
Each of us can shine the light of compassion on others, allowing them to manifest their own compassion.
It starts with you.
This has become a new space for my digressions.
[*1 ] Take a Self-Compassion test - Thank you, Virginal L’Bassi, for sharing the research of Dr Kristin Neff!
[*2] If you’ve missed the last 85 weeks, welcome. Where have you been? If you’d like to geek out in this area, I’d recommend reading Connection Mode by Nancy Sokol Green.
[*3 ] Self-Compassion Practices
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What I’m reading
The Neuroscience of You. How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours
by Chantel Prat
From University of Washington professor Chantel Prat comes The Neuroscience of You, a rollicking adventure into the human brain that reveals the surprising truth about neuroscience, shifting our focus from what’s average to an understanding of how every brain is different, exactly why our quirks are important, and what this means for each of us.
While other scientists focus on how “the” brain works “on average,” Prat argues that our obsession with commonalities has slowed our progress toward understanding the very things that make each of us unique and interesting. Her field-leading research, employing cutting-edge technology, reveals the truth: Complicated as it may be, no two brains are alike. This book invites the reader to understand themselves and others by zooming in so close that we all look gray and squishy.
What I’m listening to:
She Built This
And Now a Word from Our Founder
“After a little feeling of the ol' feelings... I wanted to share a little story about how much She Built This has meant to me and why I made the decision I did, and how we're evolving together.
I wasn't able to fully iterate a lot of feelings and emotions in my announcement video, and I created this mini-weekend episode as a little love note from my heart to yours.
With endless gratitude, thank you for being here and please keep spreading the sparks of community and making the impact that you're meant to make in this world as we move into this next season together.”
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