I recently heard about an idea which might have an interesting application to myself. The idea is that, as we grow up, the stories we hear build neural pathways which enable us to frame our own experiences appropriately. By taking in a wide variety of stories, with different themes, structures, and endings, we also build a wide variety of neural pathways enabling us to frame each experience we have in the context of a story template which is appropriate.
However, if you don’t take in a variety of stories and instead only hear stories with unhappy endings for example, then as you grow up you will be less likely to be able to apply any other kind of story template to your own experiences and so would be likely to visualise how it’s all going to go wrong, even in the midst of good news and pleasant days.
Do “the work” by Byron Katie for the same number of years it has taken you to get to your miserable angry state.
Thanks for that recommendation, Maggers. I took a look at it. I totally see what a lot of people could get from that, but I think I have a natural and instinctive aversion to self help books or systems. Not because I don’t want to help myself, but because I think that everyone’s individual idiosyncrasies are so unique that any method of self help which is put forward as the solution to life’s problems is bound to be great for some people and utterly useless to a whole lot more. Kind of like astrology or anything that comes out of the mouth of David Icke.
That isn’t to say that I’m right of course, it is just my instinctive reaction to such things which prevents me engaging with them on any really meaningful level. I do really appreciate you suggesting it though and I will certainly return to it it I ever reach a stage where I feel enlightened enough to benefit from such things. Thank you.
Castlefield Gallery, the Koestler Trust and Bob and Roberta Smith have come together in a unique collaboration: Snail Porridge, an exhibition of artwork, music and writing from prisons, secure hospitals, secure children’s homes and by people on probation in the North West.
I know you read “Inside Time”, take a look at “Prison Planet” for funny/odd stories…
Try reframing, using NLP.