Self-Care Tip #220 – Take your freedom and be good to yourself.
Free-will keeps cropping creeping climbing clambering up with us. Go figure. As usual, Carl pushed buttons and inspired me to remember the lovely word “self-government.” I was so delighted that not only does the term self-government say it so well, but I felt like I was the first to come up with it. Then I googled around and found Webster, many countries (possibly yours,) and even our own constitution of the United States (“We the people…”) might have wrinkled time and stolen it from me before I even thought of it (See Einstein and the Fabric of Time.) Can you believe that!
While calming my unappreciated self, I ran across like-minded David Rigoni’s splendid work at the University of Marseille. (After reading this, I’m sure he will delight in hearing us named, “like-minded.”) Dr. Rigoni says,
Folk psychology tells us if you feel in control, you perform better. What is crucial is that these effects are present at a very basic motor level, a deep level of brain activity.
He and his team studied thirty people over different tasks, using different mediums of examination and deduced that it is better to believe.
If we are not free it makes no sense to put effort into actions and to be motivated.
Dr. Rigoni’s work reminded me of the work of MIT neuroscientist Sebastian Seung. Some time ago, Dr. Seung gave a wonderful TED conference,
Dr. Seung tells us the good news that we are more than our genes. The connections among neurons are where memories and experiences get stored – not in the genome.
My pleasure grew when I read about the collaborative work from a few schools we’ve heard of – see NYU news. ….Apparently goals and habits show overlapping neurological mechanisms.
This is all very exciting to our self-government. I’m sure that we the people would hate to find out that all this time we’ve demanded our freedom – it wasn’t even possible. But it is – even per the hot-shots of the world. The sophisticated and unsophisticated, in paradigms of thought, Time and Timelessness, learning, beliefs and feelings, in my country and in yours – we continue comfortably and with confidence to say, SELF-CARE BEGINS AND ENDS WITH ME. (See Ghettysburg Address.)
Questions: When have you found yourself unable to claim your freedom to be friendly with yourself? How have you managed to cross the barriers you perceived around yourself or others? What would you like to tell Carl or Carl? Please tell us your story.
Related Articles
- Researchers find similarities in brain activity for both habits and goals (eurekalert.org)
- The Connectome: TED Talk Summary of Sebastian Seung (brainposts.blogspot.com)
- What’s a Connectome? (theconnectome.wordpress.com)
- Does belief in free will lead to action? (eurekalert.org)
- Are We More Than Our Connectomes? (fragmentsfromfloyd.com)
- Does belief in free will lead to action? (sciencedaily.com)
- Stimulus, Feeling, Action – Folk Psychology in Fiction Writing (dougbeyer.wordpress.com)
Friend to Yourself 
This is relevant to my thought process this morning; with a tight deadline looming, I must harness my work ethic, but still allow ‘playtime’. Is that self-government? Have a super week, Doc. Wish we could meet for a coffee and a natter 🙂
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i guess. i think the point is that u make your rules and your space between rules if you want to. nice take.
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i’m dying to talk like u. natter. u r just plain cool. i’m sure i’d b cooler if i went to coffee w u too.
have u ever read that teen-series, Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by author Louise Rennison. i’m sure u could pull something like that off and the whole world would read it. hugs
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No, I’ve never heard of the book, thanks – I will look out for it.
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super funny material. b prepared to snort
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Yes, I snatch my freedom today . Waking up. Taking charge. REFUSING TO BE HELD HOSTAGE BY A PROBLEM and changing what I can . Moving just 8 miles will be for me on a whole new planet without destructive, burdensome appendages.
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congrats on the “forward move.” so happy for u carl. i am impressed on your de-stressing self-care actions. let us know what u think on the other side.
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If one cannot take care of oneself there are no chance of him taking care of others. So I agree with your self help tip!
What’s your true nature?
http://www.3smartcubes.com/pages/tests/lovingnature/lovingnature_instructions.asp
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good point kate. thanks also for the link. that was a cute test. keep on!
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Good morning Sana. So sorry about that darn wrinkle in time but it just adds one more voice to the cause. There was an interesting scene in a movie where a character examines the cell where Mandala lived for so many years. And the question was..how did he come out of that prison an unbroken man. Of course the answer is that regardless of surroundings he maintained his freedom.And it would seem his belief (which is essential to freedom) never wavered. I struggle currently to regain my freedom as I have been temporarily derailed ..by perception and fear again. Knowing the answer is enlightenment, being able to believe, sincerely, within alas is something to work on constantly. We all do not have the strength of mind or faith of Mandala but we all do have the capability for it.
Chris
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Chris, you r a person worth knowing. i could spend hours and not notice the time just talking w u – what a flow of thoughts. thank you for sharing this bit of your journey w us – woman of courage. we will wish on a star w you tonight. keep on.
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Thank you Sana. You make me think and I am so loving it! I will join you in that wish!
Chris
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ah. that is my style of “romance”. thanks.
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self government, I like that term!
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you’re welcome. i am just ignoring the plagiarism in the constitution and other official documents… i think it is big of me.
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Even though time got all wrinkled and a VIP got plagerized all over the place, I still loved this piece…and the last couple, also. We’ve been self-governing me by spending the last few days traveling up the coast visiting my husband’s old haunts around Cal Poly (which I’m loving so it IS my self-govening – as well as his!), and this is the first time in a few days that I’ve gotten to respond. And respond, I must to this one because I’m finding, recently, that “barriers…PERCEIVED” has been the operative line here for me. Without a doubt, my family members of origin made taking charge of my freedom and healing extremely difficult, and, to a certain extent, they still TRY. However, the other barriers were things (and people) I, immersed in my own pool (lake??) of stigma, was sure were afraid of me, were avoiding me, were disapproving of me and my self-care efforts. Now I know that I was more of the problem than anyone else. Talk about freedom to self-govern!!!!
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hey stranger! u r really amazing. check u out!
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when i see that i cant do something or there is a barrier in the way i go quicker i think quicker this dosnt allways work sometimes ill cheat here a little hone a friend they can put things sometimes in a better prospective for me so i can understand better whats going on insted of just thinking about me
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i like that coping skill.
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Appreciation to my father who stated to me
on the topic of this webpage, this weblog is actually amazing.
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