Ideology, Politics and Theatre- How A Meandering Mind Makes Connections.

I love it when I discover that a word I thought meant one thing actually means something entirely different. When I began to research ideology this week I discovered that the root word, ideal, comes from the Latin idealis which means existing in idea. (1) Until this week I understood the word ideology to mean having standards of excellence. According to my new understanding ideologies are actually sets of ideas that define commonality between a group of people. It’s funny the domino effect of the thought process.

I was in the car listening to a podcast and the topic of being an atheist was introduced. The host wondered if being an atheist was actually an ideology at all since it was not a shared value but a shared choice to not believe in certain things (like God). Is a shared set of things you don’t like or believe the same as a shared set of values and beliefs?

This led me to wonder, as many political experts have debated, how differently the recent American election might have turned out was shared ideology the root of why people voted rather than a shared aversion. Did voting against Hilary really work out as Republicans hoped?

 

Much of America’s political history comes together out of discomfort is often catalyzed by change or the resistance to this change.

Again my mind leaps to a debate I used to have in my days of theater; what is a genre and what is style? According to most experts in performance genre is categorizations like musical theatre, opera, or Shakespeare. Style is the manner in which the material is expressed or performed and is separate from the actual content.

So would we say then that being a Republican is a genre and Trump’s particular brand of republicanism is just a style? One can only hope!

References

1. Dictionary.com 2017, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/ideal

You Often Find Exactly What You Look For (and other research myths)

Using open access journals is a skill that I have learned through trial and error. In my writing for The Chopra Centre I am often called upon to provide citations. This post will contrast two journals, The Lancet and Frontiers in Psychology.

The Lancet began documenting medical studies in 1823. In its current format, the journal has a paper version (available by subscription) as well as an online version. Full articles are not always available online and access to some requires payment of a subsrciption fee. The format also has useful links for those in the medical field like export citation or citation alert. The target audience are medical doctor’s which sometimes leaves the language choice above my scope of knowledge.

The Frontiers in Psychology journal is has a wider audience so although there is a high level of knowledge required to follow the content, it is more accessible for those outside the field. 

Overall I prefer the aesthetic and workflow of the Frontiers in Psychology journal.

Here is a chart comparing a few of my priorities.

I recently completed a series of courses in the field of positive psychology. One was taught by  Dr. Claire Robertson-Kraft of UPenn. She reminds me a bit of Mayim Bilaik’s character on Big Bang Theory.  Not because of her aesthetic or lack of social skills but  because the simple language of statistics was like piano scales to her and a symphony to many of her students Knowing the typical audience of the journal you choose would seem to be a good guideline on how to choose between the endless options. The tips I picked up from her on how to read a study are:

1. Read the abstract
2. Read the conclusion
3. If these indicate an alignment with what you are researching, scan the body or the article.
4. Re-read the article in its entirety.

 

 

Whether researching for an article or an assignment I like to do it with an open-mind and curiosity. If the journal I choose is both easy to scan and in written with a goal of sharing informative research in a way that keeps my interest, I consider it a well-written article.

“But an attentive researcher–like you–might be able to see something that all the experts can’t see. If she asks the right questions.”
― Katherine Howe

 

Merely Players

I admit I cringed more than a little when I saw the direction to use an “appropriate level of emotional risk”. In my field, surrounded by online blogging, life coaches, and lifestyle entrepreneurs, emotional risk seems to indicate a willingness to share beyond the social norms in order to create a false sense of intimacy.  We all tend to mirror the intimacy shared by others according to Martha Beck. This type of emotional risk is one of my personal pet peeves.

“If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.” ~ Brené Brown

Given that I have an unusually high level of emotional comfort, sharing doesn’t feel intimate it feels authentic. I met my husband at a course called radical authenticity and I have spent much of the last 20 years learning how to trust who I am, to like who I am, and to share myself in a thoughtful way.  I  use my intention as a compass for when to share. In the words of Simon Sinek “start with why”.

I haven’t always been this way. I grew up in a home where showing emotions was seen as weak. I didn’t cry. I didn’t get mad. I was a good girl. Right up until the point in my first marriage where I realized that just because I wasn’t angry or sad didn’t mean I was happy.

I can say that feeling emotions was learned for me. I had to practice making eye contact. I learned to recognize the full range of emotions through practice. Then I leaned in. In the words of Dr. Paul Elkman “Anyone can learn to spot emotions with proper training.”

Understanding that I grew up in an emotionally stunted environment, I am constantly striving to ensure I am emotionally stable. On my empathy test I scored 90 out of 110 which is a very high score. Yet compared to many I would be described as unemotional.

As a meditator I practice switching between two states of consciousness, awake and transcendental. Basically this means I move with ease between being the actor playing a role and being a member of the audience.

I guess at the end of this week’s reading, the question I am left with is this: does empathy require you to be the actor or a member of the audience?

I’m not a bitch…it’s Alexithymia

Imagine being surrounded by people speaking a language you have never heard before. Now take it one step further and picture this happening in the dark, on a roller coaster. This might offer a little insight as to what it could be like to lack the ability to pick up on emotional cues through facial patterns.

My eldest daughter is severely autistic so I am extremely familiar with the inability to read faces. For people on the autism spectrum or those with schizophrenia, this ability that many of us take for granted is a large piece of their day to day challenge.

For years people have been judged by their cognitive ability or IQ but in recent years science is catching up to what moms like me have known all along, having a low IQ and a low EQ or emotional intelligence don’t always go hand in hand.

Emotional intelligence is defined as one’s ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. This includes emotional awareness as well as emotional regulation. (Goleman)

People who suffer from a lack of emotional intelligence can perceived as cold or distant. This can lead to loneliness or depression as an added challenge. To learn how strong your ability to recognize emotions is check out this online emotional intelligence test.

There is a difference between recognizing emotion and having an empathetic reaction to emotion. Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s emotions and it is coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. (Davis)

Personally,  I’ve had to work hard to discern differences in facial expressions- this leads me to believe that further research on the connection between genetics and autism is probably going to show distinct differences in the way parents of the emotionally blind process faces visually. I’m very aware that my own facial recognition skills are poor so although I feel very skilled in cognitive empathy I do note that the affective recognition  that is required in emotional recognition is a key to empathy. The Greater Good Science Center has a test for empathy too.

Emotional response seems a combination of learned and innate. In Malcolm Gladwell’s essay The Naked Face he explores whether extreme ability to read faces can be learned or is a gift.  I would note that intuition or gut reaction is simply our brain processing information at lightening speed. Listening to the intuition is the real skill. I would love to see more studies about flexing that muscle- can we practice trusting our intuition when it matters? I know my intuition never leads me astray and I also know that sometimes I allow logic or peer pressure to overrule my gut. It takes practice- it does not just happen.

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Ever wonder why you feel an immediate lift when someone who passes by on the street smiles? These are your mirror neurons at work. When someone smiles at you these neurons react by creating the same chemical release as if you yourself had smiled. (Neuroimage 2005)

I have wondered if we are feeding a downward spiral of negative emotion by getting caught in someone’s sadness or anger. My friends and colleagues know I describe myself as having teflon- I am aware of others’ emotions and yet I don’t feel a need to join  them in order to be a good friend. I can listen or help without changing my emotional equilibrium. Spongy people (I am borrowing this term from a colleague or mine Martha Beck) take on the emotional climate of those around them.

I’d love to hear what you think- is it better to be teflon or spongy? And in case you are curious, alexithymia is a condition in which one is unable to recognize emotions (both their own and the emotions of others).

Goleman, D. (2006). Emotional intelligence.

Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of personality and social psychology, 44(1), 113-126.

Gladwell, M. (2002). The naked face. The New Yorker, 5, 38-49.

Neuroimage. 2005 Jun;26(2):581-91. Epub 2005 Mar 21

 

 

Warning: User Experiencing Extreme Metanoia Read At Your Own Risk

My name is Tamara Rogerson Lechner and I am a Canadian woman married to an American living in Victoria, BC where mountain meets ocean and intentional people come in search of nature, meaning and adventure. We are third generation Canadian who arrived unceremoniously after being kicked out of Ireland for smuggling rum (but that’s another story).

I am passionate about learning and current topics of interest are positive psychology, personality assessments, meditation for anxiety, and the science of consciousness.

In my past I have spent time in film & television, been the artistic director of a dance company, dabbled in personal growth, fundraising, autism research and I also co-own a small publishing company with my husband.

One of the things I like to remind myself as a student is that I am not only learning but also unlearning.

  According to Arthur Schopenhauer:
“The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice.”

The activities for unit one were incredibly useful for me. I have a blog however it is not hosted on wordpress. I have active feeds on Twitter and Facebook. I recognize that I am quite married to the tools I already use and rarely take the opportunity to explore options.  Chrome is my usual browser sometimes adding Firefox when looking for scientific studies. I explored Bing briefly as part of this experiment. I host my blog through Weebly, which I recommend as incredibly user friendly for those new to blogging.

In my experience sometimes unlearning or changing habits can actually be more challenging than learning. I have been writing for Deepak Chopra for about three years and although I have regular need to use citations I was not familiar with Google Scholar and found this a very exciting resource.

My daughter, who is a student at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles,  shared two other great resources with me; libguides.lmu.edu and easybib. Two publishing tools that I have found very useful are:

• pubmed (medical studies)
• Headline Analyzer (helps assess headline efficacy)

I also love

• canva (design)
• pixaby (free images)
• send to note

I look forward to unlearning and in case you wondered, metanoia is the journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self, or way of life. Thanks for sharing my journey.

 

 

 

 

 

Hello world!