Our thought process is made up of two Feedback Loops. In this section, we will look at the First Feedback Loop and HOW to help people repair it.
Recall, the First Feedback Loop results in a full thought that has three parts:
1. Stimulus
2. Emotion/Attitude
3. Connecting Fact
The cortex is made up of "dendrites", which is the Greek word for "trees"...and the dendrites look like trees! This leads to an analogy I like to use to represent the First Feedback Loop...
The First Feedback Loop is like a squirrel that goes to the trunk of one tree, runs up the trunk and out to then end of a branch...in order to jump to the branch of another tree. The loop is complete when the squirrel runs to the trunk of this second tree and then runs to the ground.
Notice, the squirrel made progress...it began near the trunk of one tree and end up near the trunk of another tree. The tree is the stimulus. The second tree is the connecting fact. The emotion is how the squirrel feels about being on the second tree.
The speed at which this feedback loop is able to be completed is a measure of intelligence. I will refer to this analogy to explain the problems that occur during the First Feedback Loop.
1. Ramping up - The person goes through the First Feedback Loop and uses the resulting full thought as a stimulus in order to begin the First Feedback Loop again...and again...and again.
Notice, we can do this in order to build a more complex thought. However, what I'm talking about here is people who go through the loop many more times than necessary ramping themselves up in fear until they have an episode (e.g., anxiety attack). They can do so many loops (and get energy from each loop) that they end up, after numerous comparative loops, at a full thought that is extreme and alarming...and is not connected in reality with the original stimulus.
It is as if the squirrel does loops until it is so exhausted it begins to hallucinate. The individual overheard a comment from a friend and the next thing you know they are talking about how everyone hates them. How did they get from a comment from a friend to everyone hates them?
Solution: Today, many people treat this issue with medication. The medication essentially slows down the ability to complete this First Feedback Loop. The thought being that it may take ten times longer to ramp up to a place that isn't in touch with reality. Notice, people with very fast brains are MOST susceptible to this problem...NOT people with slow brains.
I have found the best way to help people with this problem is to have them break the loops by either writing or talking about what they are thinking. Basically, the person is "living inside their head" and needs to get out so they can get a "reality check". Once they write out their thought or tell it to another person, the individual recognizes what they are thinking is ridiculous. The key is to get this out immediately after they begin to feel anxious. The problem is, they actually get a burst of energy going through the loops. The individual needs to overcome the desire to ramp up and intentionally take a moment to express their thought. Even if the person IMAGINES someone is present and explains out loud what they are thinking, it can help break this destructive thought process.
Notice, writing or talking also gets the Unaware Brain involved! The Unaware Brain can shut down the loop because it has nothing to do with the direction the Unaware Brain is attempting to lead the individual. However, the Unaware Brain does NOT know what the conscious brain is thinking if it doesn't get the thought out through one of the five senses.
Another way to fix this problem is to have the person INTENTIONALLY choose the most positive branches. Basically, the squirrel is selecting the biggest branches AND in this person's brain, the biggest branches on this tree are the most negative. Remember, the First Feedback Loop works ACCORDING TO comparative thinking and comfort. The First Feedback Loop works AGAINST contrastive thinking and growth. However, you can CHOOSE to operate ACCORDING TO contrastive thinking and growth.
An example is when someone you know ALWAYS mentions that they went up the Statue of Liberty when you mention "New York". The biggest and most comfortable branch on the tree that represents "New York" in that person's brain is associated with the Statue of Liberty. The person mentions this naturally...without intentionally thinking. However, you can tell the person to mention ANYTHING other than the Statue of Liberty the next time you say "New York"...and they can intentionally choose a different branch. In the same way, pessimistic people can intentionally choose the most optimistic branch. It may slow down their thought process, but it is extremely difficult for them to end up being anxious if they continue to make this choice with every loop.
This first problem ("ramping up") is very destructive. However, the only people who have this problem are those with very fast brains. The solution basically focuses on creating a break in the ramping up process. While this works, it still does NOT solve the root cause: the person does NOT have a Profitable thought process. The next three problems apply to everyone who has a Unprofitable thought process regardless of the speed of their brains...
2. Endless Loop - This is when the person is unable to complete the First Feedback Loop because they keep jumping back and forth between the same two trees.
Basically, the squirrel jumps from a branch on the first tree to a branch on the second tree and runs to the trunk...only to run back out to another branch on the second tree and jump back to a branch on the first tree...only to repeat the process. The squirrel is jumping between two trees and never chooses to go down the trunk to the ground. This occurs because the individual has a contradiction. The person has two definitions for the same Word.
An example of this occurs with people who believe in "Predestination". They believe "there is nothing they can do" when someone they don't care about is suffering. They believe "prayer can change things" when someone they care about is suffering. If they examine the concept of "Predestination" for any time at all, they will end up in an endless loop. Some people get out of this loop by concluding that we can't know or aren't supposed to know certain critical things about God...which actually introduces contradictions in other loops and further damages their brain.
Solution: The person needs to settle on ONE definition for the critical Word. One of the purposes for writing "Modeling God" was to provide non-contradictory definitions for the critical Word and concepts behind our beliefs. Remember, we think and communicate in terms of Words. The information stored in our brains is in terms of Words. Your ability to think Profitably depends on your Words. Having non-contradictory definitions for critical Words not only reduces your stress, it actually results in being able to think better because you have a more Profitable thought process! You are able to make progress in your thoughts.
3. Lumping - This occurs when the individual is unaware they are actually expressing TWO or more full thoughts and can't resolve which is correct.
We saw this tends to happen when people "lump" concepts...after the squirrel jumps from one branch to another, he runs to the trunk only to find out he is in the same tree. He has made NO progress.
We have seen numerous examples of this in this work. One HUGE example is when two people are arguing. Most people don't realize there are TWO objectives they can have: understanding or agreement. Understanding is in the control of each individual and the argument will eventually end Profitably. Agreement is NOT in the control of each individual...and most arguments NEVER end in agreement. In fact, having agreement as the objective will almost always ensure the argument is going to get MORE destructive. Having Understanding as the objective almost always concludes an argument in a Profitable manner.
Solution: We saw that we need to bring Resolution to our thought process. For example, realizing there are two possible objectives for a discussion (understanding or agreement) and then focusing on one of them.
Resolution takes what appeared to be one tree and turns it into two or more trees. Now, instead of the squirrel being stuck in the tree, he is able to go from one tree to another AND MAKE PROGRESS. Notice, we didn't ADD any more information. We broke up the LUMP of information into smaller quantities so that we can PROGRESS from one piece of information TO another. In a sense, we have taken one Word and turned into multiple unique and more specific Words.
4. Negative Emotions - Remember, EVERY fact in our cortex has an emotion associated with it. We feel the emotion BEFORE we are able to retrieve the fact. If the fact is associated with a positive emotion, the person is going to take their time and find the best fact. If the fact is associated with a negative emotion, the person may not finish the loop because they won't return with ANY fact. Recently, a friend made me aware of a practical and frequent example of the damage that can be done in this area...
When I ask a question of someone, I am asking them to retrieve a fact from their brain. If that question leads them to a part of the forest in their brain that has negative emotions attached to it, the person is going to give me the first fact they encounter in order to avoid spending time feeling a negative emotion. This fact is NOT the best fact that is available. However, if I treat this fact as their best answer and begin to ask more questions in order to prove them wrong, then I am going to get worse facts AND make them MORE upset. In fact, this person knows that I KNOW they aren't giving me the best facts. So, my holding them to these facts as if they are their best is COMPLETELY Unprofitable. This is actually the perfect strategy if my objective is to be right or "to win". In fact, this is a classic tactic used in "The Art of War" and competitions/games.
What OUGHT my objective to be if I am a Christian?...if the Holy Spirit is guiding me?
Solution: My objective is to UNDERSTAND and LOVE (help) the person experiencing the negative emotion. This means that I OUGHT to immediately give up my quest for facts and focus COMPLETELY on Understanding and helping the person with their negative emotion.
If my objective is to UNDERSTAND and LOVE, then ANY fact I get that is attached to the negative emotion will ACTUALLY hinder my Profitability. I OUGHT to ask the person WHAT they are feeling...and give them all the time they need to express it. Then I can ask them HOW did my question cause them to feel this way...and give them all the time they need to explain. Then, and ONLY then, can I ask WHY they feel they way they do.
WHY questions are the hardest to answer. WHAT questions are the easiest. When a person is in distress, we OUGHT to LOVE them by easing them into UNDERSTANDING...from WHAT to HOW to WHY.
SUMMARY
The four ways to help people with problems that occur during the First Feedback Loop are:
1. Encourage them to: express what they are thinking and intentionally find the most positive facts
2. Define their Words in a non-contradictory fashion
3. Get Resolution on complex concepts
4. Deal with the negative emotions FIRST
Next Section at Book Level: Improving The Second Feedback Loop
Chapter Summary
Part III Table of Contents
Part I Table of Contents
