Escaping The Gilded Cage
Perhaps our greatest gift is also our greatest challenge - the mind’s ability to search the past for patterns to make sense of the present. But when the past clouds our view - this gift becomes a gilded cage. This is why the "beginner’s mind" is so vital - it involves questioning not just our situation but also the very systems we use to perceive it.
It seems that humans tend to rely on outdated mental models. Our brains often cling to historic narratives and ruminations, which influence how we interpret the present. This system, shaped by past traumas, becomes resistant to recognising errors and updating itself.
A recent study revealed that traumatic memories are tied to the posterior cingulate cortex, a brain region responsible for self-referential and internally directed thought - such as introspection exploration or imagining the future - and episodic memory. Unlike ordinary memories encoded in the hippocampus as events of the past, the study suggested that traumatic memories persist in a state the brain perceives as ongoing. This causes them to intrude into the present - and, like watercolour paints, they bleed into one’s current experiences.
Interestingly, certain drugs can temporarily enhance sensitivity to detecting such errors, effectively recalibrating the brain’s pattern-spotting mechanism. These drugs increase short-term neural plasticity, fostering new synaptic connections. This effect may help realign individuals who feel disconnected or trapped by intrusive memories - recalibrating their perception to reflect a more accurate version of reality. It is an internal balancing and realigning - akin to practices such as Qi in traditional Eastern medicine and Reiki in esoteric healing.