01/05/2023
Mirror Neurons. They are a type of brain cells that respond when we witness someone else perform an action and when we perform the same action.
Over a month ago I conducted a 72-hour experiment by blocking my eyes and ears from receiving stimuli. One interesting outcome from this experiment was my further understanding of mirror neurons and how they affect my movements and the individual stress placed on different organs.
We are constantly bombarded by visual movement. From the excessive short-form videos to the stale-faced crowds walking the streets. We absorb subtle movement cues. What we see, we want to do. Maybe not always directly but subconsciously it's reflected upon.
Salsa dancers performing, capoeiristas backflipping, snowboarders shredding, gibbons flying, Kratos whaling, and people smiling. They all activate our mirror neurons and we can to some degree perform all of these movements. The caveat is we are exposed to too much visual stimulation. We don’t allow ourselves to reflect upon and feel for quicker manifestation.
You are who and what you surround yourself with. You mimic your surroundings physically and psychologically. When I went temporarily blind for a few days I was limited on visual feedback. A lot happened in those days including a complete remapping of how I move through space. What happened after regaining my sight was I felt the heightened degree of information occurring around me. The beautiful thing is we have some degree of control over this.
We can assemble a plan to reflect our goals. I invite you to begin by cleaning your workspace. Your peripherals are processing more than you think. Reduce unnecessary information on your computer and then clean up your Instagram. How are the people moving? Limit exposure to people and animals you don’t want to mimic. Keep off public transport if you can, have coffee where it costs $10, or have it in an environment where it suits your objective.
This is an ongoing process as I apply this knowledge to my own life as I continue to understand our humans capabilities.
Also, play a bit of capoeira to really challenge those mirror neurons as you play and possibly deceive another human. (;
