This movie gives us a view of some possible bridges between mind (i.e. conceptualization) and body, mind and universe. It shows how some of the fascinating theories of quantum physics come from a window (there's that word!) on the same phenomena as ancient eastern concepts of maya: the world of illusion. It includes interviews with various experts, including physicists, a little drama that illustrates some of the concepts, and hilarious cartoons about the brain and neurotransmitters.

      So, here's the gist. I thought the movie could have given more particulars about the connection between emotion and physiology, so here's my fill-in. One of the experts says that our brains don't actually know the difference between what we see and what we remember. Yup. If I see a rope in the road that reminds me of a snake, no matter what my eye records, my brain may "see" a snake. Here's the crucial link. If I think I see a snake, my brain (hypothalamus) sends out neurotransmitters that lock into receptor sites on my cells that sound the general "get the hell out of here" alarm. Neurotransmitters tell certain tissues and organs to gear up and certain others to cool out, depending on the reaction the brain thinks is required. So, to simplify a bit, if the rope is a snake to my brain, I'm in "fight or flight" mode. If it's a rope, I'm in "rest and digest."

     Looking at the emotions from the Chinese medicine window,  extreme emotions (fear, anger, shock, worry, grief) are actually the movement of Qi to specific tissues involved in the physiological response necessary to survive a certain condition or which we learned through the experience of surviving. We give names to what we feel as the Qi deviates to these tissues: anger (power to the muscles to move through obstacles); shock (circulation and sensation shut down); rumination (energy to the brain to recollect pertinent info); grief (we dissipate the energy of attachments with sobbing); and fear (all the mechanisms to mobilize reserve energy "stored" in the kidneys). A very few conditions trigger instant reflexes that don't go through the brain (loud noises, things whizzing past our heads), but for the most part, the the triggers for these physiological responses are our thoughts!

     We all have our favorite responses, depending on the adaptive mechanisms (defenses) we rely on. Some people tend to react habitually to stress with tears, others with anger or fear.  Five Element Acupuncturists would say that we also have a tendency to go down a certain road based on our Charactological Factor, something we're born with. Do we have a tendency so see everything in terms of obstacles in our way (Wood) or whether we're being nourished (Earth) or what's happening in the relationship department (Fire)? We tend to make sense of our experiences to ourselves based on what's happened before and what our predilection is. In other words, our brain basically sees what it remembers rather than what is there. In terms of quantum theory, you might say that it picks out the parts of what's there that it recognizes and makes them into "reality." The eerie part of this is that it seems that subatomic particles cooperate with this in the outer world by configuring themselves into what we focus on. But that's a bigger subject!

       The next little piece of information from the movie that ties a lot of things together for me is that we develop addictions to emotions that are just as physical as addictions to substances. And here's how it works. The brain tells the tissues of the body what to do in response to its thought by triggering the secretion of neurotransmitters that fit into receptor sites on the cells. The more often the brain releases a neurtransmitter into the blood stream, the more the cells crave them because as the cells divide, the daughter cells develop more sites to receive them. Apparently, this is the same process that leads to, oh, let's say, heroin addiction.

     Important information for those of us "working on our emotions." This info would indicate that it takes more than just insight into a habitual emotional response to change it, once those cells are physically changed. Like other kinds of addicts, we have to find a way to generate new responses.We have to develop the capacity to observe the arising of  the physiological reactions of a certain emotion, and trace that back to the thought - the connections the brain made with certain sights, sounds, sensations, even memories. Then we have to cultivate another thought pattern. It takes time to strengthen alternate responses and during that process, we also have to  recognize that the Qi will have moved into the tissues before we can change the thought. Inhibition of the reaction only diverts more of our "Normal Qi." How do we allow that movement in a way that doesn't generate more "situations" to sort through. Example: My boss says something to me and I am immediately angry. I can feel the Liver Qi rising and want to yell at him or punch him in the nose. Either of those responses will probably lead to a further reaction from him, then me, then him, etc. There won't be much opportunity for tracing the emotion back to the thought.  But even if I don't act, the "shout" and "bite" tissues are already on the front lines. With self-cultivation, I learn to respond rather than react, but once the physical reaction has started, I need find a way to allow it to continue moving and eventually find its way back to the normal pathways. Some people find a way to move the Qi through activity that carries out the impulse in a harmless way. A little karate? Squash? Jogging? Beating the mattress with a baseball bat? If one chooses to hold the reaction back and persists in that,  acupressure can release the Qi hat has gotten locked in the tension between "punch" and "hold back."

     I am told that it is possible, through working with the breath and Qigong, to actually master and redirect the Qi without tying it up in blockage or dissipating it through reaction. I think the crucial component here is using the capacity to think about  thinking (Yi) and to trace my reactions back to my thoughts. The Course in Miracles talks about that too. Its definition of forgiveness is something like: "It's realizing that what I thought happened never really happened."

More later.