If you are like me, then sometimes you find yourself having a contradictory experience within yourself. One voice says this, the other says that. Why do I keep doing things I know are not good for me? Why don't I do things I know are good for me? It could create the illusion that there is something wrong. Why can't "I" be consistent?
The problem is that two separate neurological systems are at play. System 1, as described in the previous post, and System 2.
S2 refers to all those neurological systems that have to do with higher executive functions, such as creativity, critical thinking, the ability to "think about" a situation from a more detached perspective.
For example, people who struggle with addictions and start recovery find themselves with a split self. One part of them says they know they shouldn't be say, drinking, but then S1 kicks in, a highly emotionally reactive voice, that says "Fuck it. I'm going to do what I want to do and no one is going to tell me any different." And then the self destructive cycle starts all over again until S2 regains the upper hand and remorse or guilt or a sense of failure surfaces.
There are experiments that demonstrate that when our brains pick up signals from within or without, these signals get sent to S1 and S2 but S2 responds slightly slower than S1. And sometimes, by then, it is too late because we have acted on our impulses, for better or worse.
How, then, do we begin to act more from our "higher self" rather than our emotional self. This is where mindfulness becomes interesting. With increasing practice of mindfulness, of watching the processes of the mind from a detached perspective, the brain begins to "rewire" itself to become less reactive and more observant. It takes dedicated practice and consistency. Inconsistent practice gives an inconsistent result.
Because we are also impatient and want things right away, and when we don't get the result right away and keep finding ourselves in recurring emotionally toxic situations, there is a tendency to give up and rationalize that it is just too hard, that emotional reactivity, despite our best intentions, is just too overpowering.
Certainly the more toxic emotional reactivity is, often as a result of past trauma, the more difficult it is to consistently engage mindfulness. But, as with anything else we put our mind to, the more dedicated we are to changing our experience, the better are the chances of creating a different future.
