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Early in Dan Siegel’s career as a neuroscientist, he sought to find links between the limitless complexity of the physical human brain, and the subjective life of the mind, heart, soul and spirit.  He experienced an epiphany when he came across “attachment” research—a large amount of empirical data showing that a young child’s sense of security, safety, and well-being depends largely on the quality of her relationship with her primary caregivers.   

Especially important to Siegel was a study that showed the ability of adults to articulate their childhood experiences in a coherent, emotionally rich manner is a reliable predictor what sort of parents they will become. Those who were able to make sense of their lives, no matter how good or bad those lives had been, were most able to connect with their own children.

The attachment research clearly shows that fate (having less-than-perfect parents) does not equal destiny. ‘If you can make sense of your story, you can change it,’ says Siegel.

This resonated with me. The grand narrative of Christianity functions as a means of ‘making sense of our own stories’. It provides those who believe it with foundation and direction and a vision of life that takes us well beyond our own smallness and limitations. It’s a story of origins, a story about what it is to be human, a story that explains how the world is like it is, and where it's all headed. Vitally, it is a story that finds a place for every individual regardless of where they have come from or how their life has played out.

‘I can only answer the question “What am I to do?”’, says philosopher Alasdair Macintyre, if I can answer the prior question, “Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?”' All of us live by one story or another that provides the architecture of our lives and within which ‘we live and move and have our being.’ Things like the happiness conference help us to consider just how coherent and compelling those stories are.


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Simon Smart | Thursday, May 28, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

As you might imagine at a conference like Happiness and its causes, there was a great amount of optimism about what people can do in their efforts to achieve the good life. Most notable in this regard were the recent findings on the ‘plasticity of the brain’. The latest research challenges the traditional understanding of the brain being fixed and unchanging like a machine. The brain is, we now know, much more malleable than was previously thought. It is actually able to change structure and function in response to what it senses and even what it thinks and imagines. This is a seismic shift in the way we understand the brain.



According to Dr Daniel Siegel, a psychiatrist and author of The Mindful Brain, we are not trapped in an unalterable genetic plan that determines the shape of our adult minds; rather, the self-renewing brain has capacities to rewire itself in response to changing circumstances. 

It turns out that the brain is shaped and formed according to patterns that are largely established by behaviour. This means bad habits can be reinforced, but so can good ones—which, given the right circumstances, can lead to real and lasting change in positive directions. This is very promising news for those who hope for something better in their lives. Things like depression and anxiety really can be alleviated, as can destructive thought patterns and behaviour and even brains that have suffered trauma or damage.

A common theme among those who write about ‘happiness’ is the importance of a spiritual life in bringing about resilience and true change.  As I sat listening to Siegel’s uplifting and, in a way, moving lecture, I couldn’t help but be reminded of what the apostle Paul wrote about— the transformation that comes by the “renewing of your mind”. Paul pointed towards a hope of lasting transformation; where our backgrounds no longer define us and where we do not have to remain a prisoner to our past. Of course, he was not referring to plasticity of the brain, but to transformation by the Spirit of God—a fundamental rewiring that can orient us towards wholeness and lasting fulfilment.


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Simon Smart | Monday, May 25, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

Last week I spent a couple of days at the 4th Annual Happiness and its Causes conference at Sydney’s convention centre at Darling Harbour. On arrival I collected my calico bag jammed with conference notes and brochures with titles like, ‘Facing life’s crossroads,’ ‘the brain and neurotraining’, ‘meridian health secrets’, or ‘Open Heart Open Mind,’ and entered the enormous auditorium, full of over 2000 seekers of happiness. REM’s Shiny Happy People pulsed through the speaker system. I assumed this to be at least a little tongue in cheek—the delegates looked mostly happy but somewhat less than shiny. Most were carrying the telltale signs of middle age and no doubt the accompanying emotional scars. Nonetheless they were a polite and cheerful mob glad to be among their tribe for an annual rev-up to a happier life. 
 




I’d admit to being a little bit cynical about the whole exercise before I went. The conference title sounded a bit flippant and superficial to me. But it is a serious gathering that mixes psychological research with Buddhist teaching; the latest neuroscience with educational theory and a litany of experts in the art of living a more fulfilled and engaged life. And I am all for that.

The whole thing was seamlessly organised. Speakers were entertaining and engaging. During the breaks we were served impressive afternoon teas while Buddhist monks chanted in the background, and delegates browsed the bookstore’s offerings of how to improve your life through positive thinking or developing good habits of mind, body and spirit.

The experience made me reflect on what happiness actually is. Could I describe myself as ‘happy’? What does a happy life look like? What about the very real suffering and disappointments that we all experience? Mostly the answers that were given were not simplistic, and took into account the way ‘happiness’ tends to be a by-product of something else—like pursuing a meaningful life where community and relationships are given high priority, or where the service of others replaces self-service and materialism. There were many moments where I felt a connection between what was explored and what Christian faith tells me about the world. I’ll discuss some of these over the next few days.

Simon Smart



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Simon Smart | Wednesday, May 20, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink