To be a thought leader, first you need to be an energy leader. If, as Lisa Feldman Barrett theorizes, the brain is not for thinking, but for allostasis, then if we want to influence the other brains, we need energy.
My first stage of energy building and maintenance is nurturing calm. I move the needle from the unpleasant arousal that is the clay from which I make my depression and self-hatred, towards the pleasant stillness that is serenity and calm acceptance. The energy grows and rises and from that I can weave together curiosity, gratitude, enjoyment. And as it peaks, the excitement and ecstasy that crests until it becomes the base for deeper peace and equanimity.
Even the unpleasant affects from which we make depression, grief, common misery, sadness, and anxiety can become the material for that more pleasant flourishing that sparks renewal.
This morning's meditation sparked that kind of pins and needles feeling that I'm guessing might be the awakening of new neurotransmitters. I'm not a neuroscientist, so I don't know for sure. But I feel like I'm going through a period of transformation.
The key is still tapping into and strengthening the flow of serotonin.
