How to prevent homeostasis?

[Raphael]

Hey,

after watching Leo's last video on social systems and reflecting a little on my life, I started thinking about homeostasis and its importance in everyday life. As I am getting older (I'm still young) like you, I am becoming more aware of its functioning.

I am seeing the impact of this process in some specific areas of my life and in particular for my last three years were many things changed for me. However, I often had big backslashes after big progress in some areas. I am particularly thinking of my results when I was in school, where I struggled to maintain good results. I was very unbalanced and had some moments where I quickly shifted from being one of the best in the class to one of the worst. The same thing happened recently for my relationships.

Currently, the only solution that I am seeing to prevent homeostasis is to make little changes and not try to brute force the system. Like this, it will be able to handle changes, and controlling the backslashes would be easier as they will be smaller.

What do you think about this? What have been your experiences with homeostasis? How do you handle it?

[Truth]

Fundamentally homeostasis occurs due to a lack of groundedness/purpose and a lack of separating the truth from the illusion. 

I understand this is very vague, but to clarify, being grounded means to know your mark/direction/purpose/your values/what you want/when you know you're there/integrity/being it/knowing it/what your about/what your life is about/what you're here to do/ why you're doing it/ what the point is/ what it's meaning is/ certainty/ clarified/ no doubt/ confidence etc.

and separating truth from the illusion means having the True Proper Expectations vs having your fantasy expectations of yourself/how you'll react (slide back/homeostasis) and the reality of what's actually going to happen which can only be found in the present moment.

because the thing is you actually can't predict yourself, because you're you, you know all your moves, when you think you've got one up on yourself and how you'll react; you're actually in fantasy land and not aligned with truth; and that will lead to blunders. 

Your best chance for real change is to:

1. Know what you're after/direct present moment consciousness of what you want.

2. Direct consciousness of homeostasis (the reality/whats happening right now in the present moment/your interpretations etc.)

3. Move towards your target in spite of your current present moment reality.

So if you're in class, 1. know the agenda, 2. get direct consciousness of what has to happen, 3. move towards your target/ what has to happen.

Backsliding = Not knowing the agenda, not caring/thinking about what has to happen right now in the present moment, and not doing anything about it.

Change = Knowing your target, care/think about it/be conscious of what needs to happen, and move your ass. 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by Truth

[aurum]

@Raphael

Yeah people massively underestimate the desire for homeostasis. It's incredibly powerful.

Building momentum slowly is one way to overcome it. E.g, instead of trying to meditate for an hour right away, start at five minutes and add 30 seconds everyday.

The only other thing that I've seen work besides that is emotional leverage. People can make a massive shift all at once if  the emotional punch is strong enough, e.g  they just lost a love one or something. Strong emotions = change.

That's why rock bottom moments usually are so transformative. The pain of staying the same finally outweighs the pain of change and the person feels like they no longer have anything to lose.

[Leo Gura]

2 hours ago, aurum said:

Building momentum slowly is one way to overcome it. E.g, instead of trying to meditate for an hour right away, start at five minutes and add 30 seconds everyday

This is a really great solution to this problem.

Also, psychedelics are very effective at disturpting the status quo, which is why they are banned by governments.

Also, ego backlash is not necessarily wrong or a bad thing. It is a sign of growth. Nature evolves through oscillation, like a wriggling snake. Reframe every ego backlash you have as: "Ah, another lesson to make me wiser."

The key to ego backlashes is to be mindful of them as they happen. Don't necessarily try to force-stop them. Use of force is actaully part of the root problem.

Mistakes and failures, when observed with mindfulness, are not mistakes or failures at all! And even failure at mindfulness isn't necessarily a mistake.

[aurum]

44 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

This is a really great solution to this problem.

Also, psychedelics are very effective at disturpting the status quo, which is why they are banned by governments.

Also, ego backlash is not necessarily wrong or a bad thing. It is a sign of growth. Nature evolves through oscillation, like a wriggling snake. Reframe every ego backlash you have as: "Ah, another lesson to make me wiser."

The key to ego backlashes is to be mindful of them as they happen. Don't necessarily try to force-stop them. Use of force is actaully part of the root problem.

Mistakes and failures, when observed with mindfulness, are not mistakes or failures at all! And even failure at mindfulness isn't necessarily a mistake.

Yeah great points.

We’re all into self-actualization so we tend to view homeostasis as “bad”. But that’s just not true.

If you took a person being run by low consciousnesses and had them experience all their trauma energy at once so they could release it, it would probably either kill them or give them a mental breakdown.

On a physical level, your body would die everytime it got slightly too hot or too cold.

So the only thing that makes sense is actually to be grateful for homeostatsis. Be grateful for your addictions, coping strategies, negative thought patterns and everything else that you can’t seem to get rid of because they’re probably saving your life.

[Leo Gura]

I REALLY appreciate homeostasis after a bad trip. You go so deep down the rabbit hole, to the point of madness, and then homeostasis kicks back in and brings you back down to Earth. That's when you say, "Thank God for homeostasis! Otherwise I would be drooling in a wheelchair in an insane asylum."

Never forget that homeostasis keeps your ass alive on this mortal plane. Which is why it's so damn stubborn. It's really looking out for your safety, like an obsessive, neurotic mother: "Honey, did you remember to take your sweater? You'll catch a cold!"

[Nahm]

10 hours ago, Raphael said:

Hey,

after watching Leo's last video on social systems and reflecting a little on my life, I started thinking about homeostasis and its importance in everyday life. As I am getting older (I'm still young) like you, I am becoming more aware of its functioning.

I am seeing the impact of this process in some specific areas of my life and in particular for my last three years were many things changed for me. However, I often had big backslashes after big progress in some areas. I am particularly thinking of my results when I was in school, where I struggled to maintain good results. I was very unbalanced and had some moments where I quickly shifted from being one of the best in the class to one of the worst. The same thing happened recently for my relationships.

Currently, the only solution that I am seeing to prevent homeostasis is to make little changes and not try to brute force the system. Like this, it will be able to handle changes, and controlling the backslashes would be easier as they will be smaller.

What do you think about this? What have been your experiences with homeostasis? How do you handle it?

You have a brain which choose things, desires certain things & experiences. The uniqueness of your preferences is one of a kind, will never be again, a perfect one of a kind creation - presently 1 in 8 billion. The source of you adores you and loves you unconditionally. It loves you no matter what you do, and no matter what you think. Unconditionally.     That’s what you’re up against when you make changes. You have to contend with the deepest part of you loving you no matter what you choose to do or not to do.  Or don’t contend with it. Use that love to empower every change you want. If you really look, you will find, that when you are experiencing a problem or difficulty, your thinking is negative about it. Pick a better thought, one at a time, until you’re seeing how it fits into the bigger picture. Seeing the value in it, the real value. Seeing your own development in the change. Seeing the surrender & alignment. If you’re going to master one thing, make it your own unconditional love. 

[Nahm]

@Leo Gura Had a trip once where my buddy became a very old guru Kung fu ish guy with the quintessential fu Manchu, robe, super long beard, everything. I remember feeling like I didn’t really ever appreciate him when he was my buddy, and that I had a role in ‘the change’. It went on for a while. Kung Fu guy was awesome, though he never spoke once. Sure enough, homeostasis brought my friend back! Powerful stuff. 

[Joseph Maynor]

I think a system always wants to reach homeostasis.  Instead of fighting homeostasis, experiment with replacing less healthy ways to meet needs with healthier ways.  Homeostasis is a given.  What you want to do is change the elements the system is relying on to achieve homeostasis.  Take a daily alcohol addiction for example.  How can the system of your life achieve homeostasis without daily alcohol consumption?   What is something that can replace the alcohol in the system?  What is the alcohol doing to help achieve homeostasis in the system?  That’s what you wanna locate.  And this will be particular to a specific system.

Edited April 17, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[Raphael]

Thank all of you for your awesome answers!

21 hours ago, Truth said:

I understand this is very vague, but to clarify, being grounded means to know your mark/direction/purpose/your values/what you want/when you know you're there/integrity/being it/knowing it/what your about/what your life is about/what you're here to do/ why you're doing it/ what the point is/ what it's meaning is/ certainty/ clarified/ no doubt/ confidence etc.

 

What if I experience an existential crisis and have a violent shift in my vision of life? When I was 18, I was sure of what I wanted to become in life and was working hard for it. I was also knowing my values and fighting for them until everything collapses the next year. Hopefully, I am currently regaining motivation, vision, and working hard again for my life.

18 hours ago, aurum said:

Yeah people massively underestimate the desire for homeostasis. It's incredibly powerful.

1

What's also really freaky is that it can act after month and years of progress without we notice it.

18 hours ago, aurum said:

The only other thing that I've seen work besides that is emotional leverage. People can make a massive shift all at once if  the emotional punch is strong enough, e.g  they just lost a love one or something. Strong emotions = change.

That's why rock bottom moments usually are so transformative. The pain of staying the same finally outweighs the pain of change and the person feels like they no longer have anything to lose.

2

I didn't think of that, this is very valuable, thank you.

 

Edited April 17, 2018 by Raphael

[Raphael]

15 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

The key to ego backlashes is to be mindful of them as they happen. Don't necessarily try to force-stop them. Use of force is actaully part of the root problem.

1

This is exactly what I did many times in the past!

15 hours ago, aurum said:

So the only thing that makes sense is actually to be grateful for homeostatsis. Be grateful for your addictions, coping strategies, negative thought patterns and everything else that you can’t seem to get rid of because they’re probably saving your life.

1

I don't really understand. I understand that I should accept them, but becoming grateful for them seems more difficult.

9 hours ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Instead of fighting homeostasis, experiment with replacing less healthy ways to meet needs with healthier ways.  Homeostasis is a given.  What you want to do is change the elements the system is relying on to achieve homeostasis.

 

Good advice, thank you.

[Truth]

1 hour ago, Raphael said:

What if I experience an existential crisis and have a violent shift in my vision of life? When I was 18, I was sure of what I wanted to become in life and was working hard for it. I was also knowing my values and fighting for them until everything collapses the next year. Hopefully, I am currently regaining motivation, vision, and working hard again for my life.

Take responsibility for the existential crisis and the violent shift, stop and take a moment to ask yourself "Am I using this as an excuse? has reality really changed? or has my interpretations of reality changed? Why do I feel dejected about this whole thing? How did this violent shift happen in the first place? was it distraction? fear? did someone tell me something I didn't want to hear? How did I shoot myself in the foot? Am I blaming the existential crisis? am I focused on blaming myself or others or something rather than taking responsibility? Have I not been taking responsibility and been playing the victim? if so how can I take responsibility and focus on creating my life?" etc.

Question your emotions, question everything, question the existential crisis itself, learn about it, understand it, find out how and why you stopped yourself from living your dreams.

@aurum made a good point, strong emotions are meaning, so if your vision is crushed and you have a violent shift, get in touch with your emotions, that will tell you exactly what's meaningful to you and what's important to you. 

Edited April 17, 2018 by Truth

[aurum]

4 hours ago, Raphael said:

I don't really understand. I understand that I should accept them, but becoming grateful for them seems more difficult.

13 hours ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Because it’s all serving you or at least served you in the past. It might be difficult to see how, but it always is. 

I’m not saying it’s easy to get to that point. I’m definitely not there myself with some of my own issues. And it’s easy to turn what I’m saying into spiritual bypassing and pretend like everything is fine when it’s not.

But ultimately I’ve found this is where you want to get to. Gratitude for everything because it was all part of your journey.