Thoughts on the importance of Neuro-Decolonization
Catalyzing Change through Indigenous practices of Empathy
In times like these, I feel acutely aware of the little pleasures in life and how we can so easily take them for granted. The everyday ceremonies of life as done by countless ancestors, even in the face of unspeakable atrocities; their hands still cooked from what could be rustled up, swaddled babies, heaved prayers at horizons, nonetheless.
Lately, I realized I was feeling guilty about the little pleasures of every day, when we see so much suffering. The pleasure of a warm shower, a satisfying meal, roof over our head, and a mattress to sleep on. In each moment, saying a little prayer, eating for those who can't, infusing my day to day with little moments of mindfulness to unite my own mind with those enduring today’s unspeakable atrocities.
Oftentimes after checking in on my newsfeed, I need to do a little grief ritual to clear the little traumas from my senses that accumulate from bearing witness to the myriad of horrors happening not only across the seas, but in our communities on the daily.
Sitting with the uncomfortableness in my body of the injustices of the world. We have to be willing to do that if we are to effect any change to the system.
When we support Sundance, we eat, drink, cry, and pray for those making sacrifices, for those dancing and praying. We drop into a collective mind where we hold the pain and suffering of the dancers as a collective.
Even though it's hard to see it fully, I do see the world uniting more than ever to lean into the uncomfortableness of the cost of privilege and comfort when it comes at the expense of others lives ( human and more-than-human). While this is painful and frustrating and grief-soaked, it's part of the transition between worlds. We are making change, for decolonization is an uncomfortable ongoing process. That's why we have to lean into time-honored practices of mindfulness and ways to metabolize the everyday traumas so they don't continue to accumulate in our bodies and minds. We know the cost of trauma unreckoned with, we are seeing countless injustices born from that fire.
In Michael Yellow Bird's groundbreaking work on neuro-decolonization, he speaks about the role of ceremony and helping us to access the part of ourselves that carries such immense empathy and interconnectedness, that it begins to melt our perception of where our individual self ends and other being begins. In everyday life, our bodies find it helpful for us to be able to discern between ourselves and a tree or another person or a rock. But when we transcend into “ceremonial mind” there's a part of our brain which creates those barriers begins to soften and we can begin to see ourselves in all of creation more easily. To understand our interdependence, to activate our senses towards the compassion to the plight of others. To practice embodied empathy. In many ways empathy is a muscle that needs to be strengthened by daily individual and collective acts, especially in this modern world that is forever trying to deactivate that empathy.
Western society breeds apathy and indifference through colonial constructs of individualism. It breeds a certain type of emotional death. As we commit to rehydrating our Indigenous worldview in acts of daily resistance to a colonial/capitalist world, shedding layers of toxic acculturation into the imperial logic and lens, we begin to slowly heal ourselves in the web of the living Earth, which is as adrienne maree brown describes as practicing being a fractal of humanity: "I am a cell-sized unit of the human organism, and I have to use my life to leverage a shift in the system by how I am, as much as with the things I do."
Remember I talked the other day about Glenn Albrecht speaking to the perils of the emotional death of modernity. He said:
"I see the extremes here as three or maybe four different kinds of nature needed to explain where humans are with respect to their experience of nature and life. There is “first nature,” where there is a complete merging of the self and the body with the greater forces of the Earth. There is “second nature,” where humans are still partially connected to first nature but forge their own technologically mediated Earth. And then there is “third nature” where, whatever nature is, it is no longer normally part of a totally technologically mediated human experience. There is a story of engagement, alienation, and then separation of humans from nature taking place here. There is, of course, a “fourth nature,” where reintegration with first nature takes place. As part of the ongoing separation process, humans experience a number of existential extinction events. We lose culture, language, and our emotional choreography in relation to disappearing first nature. In addition, we experience biological extinction. However, as we lose our emotions and the language that describes them, we lose contact as a species with our evolutionary past. We disconnect from the tree of life and, in doing so, start a process of self-annihilation and incipient insanity."
Michael Yellow Bird provides a powerful framework and daily practice towards Neurodecolonization which helps us access some of our more Indigenous nature of our way of relating to the world around us:
"The first part of the term in "neuro" – refers to neurons which are specialized cells in the nervous system – brain and spinal cord – that send and receive electric signals throughout the body. "Decolonization" refers to activities that weaken the effects of colonialism, facilitate resistance, and create opportunities to promote traditional practices in present-day settings.
Neurodecolonization involves combining mindfulness approaches with traditional and contemporary secular and sacred contemplative practices to replace negative patterns of thought, emotion and behavior with healthy, productive ones.
Drawing on recent scientific research, neurodecolonization builds on the idea that healthy, constructive thoughts, emotions and behaviours can change our brains (and our lives) for the better. Many Indigenous contemplative practices incorporate the same principles and processes as mindfulness approaches, and are important components of physical, emotional, behavioural, and spiritual well-being.
Neurodecolonization seeks an understanding of how mind and brain function are shaped by the stresses of colonialism and compromise the well-being of Indigenous Peoples. Some stressors include, but are certainly not limited to racism, hate crimes; loss of territories, culture and pride; high levels of mortality, poverty, and poor health; and disregard of Indigenous Peoples’ sovereignty and rights.
Along with building new empowered neural networks, neurodecolonization activities are aimed deactivating old, ineffective brains networks that support destructive thoughts, emotions, memories and behaviours, particularly, past and contemporary oppressions associated with colonialism. For example, past colonialism that might have created negativity, sadness and anger – and activated our brain’s networks of feelings of helplessness – might be our memories of our parents or grandparents’ horrific treatment in residential schools or dealing with contemporary, hate, and discrimination."
More than ever, in addition to the protests and the direct action we are taking in a million forms against the harms of colonization, we cannot forget the ceremonies and mindfulness practices that help us heal this mess from the inside out. We need regulated nervous systems which don't attempt to transcend the discomfort of the injustices of the world, but help us become touch in with our collective empathy to catalyze us towards authentic social evolution.
To access our deeper, wiser ancestor minds to help us engage our radical imagination and empathy bodies to grow our way out of this world where the zero-sum scarcity mindset breeds endless violences around us each and every day.
A new world is possible, it begins by tending to the seeds of it in the Earth of our bodies.
Here are a few resources so that you can learn more from Michael Yellowbird:
Neurodecolonization And Mindfulness With Dr. Michael Yellow Bird
The highwire balance of embodied empathy without spinning out bc no individual is built to hold all this grief feels so precarious. These resources and reminder to lean against ceremony are a huge gift. Thank you 💚