Screen cap of the banner at the top of No Greater Joy, in open defiance of Governor Bill Lee’s mandatory mandate that everyone stay home. Why would we expect them to comply with the law? The last time I checked mailing out books on beating your children is not a necessary business like being a first responder or working in a grocery store. The difference with Lee’s edict is that he has also authorized law enforcement to do what they must to enforce it, unlike Ohio with Jill Rodrigues.

It’s been two long weeks but we’re back talking about Debi Pearl’s horror show of lies that is “Create a Better Brain Through Neuroplasticity” Two weeks ago it was about Debi’s tiny knowledge of concussions. Today we stray into what Debi thinks ‘Mindfulness’ is. Here’s a clue, it’s not what she says it is.

She opens yet again with her misunderstanding how hormones and neurotransmitters work, claiming yet again that your thoughts cause the body to release hormones.

“We unknowingly release harsh neurotransmitters when we allow our minds to be caught up in stinking thinking…”

First there is no such thing as ‘harsh’ neurotransmitters. Even the ones that come into play during bad times also have roles to play in good times and in the every day.

Second, as we have covered before this is not how our bodies work. Our thoughts do not force our body to go evil and wrong. Now, as I have stated before, your thoughts going dark or angry can actually be a sign that something is going haywire physically in your body. Debi has it bass-ackwards here.

She rambles on about her friend that destroyed her gut bacteria and health by worrying, and her momma winking at her daddy’s verbal abuse of everyone, claiming momma was just releasing ‘Happy neurotransmitters’ by doing that in the face of abuse.

Debi excuses her father’s abuse as a ‘lack of self control’. So now we see how and why she hooked up with Michael, because insane ranting demanding men are what she is used to dealing with.

“We can choose to wink, as my mother did. We can choose to forgive. We can choose to relax. We can decide to stop our stinking thinking into a productive stream. When our mind chooses a peaceful direction, the neurotransmitters that are released reflect that choice and reinforce the mood, making our peace and joy stronger.”

Literally not true. While it can be helpful to focus on something else when stressed out it’s not going to release a pile of anything. Like we discussed many times in earlier chapters this is literally not how hormones or neurotransmitters work at all.

Debi uses this as a spring board to blame people who suffer from depression for their own depressions, calling it ‘stinking thinking’ yet again without looking once at the whole forest of causes for depression and anxiety that actually do drive depression.

Then she says this about all this controlling your thinking.

“The new science is called mindfulness.”

Mindfulness is not a science, and it is not any of those things she has outlined above. But then she starts babbling about how this ‘mindfulness’ helped Mikey become a world famous champion knife thrower. Pages and pages and literal pages of this crap about this hateful childish baby-man becoming the world champ. Le sigh.

He beat those knifes on his forge, he act right to get his gut brain the right feels. He tok his stupid supplements. Yeah, yeah, and she sprinkles in the names of the neurotransmitters that played a part in his win. Again, not scientifically provable or probative.

Her claims get increasingly ridiculous.

“But knife throwing is good for more than the fun of the sport. It has also increased his mind power. His IQ is higher.”

Another case of photos, or in this case before and after IQ tests, or it DIDN’T HAPPEN!

What else is Debi blaming the world for ruining folks brains? The usual.

“Today’s world, filled with noisy music, leaves the soul rattled instead of exalted. Raunchy TV corrupts the spirit. Filthy porn gives birth to a demon so demanding that eventually, a man will lust after his own flesh and blood.”

What the heck does any of this have to do with the practice of mindfulness? Not much, but I’m not sure how exactly Debi defines the word. She babbles on and on about mirror neurons and culture wrecking peoples brains and the need to get back to a life filled with gratitude. She thinks this old hymn sums it all up, reflecting mindfulness.

“Count your many blessings, name them one by one.”

Again, not entirely how mindfulness works.

“A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long” could aptly apply to our vagus nerve (the connector between the brain and the gut)”

Debi does not even explain what she means here, just leaving that nonsensical sentence hanging out by itself there. Then she moves to applying mindfulness in childbirth, claiming that by controlling her mind her labors only felt like 15 minutes and there was very little pain. Not believing her here. Mindfulness and meditation have a place in childbirth and other circumstances but so much of this chapter is silly bragging, this is too.

She goes on to claim if you have painful periods you should skip the liver damaging Tylenol and only do meditation. I am guessing she’s about to tell that to the oxycontin addicts too, that the pain is just in their minds.

“Using mindfulness to take control of your pain, fear, anxiety, lack of sleep, anger or any other troubling issue is just smart!”

It would have been a heck of a lot smarter had Debi actually explained mindfulness instead of all this crazy blaming over thoughts. Here’s conventional wisdom on what mindfulness is in a nut shell:

“Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment, which one develops through the practice of meditation and through other training.”

Without judgment! HAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!! That rules Debi completely out! Every place I could find on mindfulness explained it that way almost to a letter. Debi never defines not once in the book what she considers mindfulness to be beyond being grateful and killing off ‘stinking thinking’.

Dreading next week, particularly now while watching so many friends suddenly thrust into the unaccustomed role of teacher – Homeschooling. I am sure it was be a spectacular lying pile of garbage on fire.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4

Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part 7 ~ Part 8

Part 9 ~ Part 10 ~ Part 11 ~ Part 12

Part 13 – Part 14 ~ Part 15 ~ Part 16

Part 17 ~ Part 18 ~ Part 19 ~ Part 20

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