Default Mode Network

Oh, welcome, welcome to the Yup! Podcast. All you amazing yuppers out there. You people who are seeking a life, a meaning and purpose, and you're dealing with the things that are coming up and you're becoming a better person. Thank you. And I can relate because I'm also doing the same. Here we go. Oh, super fun podcast today. Talking about something very, very familiar. Okay, maybe it's not gonna be super fun because it's gonna be a little convicting, but hey, happy Sunday to you, at least to me because that's when I'm doing this podcast. I did my previous podcast yesterday and I had planned to do a couple more, but as you know from that podcast, I was dealing with an incredible toothache and I was, boy, I have to tell you, you heard a lot of it, but just the struggle that I had, making a reality shift, dealing with the actual pain that was going on and there was a real battle of belief and I think it exemplifies the struggle that we have in switching realities is that there's a reality right here and now and when you're in pain, it is very real and it is very intense and it can be challenging to get your mind to another place because as you're trying to switch realities, that pain is like, hey, we're here and it's now and this is your reality and accept it. And so I did a lot of the hacks that I know, like I think I told you in that previous podcast, I remember when this tooth hurt, I remember when it caused a lot of pain and I have to say, doing that probably gave me 20% relief and there was some relief, but then there's that, bam, right there, it's like, we hurt, I hurt. And in the back of my mind is also that part of my best reality now in Mexico was getting this dental work done and this one tooth in particular was, the filling was very close to the roots and the dentist was concerned that possibly, you know, there would be pain involved and so I had it and the filling completed and there was no pain and there has been no pain and the other day, yeah, I think there was a lot of stress and I was pressing on it and so it was Friday, I think it started Thursday and then Friday and I have to confess, I was a little careless in regards to it because I'm like, you know, it'll be fine and it wasn't, so Saturday, yesterday, it really hurt and then you heard a lot of what was going on and so today, Sunday, I have to say the pain is 90% less. There's a little residual there and I'm just gonna tell you what I did and my experience and this is the fun part because this is the challenge. This is really the battle for meaning and purpose in a small sense because it is changing our reality and when it's intense, like the pain was intense, not like labor pain, not even close to anything like that, just kind of this annoying pain that, and I don't know, I think on a scale of people that handle pain, I'm not real high on that scale. Anyway, what I did was I used a hack like I remember when and I just couldn't get my mind in the really positive and so I did something that I'll probably do a podcast about but I have some alternative stuff I knew would help and I actually went to the local health food store here and asked for advice from somebody. I told them that I believed I was having tooth pain due to grinding and stress which all the symptoms pointed to that and not necessarily a cavity because there was work done on it and not that it couldn't be a cavity but it was tending to move towards that and at the health food store, they gave me a couple things, one thing for my gum, like kind of clove and some other oils and another remedy that you put directly on the tooth that was for inflammation and pain relief and as Adrian and I went to Costco to do some shopping yesterday, we stopped there and I put some on and I have to say, I put it on in the car and yeah, I had probably 50, 60% relief and it lasted fairly well. The other thing that I was doing is I take chlorophyll complex from Standard Process, that is the company and it is a really great natural remedy for pain and so I had been taking that all day long also and so we got home from Costco and I still had pain and I decided that, I've talked about peptides before and BPC-157, I had my daughter help me and I just put a little near that tooth and helped relieve the pain and so the moral to the story is that Sunday waking up, I probably should backtrack a little bit, when I went to bed, I had a decent night's sleep without pain, I got up numerous times to reapply some of the remedy on the tooth to just, it didn't really hurt but I had to get up to pee anyway and so I came back and just put some of the remedy on and just to ensure that I could continue to sleep pain-free and in the night, I kept having thoughts of frustrating thoughts, like of kind of not hopeless situations but situations that were not having solutions and I guess you can call that hopeless and finally, one of the times I got up, I'm like, Tom, you just gotta turn this thing around in your thoughts and I remember there was this imagery and it doesn't necessarily make sense but it made sense in the dream that I was kind of driving this weenie, like four-wheeler thing through these trials and it just wasn't working and it kept breaking and so when I woke up, I'm just like, man, we are driving an armored SUV-type all-terrain vehicle and so as I went to bed, I really focused my thoughts on strength and power and plowing through and I gotta tell you, as I was going off into dream state, things changed and I was able to fall asleep and I was able to have peace. There wasn't that relentless kind of hopelessness. There was strength and powering through and when I woke up this morning, for one, I slept till about eight and it was sort of a fitful night of sleep and up a lot but I felt pretty rested and I have to say, this morning, my pain is, yeah, 10% of what it was and it's even less and continuing to do the modalities but this battle, we gotta leverage everything in getting to that best reality now and we live in the reality that we're in as we are living in the reality that we desire and it is something that really, the mind is, it doesn't, it struggles with and I even struggle with as I'm talking on this podcast but I have to tell you, there are real world results. Am I 100% pain free? I am not. Am I, do I feel a lot better this morning? I do and through this whole process, I was really trying to listen to my body which is hard to do when you're in pain and one of the other things I realized is not only did my tooth hurt but that my throat was kind of sore and I was like, I think I am fighting something. Now, look at my words. I didn't say I'm catching something. I'm fighting something. I was just like, I think my body's fighting something and I'm just gonna add some extra support to it so I added some Echinacea Golden Seal and I took some rest time later that afternoon, actually slept and I think I actually had a fever and broke a fever so there were multiple things going on so as you're living in this reality and you're trying to move into the best reality now, you gotta pay attention to everything. You gotta really, the metacognition, the self-observation and asking yourself questions and looking at what's going on and just not assuming things and that really leads us into what this podcast is about today. I wanna talk to you about a place, a friend, a system that's very familiar and very comfortable and it is very disadvantageous to live in your best reality now. That is the default mode network. That is that network, that is that operating system in you. When you face different things, you come up against different circumstances, you have a default mode of dealing with it and if you've lived in this earth long enough and you have done some self-observation, you're very familiar maybe with some of your default mode network operations. Some that are very common to all of us is the words we use. We tend to like, I've really had to work on my default mode network words after a day of work. I used to come home, I'm so tired, I'm so exhausted. I was just like, it was such a rough day. Two, because I don't wanna go to default mode network, I wanna live in that new reality now and that new reality now is not the default mode network, the things that I've learned throughout my 58 years of life up until this point which has got me a decent life but not the life of meaning and purpose that I want and so I use words and you've heard me say this. Wow, my body had amazing output today and I am so proud of it, it did so good and I'm gonna spend some time tonight recouping and recharging this amazing body, okay? Not lying and this is filled with gratitude but it's that default mode network that we wanna avoid. We wanna go into that network of the best reality now, living with meaning and purpose and so this affects our words like, wow, things are so expensive, I don't know how I can afford it to, wow, the opportunities that come to increase my income and live well in this world are so exciting and we've talked a fair bit about words and the other thing, the default mode network, like with my tooth, I'll just use that example as pain in the past, my immediate response would be to deal with it and I did deal with it but deal with it in a way, oh, I've gotta go to the doctor, I've gotta go get this extracted instead of thinking, wow, I could change this reality. Tom, do you really believe that reality is fluid? Do you really believe that you can change it? Now, I'm just gonna give a caveat here. If I need to have this tooth extracted, I will but I am moving into the reality and I'm living it right now where the tooth is feeling so much better and I'm believing and moving into it. This is not a place where you wanna just live in denial but it is this duality that is, finding the balance can be challenging but if you have time, which I have some time to do this and move into this and avoid the default mode network to try some other things. It's like the belief in the past was and I think a lot of us can relate to this that we gotta take control, we gotta take charge, we gotta make decisions, we like add this and this and this because the default mode network tends to like try to get to decisions in the quickest way and it filters a lot of information and as we're raised, the premise that reality is fluid is not taught to us and so it doesn't figure into the decision process. So when we rely on the default mode network which is really easy because it's the way we've been doing things, it's very familiar. When I got to a crisis like this, the default mode network's like wanting to quickly find a solution and had I not been in this place where I've been experiencing the reality is fluid and that you can bring different outcomes into this reality, I would have totally went a different path and so as we're moving into this reality, this new reality now of meaning and purpose, we really have to identify the areas where our default mode network takes over that it's just kind of like when you go on Amazon and you pay for something, it goes to your default payment system. Well, now you've just added a different payment system and you have to change it so now your default is outcomes are not set in stone and this is a belief system that we have to adopt or we will live in the default mode network and we will get similar outcomes to what we've been getting and we're not gonna get the outcomes that we want. Think of if you're a person that gets easily offended and you're wanting to operate in the new reality now and you're wanting to be a person of meaning and purpose and you want to bless those around you and someone's joking around with you and they say something and all of a sudden, you feel that inside of you and they may have meant it or not meant it but that offense rise up and you're just like. And what is your default response to that? Withdrawal, confrontation or something different? I'm just assuming the best. I don't think they meant that and you ask, it's like, what exactly did you mean by that? And if they meant it to be offensive, then you're just like, well, that wasn't very nice but I forgive you and if you're gonna continue to act in this way, I'm choosing not to be around you. And what you're doing is you're switching something. You're not taking all those negative emotions in. You're taking something that maybe was meant to be offensive or maybe not and just got twisted by your default mode network interpreting something that seemed familiar but really you misinterpreted but it's like, it's in this category so it's like, well, we go to this response because if we assess offense, then our response is lash out, offense back, withdraw, coldness, whatever your response is your default mode network that doesn't promote healing and growth. It promotes disconnection. It creates in you a bitter toxic root to that person and to yourself and when you operate in the best reality now you assume the best and then you ask questions and if you find out it's otherwise, you offer forgiveness so that releases you to the connection of the toxicity. You close what was a potential wound and now you are strengthening, you find gratitude. You say something like, I'm so thankful that we were able to work through this and I appreciate you but for a while, I just don't think I can have a relationship with you. And so the default mode network wants to burn bridges, wants to end things, wants to be extreme. The best reality now wants to always keep paths open and it doesn't mean that you're a doormat. You protect yourself as I talked about in this that you carefully through gratitude, forgiveness and understanding get to the bottom of it because the truth is in this world, we all have a default mode network and we're interacting with each other so these situations are gonna come up and so we wanna leverage them for growth and so when you go through a situation similar to that and someone observes how you deal with it, it is a key that they can access. You just showed them a pathway, a map to do something different and chances are you left them with a feeling that was a little awkward but good because when we operate outside of the default mode network, it is awkward, it is new, it is something that we are totally not used to. Now what we really wanna switch is we want the best reality now to become our default mode network so when somebody says something that's maybe mean or malicious, we assume that we misunderstood them and then we ask a clarifying question. You know, I know you and we're good friends and when you've said that, it seemed like this is what it was but that's contrary to what I know about you. Is that what you meant? And then you can deal with it from there. They're like, yeah, I was really upset and I really didn't mean it and I'm sorry or I did mean it and you're just like, well, if you did mean it, that makes me a little sad but I still love you and I forgive you even if you don't wanna be forgiven and I'm just choosing to move away from this relationship for a while but know that I love you and I'm open to a healthy relationship but I can't operate in this toxic environment and so you are just like killing it because you're moving out of your typical responses. You're finding healing. When you have, you come into situations and maybe like you're a person that all of a sudden somebody, you're in a group or something and they're like, Tom, you know, we're in this group, would you just say a few words to this group and all of a sudden fear just grips you and you're just like, I'm not a public speaker and I had to learn this. I didn't like to speak in front of people. One of the reasons was when I was younger, my voice was very high. Even when I was married, I would answer the phone after Aiden and I were married and people would be like, Mrs. Baldwin and I'd be like, no, this is Mr. Baldwin and they didn't always believe me and so like speaking in public and so any time where I had to speak when I wasn't in a familiar group, fear just gripped me and my default mode network was to get out of that in any way possible. What I knew and it was contradictory to who I was that my voice needed to be heard and I knew that I had things to say and so to overcome that had to be to overcome the default mode network and the default mode network was like, if you're gonna speak in public, you're gonna be made fun of, you're gonna be humiliated, which happened to me a lot in school, as you might imagine. It was traumatic and what the default mode network says, we can't handle this. What the best reality now says, you can handle it. You're strong enough and my faith when I was in high school, 16, faith with Yeshua HaMashiach strengthened that inner thing and so I started doing things, getting out of my comfort zone where the default mode network says, no, no, don't do that, it's scary. Would do plays at church in front of a congregation of 300. Would do Bible studies, where I led Bible studies, I would go to different youth groups and interact people that didn't know me, so I had to introduce myself. I had to talk and I had to deal with that and the new reality now says, Tom, we're strong enough. The default mode network says, too scary, don't do it. Get out of it at any cost. The default mode network serves a purpose to protect us but it doesn't realize that in protecting us, it inhibits growth and it inhibits the best reality now and so we have to say, as I've done in the past, the default mode network, when we hear it, rise up. Thank you, you've served me well. I appreciate you. I'm living in a new reality now. You can retire. It's time for you to relax and rest. Thank you for your service. The default mode network is something that has helped us survive but as we move into maturity and we deal with the issues and the woundedness that we have and everybody's default mode network looks a little differently because your experiences have been different and you can recognize your default mode network. Part of it is just when you're moving down this path, you're just gonna do it naturally but if you're very new to this, you're just like, I would encourage you to say something like this, call it a prayer. I like a prayer to Yeshua HaMashiach but you just say it. You're just like, I'm gonna notice the times when I'm operating in default mode network and when it is impeding me from living the best reality now because the best reality now is where I wanna be, my body, my mind, my soul, my spirit want to be in the best reality now and those things will come up and when they come up, they're like a key and that you can unlock and let go. They're chains and shackles that keep you from responding, thinking and living and acting and you're designed, the wording gets tricky here. I haven't figured out all the wording. You were meant to make a difference and as you move in and you get the shackles off, your unique abilities and talents begin to shine and bless those around you and as you bless those around you, your life begins to have that deep meaning and purpose that is so much deeper than shallow entertainment or going out to dinner and enjoying a nice meal. Those things are nice but this, this deep, deep meaning and purpose satisfies the soul beyond anything and it gives fulfillment. You are impacting the world for good and it was interesting. I had a talk with my wife and my daughter Elizabeth and my son Justice and we were just talking about how to change the world and my perspective is, is that as we all move into living the best reality now and living a life of meaning and purpose, the world will just change. The reality will shift majorly and as each one changes their reality and they positively affect the world around them, the world then is still operating in the default mode network, maybe for the most part. When we interface and interact with that world, with the best reality now, with gratitude, with forgiveness, with unconditional love and it begins to touch and it begins to show a different path. It is a very appealing path. It is light, it is bright, it is happy, it is blissful. So if you're realizing there are areas in your life where you are operating in the default mode network, it is simple. If you have maybe anger issues and when that anger comes up, you just say, thank you, anger, for protecting me all these years, thank you. I realize that I'm wanting to move in a different direction and I thank you for your service but my default reaction now is gonna be forgiveness and understanding. Thank you for your service. I no longer need you, I appreciate you. And you retire that. You can do that with everything. You can do that with your words. I used to use words like I'm so tired and those words were descriptive and I appreciate that they express how I felt but I'm choosing to use different words that I've used my body to the full and I'm taking this time now to recharge because I care about myself, I care about my body and I need this body to serve and bless others. Do you get it? Everything is changing. And just because you learned one way doesn't mean it's the right way. There is a world out there. There is a whole new reality that is so much different than the one we're living in. There is a reality where your life is not about competition. It's not about getting one up on somebody else or getting ahead in this world. It is about moving into the abundance that is available where there is no scarcity for anyone. This is where we have to develop different beliefs. We, in this world system, develop a belief if one has more, someone else has less. The new reality and the best reality now is there's so much abundance for everybody. Nobody suffers. And your happiness is not having more than someone else. Your happiness is realizing that we all have more and we're enjoying it together and we are making a life of meaning and purpose together. My friends, I love you. I appreciate you. Thank you so much for listening. You guys are amazing and awesome. As always, go try something new because I'm here and I'm putting out good vibes for you. I'm offering prayers to Yeshua HaMashiach on your behalf. Thank you for listening and I got you. I do, I got you. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.