As somatic communication systems living in an incredibly dynamic environment, we are continually adjusting to change. Internally, our somaintelligence is actively providing feedback about this change via our FEELINGS.
So, how does the system handle change? By changing in response to it.
What changes? Our behaviour, beliefs and biology. These interconnected facets of our system are constantly being informed and shaped by each other as they adjust to the lived experience.
Somascience Principle #2 states that we are somaplastic — our system is built for adapting to the ever-emerging now, by rearranging itself in response to nonstop internal and external input.
The only constant in life is change — which is why the system is built to handle it.
Lived experiences
We are experiential beings, constantly moving through lived experiences. Life is the interface between what happens inside us, what’s embedded within us, and what’s happening around us.
Our internal somatic communication ‘dashboard’ is always active — even when we’re asleep. But it lights up even more as we engage with the world around us, taking in stimulation — sounds, sights, movements, interactions, and the situations we find ourselves in. These external inputs further activate the system and feed into the ongoing internal conversation.
The lived experience is where we adjust to life as it’s happening — not conceptually nor only cognitively, but somatically. It is the dynamic living edge of embodied change.
The lived experience is the meeting place of our behaviour, beliefs and biology
In real time, a shift in our biology prompts an adjustment in our behaviour and vice versa; our beliefs generate biology and impact behaviour. These three facets of our system are deeply interwoven, and their communication is constant, reciprocal and dynamic. It’s a living exchange of information, and the language of this conversation is FEELINGS.
Remember from Principle #1? Somascience defines FEELINGS as thoughts, emotions, sensations, metabolic happenings, cellular activity, electrical impulses, chemical signalling, and energy in motion.
Here’s a visual to show the connections between FEELINGS, the lived experience, behaviour, biology and beliefs:
SOMASCIENCE Behaviour, beliefs, and biology Map by JamPac-Ed licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Notice how a lived experience can spark a behavioural response just as easily as it can trigger a biological shift; a choice we make can generate sensations and metabolic changes; a shift in our biology can ripple through as sensations and thoughts.
Behaviour is often the most noticeable part of these shifts because it makes biology and beliefs observable. A shift inside us shows up in what we do, and noticing what we do helps us recognise what has shifted inside us. Each reveals the other.
Our biological and behavioural processes are not separate streams, and they are further interconnected through the beliefs that motivate our responses. All three constantly impact, amplify or adjust in relationship to each other.
This means we are not just neuroplastic or bioplastic.
Principle #3 states that we are somaplastic. This is how we handle change — by changing in response. We are a system inherently adapting experientially and somatically in real time, via the interconnection of our behaviour, beliefs and biology.
The core mechanisms of somaplasticity
Our ability to detect change is handled by a network of receptor-based gatherers of information. This helps us adapt and reorganise based on sensing what is changing inside us and around us. Sensations, for example, are one way that the system communicates that change has been detected.
Threat detection is an extension of change detection: the system senses that something has shifted, then evaluates whether that shift signals safety or potential danger. Internal FEELINGS of discomfort are the system’s way of communicating threat via changes in our behaviour, beliefs and biology.
Our system also has a built in cause predictor that supports us to navigate change efficiently. We use past experiences to make sense of the changes that are being registered somatically in the present. Instead of beginning fresh each time, the system leans on what it already knows to interpret what might happen next.
These three mechanisms of somaplasticity assist us to navigate change, respond to threat and learn from our experiences.
Somaplasticity in action in the lived experience
Let’s look at how Principle #1 and # 2 dovetail.
Remember Principle #1. When we orient ourselves to our FEELINGS, we validate the system and take actions that respect it — this is how we create embodied safety.
Now add Principle #2. We are somaplastic — built for handling uncertainty via reconfiguring our behaviours, beliefs and biology.
Accessing internal stability (P#1) is what helps us to respond to the instability of change (P#2) in the lived experience. This is the second step in somatic literacy.
Here’s how this looks in a real life situation
Jay was feeling well prepared for his end of year exam, until a close family member was suddenly rushed to hospital late yesterday. He wakes up with a tightness in his belly, and now his heart is racing and he’s having trouble following the teacher’s instructions about the exam. He tries to remind himself that he’s well prepared, but can’t help slipping into worrying about what failing the exam will mean for his future.
Jay’s system has registered the change in his external world of close relationships. In response to that external instability, it is rearranging itself — his invisible biology is shaping the more visible changes in sensations, thoughts and behaviours. This is somaplasticity in action — Principle #2.
He takes stock of where he’s at and chooses to respect his FEELINGS.
By validating his somasignals he stabilizes his system — this is what generates embodied safety when he needs it most. This is Principle #1.
Now, his biology, behaviour and beliefs will rearrange again around this new FEELING of internal stability. This helps him to better navigate the instability of change that’s happening in his external world. This is Principle #2 —somaplasticity in action again.
Jay calls over an examiner and explains his situation. As they talk through his options, Jay notices his heart rate settling, his confidence is back and he’s better able to make decisions about what he needs to do next. A delayed exam is scheduled and he goes straight to the hospital to be with his family members.
This example illustrates the second step of somatic literacy. Somaplasticity is occurring in real time as Jay navigates his lived experience. See how his behaviour, beliefs and biology shift depending on how he responds to change and the FEELINGS of discomfort.
Jay is navigating the instability and stability of change.
Applying Somascience to your life
JamPac-Ed emphasises that we are somatic communication systems and the way we each experience, interpret and process our lived experiences matters. While somaplasticity is universal, each person’s pathway to engaging with it is unique and deserves respect.
Somascience supports people to understand that we are built to handle change, especially discomfort. Somatic literacy provides safe and manageable ways to do this better.
If you’d like guidance to understand this process, you can reach out to Pam or visit her website: www.feelingconnected.com.au. She provides somatic literacy education and therapeutic support so people can weave Somascience principles into their daily lives.
Applied Tip
Somaplasticity is occurring 24/7 whether we are aware of it or not.
Developing strategies to create internal embodied safety allows us to respond to the instability of change in the lived experience in better ways.
Awareness of how our behaviour, biology and beliefs interact provides the key to manage FEELINGS of discomfort that arise with change. In each lived experience, you can pause, observe and choose a response that supports your wellbeing.
Responding to our needs in respectful and supportive ways strengthens our relationship with ourselves.
Next
This post is one of five in the Conceptual Series — the Five Principles of Somascience.
Read the Applied Blog posts that link to Principle #2:
Here’s Principle #1:
Here’s Applied Blog post #1:
Here’s the link to the Introduction to the series:
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