Hi, this is James Fricton and I'm presenting part three of the third module, the balance between health and illness. And the title of part three is chaos theory, small changes, big impact. Chaos theory is about change, and change is occurring all the time around us. We're never static, we're dynamic. And it's getting better or worse, but some changes are very small, and other changes are big changes. Some change is predictable, and some is very unpredictable. Chaos theory helps us explain this change. So let me explain chaos theory. Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? This is what Dr. Lorenz, an American mathematician and meteorologist, posed. He was a pioneer of chaos theory. When he studied weather patterns he realized that they did not always change and predicted. Minute variations in the initial values of variables in his twelve variable computer weather module with result in grossly divergent weather patterns. And this sensitive dependence on the initial conditions came to be known as the butterfly effect. So is that the same as the Domino Effect? No. The Domino Effect is very orderly change, it's predictive change. One domino hits the next and it progresses, one at a time and they all fall. We wish all life would be as predictable as the Domino Effect. But life doesn't work that way. So let me explain chaos theory with the dripping faucet. Life is like a dripping faucet. Robert Shaw a physics graduate student in the 1970's decided to investigate the faucet's flow by timing the dripping. When the water flow was low the result was a steady dripping that increased its rate as the faucet is turned on. As the system is driven harder by increasing flow, the constant interval between drops gives way to two alternating intervals shown right here. Then, as the higher rate flows each of the two different intervals itself subdivides, are still higher rate provokes chaotic behavior. You turn the faucet on, and the behavior coming out is unpredictable. There's no discernible pattern. The appearance of chaos in this everyday system, and the precise analysis of the time series, made the very deep impression on many scientists. So the butterfly effect by Lorenz suggest that even when the starting point on simulation runs are similar. Right here. Small differences in these initial conditions, such as those due to rounding errors in numerical computations, will yield widely divergent outcomes, rendering long-term prediction almost impossible for dynamic or complex systems. We need to realize that humans are dynamic complex systems. So like chronic pain, the chaos theory can help determine whether or not the pain will occur or not. So let's examine the types of change. There are three types of change. First order, second order, and third order change. First order change is a change of behavior that's reacting to the environment around you. The change is consistent with our existing knowledge, world-view, and beliefs. Whereas second order change is at a higher level. New knowledge is brought in. And how we look at ourselves is very different. It's integrative change. Where as third order change occurs when new beliefs about ourselves are brought into the picture. They're inconsistent with who we were and now we become somebody else. That's very transformative. Let me examine each of these changes in more detail. First order change is reactive. So we're on the same treadmill, we're going forward. And, but you have a pain condition, and as a result, when it hurts you do less. You sit down, you miss work, you rest more, you take pills, you make small changes. Just to react to that environment. They may help a little bit but only temporarily, they do not solve the problem. Where as second order change is very integrative. It's a belief that I will always have pain but the new information that's brought in, I can have less pain by doing these exercises, is very important. It allows you to do something dramatically different than you'd normally do, and because of the new information. But you're still, basically, believe the same thing: you will always be in pain. [BLANK_AUDIO]. The third order change is very transformative. It's very different. This type of change is really about beliefs. All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs. And a change with who we are, as this picture illustrates, I've forgotten who I am. It shifts our world view, our beliefs. We create a new person in this regard. And it open ups new possibilities for new actions that weren't possible before. So 3rd order change is transformative. You have a change of belief. Chronic pain is not who I am. And the actions I will make the changes to all of my risk and pro, protective factors, to make a new person. And what are the possibilities for someone with opposite beliefs. I believe I am a pain free person, changing these few beliefs will drive action and drastically shift our sense of ourselves and the possibilities in our life. [BLANK_AUDIO]. So the take-home message here, is that change is going on all the time, but it's hierarchical based on our interactions with our relationships, our environment, our awareness, and the outcomes that we have in life. We often make reinforcement or reactive change. Which is changing behavior, developing skills, refining our abilities. But basically the same person and on the same treadmill. We can make second order integrative changes, which is more of a revelation. It changes our mindsets with new thoughts, it shifts our attitudes, and as a result it changes behaviors, skills, and abilities. But the third order is transformative change. This is what's called enlightenment. We change our beliefs, we create ourselves over again, and we become enlightened as a result of this new belief system. This trickles down to make changes in our mindset, changes in our behaviors, and we'll have substantially different outcomes, relationships, and environmental awareness.
