“You should focus on why you do things, not on how you do them.”
~Janine Teagues, 2nd-grade teacher (created/played by Quinta Brunson), Abbott Elementary

Welcome to the third post in this blog series on NeuroPlayWriting with a focus on energy and motivation! This series invites neurodiverse authors to intentionally neuroplay with your writing craft, from the theory that our best writing flows through a balance of discipline and play that honors who we are. In the spirit of neuroplay, this 7-part series invites readers to play with the concept of the 7 chakras, to consider the chakra presented in each blog post as an energetic source of motivation for you as an author and/or the character(s) you are creating, as well as what may beblocking the flow of that energy.  For a bit more on the what and why of NeuroPlay, see the first post of this series!

Post #3: Transformative Willpower when Blocked by Shame

The first chakra was the Earth or Root chakra, and the second chakra was the Water or Sacral Chakra. This third chakra is the Fire or Solar Plexus Chakra. If the name of this chakra makes you think of Natsu Dragneel’s fire in his belly, it’s with good reason: scientists refer to the solar plexus as the celiac plexus, and it is a network of nerves originating near the human heart and extending through  abdominal organs including the stomach, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and intestines. It directly supports the function of these organs, especially around digestion, blood flow, and pain perception (John et al, 2024). The motions of the solar plexus–signal sending, transporting, and transforming–remind me of the incredible dynamics of fire. It thus resonates with me that the Solar Plexus or Fire chakra is often associated with self-esteem, confidence, personal power, transformation, and accountability.

Accordingly, the motivating energy for the Fire chakra is willpower, one’s right to act.  This chakra encourages us to act from a position of balancing pride and belief in one’s self with ethical responsibility and concern for the creatures and world around us. Likewise, Fire chakra’s blocker or trickster is shame.

Embodying the Power to Transform, or “Do caterpillars know how to fly?”

About a month ago, I was clearing brush from my yard, when I noticed a woolly bear caterpillar crawling along the ground. I’ve loved woolly bears since I was little, but I had never seen one in early March before. It crawled up my pant leg, and I was overjoyed. I continued to work, checking on it every so often, until it had crawled up to my shoulder, and then I thought I’d better do something with it. The forecast was calling for snow later in the week, and I had no idea how or why this little caterpillar was out in such a mess.

Some forum scanning and agricultural extension site reading later, I had learned exciting facts I never knew about woolly bears. For example, did you know the caterpillars secrete a cryoprotectant that allows them to survive winter’s freezing temperatures?

And then, after they’ve survived the winter, the caterpillars munch on a bunch of leaves, then spin a silky cocoon, and transform into a beautiful moth. If you came across them during the day, as I tended to check on my woolly bear friend, it looks like they’re doing a whole lot of nothing. They curl under leaves and twigs, resting until nighttime. Then they go about their activities, eating, eating, eating, until they’ve built enough internal food stores to survive cocooning and metamorphosis.

I was sharing what I had learned with my husband, and he thought for a moment before asking me, “Do caterpillars know how to fly?”

This begged some additional questions: Is there a fundamental difference between an Isabella Tiger Moth and a Woolly Bear Caterpillar? Are they not the same species? Would not the woolly bear be epigenetically bestowed with the knowledge of its forebears (pun intended)? Or is it possible that its brain would fundamentally change when it transformed?

How much do these questions matter?

We humans have been awfully obsessed lately with putting restrictive labels on people. Whether at the level of policy and law or characters in our books, what do we risk when we impose limits on what people can be or become? And on what are we basing these decisions? When do we risk losing the beauty of natural differences for constructed stereotypes? What does this do to our storytelling? What does it mean for our audiences?

Shame as Trickster

Shame is one of the biggest demons, isn’t it? Where does that “I’m my own worst critic” voice in our heads come from? Why do we struggle so much with shame? Nineteenth century political writer J.S. Mill argued that, for right or for wrong, societal scorn or shaming can have more impact on individual behavior than legal punishments like fines or imprisonment. In some ways, then, shame can be a positive way of holding ourselves accountable. But when shame is used as a tool to harm someone on the basis of things they cannot change about themselves, we have to question whether or not shame is being wielded in a healthy, life-giving way.

How do we work through it to transmute it into positive growth and action? As Loretta Ross puts it, how can we call ourselves and our audiences in rather than out?

And what do we do with shame when we own it? When I reflect on my journey with my woolly bear caterpillar, I realize I experienced the greatest joy when I tried to learn about and support the caterpillar on its journey, whatever that journey is. And while I cannot know for certain that the woolly bear feels no shame, I do know that their journey of transformation is dynamic, wondrous, and natural. I now find myself trying to bring this woolly bear energy to my own ongoing growth and transformation as a human and as an author.

Writing Prompts – Moving Past Shame; Focusing on Becoming

“What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?” Continuing with our episode fromAvatar: The Last Airbender,Guru Pathik invites Aang to meditate on his feelings of shame. Aang recalls the first time he attempted to firebend and how he burned the hands of Katara, his best friend. The memory is so painful that he has resolved never to use the element of fire again. Yet Guru Pathik reminds Aang that he must accept all aspects of himself. Even when we make mistakes or cause harm, if we avoid exploring where we were coming from or the choices that led us to the outcome, we are preventing ourselves from knowing ourselves, growing, or becoming more.

In her book Becoming, Michelle Obama shares her definition of the word: “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”

Similarly, ND Stephenson’s shapeshifting character Nimona explains that trying to contain oneself for other people causes more pain; whereas accepting their natural tendency to continually transform is liberating: “I feel worse when I don’t [shape-shift]. Like my insides are itchy. You know that second right before you sneeze? That’s close to it. Then I shape-shift and I’m free.” When asked if Nimona would die if they couldn’t shape-shift, they reply, “I wouldn’t die die. I just sure wouldn’t be living.”

In my experience, living means embracing your full self and acting in accordance with your full identity – including all forms of ability and disability, neurodivergence, gender, race, knowledge and interests, lived experiences, and more. For ourselves as authors and for the characters we are building, this often means letting go of shame; sometimes it means coming out of closets and outwardly expressing our authenticity. It may mean holding or transmuting our perceived disappointments in ourselves into opportunities to learn and transform (our views, attitudes and/or beliefs).

Consider the following playful writing prompts; these are stylized as if you are writing characters, though they may also be worded to oneself.

1. Naming blockers (remember to breathe!):  Where or in what ways might your character be experiencing shame? Of what might he/she/they be disappointed?

Go Deeper: Where is the character coming from with this disappointment? Why are they struggling with shame? Is it because they acted in a way that genuinely caused harm (and need to be called in), and/or is it the result of social scorn that perhaps they do not deserve?

Playing with blockers and turning them around:

2.  Of what is the character most proud? What is her / his / their greatest accomplishment(s) so far?

3. When or in what situations does feeling pride in oneself come most easily to the character? How might this contrast with moments of feeling shame? What learning and growth is possible for this character, especially when you look at the arc of these moments across the full story?

4. What is the character’s will? What motivates them, and what allows them to know when it is time to act?

5. For whom or what (ideal, faith, cause, etc.) does your character hold her/him/them-self accountable?

Be watching for upcoming Post #4: Love and Compassion when Blocked by Grief