Dearest Friends,

Thank you for your presences and your participation in our gathering today.

In today’s session, we explored the third of the “filters” that alter our perceptions of reality, which is the filter of predictive coding. Like I shared in my brief reflections, predictive coding refers to how the brain actively predicts impending sensory input rather than passively registering it in order to enhance energy efficiency and reaction times. These predictions are based on previous experiences and future expectancies and can be powerful enough to override actual sensory inputs. Common examples of predictive coding include the following:

• The Missed Typo: You proofread your presentation slides several times and still miss a glaring error. This is because your brain knows what the word is supposed to be and fills in the correct spelling instead of processing the actual text.
• The Heavy Carton: You pick up an empty milk carton expecting it to be full…and your arm ends up flying upward because your brain signaled the amount of muscular effort needed for a heavier weight. 
• The Missing Step: You walk up a flight of stairs and end up stumbling at the very top because, in a moment of absent-mindedness, your brain anticipated an extra step that wasn’t actually there.
• The Tense Reaction: Your partner walks into the living room and sighs because they’ve had an exhausting day. Years of associating their sigh with exasperation lead to a tense encounter when comfort was what was actually needed.
• The Defensive Reply: Your colleague sends an email in the middle of a surprise audit asking, “Do you have the audit report template?” Your brain predicts this as an additional unwanted task (instead of taking it as a straightforward request) and you snap: “I’ve already got a lot on my plate!”

As the above examples illustrate, predictive coding can lead to mishaps, mistakes and misunderstandings that can increase our suffering and those of others. Thankfully, mindfulness training can support us in minimizing the less benign consequences of predictive coding in the following ways:

• First, it allows us to recognize when we’re reacting to a prediction that our brain has constructed rather than responding to what’s actually unfolding.
• Second, it supports us in noticing when we’re in states of dysregulation that amplify faulty predictive coding and invites us to return to regulation first. (Dysregulation increases prediction errors by compromising the brain’s ability to balance top-down predictions with bottom-up sensory reality.)
• Third, it grounds our attention in present‑moment sensory input and heightens our sensitivity to details that don’t fit our predictions.

SUGGESTED PRACTICE:

Sit quietly and attend to your breath with your gaze lowered or your eyes closed. After a minute or so, recall a recent or a memorable situation where your predictions were completely off (on hindsight). As you remember this episode, reflect on the following questions:

• What did you expect would happen? Did you anticipate criticism, danger, disaster, failure, rejection, etc.?
• What emotions accompanied your prediction? What did it feel like in your body?
• What actually happened? How did your prediction distort what you saw, heard or experienced? How did that distortion cause you and/or others around you suffering?

REFLECTION PROMPTS:

1. What’s one area of your life where your anticipations, expectations or predictions often create unnecessary conflict, disappointment or suffering?
2. How can mindfulness support you in lessening suffering in this area?