bracing the vine

schematic for a german pillbox

A human being is like a growing vine. By providing a latticework around which a growing vine is encouraged to wrap itself, a structure may constrain the pathways of the vine, limiting it to certain directions, curving it where it needs curving, straightening it where it needs straightening.

A back brace, for example, provides a sturdy framework against which the growing spine over time corrects its crooked trajectory. Many of my patients wear hard plastic collars or other stabilizing devices to prevent their fractured spinal bones from slipping and causing further injury. Once the spine is healed, the device may be removed.

In rehabilitation medicine, orthosis is contrasted with prosthesis as a modality of treatment. An orthotic is a structure that supports or corrects the shape of a limb or of the torso, whereas a prosthetic is a replacement for a limb or other body part. You may have heard of orthotic shoe inserts that cup and cushion the heel to provide improved arch support. A cast around an arm whose broken bones have been re-aligned is also an orthotic. It doesn’t replace a missing arm. It braces a crooked arm. Another common example of orthosis: dental braces. Teeth are gradually brought into alignment through manipulation of an adjustable framework applied to their exteriors.

Brains can’t be braced, but the mind can be. Minds move freely at the level of the whole human being and can be trained against structural frameworks. Mental braces, like dental braces, applied to the growing human vine, can train the vine’s direction, encouraging certain pathways and discouraging others. At the level of the brain, memory and emotion, are difficult, if not impossible to locate, much less brace, but considered at a more global level, at the level of the whole human being, memory and emotion can be re-shaped and supported orthotically like growing vines or spines.

For example, a seven-day pill organizer is a memory orthotic, a brace for the vine of memory, a plastic lattice -- S M T W T F S -- a person wraps around pills in order to help him remember whether or not he’s already taken them. There are a number of apps available today -- medication reminders, alarms, schedulers -- which can also be considered cognitive orthotics, sturdy structures operating at the level of the whole human being to support the memory of the user.

You can think of a rosary as a spiritual orthotic operating at the level of the whole human being. A rosary isn’t some magical amulet that glows its radiant powers onto the people standing around it. In order for it to work, a rosary must be used. It’s more like a utensil, a framework around which the soul over time can be re-shaped.

Peaceful Habits is an emotional orthotic. The posture of the emotional mind inevitably tends toward busy-ness and swirls with thoughts and feelings, flitting from past to present to future, often all at once. Peaceful Habits is a way of making small adjustments to the movements of the mind, curving it where it needs curving, straightening it where it needs straightening, so that over time, a new, more peaceful emotional posture is cultivated.

Any new posture is effortful at first. It’s easier to keep the posture you already have. Your body wants to slip back into its original, more comfortable shape. Having an orthotic in place helps to support the new posture until it takes hold. Combining the seven-day structure of a memory orthotic with the soul-shaping function of a spiritual orthotic, Peaceful Habits is a cross between a pillbox and a rosary, a latticework to support your emotional posture like a shoe insert supports a heel.