The last two decades have produced more research on the brain and brain technologies than all past years put together.Much of this new information dramatically changes how we view the brain, revealing mental and emotional capacities that, once we discover how to use them, can be lifelong assets with which we may create positive change to our brains … and do so consciously … in the direction of our highest aspirations.
That’s good news.
In addition to your brain being responsive to change throughout life, it means you can also consciously alter its structure by the particular focus of your attention.
Let’s explore how this may be significant to you and your relationships.
When you change your focus, your thoughts change.
Your attention, when applied consciously to make the specific changes you want, can be a powerful tool of healing and transformative action. How?
- The thoughts you focus on inside expand to create a particular worldview of life around you.
Your thoughts create images in your mind that your entire body responds to accordingly. A focus on what you want or how you have overcome obstacles in the past, for example, is going to produce completely different chemical reactions inside you from a focus on what you lack or how your loved have not met your expectations.
It is estimated that you have about 60,000 thoughts a day. Many of these subconscious stirrings, by the way, are remnants of what you picked up in childhood experiences. Though you may not be aware of this inner stream of thoughts, you can be once you focus your attention on becoming aware of your “self-talk.”
- A different focus shifts the thoughts and images in your mind.
Your beliefs are perceptions that interpret the events in your life. When you shift your perceptions inside, your outward behaviors change, as does the physiology of your entire body.
The moment you see or hear of a person who is successful at something you aspire to achieve, such as, for example, a trim-healthy body, a prosperous business or a great mutually enriching love relationship, etc., what thoughts automatically fire inside your mind?
If you’ve achieved a measure of success in a certain area, your brain most likely produces positive thoughts, such as “I wonder how much work and passion went into their success?” In contrast, if it’s an area you’ve struggled with for some time, or even worse seemingly “always,” you are likely to automatically think some negative thoughts, such as, “When will I ever … so and so?” or “Why does he get all the breaks?” or ”I hate her, her success annoys me.”
No doubt, these thought patterns produce drastically different behavior patterns.
These subconscious exchanges between you and life around you are potentially life changing … and the more aware you become of even minor inner changes you are making, the more you notice their, at times, miracle-making effect on others and life around you.
When neurons fire together, accordingly, they rewire in patterned ways.
As is often said in neuroscience since the late 1990s, neurons that “fire together, wire together.” When a pair of neurons fire at the same time, they build an association or connection between them.
- This is what happens whenever learning takes place.
Whenever you learn something new, a new grouping of cells comes together to form neural associations between them. If you learn something new, it is because either old or new neurons are wiring together in new ways. When you hear certain words or see certain images around you, and respond to what you see and hear in different ways, for example, your brain automatically forms new associations. With repetition or practice, these connections thicken and strengthen, meaning the behavioral response is more likely to be repeated.
- This, by the way, is how you learned all of what you know, even how to walk, run and ride a bike.
Even prior to birth, your brain began processes of structuring neurons in certain patterns, wiring and rewiring neurons together to form set pathways that permitted the essential transmission of these chemical and electrical messages throughout the neural network of your body. As you can imagine, most of this learning happens subconsciously, that is, without a lot of conscious thinking on your part.
When you apply focused attention to these processes, however, you get to actually choose the specific changes you want to make to your brain. This key finding in the field of neuroscience is discussed by several experts in the field, for example:
The power to direct our attention has within it the power to shape our brain’s firing patterns, as well as the power to shape the architecture of the brain itself. ~ DANIEL L. SIEGEL, M.D.
In short, practicing a new way of responding to or thinking about an old issue causes neurons to fire together in different ways, forming new connections, perhaps new neurons.
New learning occurs as new cells and connections between cells are formed. Though events and experiences may alter the structure of your brain, new learning and connections largely depend upon how you respond to events around you, rather than the actual events themselves. If your brain is in a protective mode, such as may occur, for example, when you or someone criticizes you, your body turns off the brain’s learning mode. (You know all those lectures you’ve heard or given? They were a waste of time and energy.)
You are always in the process of becoming what you are most thinking. Thoughts shape your actions. You become what you do. Let your brain work for you with optimal efficiency by discovering the power of consciously focusing your attention.
How is it possible for attention to produce structural changes in the brain? This will be the topic of Part 2 of this post.
In the meantime, remember:
“What we are today comes from out thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.” ~ BUDDHA
Are you conscious of your thoughts?
RESOURCES
Cozolino, Louis (2002). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain. NY: W. W. Norton.
Siegel, Daniel J. (1999). The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are. NY: Guilford Press.
Advances in neuroscience now enable researchers to ask more sophisticated questions about what optimizes our personal and relational health, happiness, well being – and life in general.Thanks to advanced technological measurements, for example, instead of theoretical questions, we now can ask causal questions, such as what practices or lifestyle changes lower anxiety or depression, or heighten compassion or physical health today as compared to yesterday.
That’s exciting news.
One of those questions has to do with the effects of shifting the focus of our attention on the brain.
In Part 1, we discussed the significance of how the particular focus of our thoughts differentially affect the firing and wiring of neurons in the brain.
It is not thoughts in and of themselves, however, that fire and wire neurons in the brain.
What makes your thoughts so powerful is that they directly cause changes to your emotional states.The cells in your body respond to your thoughts, in particular, interpretive thoughts, the kind that explain (to your body’s operating system, the subconscious mind) how you see the world in any given moment in time.
If you see a snake, for example, your body’s survival response is likely to get activated, right? Unless, of course, you are a snake handler. Why? As an expert snake handler, you’d likely have totally different beliefs about how to relate to a snake, ones that allow you to work with snakes without triggering your “fight or flee” survival response!
Interpretive thoughts are beliefs. They form critical perception filters that your subconscious mind, the part of the mind that runs all the systems of your body, uses to activate processes inside. Essentially, your perceptions are a vital pool of information that allows your subconscious mind to perform its twofold overarching tasks of:
- Ensuring your basic survival.
- Reminding you of the inborn higher purpose yearnings you have to thrive (arguably, these emotional drives to meaningfully connect to life around you are much more compelling than survival instincts).
Your brain is always primarily in one mode or the other, by the way. Your subconscious mind is continually eavesdropping on your inner self-talk 24/7. A master at multi-tasking, remarkably, your subconscious is designed to process millions of bits of information per second, in contrast to your conscious mind that only needs to process hundreds at any given time to do its job.
Your thoughts:
- Form the perception filters that your subconscious mind depends on to interpret incoming data.
- Produce images in your mind that activate emotions and associated felt physical sensations throughout the body.
Thus, thoughts alone do not power the actual wiring and firing to effect actual structural changes.
What determines whether neurons fire or not, and how they fire, is – emotion!According to Dr. Candace Pert, it is “molecules of emotion” that make possible all the chemical reactions necessary to run your body.
Your emotions:
- Form essential “sensing molecules” (receptors) and “binding substances” (ligands) throughout the body.
- Facilitate a complex communication network that allows all systems of the body to instantly and effectively connect and share vital information.
- Are the basic units of information that all cells throughout your body use to “talk” with one another about what action to take or not take to best perform their function.
- Add critical dimensions of meaning without which your capacity for logic, understanding and decision-making would not be possible or severely limited.
Emotions are the chemical messengers that fire and wire the neurons of your brain (and body) according to … the interpretive thoughts you are thinking in a given moment or situation.
Logic doesn’t control behaviors. Emotions do.
Thoughts contain the emotional nuances of your experience of events. Emotion is what sculpts the synaptic connections of your brain, determining, for example, what action you take or whether or not you take any action at all.
Thoughts and emotions are designed to work together, however.
In cases where you experience problems, stuck places, addictive compulsions or emotional suffering in your life, such as depression or anxiety, etc., it is because your thinking patterns are preventing your conscious mind (logic) and subconscious mind (emotions, heart) from working together. This produces imbalance in your life, and the primary cause of this imbalance, in my experience, is the emotion of — fear.
The “well-meaning” protective blocks, walls, barriers that fear builds in the body and mind are what ultimately block you from stretching and growing out of “old” comfortable places that you must leave behind, much like a butterfly a cocoon, in order to realize the happiness and empowered life you want to live.
In reality, whatever “comfort” these stuck places offer is merely a false sense of security. In truth, at best, these “comfort” zones seriously impair your ability to realize the inborn yearning for happiness you are designed to fulfill.
You need a way of thinking that empowers optimal emotions at any given time, a way of “making sense” of your life experiences that consciously creates healthful conditions for your brain and body.
We’ve been looking at, in Part 1 and Part 2, how shifts in focus change thoughts, how thoughts activate emotional states, and how emotions decide whether or how neurons fire and wire to produce structural changes in the brain.Activated by your perceptions, emotions are powerful energies that direct the dynamic processes in the body.
Together, emotions and (interpretive) thoughts:
- Produce physiological sensations felt throughout the physical body.
- Release hormones into the bloodstream that affect the balance, or homeostasis, of the body’s systems.
- Stimulate the basic cells of the brain, neurons, to fire in particular patterns.
- Sculpt the synaptic connections of your brain.
- Shape the actions you take or whether you take action at all.
Neurologically, your mind and body are always in one of two overarching emotional states – either love or fear.The number of nuances and intensities of these core emotions may be countless, yet all emotional responses and physiological sensations in the body are, in some way, rooted in love or fear.
Emotions of empathy, joy, or gratitude are examples of core emotional states of love (and connection), whereas emotions of hurt, disappointment, or shame are examples of core emotional states of fear (and disconnect). For example, if you decide to focus on faults or unfulfilled expectations, this will likely produce painful feelings inside that are rooted in fear, whereas a focus on what’s working well or your past accomplishments will likely energize inner feelings rooted in love, which are pleasant.
Other labels can be used for love and fear. For example, for love, we can choose the words ‘empathy’ or ‘compassion,’ and, for fear, we can choose the words ‘anxiety’ or ‘stress.’ The point is that the label we use is … not the point.
What is essential to note is that:
- These core emotions alter the physiological state of the body and mind in the overall direction of one or the other.
- The key attribute of love that promotes a sense of safety and makes feelings of love possible is … connection.
- The key attribute of fear that signals danger and alerts the brain to activate the body’s survival systems is … disconnect.
“Every communication is either a loving response or a cry for help.”What makes this intuitive statement so profound is that, stated in different words, it accurately describes the two modes of the brain.
Associated with core felt states of love and fear, the brain is always in one of two modes, either in “learning” or “protective” mode.The former describes the mind and body in a natural state of balance, one in which you are open to reflectively think and learn from your experiences or environment. In contrast, the latter describes the body in “fight or flight” mode, a state in which your defense strategies put up barriers and walls that automatically and purposefully block processes of the higher cortex, such as reflective thinking, and in effect, block change.
Based on this, it is safe to say that:
- Love or fear decides the overall mode of the brain.
In contrast, when you feel connected (to self, life, others in the present moment), despite the circumstances around you, you likely feel an overall sense of love and safety. What is now happening in the brain to make this difference? In this case, Oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone that produces a felt sense of safety and bonding, of love and connection, is released into the bloodstream.
The feelings of trust and connection that this hormone stimulates automatically reverse the survival response by reducing fear and anxiety. Oxytocin is the body’s antidote to Cortisol.
- Your brain is a relationship organ.
Your brain is all about relationships, thus, your deepest strivings are for love and meaningful connection to life within and around you. This explains why love (for your self as well as others) enhances your sense of security – and why some of your greatest fears have to do with loss of love & disconnect.
- As an adult, early protective neural patterns no longer serve you.
Whenever you experience re-occurring problems, stuck places, addictive compulsions or emotional suffering in your life, such as chronic depression or anxiety, etc., it is likely connected to these early neural patterns that, essentially, prevent your conscious mind (logic) and subconscious mind (emotions, heart) from working together.
- Because you are also wired for love, the strategies you use to protect or defend yourself can concurrently cause intense feelings of disconnect.
So often, it appears, the very things we most need to heal are what we most fear and avoid, and, simultaneously, the very things we most need to let go of and consciously release are the very things we crave.
Much anxiety is a misinterpretation of what poses a threat or danger to you.
How can this knowledge help you optimize your life, and take charge of the direction of change in your own brain?The emotion of fear, survival fears in particular, can have a paralyzing effect on the brain, that is, unless you know how to process fear in ways that allow your brain to engage in certain natural integrative processes. If not, early-survival fears can jam the network for purposes that are often well-intentioned, yet misinformed.
Essentially, these are scaring you into protecting yourself in situations where it is not necessary to do so!
More precisely, certain perceptions that you formed as a small child, and that you associated at the time to early-survival fears, such as fear of rejection, abandonment, inadequacy – in moments of stress – can hijack the otherwise amazing capacity of your brain to heal old wounds and make the changes you want (even miraculous ones).
You need a way of thinking and responding to challenging situations that empowers you to “make sense” of your life experiences and, at the same time, promotes healthful conditions for your brain and body.
Your thoughts are a powerful energy that can, and do, completely shape your responses, even as they change the state of your mind and body to what you believe and hold in your conscious awareness. How can you consciously command these inner processes? For starters:
- Learn how your brain works—from infancy to adulthood, your brain directly shapes and is shaped by relationships throughout life.
- Identify any limiting beliefs by noticing what you’re telling yourself in your mind, your “self-talk.”
- Clarify your vision of the life you aspire to realize, and, most important how you want to be and relate to yourself, others, your mind and body, your life.
- Develop your ability to shift to the most optimal emotional state given the circumstance.
- Energize your imagination to keep your focus on your vision and the particular changes you want to make to the circuitry of your brain.
- Set an intention to break free of limiting fears, and consciously allow your thoughts and actions to stem from a heart space of love and connection.
You want healing, and positive change? Go for it. You are wired with circuitry for caring, compassion and empathy.
RESOURCES:
Cozolino, Louis (2002). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain. NY: W. W. Norton.
Damasio, Antonio (2010). Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain. NY: Pantheon Books.
Siegel, Daniel J. (1999). The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are. NY: Guilford Press.
