Reverse Engineering Our Brain.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
- Plutarch
Episode 32.
The way that you feel influences what you think. The way that you think influences how you feel. Maybe read that again.
It is not poignant, but it is important to grasp this non-linear dynamical system if we are to reverse engineer our brains in a few paragraphs of a blog.
We typically think of our brain as just another organ, a part of our body; a 3.5-pound mass that helps us remember people's names, navigate problems at work, and score us a 1200 on the SAT. But really, your brain has evolved to control your body. There is a continual conversation between your brain and every cell in your body. Your brain is making predictions and running simulations. Who you are in any given moment is influenced by the state of your body and the state of the environment. These are broad features on which your brain is making constant objective measurements- shifting and modulating to keep you alive and in allostasis, or under predictable control; anticipating the needs of your body.
External stimuli can significantly influence your brain and your body systems. This includes the words we hear. As a speech pathologist, I have keen interest in, and awareness of the power that language has over our biology.
I can text the words, "I love you" from 1000 miles away, and can change your heart rate, breathing rhythm, pupil dilation, and metabolism.
Or you could me text something ambiguous like, "is your door locked?" and affect my nervous system in a negative way.
The language centers in our brains, responsible for processing incoming data in the form of symbols (words), are integrated into the same regions that are critical in autonomic nervous system control (respiration, cardiac, endocrine, immune systems). Our intertwined neurons make language a direct influencer on our body’s reactions.
Reverse engineering here- the language we hear and the language we speak (to others and to ourselves) can directly impact the health of our cardiac, respiratory, immune, endocrine system functions!
Humans are the only species who use ideas and words to regulate each other. We can effectively motivate, disappoint, compliment, offend, pleasure, scar, or impassion another person, just from our external stance of combining phonemes to formulate intelligible and perceivable sounds into words.
And this gift of complex language is also the way in which we think- the incessant chatter that fills our heads…
words upon words upon words...
dialogue with ourself...
monologue as a solo soapbox performance...
narration of our experiences...
all symbolic representations; but not necessarily accurate.
Mind feeding brain, brain influencing body.
Reverse engineering here- If we are in the world of thought, we have influence over our body.
Does your body sometimes feel wiped out? Burdened? Zapped of energy? Could it be utter exhaustion from the ceaseless noise of your own talking?
Reverse engineering here- Are we able to create some space between the commotion of our mind? Are we able to step aside to observe the story, instead of becoming entangled in the story? Are we able to interrupt ourselves for a moment to actually listen? Could this be a key to contentment? A release from suffering? Allow your brain to sit and settle with some space, instead of being hijacked by the language of your thoughts.
What to do in this space?
Be aware of your thoughts.
Be the observer, just for a moment.
Take a deep breath.
Start here.
Breath Over Thought,
Jess
“Stop thinking, and end your problems.” - Lao Tzu
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly." - Marcus Aurelius
"Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts." -Soren Kierkegaard
Do it all with Love. Nothing is promised. But everything is workable.
To get these weekly episodes of THE SHIFT in your inbox, free…. sign up here THE SHIFT NEWSLETTER
