Good Morning Sunshine!
Part 2. “How does your brain figure out the cause of sense data, so that it prepares for the best action? Without direct access to those causes, your brain has to guess.” An interesting thought is it not? Not when you think of your brain as one big filing cabinet. We store lots of things in there; to be pulled up and used. The brain is always on high alert to be ready for “something”. It relies on what we know. Have you ever thought about why you think of what you are thinking about or have thought about? Why it comes up in the combinations it does? It reminds me of the word association game. And if this is how the mind works, then why not take a look at the files when something is not quite what you really want or is appropriate for what’s happening? More to the point, the brain makes suggestions, but we don’t have to go with those thoughts! As soon as we change the thoughts up by essentially saying “No, not that one!” The brain ruffles around for different references, and will finesse what we want. New data, a focus on positive things and we go there rather than to the more negative files in our brain.
“And so, in every moment, your brain remembers past experiences that are similar to your present circumstances, to guess what might happen in the next moment, so it can prepare the body’s next action. Guessing (and potentially correcting mistakes) is more efficient than reacting from scratch.” I like this example. So, what ever we file away as a truest reality will be what we call up as a reference. Our minds are so trim line we don’t even think about the goals and motive behind our words and actions. We don’t always have to, but there are times we should! “These predictions, are, in effect, your brain changing the firing of its own neurons to prepare your body to act, a second or so before the movements actually occur. This predictive process happens completely outside your awareness, but it is continuous throughout your life, and a growing number of scientists are now “pretty sure” that it’s a primary driver of your actions.” My thought is, then what we learn, and take in as good information matters.
I am finding that how I look at the loss of my husband makes a huge difference in moving forward. The more “better ways”____in which I look at his death, the more these framed thoughts come up first. I was applying this way of thinking before Tom died, and it helps me to move past the thoughts I do not want to fall into. I find the more I step into something else and change the subject on myself, the quicker I move on to happier thinking, and can focus on the things I do. I am very interested in how the mind works.
For example, I think in terms of one-liners, at least that is what I am calling them. My one liners go like this. “Of course I should cry, and feel sad! I feel this way because of how we loved one another.” Or it might be, “Just feel the feelings, it will pass.” The more I remind myself of these thoughts the more they come up. I am able to use just a couple sentences to bring me into balance rather than buy into feeling sad all day. If I were to kick in all the sad things about Tom I would call all of that up in a flash! How we think does matter! What we think does also!
I have quoted from BBC Science Focus Magazine, an article by Dr. Lisa Feldman, Your mysterious brain, Do we really have free will?
“free′ will′. n. 1. free and independent choice; voluntary decision. 2. the doctrine that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.” What do you think? I think the brain uses the gas we put in its engine, regular or premium, but if we understand the mechanics of the engine, we can finesse how the engine works, and make it work better.
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