Ok, well, I'm ready to at least start tackling this page. The science is my weakness, so if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to send an email: wleute@whole-istic-reiki.com. A little bit about the brain.... Our frontal lobe is our area of free will, or choice. It is what allows us to change our minds. However, in most of us, it is pretty inactive.... we allow it to sleep a lot. Basically, we do most of our "choosing" based on our past: our past experiences, our past observations, what our parents, teachers, etc. have taught us in the past.... and so on. So what we're always "choosing", and what we're always "getting", is based on what we think we already "know". Yeah, Yeah, I know. Right about now, you're saying. "That's not true, I try new things all the time!" Well, you're pretty much trying "new" things based on what you've seen, (maybe in a movie) or what you've been told (maybe by a friend, or a book). Right? When is the last time you created something new, or created a new thought, or created a new reality? When is the last time you really, really changed your mind? When is the last time you decided you didn't like a particular situation in or about your life, consciously changed the direction of your thoughts, and therefore consciously changed your life? A-ha! Not many of us really do this, do we? We feel "stuck' in situations we don't like, maybe it's a relationship, or a job, or whatever, but we don't do anything to change our life. We are at least in a situation that we "know", as opposed to making a change and venturing off into the "unknown".
Well, back to the brain..... our brains are made up of tiny nerve cells, which are called neurons. These neurons have branches, which reach out to the branches of other neurons, and create what is then called a neural network. Each place that these neurons connect with each other is where our thoughts, ideas and feelings are constructed. The brain builds up all of it's concepts by the law of associative memory. However, the brain does not recognize the difference between what it actually remembers, versus what it "sees" in it's environment. Now, to tie it all together: It's much easier to use the neural pathways that are already wired, than to interrupt this, and start to look at other possibilites and other potentials..... therefore, "choosing" what we already "know". Now, if you repeat something, a thought or a feeling for example, over and over again, these neural cells have a long-term relationship with each other, and they become hard-wired. They are all "firing" together. And now we see what we call "habitual" ways of thinking, feeling, behaving. Because of the daily practice of these thought patterns, feelings and behaviors, we have created our identities and our lives. So, for example, if we've spent years having low self-esteem, thinking we are unworthy and undeserving, this is now hard-wired into our brains. The good news is: This can all be changed! If neurons no longer fire together, then they are no longer wired together! They begin to lose the connections! Every time we stop the thought processes, every time we interrupt the firing of the neural network -- those neurons that are wired together, even those that have been in long-term relationships, start breaking up. New neural pathways will grow as a result of our efforts, which helps make it easier to do! Now we can literally start changing our minds, with the help of our brains.
Music Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod Early Alzheimer's DiseaseOffering a wide variety of articles relating to alzheimer's disease including diagnosing, treatments, home care, nursing home facilities, support groups, reasearch and finding a cure, early alzheimer's, and other related information. This page was last modified on Thursday, August 02, 2007 08:46:39 PM |