Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything; perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships; they’re all a projection of you.
Deepak Chopra
The human brain is truly a marvel. It communicates at incredible speeds, constantly makes connections, develops into your 40’s, processes and stores massive amounts of information, and so much more. The following 5 things you must know about your mind may amaze you even further:
5 Things You Must Know About Your Mind
1. The brain does not know the difference between reality and imagination
The brain reacts to whatever you think about in the same exact way it would as if that thing was actually happening. This is how the placebo effect works. If the brain believes that you are taking a pharmaceutical drug (when it’s actually a sugar pill) the body actually reacts as if the sugar pill was a real drug. We also see this in the nocebo effect. The nocebo effect is the placebo effect in reverse. Instead of the brain curing illness it actually creates it because of a belief. That’s how a hypochondriac can watch the evening news, hear about a new illness and actually start to feel the symptoms of that illness by believing that he actually has it.
If you don’t believe that the brain does not know the difference between something real and something you merely think about, just sit back and think about something bad happening to someone you love. Even if the person that you love is two feet in front of you and completely safe you will start to feel anxiety in the pit of your stomach. This happens when a part of your brain called the hypothalamus triggers a release of a chemical called cortisol from your adrenal glands.
The good news is that when you think positive thoughts, the brain reacts as if that thought is reality and triggers the release of all the “feel-good” hormones and chemicals that would be released if that thing were actually taking place. A positive or affirmative thought has been shown to be much more powerful than a negative thought.
2. You experience what you think about most.
Whatever you think about most is increasingly brought into your experience. For instance, if you buy a new car you will start to see that particular car everywhere. Why didn’t you notice that car before you bought yours? You didn’t notice it because you didn’t own one yourself. When you bought your car you started to think about it more frequently. When you think about something a lot you start to see all the opportunities that reinforce your specific thought pattern.
Why is this important to understand?
It’s important because if you find yourself always attracting the wrong person or stressful situation, you need to reprogram your thoughts. Whatever you think about on a regular basis is training you to pick up on situations that match that vibration. Positive people attract positive people and situations, while negative people attract negative people and situations. This is not a coincidence. Your thoughts are controlling this pattern. Before wishing for someone else to change try changing yourself first and watch the magic unfold.
3. Your mind runs mostly on autopilot
On average, the human brain has about 60,000 thoughts a day. Not only are many of these thoughts the same thoughts we had yesterday, there can also be many negative thoughts dwelling on something “bad” in the past or fearing something that could potentially happen in the future. And since the brain does not know the difference between something real and something you think about, if you think something ‘bad’, the negative thoughts can subconsciously corrupt your life. Negative thoughts not only create stress and anxiety, but can train your brain to be in a constant state of distress, and even decrease the effectiveness of your immune system.
Train your brain to think more positive thoughts. When you re-wire your brain and help the subconscious mind think positively, you’ll begin to reap one benefit after another, and ultimately see a more positive experience in your life.
4. Shutting off your mind is a must
You can literally begin to turn off the thousands and thousands of automatic negative thoughts that run through your mind every day. When turning off these negative thoughts, you can boost the immune system, attract better health, and even attract more positive people and situations into life. But it all starts with thoughts.
Thoughts create exactly what we attract.
One of the most important things you can ever do for your health and well being is meditation. Meditation does not have to be mysterious. Meditation simply means that you stop thinking and are present. As stated above we have on average 60 000 thoughts every single day – but there is a time when these thoughts should not be running. The mind should be used as a tool; we should think when we need to, and when it’s productive – then simply be present when we need to not think. Because stress and anxiety is based in our thoughts about things and situations (not things or situations themselves) stress and anxiety will wither away. You can easily learn how to meditate by reading articles, or watching guided videos online.
5. You can literally “change your brain.”
When you focus your thoughts on what you desire, the process of building new neural connections begins. This process is known as Neuroplasticity. For instance, if you have the subconscious belief that, “I cannot lose weight” and you start to think over and over and over again, “I am in great shape” you will start to build a new neural connection in the brain. When this happens your eyes start to notice opportunities that if acted upon will bring that new belief into reality.
You have the complete ability to transform your life by the thoughts you hold in your mind. You have the ability to attract absolutely anything we desire. You have the ability to actually change your brain in a very real, physical way. It all starts with your thoughts. Your thoughts create.
