The Mind-Body Cure. Bal Pawa
Conscious Brain
The negativity bias hardwired in our brains evolved to allow us to have an indelible memory of negative and fearful experiences, reducing the likelihood we would come to harm in the future. In other words, the brain developed systems that would focus our attention on danger so that we would respond to it. In psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson’s words, our brain is like Velcro for negative experiences (that is, they stick well) and like Teflon for positive ones (that is, these memories are not as “sticky”). Research suggests we are three to five times more likely to remember negative experiences than positive ones.3 Therefore, says Hanson, to embed the “good stuff” we have to consciously secure and store positive experiences into our memories using all our senses.4 He calls this technique “taking in the good.”
Though we naturally tend to amplify negative, traumatic memories, we can do the same for pleasant experiences. When we taste, smell, touch, and feel good experiences, we amplify those experiences and their stored memory, and we can recall those positive memories at will to help neutralize some of the traumatic events. Some people are already hardwired this way or have already consciously or subconsciously cultivated a mindset that focuses on the good stuff. Others can acquire this skill when they become aware of their thought processes. Yet others remain focused on threats and fears and go through life with a big rain cloud over their heads not realizing that their subconscious is running their life story.
➤ Turn a Negative Bias into a Positive One: Story, Savor, Smile
Motivational speaker Mel Robbins talks about the importance of story, savor, and smile as three ways to change the way the brain encodes a memory.5 How do we relate the events to our subconscious? What is our story? Are we the victim? Do we feel hopeless and trapped? Can we recognize a pattern? When good things happen, our negativity bias means we are less likely to pay much attention. Yet, the mind is a powerful storyteller with a vivid imagination full of pictures and sensory information. When the mind is collaborative, it tells a positive story and remembers the event as positive for future use. Feel-good chemicals flood the body each time the story is told.
To reinforce a positive story, Robbins recommends we savor, or make a conscious effort to create and embed, those positive experiences. Research supports that idea: prolonged activation of a brain region called the ventral striatum is directly linked to sustaining positive emotions and reward.6 For example, if you win a running race (or receive recognition), take the time to revel in the admiration, enjoy the sense of accomplishment, praise yourself for your effort, and enjoy the honor rather than minimizing the event to go on to the next goal. Enjoy and savor it on a multisensorial level: hear the cheering crowds, appreciate the weight of the medal around your neck, welcome the warmth of the sun on your back, embrace all the hugs afterward. Don’t focus on the next race you will enter. If you don’t stop to savor the moment, your mind will gloss over this success and your brain will not hardwire the memory.
To further enhance a memory, smile. A smile is a natural human response to something pleasant. We use muscles to smile, and we memorize the positive emotion that goes with the smile. Once you have a good story memory and you have savored it on a sensory level, use your smile muscles to further embed the memory. So even when you may not feel like smiling, the physical act of smiling triggers a more positive signal in the brain because of muscle memory. When it comes to smiling, “fake it till you make it” is not a bad thing when the alternative is a negative mindset setting you up for disease.
TRY THESE ADDITIONAL STEPS to master your conscious brain mindset.
➤ Train Your Brain
Creating a health mindset uses the principles of neuroplasticity to emphasize the relationship between learning and “brain training.” Just like any muscle, we can train our brain by doing “mind reps.” The key to forming new neural networks is to observe our patterns of inner dialogue and change our vocabulary from criticism and judgment to encouragement and compassion. I find it helpful to start my day by setting an intention to mindfully catch and observe my thoughts. At least eight to ten times each day, I try to become aware of my automatic pathways and consciously change my vocabulary if it is negative. For example, I might try to use the word “learning” instead of “failing.” If you are struggling, you could use the phrase, “I haven’t mastered a health mindset yet,” inferring that with time it will happen. “Not yet” is a wonderful way to reassure the brain that we are making progress. Discerning the phrase “room for improvement” from “failure” helps our inner critic be more encouraging and compassionate.
When we practice mindful meditation, we allow the mind to go quiet. As we observe our thoughts, we gain more conscious control over what thoughts we allow. The relaxed brain becomes more receptive to new learning, because neuroplasticity is more effective when the mind and body are in rest-and-digest mode.7 Meditation alters our neural chemistry, transforms our electrical brain waves, and enhances blood flow to areas of the brain that encode memory. All of these conditions are perfect for embedding new behaviors.
Counseling tools such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), emotional freedom technique (EFT), and many other reframing techniques are available to help us gain more control over our emotions. CBT is used to help people with a variety of mental health disorders overcome distorted thought patterns (cognitive) and impact their actions (behavior). NLP is a therapy that connects neurological processes, language, and behavior patterns to create change to meet specific therapeutic goals. EFT is a therapy that brings together a variety of alternative medicines, including tapping and energy, to treat both physical and psychological disorders. Tapping specific acupressure points seems to allow some patients to regain control of the disordered brain waves associated with anxiety. That is, EF T aims to understand the subconscious thoughts and beliefs that underlie our choices, so we can ensure they are beneficial to our health.
The key to all of these techniques is that by understanding how and why our negative thoughts arise, we can consciously replace them with new patterns of thinking. When we do this frequently and repetitively, the new thought patterns become automatic neural circuits that benefit our brain, our ANS, and our overall health and well-being. Although CBT is quite well established, most psychiatrists do not yet fully endorse NLP and EFT, and more data and research will be needed before they are widely used. However, their ability to address subconscious beliefs as well as conscious ones makes them interesting areas to explore, and many patients have already benefited from these techniques.
Learning is the “journey” and more important than the destination. If we emphasize learning well over learning fast, we garner better results. Reinforce the new learned behavior by using reflection techniques to embed the “good stuff” and enhance the memory. Take the time to replay positive emotions such as pride and inspiration and to re-experience the situation using all your senses. The more often we choose to self-accept, self-approve, and self-appreciate, the more that behavior becomes part of our internal hard drive. Thus, we need to reward the actions we have taken, not the thoughts we passed through our brain.
➤ Neurobic Exercises
Just as we do aerobics to activate and tone our muscles, we can do brain exercises (neurobics) to stimulate our senses in new and unexpected ways.8 Our efficient brain runs on autopilot most of the time: every day we pretty mindlessly wake up, brush our teeth, take a shower, use the same route to work. When you change up the routine, the brain has to become more conscious and aware of your mind. So neurobic exercises not only engage the conscious mind, they also help to grow new neural circuits.
In his book Keep Your Brain Alive, neurobiologist Dr. Lawrence Katz suggested eighty-three exercises to increase mental fitness. Each exercise met two criteria. First, it had to use one or more senses in a new way. For example, he suggested brushing your teeth with your eyes closed or with your nondominant hand. Second, it had to break a routine in an unexpected way that evoked an emotion such as happiness, love, or anger.