The Neuroscience of Changing Thinking Patterns (1 of 2)

Your brain is wired to produce change, a constant in the brain, as it is in life.

Change involves learning, and all learning generates change in the brain. When you seek to replace a behavior, such as a toxic thinking pattern, your actions produce neurochemical and molecular changes in cells known as neurons.

As messengers, neurons communicate by transmitting electrical signals between them, and these signals are activated by the exchange of chemicals in the synapses.

Your brain and body are a sophisticated communication network. Your subconscious mind, the mind of your body, manages all of the systemic processes that you do not have to think about – as well as all of your personal requests, wants or commands – both conscious and subconscious.

This vast and complex network manages the flow of information that, quite literally, shapes your behaviors and in many ways your life.  These electrical impulses, you may say, consist of molecules of emotion that are designed to “control” the overall direction of your life, arguably, to produce optimal outcomes in the highest interest of your health and wellbeing.

Who or what controls this flow of information is a fascinating question to explore, do you think? In this post and the next, we’ll explore a few possibilities … conscious and subconscious.

What sparks these electrical-chemical processes?

Here’s some “truth with a capital T”: Thoughts spark emotion-driven action.

Your thoughts create inner standards or rules that spark neurochemical dynamic processes, which selectively govern your choices and actions with precision.

It takes a thought to spark an emotion, or drive a decision to take an action or to take no action at all. And emotions give meaning to thoughts; they are the spark.

Toxic thinking is self-perpetuating. It not only stimulates the body’s reward or learning centers with pseudo feel-good feelings, it also activates the body’s fear response, which further increases the likelihood that the defensive behaviors it triggers will be repeated.

Unless you set an intention to make conscious changes, more often, change that occurs at subconscious levels tends to be self-perpetuating.

What informs these changes?

Two types of information inform these changes: hard-wired and soft-wired.

• Hard-wired information.

Hard-wired information tells your subconscious how your mind and body work. Hard-wired information is nonverbal. As the body’s operating system, your subconscious came equipped with the knowledge and know-how to operate the billions of cells of your body. For obvious reasons, the subconscious does not depend on language to instruct it.

Not unlike your computer’s operating system, for example, that knows whether it’s operating a Mac versus a PC, the subconscious knows you are a human being, and that it must operate certain processes outside of your awareness, for example, your respiratory or cardiovascular systems, or its directives to ensure you survive and thrive.

As magnificent as the conscious mind is, it has no where near the capacity to perform these functions. In truth, it would probably take you all day just to type one word on the keyboard if you had to consciously direct all the mind and body processes that make this possible.

The hard-wired directives for you to both survive and thrive are particularly noteworthy. Together, they form the motivational drives that, conceivably, shape your every behavior.

The brain is always in one of two modes; it is either in “protective mode” (to survive) or in “learning mode” (to thrive).

For the purpose of survival, for example, the subconscious knows you need food, water and oxygen, etc., to survive; thus, it breathes you, and makes you thirsty or hungry so that you can attend to the needs and care of your body.

It also knows your physical survival is connected in intricate ways to your emotional survival.

The subconscious is the mind of your body.

Thus, whether you understand its messages or not, your subconscious continually communicates with you through emotion-based action-signals.

And, some of the most useful action signals from the subconscoius are: in the form of painful emotions.

Conceivably, that’s because, more often than not, human beings only change when the pain of not changing gets greater than the pain of changing.

Upsetting emotions are fears in the form of disappointment, unmet expectations, hurt, etc., all of which provide essential albeit painful feedback. Upsetting emotions are also action signals. They let you know, for example, that you want to do and to feel better (and that you are trying to figure out how!).

Painful emotions, you may say, are reminders that, you are wired to continue striving to learn how to live an optimally fulfilling, meaningful life.

• Soft-wired information. Soft-wired information tells your subconscious how you personally interpret your world at any given time – in relation to fulfilling your inner strivings to both survive and thrive. Soft-wired information is both verbal and nonverbal.

Soft-wired information consists of language-based thoughts, words, belief systems, etc., that are inseparable from the nonverbal emotions and feeling sensations they spark.

When you experience certain emotions and physical sensations at any given time, it means your subconscious mind (body) is letting you know how you currently interpret (think about), and thus, feel about one or all of the following:

• The data your five senses are picking up from life around you: visual (sight), auditory (hearing), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste).
• The thoughts you are thinking in the moment, your “self-talk” – which may be focused on past, present or current experience, or a combination of these.
• The current beliefs or belief systems your subconscious mind holds up as perception filters to interpret any incoming data, as well as what is going on inside you, i.e., thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, wants, inborn strivings, etc.

The point is that these cells, under the management of the subconscious mind, are hard-wired to act like an inner genie of sorts. To the best of its ability, in response to your thoughts, beliefs and values, your subconscious says, “Your wish is my command!”

The cells of your body’s “mind” are constantly eavesdropping on the conversations, or “self-talk,” you have with yourself inside. This is a 24/7 mission.

Your subconscious is wired to dutifully follow your commands.  Your self-talk comprises thoughts and beliefs that form the perception filters that your subconscious mind totally depends on to interpret the events you experience in and around you.

Most of your perceptions are soft-wired, that is, they’re not hard-wired directives in your nature.

Your perceptions were learned and therefore can be unlearned, changed or replaced.

So, who’s in control, conscious or subconscious you?

Your subconscious wears many hats. It has served and serves you as a protector, teacher and guide, as well as a manager, a loyal fan and even a dedicated genie.

Ultimately, however, your subconscious mind knows that it is in your highest interest to take the helm as captain of the ship called your life. Your subconscious is not wired to act primarily as an alarm (what a waste!) that keeps coming to your rescue, to save and protect you. Like an overprotective parent, this blocks you from growing your capacity to handle your fears without activating your body’s fear response.

• Your subconscious is not wired to act primarily as an alarm (what a waste!) that keeps coming to your rescue, to save and protect you.
• Like an overprotective parent, this blocks you from growing your capacity to handle your fears without activating your body’s fear response.

So who’s in control?

So who is in control during protective mode- unquestionably, your subconscious mind is. Whenever your subconscious thinks you cannot handle your fears, it automatically activates the body’s sympathetic nervous system.

How does your subconscious “know” you “cannot handle” your fears? Your thoughts and beliefs are saying so!

Based on anxious thoughts (which are mostly a misinterpretation of what poses a threat or danger to you), the survival response performs a coup d’état of the body, literally, usurping the energies of all its systems. This also cuts off communication with higher thinking parts of the brain, by switching “learning mode” off and “protective mode” on.

When are you in control? You are in control to the extent that you know how keep your brain in “learning mode” in moments when you get triggered. This means knowing how to consciously use language to calm your mind and body, which allows your logic and emotions to work cooperatively, rather than than in opposition to one another.

conscious work to produce conscious change

Learning be aware and stay with and to process your feelings and thoughts in present moments, are all methods proven to help you heal and transform your fears into assets. Modifications in how you think or act have the power to rework your brain and body’s communication system.

Here are several areas to practice conscious change:

1. Develop your connection to your body.

Emotions and felt sensations – are messages from your body to you.

Practice feeling your feelings with presence, calm and full acceptance.

2. Cultivate healthy relationships with your self and life.

The most vital relationship, as an adult, is the one you have with yourself, and all parts of yourself, your mind, body, and emotions.

3. Grow awareness of your thoughts and the words you use.

Since words spark emotional states, it helps to grow your capacity to consciously calm your mind and body with your words and thoughts. This directly supports your mind and body to work together cooperatively. Identify any toxic thinking patterns or limiting beliefs you hold, and consciously observe the impact of different words on your own and others’ emotional states. Become aware of your triggers, and how certain words or thoughts activate your body’s fear-response.

4. Befriend your subconscious mind.

To make changes, you need your subconscious mind on your side. It is in charge of the formation and breaking of habits.  Your behaviors—especially unwanted ones—are shaped by what is going on deep inside of you, more specifically, by processes managed by the subconscious mind. Literally, your beliefs trick the subconscious into thinking you need certain defensive strategies, i.e., a reactive set of thoughts, feelings, actions, etc., to help you “deal” with what upsets or triggers you.  The mind of your body has learned to rely on these quick-fix habituated solutions to reduce your anxiety at a given moment.

The subconscious is responsible for ensuring your survival, thus, if you have any limiting fears or beliefs operating subconsciously, either because you are unaware of them or purposefully avoid them, it will likely stand in the way. It is the storehouse for your attitudes, values and beliefs as well as your habits, fears, and past experiences.

It’s up to conscious you.

By practicing methods of conscious relating to your self, your breath, your mind, your emotions, your body, your thoughts, you can alter the way your brain cells communicate. let your brain work for you with optimal efficiency by discovering the power of making conscious changes and living an overall conscious life?