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YES, You Can Change Your Life
But First You Must - Literally -
Change Your Mind
(excerpted from Heal Re-wire Your Brain)
By Patt Lind-Kyle

Most of us believe there are aspects of ourselves and the way we fit into the world that can’t be changed, whether we like it or not. But what if that’s not the case after all?

If we’re like most people, we’re dissatisfied with some area of our lives. Perhaps we’re stuck in a dead-end job or an unfulfilling relationship. Maybe we’re deep in debt from compulsive spending, or we abuse substances, or habitually overeat. It could be that we just feel unhappy in general: anxious, stressed, depressed, or chronically angry. But no matter how fervently we vow to stop our unhealthy behaviors or change our attitude, we find ourselves backsliding—eating another doughnut, sneaking another cigarette, or dwelling on painful memories that make us miserable.

Maybe life has to be this way, we find ourselves thinking. Maybe unhappiness is just a big part of the human condition. Maybe the best we can hope for is to distract ourselves from time to time and just try to endure. Sure it’s a bleak outlook, but isn’t it also a realistic one?

Absolutely not. It is possible to change our life in any way we want to change it. But first, we have to understand what’s at the root of our problems: our mind and the way it directs our brain to function—basically, where we place our attention.

Breakthroughs in scientific understanding have shown us that the brain is constantly rewiring itself in response to events in our lives. In fact, the human brain exhibits a high degree of adaptability, and can actually change the size and function of its structures by strengthening the neuronal connections between different areas of the brain—a quality known as neuroplasticity.

Once we become aware of the habitual and automatic attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that are determining our life conditions—dependency on an emotionally abusive partner, say, or a compulsion to devour a box of doughnuts a day—we can make the decision to change them. From there, we simply need to learn how to effect this transformation. Our previous failed attempts to change our lives show that it’s not simply a matter of willpower.

We must literally reprogram the neural networks through which information and energy flows. The key? Mind training.

Over the years I have come to realize how immensely powerful mind training really is. Our minds can essentially be trapped by the ways in which they function, which can put us into frantic and depressed conditions. Mind training helps us focus our attention, quiets a scattered mind, and brings flexibility and clarity that enable us to see other options.

Each structure of the brain is characterized by a specific brainwave. For many, one wave dominates the others, which leads to dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors. However, focusing on each brainwave separately through mind training eventually enables all four brainwaves to work in harmony with one another. Neuronal circuits fire in tandem, resulting in a state of whole brain-mind integration. This is called synchrony, which balances brain disharmony and produces a heightened sense of peace and awareness. When we achieve brain synchrony, we will consciously begin to change the way we do things.

Many people might initially and unfairly associate mind training (which involves meditation) with flaky, touchy-feely, New-Agey segments of society. Mind training is delving into the evolution of the brain and the electrochemical reactions that give rise to the mind—and explaining precisely how meditative exercises change neurological structures and functions.

The mind is the CEO of the brain. The words “brain” and “mind” are often used casually as synonyms, but in reality they refer to two distinct concepts. The brain itself is a physical organ—a three-pound tofu-like structure that sits on the top of our spinal cord that regulates our physical functioning and emotional behaviors. In contrast, the mind is not located in any specific place in the brain, yet it is intimately involved in all the brain’s activities. It is the flow of information in the nervous system of our brain and body.

Recently, neuroscientists have defined the mind as “what the brain does.” To use an analogy to which most of us can easily relate, the mind is the CEO who decides what instructions to give the brain so that things will “get done” in and through our bodies. For example, the mind holds the intention that we’d like to turn the page of the book we’re reading. In response, the brain sends messages through our nervous system to the muscles in our arm and hand, enabling us to complete the action. Of course, the mind can (and does!) lead us astray, but it also has the ability to reform itself when it achieves synchrony.

It might be Western culture that’s making us unhappy. We live in an intense, fast-paced, goal-driven, and competitive society. Frankly, it can be exhausting! No matter how much we achieve professionally, socially, or personally, there always seems to be another level of success to attain. And by reaching for that next level, we’re allowing society to mold us into something other than what we naturally are. To make it worse, few of us ever meet the standards of “success” for which we strive. No wonder we’re under so much stress! In fact, much of our unhappiness and many of our bad habits are linked to the pressures we feel to be something we’re not.

That’s why it’s so important to work toward brain synchrony, which will allow us to consciously switch mental frequencies. True peace can only come from finding a sort of ‘home base’ inside ourselves. Even though the world around us might be in turmoil, we’ll always have that refuge. Of course, we can move our mind into other frequencies and shift our attention to the outside world when we need to take care of business. But underlying everything, we’ve got a permanent refuge that will help us stay grounded and centered. It is possible to live a Western lifestyle and still be at peace!

We CAN teach an old dog new tricks. It’s true! Our eight-year-old dog can learn the “Sit!” command as well as a four-month-old puppy. The same principal holds true for humans. Our brains have a huge capacity for change, and we can choose which new tricks we want to teach them—at any age! It almost sounds too good to be true, but there exists strong evidence that the brain continues to evolve throughout adult life, long after we’ve put away the schoolbooks. Neuroscientists have termed this ability to continually change and adjust “neuroplasticity.”

The actions we take physically, emotionally, and mentally can literally expand or contract areas of the brain, depending on the functions used most frequently. When we do something new (like learn a second language) or practice something repetitively (like our tennis serve), our brain’s neural networks fire up, and a tissue region is actually sculpted or increased in response to that activity. In fact, the neuroplasticity of the brain is the leading edge of our own personal evolution. The more we train our mind, the more we change our brain. The more our brain changes, the more our mind evolves. In this way, we will heal our mind and discover our Home Base, a source of peace, calm, and vitality in our life.

Thinking positively can restore our mental health. We’ve all heard (and heard, and heard, and heard) about what a difference seeing the glass half-full can make. Whatever, the skeptics among us might think. I can play “Pollyanna” all day. But I’ll just be living in denial about how I really feel. Right? Wrong. Research actually indicates that the brain can be sculpted by pure mental activity. For example, the size of the brain’s motor cortex will increase if we simply imagine ourselves practicing the piano, even if our fingers haven’t actually come close to a keyboard.

We can change the way we react to a situation by practicing a new ideal response. When we generate new thoughts, we change neuronal pathways in our brain and release the hold of old emotional patterns which will enable us to feel, think, and behave differently. We can alleviate depression, anxiety, and stress—literally bringing health to the physical body—by changing the way we think. Our mind and brain are naturally wired to give us peace and happiness. We’ve just got to give that wiring the TLC it needs in the form of practice, attention, experience, and conscious awareness.

Happiness is our birthright. That’s right. Life isn’t meant to be characterized by one struggle after another, with a little joy thrown in every now and then. Humans were designed to be happy—all the time! So why aren’t we? Essentially, we are driven by the desire to be special, to be liked, and to be the best. In fact, The Buddha classified these desires as a form of suffering, because they mainly produce stress, tension, and discontentment.

The good news is, we are all wired for what will make us happy…and what we really want is not success and fame—it’s peace, kindness, and happiness. Fulfillment does not come from attaining our desires in the outer world, but from embracing our inner self, which is the real source of our greater identity and peace of mind. We need to be comfortable with ourselves as we are; not as how society tells us to be.

This is achieved through attaining brain synchrony via meditative mind training. With practice, we are able to release ourselves from negative automatic thinking, focus on what doesn’t work in our lives and in the world, and change it. I’ll admit—cutting ourselves off from the outside world through inward-focused mind training can initially be frightening, because that’s where we perceive our identities to be—but mind training is ultimately freeing.

Mental training can enable us to find our Flow. Have you ever had one of those days during which you were “on fire”? You were mentally focused, engaged, and immersed in what you were doing. Perhaps you even felt that the people with whom you needed to connect simply showed up exactly when you needed them. This is the notion of “Flow,” which moves in the direction of the prefrontal lobes; the area of self-awareness that gathers meaning from the external world. (Carl Jung has called this flow between the inner and outer experience of reality “synchronicity.”) By whatever name, Flow is a mental state that merges action with acute awareness, and is usually accompanied by a sense of being alive and joyful. At such a time, our brain functions and neural networks are working together optimally.

Unfortunately, our experience of Flow can very easily be disrupted. Often, our thoughts, emotions, and actions are stuck in automatic patterns that perpetuate stress, as well as its negative effects on health. With mental training, though, we can begin to identify and remove the automatic thoughts and reactions that cause stress. We can maximize our ability to be aware and our potential to be peaceful. When information is moving through our brain in an optimal manner, we will have flexible responses, be rational in our thinking, self-aware and reflective in our thought processes, intentional in our communication, and positive in our attitude.”

There is both the science behind meditation as well as practical instructions for doing so The mental focus that meditation requires activates our brain’s circuitry and literally promotes brain tissue growth. One study by Dr. Sara Lazar suggests the more often a person meditates, the thicker his or her gray matter becomes. Furthermore, the awareness and self-knowledge that come from regularly meditating enables us to regulate our emotions in a more positive manner and respond to difficulties with greater ease.

Meditation is a scientifically proven method of training the mind, and thereby changing aspects of our lives. Meditation can train the mind to reduce health problems and stress. It can also increase our potential and success in life by enabling us to attain synchrony. Essentially, it will allow us to reprogram and evolve the brain to a higher state of consciousness and function. Quite simply, meditation is one of the most valuable tools available to people—if only they would use it.

There are four mental tools to help make desired changes in our lives.

Intention. Quite simply, the brain thrives on direction and purpose. When we give ourselves intentional directions, we give each level of our brain a specific focus to explore how that particular “frequency” functions. For example, we might set our intention on having emotional awareness. Intention is about “what.”

Attention. Attention is where we place our focus. When teamed with intention, it enables us to establish a field of awareness and sustain our mind in a single-focused manner. Since concentration can bring balance and stability, attention is an essential stress-reducing tool. Attention is about “where.”

Receptivity. The mind is adept at blocking out what it does not wish to acknowledge. By learning to combat this instinct through embracing what is in our mind, we will become more sensitive to what is happening in each moment. Our responses will be more flexible because past thoughts and automatic influences will be disrupted. Receptivity is about “when.”

Awareness. True awareness helps us distinguish between our perceptions of what is happening and what is actually happening. It comes from being attentive, and keeps us from getting lost in the randomness of our thoughts. When we are truly aware, we are open to meaning, purpose, and hope; we are able to penetrate the “me-focus” that veils our mind. Awareness is about “how.”

As more and more people experience these deeper states of mind and rewire their brain circuits and chemistry, we are collectively evolving the brain of the human species and manifesting in our behavior a state of kindness, love, and caring for our planet. The simple mental practices that we can do every day are important steps on this evolutionary path.

The mind-brain is facile, flexible and plastic. With training, such as the tools provided, it is possible to reprogram what blocks the mind’s Flow and move quite rapidly from a less evolved state of mind to a higher state of synchrony, one that better serves us and the life around us.

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