RENEWING THE MIND

Recently I finished a 4-week class called, Wired for Joy, where participants are taught a method of retraining their brains, also known as Emotional Brain Training or EBT. I took the class partly as a favor to a friend and partly because I have always been interested in the human body, especially the brain and how it works. I suppose I see it as just another natural ecosystem that either works together or doesn’t, depending on the health of the individual parts or what elements we introduce in to it from without.  

The premise of the class, which is also supported by much brain research, is that our brains have neural pathways which are “set” from a young age. This “wiring” sets us up, by varying degrees, to spend our minutes, hours and days in either a joyful brain state or one dominated by stress, depending on our early circumstances or parenting, etc. Since it is a scientific fact that our brains cannot experience both joy and stress simultaneously, the exercises help us create new pathways that, when practiced, begin to replace the old.

Most of the exercises taught for rewiring the brain involve interrupting states of stress by regularly stopping throughout the day to take note of what you are feeling. After that, to ask yourself what you need in order to return to a more joyful state and to replace the negative thoughts you are having with other thoughts…or new, healthy neural pathways. Towards the end of the training, participants are also encouraged to take 10 minutes out of their day to meditate, which can involve repeating affirmations, visualizing yourself in a safe and beautiful place or rehearsing the things you are grateful for. One of the most interesting things I learned from this training is that the brain does not distinguish, at least in terms of brain waves and centers stimulated, real places and situations from those we merely visualize. This is one of the reasons meditation can be so powerful in reducing stress in the short term until underlying causes can be more fully addressed. Breaking the downward cycle of stress is important because a person cannot create healthy solutions while in a constant state of stress.

Before taking this class, I had begun practicing the spiritual discipline of Listening Prayer in the mornings. I’d begin by repeating a scripture or my paraphrase of a scripture to allow the cobwebs, the to-do lists, etc to vanquish. One particular morning it struck me how this kind of prayer, and prayer in general, is really a brain-train exercise that rewires or “renews our mind” over time. I thought about the prayer Jesus prayed as an example, and how it is really a series of affirmations…God is bigger than us…God wants to create a world of peace and love through us…God can meet our needs…God forgives us so we can forgive others…God can deliver us from ourselves and protect us. Good messages I’d like etched into my mind.

But prayer can be a complex and confusing topic. Theologians, scholars and other sincere spiritual seekers have grappled with exactly what a prayer is, what kinds of prayers are most effective, what does an “answer” to prayer look like, etc. Some say prayer changes God’s mind or moves God to action. Some say prayer doesn’t really accomplish any change. And some say prayer changes us. I like what Mary Oliver says in her poem, The Summer Day.

"I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

This is a woman who has trained her brain to land on the thoughts that give her joy. She takes the time needed to experience her particular life’s pleasures, and to ask the important questions of herself and those around her. I’m guessing the poetry in her soul formed over a lifetime of connecting to God through much prayer and meditation.

Recently, at a conference, one of the speakers made a statement that I thought was profound. He said that stopping - merely stopping and paying attention - during the course of our busy day is a form of repentance. Repentance, meaning to “turn around” or “go in a different direction” is truly the action of surrendering our busyness to remember God, to take inventory of our spiritual state, to release our unrealistic expectations, to be grateful and to pray for others. This is usually the antithesis of where most of us are really headed in our auto-pilot states.

So, prayer does change us, if nothing else, especially the prayers that recall God’s provision in the past and those that whisper back to us the truth of God’s love towards us and the world. Each time we speak of love, of forgiveness, of praise for God’s Creation, of our gratefulness we are creating new wiring in our brains, ones that replace the old circuits of fear, bitterness, mediocrity and discontent. This class gave me a greater understanding of what happens when my spirit dictates my thoughts and/or my thoughts dictate my spirit. How cool and humbling to know that there is an actual physical manifestation of my attitude…whether good or bad. It also gave me a greater desire to explore prayer in all its many forms. And it reminded me of the advice given to the church at Phillipi by Paul.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."