Why is it that we continue to do the same things and think the same thoughts, even when we know better, or should know better??
Because that is the way your brain is wired - for speed and energy conservation.
In one word, it is:
NEUROPLASTICITY
Neuroplasticity - your brains way of adapting, wiring and organising itself to work efficiently.
So efficiently that you often don’t even need to ‘think’.
When a neural pathway is created, it essentially becomes dedicated to a thought or pattern of thinking, and the more you use it, the stronger the connections become.
The more you think that thought, the more you will think that thought :)
And that thought or pattern will be ‘tagged’ if you like with other things your brain notes as being associated - emotions, sensations, smells, tastes, movements - so that it can identify with the pathway more quickly.
Importantly - there is no allowing for whether that thought is good, bad, wanted, unwanted or even helpful, let alone healthy.
It is as simple as think or do it a lot, and your brain will activate to strengthen those neural connections so you can do it more quickly, with less brain effort.
This can lead to situations like being faced with a challenging situation , and you think “that looks hard”, and your brain completes that thought with “ I can’t do that”… not because you cant, but because the wired thought was “ That looks hard, I can’t do that” and your brain completed the thought for you, with no regard to it being true or not.
Similarly, I have been meditating on the same sheepskin for over 15 years, the feel of that wool on my feet brings an instant feeling of being relaxed and at home, and calms my thinking processes.
your brain is a prediction machine
predicting the future
filling in the gaps
ending your own sentences
according to your past experiences and knowledge - knowledge that you gleaned in the past
This is known as Hebb’s Law: “Neurons that fire together, wire together!”
Even if you seek growth and change you are battling the efficiency and speed of old, familiar patterns you’ve grown. And there you are - doing the same old thing, even though you know you know better….
To change this you need to activate your neuroplasticity, consciously, and in your favour.
You can rewire your brain, because even though neurons that fire together wire together, doing things differently and getting curious will put your brain into neuroplastic mode - rewiring.
If you stop using a neural pathway frequently, its noted by your brain as less valuable.
If you consistently interrupt old patterns your brain will render them unimportant, and unused connections get ‘pruned’.
You change your mind.
If you approach things with a sense of curiosity or wonder, a heightened state of awareness, your brain will consider it to be more important, more connections will be laid down.
Do things differently to get a different result - in the short and long term.
Changing the way you are breathing - do a familiar thing in a new way
[ exactly what we do in Rebirthing Breathwork ]
be curious about you are feeling-experiencing as you do it
this will open you to new responses
new actions and reactions
and new ways of living
boom.
breathe your brain into new possibilities and leave your past behind. really.