This past freezing winter we had a lot of electrical outages. One friend related how, after four days of no electricity, he entered his kitchen after shoveling snow and noticed the red light lit up on his coffee maker. He thought, “humm, I didn’t realize the device had a battery in it.” And then he noticed that the overhead lights were on. For these seconds he literally couldn’t comprehend that the electricity was back on; he had gotten so used to thinking it was off that he couldn’t “see” it was on.
It’s stunning how our minds can convince us of a certain reality until we get enough feedback to the contrary. Then we literally and figuratively “see” it differently. We change and reality changes. This is how we create our reality.
This is one of my many fascinations about this amazing time we live in, where we are learning so much about how our brains work. And how we can exercise them to be stronger, just like we exercise our bodies. Brain scanning technology, such as the Functional Magnetic Resonance machine (fMRI), shows that through brain practices we consciously open up, activate, and change the firing of our neuropathways. The research subjects experience greater capacity and awareness in all aspects of their daily lives. Very exciting news for those of us who want to live richer, fuller, happier lives.
One exercise you might want to try is noticing when you have a particularly negative, limiting or annoying thought. Write it down and ask yourself, “how is this thought trying to help me?’ See if you can list some ways it is helping. This state of wonderment is one approach to opening your mind to greater possibilities.