Bunny Trails of the Mind

Spring and Easter are around the corner with thoughts of bunnies hopping down bunny trails. This is applicable to our daily moment-to-moment thoughts which rewire our brain in a certain disposition of habit. The choice to release happy bunnies or sad bunnies is by our cognitive choice developed through practice.

As many of you know, Ashland, Oregon is home to one of the finest Shakespearean Companies in the world. As such, I am exposed to many plays of human foibles and triumphs. In one play, King Henry V before battle proclaims, “All things are ready, if our mind be so.” Where upon, Westmoreland his cousin, affirms with "Perish the man whose mind is backward now!"

- William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3, p. 3

How important is our state of preparedness in thought of mind as we battle life's many challenges? Are the neuro pathways exercised to where it is easy to flip a thought from negative defeat to positive victory?

Recent brain research reports that, through neuroplasticity, our brains may be retrained by establishing new neural pathways, worn like bunny trails, making it easier and easier to reach a certain state of mind. This "rewiring" of the brain also works for negative thinking, positive thinking, and right thinking, as explored in the brilliant book entitled "Beyond Positive Thinking" by Dr. Robert Anthony.

Thus, we can change our brain by our thinking creating "quick" bunny trails to our established destination dictating emotional states with neurochemicals coursing through our limbic system allowing us to "feel". This "downward" causation, from the mental to the physical, was thought at one time to be impossible. However, with the help of the The Dalai Lama, it has been proven to be a two way street.

In 2002, mere placebos of inert pills showed to have the same effect on the brains of depressed people as antidepressants.

The scientists scanned their patients' brains again, expecting that the changes would be the same no matter which treatment they received, as Dr. Mayberg had found in her placebo study. But no. "We were totally dead wrong," she says. Cognitive-behavior therapy muted overactivity in the frontal cortex, the seat of reasoning, logic, analysis and higher thought. The antidepressant raised activity there. Cognitive-behavior therapy raised activity in the limbic system, the brain's emotion center. The drug lowered activity there. Science Journal - WSJ.com 03/25/2007 10:02 PM

Thus, with cognitive-behavioral therapy says Dr. Mayberg, the brain is rewired "to adopt different thinking circuits." eliminating the need for antidepressants.

To adopt different thinking, there must be "awareness", and it has been scientifically proven to be achieved through the act of observing thoughts through meditation. The recent book, "The Willpower Instinct" by Kelly McGonigal, also upholds the absolute importance of a meditative practice which will develop a super-aware brain.

"Lent and the Science of Self-Denial. TIME.com February 23 2012. “Both exercise and meditation lead to greater neuron density in the prefrontal cortex,” says Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist at Stanford University and author of the new book The Willpower Instinct. It’s in that region that executive skills such as impulse control and judgment live — making it a very good place to be adding neuronal connections."

Watch the video below for a complete list of findings regarding willpower.

Our thoughts are powerful, taking some of us into a habitual state of depression when our life conditions do not "match" our blueprint on how we think our life should be. We often feel powerless to change it. Thus, causing us to feel depressed dictating our self-defeating behavior.

However, by changing our PHYSIOLOGY, our FOCUS, and our LANGUAGE PATTERNS, as seen in the video example below, we are able to "self-manage" our emotional states. By doing this we release a happy bunny to establish a new neural pathway or "bunny trail" of a new habitual thought pattern. The more thoughts or bunnies go down this trail the easier it will be to reach a certain emotional state each and every time when needed.

This short "must see" video, of a "real world" example, shows how our thoughts, and ultimately
emotional states, may be self-managed in a matter of moments.

MUST WATCH!

Thus, to have a habitual positive state of mind, know it is a learned "skill", which must be mastered via exercise of thought strengthened through daily meditation which allow you to "catch" your thoughts. This is because a brain left unattended, due to lack of proper exercise, may result in the loss of our daily mental battles, depriving us from a beautiful life we truly deserve.

Note at the end of the video example, the subject states he has to "reframe" his chosen interpreted "belief" of what certain events mean. Thus, if he changes the "meaning", it will change his "feelings" and emotions, as his new established belief of events places him on a new trajectory. This new trajectory, will ultimately change his life forever, as he focuses on what he wants instead of what he doesn't want.

"Perish the man whose mind is backward now!"

Need a meditation timer app for Android, iPhone or iPad?
https://insighttimer.com/
Donation based 10-Day retreats are available through the
Vipassana Association on the West Coast in Oregon, Washington, California.
"I survived the 10-Day mental "Mud Run" at the Nor. Cal. Vipassana Center in Kelseyville." 

Three Men and a "Maybe" of Pure Potentiality

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Now onto quantum physics of "Do-Be-Do-Be-Do" with University of Oregon retired theoretical nuclear physics professor, Amit Goswami, PhD, from the movie "What The Bleep Do We Know?!"

~ O M ~

:-)

Shine Your Light

If given one instruction to remember daily when born into this world what would it be? Perhaps it is echoed in the words sung by children in the simple chorus of "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine," with its lesser known subsequent verses naming each day of the week including what exactly this light is, with one verse reminding us that the "Light that shines is the light of love." Simple instruction enough.

But "How"? How do we shine this light of love every day of the week for ourselves and others? What can blow out this little light of ours and extinguish the love to where darkness engulfs and our path unlit to where unseen rocks cause us to stumble and fall?

Is it "ourselves" hiding our little light under a bushel of our own design to where outside forces don't even have a chance to blow it out? Imagine what this power of love could do if allowed to shine bright and clear, illuminating both far and near, to every dark corner you find yourself each day of the week.

But again, "How"?  Well, we all agree that the part of the body that we "see" or "perceive" with is our eyes which lead our entire body either off a cliff or safely down the path of life. Thus, the eye is the lamp or guide to our entire being including our soul determining our perceived reality and affecting our journey. If darkness is hostility or fear, and light our essential nature of love, as experienced holding a newborn, then it's perhaps what "we" bring to our observed reality each day of the week that will allow us to either shine our little light of ours or hide it under a bushel.

What we bring to our reality each day are our "chosen" beliefs, thoughts, and ultimately attitude which affects others in this open loop interaction with each other. So, shine your little light daily out from under a bushel allowing your path to be lit via your lamp to the body of your perception determining your behavior through each moment of thought. The fact is we need you and your light of love.

What is guiding your "perception" and ultimately "behavior" down this path of life?

Citation:  Mathew 5:16, Luke 11:33, Matthew 5:14–15;  Odetta Singing, Wikipedia - Song,