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Before I get to this week’s main theme I have a quick message for all of you who read my blog last week. You may be expecting to see my TV interview on Notts TV, and to see if I managed to spin the ball on my finger live on air! I’m sorry but you are going to have to wait a bit longer as the programme isn’t on catch up yet, but hopefully I will give you the link to it in next week’s blog.
The Science of the Brain
The mind is an amazing thing and each year scientists are discovering new and fascinating things about this miracle of nature. The following information describes surprising facts about the brain and maybe indicates how our thinking processes and belief systems can affect our bodies so much.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have spent the past few years engineering a new imaging model, which they call ‘array tomography’. In conjunction with novel computational software, they stitch together image slices into a three-dimensional image that can be rotated, penetrated and navigated.
125 Trillion Synapses
They found that the brain’s complexity is beyond anything they’d imagined. ‘Almost to the point of being beyond belief,’ says Stephen Smith, a Professor of molecular and cellular physiology, and senior author of the paper describing the study.
A typical, healthy brain houses some 200 billion nerve cells, which are connected to one another via hundreds of trillions of synapses. Each synapse functions like a microprocessor, and tens of thousands of them can connect a single neuron to other nerve cells. In the cerebral cortex alone, there are roughly 125 trillion synapses, which is about how many stars fill 1,500 Milky Way galaxies.
Hard to believe
These synapses are, of course, so tiny (less than a thousandth of a millimetre in diameter) that humans have not been able to see with great clarity what exactly they do and how, apart from knowing that their numbers vary over time. That is, until now.
One synapse, by itself, is more like a microprocessor than a mere on/off switch – with both memory storage and information processing elements. In fact, one synapse may contain around 1,000 molecular-scale switches. A single human brain has more switches than all the computers and routers and Internet connections on Earth!
New level of detail and discovery
Smith adds that this gives us a glimpse into brain tissue at a level of detail never before attained: ‘The entire anatomical context of the synapses is preserved. You know right where each one is, and what kind it is.’
These facts about the brain really underline the power of the mind and how we can use it to our advantage, according to our current understanding. We also know that as the years go by and our ability to investigate deeper will reveal even more staggering facts about our mind that will make today’s stunning revelations appear ordinary by comparison.
Test your Belief System
Difficulty getting to sleep can sometimes be attributed to a belief system you have developed over time. A belief system may tell you that, ‘you always have trouble getting to sleep,’ or, ‘if you wake up you can’t get back to sleep.’
I used to believe that if I came in from a networking event or a party late at night I would have to get a drink of milk, watch TV and unwind for about an hour before I could go to bed. If I didn’t I would be too ‘wide awake’ to fall asleep. Sure enough, every time I came in from an evening event I was convinced that I was ‘too wired’ to go straight to sleep. So I would go through my ‘tried and tested’ routine and, lo and behold, I would be asleep within a couple of minutes.
New Rule Created
About two years ago I created a new rule where the TV would be switched off at 9PM and I could read or listen to my radio instead. Not long after this new rule was in place, I came home late one evening and was about to put the TV on but realised that I couldn’t switch it on. I didn’t fancy listening to the radio or reading, so I went to bed and amazingly I was asleep within a couple of minutes.
This really surprised me and since then I go straight to bed when I get in, and fall asleep straight away. I now have a new belief system that tells me I can go straight to bed when I get in late from an event. This new belief system is in place because I believe it’s true, so it works.
How a belief system is developed
Jonathan Wells put it so well when he described how our personal belief systems are developed:
“Our personal beliefs play a huge role in how we view our own life. Your estimation of your successes and failures will depend entirely on the framework of your personal beliefs. Our beliefs provide a structured process through which we evaluate everything in our lives.”
We develop our personal beliefs about reality, based on how we interpret the world around us, according to our observations and experiences. There are two major aspects that contribute to our personal beliefs: an emotional component and a logical component.
1. Beliefs are the blending of logic and emotions.
2. Beliefs are accepted as facts.
3. Change Your Beliefs – Change Your Reality.
George Orwell once said that, ‘myths which are believed tend to become true.’
Because these beliefs are based on our evaluations and also on the emotional conclusions of our personal experiences, they are accepted by your subconscious as being absolutely true. Your subconscious mind then uses these personal ‘truths’ to construct your personal version of the real world. In other words, your beliefs become the foundation of your internal map of reality.
Thoughts for the week:
1. What belief systems do you have in place that you have created over time which may not be true
2. In my case I believed that if I stood up to speak I would be laughed at, and would get it wrong
3. I challenged this belief system and over time I created a new belief which says that I love to stand up and speak to large audiences and speak confidently
4. Many people who have low self-esteem and lack of confidence have often created this belief system through their childhood experiences and these have become reality to them
5. If you can find a belief system you have that is not helpful, see if this is something you can challenge and change
I have more information on how to do this in my book Off the Wall
These very successful people put it so well:
“You become what you believe.” Oprah Winfrey
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. “Ralph Waldo Emerson
Well that’s it for this week have a really good weekend and stay positive.
Warm regards
John
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