5 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Your Mind
Have you ever wondered how that voice in your head came to be
independent from your actual brain? You know; your mind, your
consciousness. It’s a mysterious piece of humanity that countless people
have been trying to solve for centuries, and while we’ve been able to
figure out quite a bit about it, there’s still much more that eludes us.
Here are five things about your mind that you probably didn’t know:
1) No one knows what it is or how the brain manifests it
We know that the mind is created by the brain, but we don’t exactly know
how. After all, the brain is three pounds of mushy tissue resting
inside of an extremely hard protective case. But, those three pounds of
tissue influence a great deal of our lives in almost every way. The mind
may be generated by the brain, but the mind often functions
independently from it. Not to mention, the mind has the ability to change the brain.
2) You are able to “watch” your mind as it works
How often do you reflect on the things that your mind is constantly
churning up? If our thoughts are the mind speaking to itself, then you
can easily listen to what it has to say. This is called the “observing
self” and it’s separate from emotion. It allows us to objectively
observe the thoughts that are constantly being spoken.
The best way to achieve an observing self is by reflecting on your
thoughts with as little judgment as possible. When you do this, you can
start to make changes to the mind and brain because you are capable of
monitoring what’s being said.
3) The mind goes wherever it pleases
Have you ever noticed a particularly disturbing or bizarre thought pop
into your head? Maybe you have them all the time. It’s completely normal
and due to the fact that our minds are basically circus shows without
limits. Rest easy knowing everyone’s mind is like this. We all have crazy thoughts, fantasies, stories and images appearing at any moment.
Some are good, some are bad, and while we might not be able to control
where the mind goes, we can manage how it affects us. By learning to
recognize our random thoughts as random thoughts we can label them as
such, or tell ourselves not to worry about them.
4) Your mind is capable of rewiring the brain
If you’ve ever heard of neuroplasticity, you know what I’m talking
about. The brain’s wiring can be altered and changed based on the mind’s
habits, meaning you can (and will, if you’re not careful) literally
change it by thinking certain things. The more you think a certain way,
the more your neurons get used to firing in that way. When you
repeatedly use certain neurons and not others, you build patterns that
your brain gets used to and starts to prefer.
5) The brain is naturally inclined to be negative, but the mind can help promote positivity
Biologically speaking, it makes sense that the brain would have stronger
reactions to negative stimuli than it would positive stimuli. Things
like danger, threats, mistakes and problems all cause disruption in
life. They also make it very difficult for us to relax and be content in
our lives.
But, we can use the mind to focus on the positive things in life. And by
doing so we build new thought patterns in the brain that it will
routinely go back to. The best way to do this is by remembering happy,
positive experiences. Bring those to the forefront of your mind and
really think about them for at least five seconds.
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