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OUR THOUGHTS BECOME OUR BLUEPRINTS

DeeFebruary 25, 2017

We can’t deny that every single one of us has a non-stop stream of thoughts. But did you know our thoughts have a powerful impact on how we behave and act, therefore a profound impact on our experiences, emotions and the quality of our life? Are you starting to see the connection? No wonder those of us dabbling in the area of personal improvement so often see the phrase “change your thoughts, change your life”. Sounds easier said than done, right? Well, maybe it really is easier than one might think. I’m hoping that I can simplify the connection between our thoughts and our outcomes enough that it really starts clicking.

Let’s start exploring this connection between thoughts and outcomes a bit more by asking another question: When you consider your own mind, who does the thinking? Of course the answer is…”Me”. I do the thinking. Ok. Let’s keep going. If I do the thinking then who does the observing of me doing the thinking? Well, “I do the observing too”. Great, now that we got this concept, I’m here to tell you that positive change starts in this space of understanding that it is the “conscious me” who does the observing and who has the power of choosing my thoughts.

Understanding we are not our thinking minds…we are the observers of our thinking minds is truly the first and most important step in creating positive change in our life. God designed us in such an amazing way that our thinking mind, the most amazing super computer on  this planet, is our servant not our master. We have the ability to drop in and out of consciousness at our will at any time we choose. This my friends is the magic power God gave us…it is the secret to changing our lives in amazing ways.

Let’s get back to the concept of our thoughts eventually becoming the blueprints of our life. I’m using the term blueprint here in the context of “the model” of our life practices. In the intro I stated that our thoughts have a profound impact on our actions which then create experiences that produce our emotions. This is a concept that can’t be denied and it’s easily demonstrated. Think about someone you really really love, then pay attention to what emotions you experience. Give yourself a few minutes. Now think about someone very dear to you whom you have lost. What emotions came up this time? Do you see how quickly & automatically that all happened in your body? Your state of being simply follows your state of mind.

Now let’s explore another concept related to our mind, which is the starting center of our thoughts & feelings. By our mind, I refer to our brain in motion. Please keep in mind, this is a non-expert oversimplification of very complex concepts of neoroscience to simply illustrate the relationship between thoughts & emotions through my own understanding. It took me reading many books, articles, listening to TED talks to reduce my understanding to a simplified model that made sense to me. Our brains are such complex machines that it takes many years, expert opinions, books & manuals to explain all its intricacies. First, neuroscience tells us that all the knowledge & experience we’ve collected in our lives is stored & organized in our brain’s synaptic connections. All of our past actions & behaviors have been memorized and stored for future reference in the intricate neuron (brain cells) connections in our brains. These connections are often referred to as neuropathways. Hebb’s Law states, ‘Neurons that fire together, wire together’. What this means is having the same thoughts over & over and experiencing the same feelings eventually hardwires the brain to quickly & automatically produce the same outcome subconsciously via these neuropathways. This is how habits are formed.

Every thought we have either triggers electrical signals that travel down an existing & familiar neuropathway or forms new neuropathways if that particular thought has not been previously known or experienced by the brain. A scenario would be learning new concepts. These electrical signals travel along newly formed neuropathways and if we take action as a result of this new thought, our new experience triggers the release of one of many variations  of chemical cocktails that unleashes a specific emotion.

I’ll pick a practical example to reflect this concept. Let’s say you’ve just read a compelling article on the importance of forgiveness. You’ve read all about the amazing work that Mother Theresa has done based on this concept and you’ve bought into the idea that forgiveness is an act of self-care. It really resonates with you. On the way home, that evening, you receive a call from your spouse requesting that the two of you go to dinner with your sister in law that evening. The second you hear this your mind automatically recalls how chronically disrespectful to you your sister in law has been in the past. You begin to experience emotions of rejection & anger and your thoughts immediately take a negative turn and you behave & act towards your spouse from a very familiar place of resistance. You get into the biggest argument as a result. This collection of thoughts, feelings & behaviors concerning the “sister-in-law” external stimuli is very familiar & predictable. You’ve been down this road so many times before. By continuing to think the same thoughts, experiencing the same emotions, and behaving in very familiar ways, we continue to have the same life experiences. That collection of thoughts, feelings & actions has become so familiar to our being that it’s now a blueprint for our outcomes.

Now let’s take this example and start thinking in greater ways than the familiar ways. You get the same phone call from the spouse and this time you recall the concepts you just learned about forgiveness. You apply this concept and integrate it into your thinking and decide to act from a place of acceptance vs. resistance. This experience produces very positive emotions for both you and your spouse. You have a pleasant dinner with your sister in law filled with apologies, forgiveness, vulnerability. You leave there feeling very positive. You have now just created the foundation of a new positive neuropathway which with repetition becomes a new positive blueprint which eventually becomes a positive state of being.

In closing, I hope I was able to simply illustrate how our thoughts are the starting point of our life experiences. We are extremely fortunate to hold the power to chose our thoughts and the way we look at every situation. We can approach it from a positive & effective perspective where we elevate our thinking or we can remain in the familiar robot mode and let the external situation drive our outcomes. It’s always our choice.

To end this on a positive note, here’s one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Wayne Dyer:

“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look  at change”

Have a lovely day & weekend my friends. As usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts & feedback!

Much love, Dee?