The Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks and some of the world’s leading neuroscientists, among others, all gather once a year at a conference to share and explore the latest discoveries in neuroplasticity: the study of how the human brain can change itself.
Until recently, the prevailing theory was that neurons in the brain didn’t regenerate, however through seminal experiments, new neurons are created in the brain every day, even in people in their 70s. The brain can adapt, heal, and renew itself after trauma, compensate for disabilities, rewire itself to overcome dyslexia, and break cycles of depression and other challenges.
So if the mind has the potential to transform itself to this magnitude, imagine what we could achieve in our daily lives in pursuit of our highest purpose, growth, and transformation?
As scientists are learning from studies performed on Buddhist monks, it is not only the outside world that can change the brain, but so can the mind through the classic practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness: paying attention in a particular way – on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.
Mindfulness slows us down. We notice details. We pay as much attention to our inner world as we do to our outer environment. We become aware of the sensations in our bodies that give us vital information. We observe our emotions without being consumed by them. We don’t make judgments, but rather, use discernment (an act of perceiving; the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure) to determine what action to take – if any. This practice if performed regularly, can rewire the brain. Consequently, we respond to life’s situations with greater awareness and can positively influence our outer environment and what we experience.
In fact, the very situations that challenge us seem to go away simply by changing the way we think. How we pay attention to our experiences can change our physical brain, and our entire way of being.
References
The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, Norman Doidge
Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves, Sharon Begley