Christ was a Neuroscientist
I don’t talk about Christ or God very much, but I am leaning into more expression of these topics that are in my heart, at the risk of losing IG followers or readers here.
And so be it.
For the past 15 years, I’ve gone deep into understanding my mind and brain and how to change it, because they were both crap and I was living like that.
Neuroscience, behaviour change, meditation etc. I devoured stuff from Joe Dispenza and Bruce Lipton, Rick Hanson, Judson Brewer and Jon Kabat-Zinn.
But more enjoyable and inspiring for me are the older folks who draw a lot of inspiration from the Bible's teachings on faith and belief - which align with these new scientifc understandings of the power of mind.
Folks like James Allen, Neville Goddard, Joesph Benner, Napoleon Hill, Charles Haanel and Florence Scovel Shinn - all these folks are free on YouTube if you want it.
And after it all it comes back to the Bible and Christ. Here’s one of my favourite verses (3 more at the bottom of this post).
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Romans 12:2
We babies come in to this world with a spongy blank canvas of a brain, and immediately it begins forming patterns based on external stimuli.
The world at large is shaping us from the moment we enter, it takes incredibly attentive parents to ensure the child is not so contaminated with their drama, and encouraged to go through their individual process of becoming…I’ve seen this up close, it’s beautiful to witness, but seems rare in our modern world.
From ages 0-7 an operating system is being formed, call it the brain’s default mode network, we carry it around for the rest of our lives.
This 5 minute video explains it beautifully - Bruce Lipton
The high-ranking (controversial) Jesuits in the 16th century would say: 'Give me the child until he is 7 and I will give you the man' - mind-blown (easy to go off on a tangent here regards to the sinister on-goings in sects of the Catholic church).
It’s only with active attention and intention, and the discomfort that comes with interrupting patterns and laying down new thoughts and behaviours, that we snap out of the autopilot mode that is this operating system, where we repeat the same patterns, getting stuck in the same cycles.
In the context of this Bible verse:
”Conform to the pattern of this world”:
This is the programming and conditiong that we all go through in the process of becoming worldly citizens - the masses.
“renewal”:
refers to neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to adapt and rewire it’s structure & function in response to new experiences.
So in a nutshell, the verse is demonstrating that a renewal of the mind is the path of transformation.
And as we are transformed, as Christ said, we are in the world but not of the world.
I wrote (and performed) a piece of poetry on this, you can read it here if you're interested.
Poetry goes a long way in getting messages across that can sometimes get lost under technicalities and reams of theory - I feel this piece does just that.
Here’s to our transformation.
Let’s walk together.x
Arjun
3 more verses which link to neuroscience
"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." - Proverbs 23:7
Research shows that neural pathways (repeated thoughts) shape sense of self & behaviour, behaviour shapes outcomes and the life we live.
"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10
Meditation and stillness are vital for brain health. Plenty of research shows that meditation and mindfulness reduce stress (cortisol) and enhance congitive function. Know yourself underneath the constant thought stream.
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." - James 1:19-20
Pause and slow down. This is a means of interrupting emotional reactivity (brain part amygdala which is responsible for detecting threat) based on our previous conditioning. How often do we do or say things we regret in the heat of the moment? It’s a practice of re-training the brain and our perception.