EDUCATION
Renewing the Mind
Renewing the Mind
"EDUCATION" pages are full of thought-provoking information designed to appeal to all of your rational, thinking brain. These pages are primarily for learning, as opposed to some other types of Comfort.Guide pages which are written more for motivation and consolation. Let these teachings help guide you to the truth that you are noticed, loved and cared for, even though you might not always feel so!
There are four simple techniques involved:
1. Understand that thoughts are real and have an actual anatomy.
Thoughts are real things: they have a structure in your brain and occupy space. Thoughts are the same as memories. Thoughts and memories look like trees and are called neurons or nerve cells. As information comes in from the five senses, you process it in certain structures of your brain, then you grow branches on the "trees" to hold this information in long term memory. In fact, as you reading this, you are growing thoughts because, thoughts are the result of what we hear and read and see and feel and experience.
If the thought is a good one, based on something positive, it looks different in the brain than a negative thought does. The negative thought will affect your entire body. Negative thoughts form a different type of chemical than a positive thought. A negative thought causes little thorns to grow on the branches in the nerve cells. These thorns are actually little pockets of toxic chemicals. They squirt out their poison into your body which can make you sick. The poison goes first to the heart and begins to choke it, and then it goes to the immune system and breaks down your defenses.
This means that whatever you “grow” in your thought life is a part of you… actual branches in your brain that create your attitude, affect your mood, affect your body, and influence your decisions.
2. Increase your conscious awareness of your thoughts and how you are feeling.
Knowledge of the anatomy of thought naturally leads into the process of actively analyzing incoming information and thoughts constantly. You should never let a thought roam chaotically and unchecked through your head. Examine every thought you have and ask yourself: is this good for me? Is it from God or the devil or my own confused thinking? Conscious awareness of your thinking should become like a habit.
It takes 4 days to start taking the thorns off the trees, 21 days to actually establish a thought memory without the thorns, and then you grow a new memory over the old one.
3. Take action once you have analyzed the thought.
This means making a conscious decision to actively accept the thought (if it is good for you) or actively reject it (if it is bad for you). This means you use your God-given ability of free will (this also has actual structural position in the brain) to do something about the thought you are consciously aware of. Thoughts have as much control as we give them.
4. Build new memories over the old.
This is the really exciting part in dealing with our thought life because accepting or rejecting the thought is changing the neural circuitry of your brain: your brain is growing while you think and you have control over the process. Technique 4 happens when the brain steps in and creates a structural representation of what you have chosen to accept and erases what you have chosen to reject!
CREDIT: Jennifer J. Upton, Eagles Wings Counseling Center, Sarasota and Venice, FL. Adapted from: 1) Amen, M.D., Daniel, (2015), "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life". Revised and Expanded: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Lack of Focus, Anger, and Memory Problems. Harmony. AND 2) Leaf PhD, Caroline, (2009) "Who Switched Off My Brain? Revised: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions", Thomas Nelson.
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PROMISES ..... short Scriptures to build you up and give you hope!
"They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty ... declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 31, NIV)
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Click HERE to go to the next part of "M"
1. Understand that thoughts are real and have an actual anatomy.
Thoughts are real things: they have a structure in your brain and occupy space. Thoughts are the same as memories. Thoughts and memories look like trees and are called neurons or nerve cells. As information comes in from the five senses, you process it in certain structures of your brain, then you grow branches on the "trees" to hold this information in long term memory. In fact, as you reading this, you are growing thoughts because, thoughts are the result of what we hear and read and see and feel and experience.
If the thought is a good one, based on something positive, it looks different in the brain than a negative thought does. The negative thought will affect your entire body. Negative thoughts form a different type of chemical than a positive thought. A negative thought causes little thorns to grow on the branches in the nerve cells. These thorns are actually little pockets of toxic chemicals. They squirt out their poison into your body which can make you sick. The poison goes first to the heart and begins to choke it, and then it goes to the immune system and breaks down your defenses.
This means that whatever you “grow” in your thought life is a part of you… actual branches in your brain that create your attitude, affect your mood, affect your body, and influence your decisions.
2. Increase your conscious awareness of your thoughts and how you are feeling.
Knowledge of the anatomy of thought naturally leads into the process of actively analyzing incoming information and thoughts constantly. You should never let a thought roam chaotically and unchecked through your head. Examine every thought you have and ask yourself: is this good for me? Is it from God or the devil or my own confused thinking? Conscious awareness of your thinking should become like a habit.
It takes 4 days to start taking the thorns off the trees, 21 days to actually establish a thought memory without the thorns, and then you grow a new memory over the old one.
3. Take action once you have analyzed the thought.
This means making a conscious decision to actively accept the thought (if it is good for you) or actively reject it (if it is bad for you). This means you use your God-given ability of free will (this also has actual structural position in the brain) to do something about the thought you are consciously aware of. Thoughts have as much control as we give them.
4. Build new memories over the old.
This is the really exciting part in dealing with our thought life because accepting or rejecting the thought is changing the neural circuitry of your brain: your brain is growing while you think and you have control over the process. Technique 4 happens when the brain steps in and creates a structural representation of what you have chosen to accept and erases what you have chosen to reject!
CREDIT: Jennifer J. Upton, Eagles Wings Counseling Center, Sarasota and Venice, FL. Adapted from: 1) Amen, M.D., Daniel, (2015), "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life". Revised and Expanded: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Lack of Focus, Anger, and Memory Problems. Harmony. AND 2) Leaf PhD, Caroline, (2009) "Who Switched Off My Brain? Revised: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions", Thomas Nelson.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROMISES ..... short Scriptures to build you up and give you hope!
"They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty ... declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 31, NIV)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Click HERE to go to the next part of "M"