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Authors: Dr. Caroline Leaf
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skill. Natural because it is wired
into the design of the brain, allowing the brain to capture and
discipline chaotic rogue thoughts; necessary because it calms
71
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5/16/13 1:33 PM
HOW TO SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN
our spirits so we can tune in and listen to God. When we are
mindful of catching our thoughts in this way, we change our
connection with God from uninvolved and independent to
involved and dependent.
Research dating back to the 1970s shows that capturing our
thoughts in a disciplined way rather than letting them chaoti-
cally run rampant can bring about impressive changes in how
we feel and think. This change is evidenced in cognitive, emo-
tional functioning as well as at the neural level.1 My research
shows that controlled focused thinking leads to impressive
improvement in cognitive functioning and emotional balance.2
Freeing Yourself from Burdens
Getting your thoughts disciplined and under control is one of
the first steps in freeing yourself of the burdens of the world
and beginning to enjoy life despite the burdens of the world.
When you objectively observe your own thinking with the
view to capturing rogue thoughts, you in effect direct your
attention to stop the negative impact and rewire healthy new
circuits into your brain. Second Corinthians 10:3–5 is so clear
in the instructions on this matter: “For though we live in the
world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons
we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the con-
trary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ” (NIV). In Proverbs
4:20–22 the sage advice is to “give attention to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from
your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are
life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.”
72
_Leaf_SwitchOnBrain_LS_mw.indd 72
5/16/13 1:33 PM
Catch Those Thoughts
The primary success of capturing your thoughts will be to
focus on God’s way first, not the world’s ways. And science
is showing that meditating on the elements of Jesus’s teach-
ings rewires healthy new circuits in the brain.
Science Shows the Benefits of Catching Your Thoughts
When you make a conscious decision to focus and direct your
attention correctly, you change physical matter—your brain and
your body change in a healthy way. Purposefully catching your
thoughts can control the brain’s sensory processing, the brain’s
rewiring, the neurotransmitters, the genetic expression, and
cellular activity in a positive or negative direction. You choose.
The benefits are even greater than the scientists back in
the ’70s and ’80s imagined. My patients who were successful
in therapy took their first steps to success when they started
focusing their attention and capturing their thoughts—for
example “I can’t do this,” “It’s too hard,” “It’s never worked
before,” and “I am not smart enough.” The benefits of catch-
ing any negative thoughts like these cannot be emphasized
enough. Not catching those thoughts will lead to a potential
spiral into confusion and varying levels of mental despair.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
An interesting body of research shows how a certain type of
protein, called a “prion protein,” operates a bit like a Dr. Je-
kyll and Mr. Hyde—the story often used as a metaphor of the
good man who hides an evil side. When a prion protein folds
over itself, it plays a crucial role in neurodegenerative diseases
that lead to dreadful syndromes such as the mad cow disease.
But scientists have now found that the prion protein abounds
73
_Leaf_SwitchOnBrain_LS_mw.indd 73
5/16/13 1:33 PM
HOW TO SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN
in synapses—the contact point where signals are passed from
one nerve
into the design of the brain, allowing the brain to capture and
discipline chaotic rogue thoughts; necessary because it calms
71
_Leaf_SwitchOnBrain_LS_mw.indd 71
5/16/13 1:33 PM
HOW TO SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN
our spirits so we can tune in and listen to God. When we are
mindful of catching our thoughts in this way, we change our
connection with God from uninvolved and independent to
involved and dependent.
Research dating back to the 1970s shows that capturing our
thoughts in a disciplined way rather than letting them chaoti-
cally run rampant can bring about impressive changes in how
we feel and think. This change is evidenced in cognitive, emo-
tional functioning as well as at the neural level.1 My research
shows that controlled focused thinking leads to impressive
improvement in cognitive functioning and emotional balance.2
Freeing Yourself from Burdens
Getting your thoughts disciplined and under control is one of
the first steps in freeing yourself of the burdens of the world
and beginning to enjoy life despite the burdens of the world.
When you objectively observe your own thinking with the
view to capturing rogue thoughts, you in effect direct your
attention to stop the negative impact and rewire healthy new
circuits into your brain. Second Corinthians 10:3–5 is so clear
in the instructions on this matter: “For though we live in the
world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons
we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the con-
trary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ” (NIV). In Proverbs
4:20–22 the sage advice is to “give attention to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from
your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are
life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.”
72
_Leaf_SwitchOnBrain_LS_mw.indd 72
5/16/13 1:33 PM
Catch Those Thoughts
The primary success of capturing your thoughts will be to
focus on God’s way first, not the world’s ways. And science
is showing that meditating on the elements of Jesus’s teach-
ings rewires healthy new circuits in the brain.
Science Shows the Benefits of Catching Your Thoughts
When you make a conscious decision to focus and direct your
attention correctly, you change physical matter—your brain and
your body change in a healthy way. Purposefully catching your
thoughts can control the brain’s sensory processing, the brain’s
rewiring, the neurotransmitters, the genetic expression, and
cellular activity in a positive or negative direction. You choose.
The benefits are even greater than the scientists back in
the ’70s and ’80s imagined. My patients who were successful
in therapy took their first steps to success when they started
focusing their attention and capturing their thoughts—for
example “I can’t do this,” “It’s too hard,” “It’s never worked
before,” and “I am not smart enough.” The benefits of catch-
ing any negative thoughts like these cannot be emphasized
enough. Not catching those thoughts will lead to a potential
spiral into confusion and varying levels of mental despair.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
An interesting body of research shows how a certain type of
protein, called a “prion protein,” operates a bit like a Dr. Je-
kyll and Mr. Hyde—the story often used as a metaphor of the
good man who hides an evil side. When a prion protein folds
over itself, it plays a crucial role in neurodegenerative diseases
that lead to dreadful syndromes such as the mad cow disease.
But scientists have now found that the prion protein abounds
73
_Leaf_SwitchOnBrain_LS_mw.indd 73
5/16/13 1:33 PM
HOW TO SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN
in synapses—the contact point where signals are passed from
one nerve
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