Our Thoughts can Change our Brain and Our Experience

I recently came across an article on the work of Neuroscientist Alvaro Pascual-Leone. He conducted an experiment to see how the brain changes by practicing a certain task, in this case learning a simple piano piece. He had one group physically practice the piece at a piano for 5 days, 2 hours per day. A second group spent the same amount of time focused on the task of learning the piece, but instead of physically playing, they practiced in their head imagining moving their fingers to play the piece. The increase in the area of the brain they were measuring that related to mastering this task was the same for both groups. The brain physically changed even with the group that only thought about playing the piece.

I was reminded of an experience I had when I was a teenager. I needed to learn a dance routine very quickly for a performance. I was running out of time, so I began practicing the dance in my head as I found I was able to go through the routine faster in my head visualizing it than physically practicing. I was also able to work out any of the more difficult steps or sequences faster in my head. Once I had the routine down in my head, I was able to physically do it without any issues. This experience has always stuck with me and this article was a great reminder that mastering something in our brain can produce physical external changes.

Looking at this idea in a larger context and taking some liberty to extrapolate what we think and imagine, physically changes our brain along with our thoughts and feelings about an experience or situation. If for example we believe, imagine and “rehearse” in our mind over and over that a certain situation will not improve or there is no way out of a difficult circumstance, it becomes difficult to look for or see solutions even if they are presented to us. It can also be challenging to change our circumstances if our self talk continues to be that we don’t have any choices or options or if we feel obligated to stay in a particular situation.

So how to start changing our thinking without it becoming another task to add to the list of what we are told we must do in a day? Perhaps a way to begin incorporating this idea might be to catch ourselves when we begin the self-talk spiral about how we are in a difficult situation, relationship, job, etc. and begin to imagine and more importantly feel something different. It might begin by im having good interactions at work and being appreciated and then slowly (or not so slowly) imagine being so happy to be at work each day doing exactly the job you want to be doing surrounded by supportive colleagues or being supported by a great group of friends. Many in the spiritual and other therapeutic communities have talked about this idea of really imagining and feeling yourself in the situation you desire. This study is a great support to these ideas.

I invite you to play around with this idea. Start with something small and see how shifting your thoughts and internal dialogue begin to change the way you actually think or feel about a situation and notice how the actual external circumstances begin to change. Notice new ideas, people or places that come into your mind and watch what unfolds. What might you try to see differently?

Be Well