Switch on Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health (23 page)

Inside the Brain

fornix

corpus callosum

caudate

septum pelucidum

(part of basal ganglia)

dura mater

stria terminalis

ACG

hypothalamus

PFC

thalamus

insula & claustrum

(deep to lateral sulcus)

pineal gland

mamillary body

amygdala

basal forebrain

(contains septal nuclei)

hippocampus

pituitary gland

entorhinal cortex

(surrounds

CRF

hippocampus)

sight

cerebellum

ACTH

midbrain

nerves

pons

medulla

hear

smell

reticular activating system

(inside brain stem)

taste

touch

heart

spinal cord

adrenaline

adrenal glands

corticosteroids

kidneys

emotional

black hole

spinal nerves

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THE 21-DAY BRAIN DETOX PLAN

the brain into a state of expectation as preparation to build

the new, incoming information. Part of this activity is the

movement of thoughts (existing memories), linked in some

way to the incoming information, moving from the noncon-

scious metacognitive level to the conscious cognitive level (see

chap. 8 to remind yourself of these concepts).

“Magic Trees of the Mind” Golgi Stain

These thoughts in your brain look like trees in a forest. And

as the signals sweep through these trees like a wind, research

shows they will activate around four to seven
1
thought trees

(memories) that will then move into the conscious, and you

will become aware of them (see chap. 8). I call this the “breeze

through the trees.”

QUESTION: What thoughts are bubbling up into

your conscious mind right at this moment? Focus

in and see how many there are.

Thoughts Have an Emotional Component

When you think, you
also feel
. This is because thoughts have

an emotional component in addition to the information, or

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what the actual memory is about. This means that when you

bring a thought into consciousness, you also bring up the at-

tached emotion. When the thought along with its emotions

bubble up into the conscious mind, you
feel
the emotions.

So there is a difference between emotions and feelings;

every thought has
emotions
as part of its structure, and they

are stored in the nonconscious mind. When the thoughts move

into the conscious mind, we
feel
the emotions of the thoughts.

Attitude

Attitude is a
state of mind
—a thought plus its attached emo-

tions—and it influences what you say and do.

If the attitude that is activated is negative, then the emo-

tional response will naturally be a negative or stressful feeling.

If the attitude is positive, the feeling will be peaceful. The

truth is that your attitude will be revealed no matter how

much you try to hide it.

QUESTION: Can you determine the attitude of

the thoughts that are currently moving through

your conscious mind? Try to focus in on the feel-

ings they are generating and describe them in as

much detail as possible. How does your mind feel?

How does your body feel?

Thoughts Can’t Be Hidden; Attitudes Aren’t Harmless

Your attitudes—positive or negative—not only can’t be hid-

den from others, but they also have a profound impact on

your own brain and body. You can refer back to chapter 7 for

a reminder of how this works.

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THE 21-DAY BRAIN DETOX PLAN

When a thought, plus its emotions (attitudes), moves into

the conscious mind, it produces a signal. The hypothalamus

(see image), which does many amazing things—one of which

is to respond to our emotional state of mind or our attitude—

responds to this signal.

The Hypothalamus Responds

Part of what the hypothalamus does is alert the rest of the

brain to release chemicals like serotonin and glutamate to

help with the process of building a new memory. The endo-

crine system is a collection of glands and organs that mostly

produce and regulate your hormones. And the hypothalamus

is often referred to as the “brain” of the endocrine system,

controlling things like thirst, hunger, body temperature, and

the body’s response to your emotional life. The hypothalamus

is also like a pulsating heart responding to your emotions and

thought life, greatly impacting how you function emotionally

and intellectually.

hypothalamus

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This means that if you are anxious or worried about some-

thing, the hypothalamus will respond by releasing more chem-

icals than it should. This in turn causes the pituitary to release

too many chemicals, and the result is neurochemical chaos.

So instead of being focused in our thinking, we have chaotic

and foggy thinking.

The endocrine system secretes the hormones responsible

for organizing the trillions of cells in your body to deal with

focus and learning. Negative, toxic thoughts have the opposite

effect, shifting your body’s focus to protection and survival,

thus reducing your ability to process and think with wisdom

or grow healthy thoughts.

However, if you change your attitude and determine to

apply God’s excellent advice not to worry, the hypothalamus

will cause the secretion of chemicals that facilitate the feeling

of peace, and the rest of the brain will respond by secreting the

correct formula of neurotransmitters—chemicals that transmit

electrical impulses—for thought-building and clear thinking.

QUESTION: Do the thoughts in your conscious

mind at this moment make you feel peace or

worry? Be aware of how your body feels. Are you

tensing your shoulders? Is there an adrenaline rush

going through your body?

Although you may not be able to control your environment

all of the time, you can control how it affects your brain.

You Can Control How the Signals Affect Your Brain

How? The incoming information is still in a temporary state.

It has not yet lodged itself into your memory, or become a

part of your spirit, which defines who you are. You can choose

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