It all starts in the mind

Throughout human history we have all wrestled with questions, questions of who we are, where do we come from? What is our purpose?  Why? Why? Why?  I am not a philosopher.  I am not a scientist.  I am a normal person who tries to make sense of the world.  I am trying to become self-aware.  I first need to know how my own mind works.  Why I think like I do? Why I do things the way I do.

This is a very, very difficult subject.  The way I perceive the world as, and how you perceive the world as, will be very different.  How I perceive myself, and how the world perceives me will be totally different.  This is for you to figure out. I am going to write this to myself, about myself.

As I see it the world is all in the mind.  Billions of neurons communicating with each other. Signals firing between each other, depending on what happens around us.  Our brain works like this.  Pathways are formed through behaviours. Strengthening by practising, or doing something over and over.  If we practise something, like playing a guitar. Certain areas of the brain becomes active, more often which in turn strengthens. The neurons, in that certain area of the brain. After a while we can play a guitar without even thinking about it, it comes naturally.

Thinking rational, and logical, and controlling our emotions can also be trained in this way.  This will help in the long run in making better decisions, in all aspects of life. This will also help us to be more in control in all situations in life. There are mirror-neurons in the brain, which I would call empathy neurons.  These neurons gives us the ability to feel what others feel just by looking at them, and the way they are acting.  These neurons were formed by our own past experiences.  When we look at someone who is crying because of a certain issue that you have also experienced, the empathy neurons fire. This brings forth the emotions, and memories that you experienced in that situation.  The brain doesn’t distinguish the firing of the mirror neurons, from your normal neurons. That why we also feel the same emotion as the person crying, although we have no reason to.

The way others react to our opinions, also has a profound effect on how we react.  When they react positive, the brain releases dopamine, and serotonin, which causes a pleasurable experience in the brain.  A memory is added, so that when needed, the brain knows how to respond in the future to the same situation.  When we get a negative reaction, normally we get defensive, and angry.  No dopamine, serotonin is released. A negative memory is coupled with the action, but it won’t be nearly as profound as a positive memory. This happens because, when we get angry, and/or defensive.  The parts with the brain that works with reason becomes less active, and the parts of the brain that work with survival becomes more active.  The mid-brain.  The same part that is defective in addiction. We become narrow-minded, only because others don’t think as we do, or do things we do. Emotions take over, impulsiveness shortly follow.

This is why it is so important to start to learn to control our emotions. We need to learn to be open to new ideas, of thinking.  When you have control of how we feel, or think, you’ll be free.  When you are self-aware, you’ll have better understanding about yourself, and the world.  To the recovering addict this could be freedom from cravings, freedom from even thinking of the substance. 

I am in the process of exercising my mind to think, to feel the way, I want to.  This will take a long time, I know. But we all have to start somewhere.  Just think about it.  No more wondering thoughts, no more impulsive in the moment decisions.  Emotion is very important, yes, but we need to control it.  You will always feel emotion, but how you act on it, should be up to you.