Rehearsing Who We Want to Become
Science-backed research that shows the power of thoughts
Some say the mind exists among the 86 billion neurons that bring the brain to life. Others say it exists as a field of universal consciousness that we each individually ‘plug’ into. Personally, I’m not in a position to argue with either. All I know is that it’s powerful stuff and many studies have gone to great lengths to prove it.
Mental Practice vs Motor Performance
Mental practice = thinking/visualising
Motor performance = doing/acting
The notion of visualising a sequence or scoring a goal is nothing new as many athletes, actors, and sports people have spoken about this for years. However, science has now proven just how effective mental practice is at improving motor performance, so there’s no denying how powerful it can be at producing results, whether that be scoring a goal or curing an illness.
One study from 2013 stands out, in particular. The coordinators of this experiment gathered a group of established pianists together and split them into two groups. The first group practised and memorised a piece of music solely in their minds while the second group practiced physically on the piano. The study was to measure two key areas – the participant’s accuracy (whether they hit the right or wrong keys) and their timing (how slow or fast each group played the keys).
After both groups had practiced, they were then put to the test. When the results came back the only difference between the two groups was their timing. Their accuracy was more or less the same. It took those who mentally prepared a little longer to get their fingers, wrists, and muscles up to speed but that’s it! So, this shows that thinking about a task ahead of time and/or memorising a sequence can train the body in much the same way as if it was actually doing it.
That’s quite something.
There are other studies too. Another one revealed that by imagination and thought alone, muscles can gain strength not through physical exercise but through specific brain training.
During the experiment, the coordination team measured the strength of the little finger on each participant’s hand as well as the muscles around their elbow flexor because they’re both frequently used during daily life and are quite similarly matched across genders and body types.
Thirty young, healthy volunteers participated in the study, and they were split into four groups: The first group was tasked with performing "mental contractions" of their little finger while the second group performed mental contractions of their elbow muscles. The third group was comprised of six volunteers who physically flexed both their little fingers and elbow muscles while the fourth group did neither mental or physical work. They were there to simply provide neutral results.
The training lasted 12 weeks with 15 minutes of practice each day, 5 days a week. At the end of the three months, it was revealed that the first group who practiced mentally flexing their little fingers had increased their finger strength by a whopping 35%. The second group who practiced mentally flexing their elbow muscles had increased their elbow strength by 13.5%. The third group who physically practiced both showed an increase in finger and elbow strength upwards of 53%. The fourth group, as expected, showed no significant changes in either finger or elbow strength.
“We conclude that the mental training employed by this study enhances the cortical output signal [in the brain], which drives the muscles to a higher activation level and increases strength.” - The coordination team
I find that remarkable. Because just think – if we can gain muscle strength through the simple act of thinking alone – what else is possible?
Therapists and medical professionals have duly taken note here because not only are these kinds of studies changing the way we understand the brain but also how we can potentially heal, regenerate, and speed up recovery times. A few have even been trialling its effectiveness on stroke patients.
“The latest research supports the notion that we have a natural ability to change the brain and body by thought alone, so that it looks biologically like some future event has already happened. Because you can make thought more real than anything else, you can change who you are from brain cell to gene, given the right understanding.” - Dr. Joe Dispenza
The Consistent Nature of Thoughts
One of the reasons why this is so powerful is because of the sheer volume of thoughts we think in any given day. For example, one study found that we think around 50,000 thoughts a day. To put that into context, there are only 86,400 seconds in a day. So, it doesn’t take long to work out that we think a thought every one and a half seconds or so. However, what’s even more incredible is that of those 50,000 thoughts, 98% of them are said to be the same thoughts we thought yesterday. So, that means that just 2% of the thoughts that you and I think today will be new. Or to put it simply – that’s about 1 in 50.
I say if they’re right because another study performed at Cleveland Clinic reckons our daily thought count is even higher. Here is what they had to say for themselves: “Your brain is a three-pound universe that processes 70,000 thoughts each day using 100 billion neurons that connect at more than 500 trillion points through synapses that travel 300 miles/hour. The signals that travel through these interconnected neurons form the basis of memories, thoughts and feelings.”
Putting statistics aside, one thing is for sure and that is that as our thoughts and emotions go hand-in-hand, it can be very difficult to change existing behavioural patterns that are being fed by existing thoughts, regardless of how many times they’re being fed. So, it doesn’t matter if we think 50,000 thoughts a day or close to 70,000 because what’s important is the quality of those thoughts and the pathways they travel down most often.
To maximise their potential, practicing things like breathing exercises, meditation, visualisation techniques, and other mindfulness practices can enhance their performance.
My favourite is slowing the breath down because this slows our nervous system, heart, blood circulation, and brain activity down too. So, this naturally slows how quickly our thoughts zip around and this equates to more energy being cultivated and less energy being exerted.
Over time, this can lead to a whole new story that unfolds in the mind which has a whole new set of thoughts and a whole new image of who we are and who we wish to become.
If this is sustained day in day out, longer-lasting neural pathways and circuits can develop in the brain and the more this happens, the more new thoughts squeeze themselves into the 2% club. Then as those thoughts are repeated day after day - 21 days and onwards is said to be the magic number for long-lasting change - they quickly become a part of the 98% club instead.
Once they’re a part of the 98% club they start to form our daily habits, rituals, and belief systems which, in turn, shape our identity and personality. These habits and values then begin to run on autopilot which is when a lot of the hard work is done. This is how tiny actions taken daily can create big change without much force.
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity”- James Clear
The Mind Manifesting
Although science has proven the power of thoughts in recent years, there have been lots of mystical texts that have described the manifestation process in great detail for thousands of them. And when all is said and done they say it comes down to these three simple steps:
Create a clear vision
Get excited about it
Be consistent
This trifactor works so well because the body, on an experiential level, doesn’t know the difference between a lived experience and something that’s been dreamt up in the mind. It responds to both fact and fiction in the same way.
To imagine this, think about being scared in a dream for a moment. While dreaming, your body is comfortably tucked up in bed here on Earth, but your mind is experiencing fear in an alternative reality, so your body begins to experience fear in this one. This happens even though, physically speaking, your body is not in any real danger.
The same is true when it comes to laughing, crying, or having an orgasm during sleep. There’s nothing or no one that’s making you laugh, cry, or orgasm but it’s real, nonetheless, and your sticky bed sheets prove it.
The significance of this is that if we can visual a better future that creates a feeling of excitement, the body experiences the same level of excitement as if it was actually living a joyous/exciting moment right now.
If it becomes a sensory experience like tasting food in the mouth before it arrives, then all the better. Remember, on an experiential level, our bodies know no different. Our mouths will still water at the very thought of scooping a delicious spoonful of dessert into them just as much as when a delicious spoonful actually enters.
So, if you can imagine tasting, touching, seeing, smelling, and hearing your visions and dreams before they arrive, you can slowly start to solidify the bridge between your present self and your future self and that’s where the magic happens!
This is the secret behind the mind/matter phenomenon and it works regardless of the task ahead, whether that be learning a musical instrument, building muscle strength, or curing a terminal illness.
“As far as I can tell, it’s just about letting the universe know what you want and then working toward it while letting go of how it comes to pass” – Jim Carrey
Having an inner resource that continuously feeds this new version of self can help to keep the mind on track. It might even rejoice in saying “Oh yes! That’s right. That’s where I’m going” before doing everything in its power to make it possible.
One such inner resource is the breath. And because we are breathing 15,000-20,000 times a day, that’s 15,000-20,000 opportunities to repeat the same story over and over again.
Storytelling affects the brain in five ways:
Our neural activity increases fivefold - Our brains literally light up because they run on electrical impulses. In the presence of an interesting story (real or imagined), these impulses increase.
Our memory enhances - This is because we tend to remember more information that’s being shared when listening to a story as we’re more focused and engaged.
Interestingly, the part of the brain that’s involved in memory is the same part that’s involved in imagination. So, by creating well-woven stories, our brains find it easier to remember them. That’s why myths, legends, and epic tales of the past have lasted the distance of time. They’re epic but they’re also memorable.Our focus improves - The human brain has a strong tendency to lose focus. One study estimates that we engage in up to 2,000 daydreams a day and spend half our waking life wandering. In the presence of an interesting story, however, this mental wandering stops.
Stories release dopamine and oxytocin - That’s why good storytelling is irresistible. Firstly, there’s the connection to the listener — our brains start to synchronise. (This phenomenon is known as neural coupling, or “mirroring” as it creates coherence between the storyteller’s brain and the listeners.) Then comes more energy, more engagement, more joy, and the very well-timed chemicals of dopamine and oxytocin to make us feel all gooey inside.
These are some of the reasons why children love being read to by their parents and why, as adults, we enjoy it too. There’s a connection, but more importantly, there’s chemistry.Our brain’s auditory cortex activates - this further leads to a deeper sense of emotional connectivity with the storyteller.
The cells inside our body also “believe” in a story that our nervous system, heart, brain, and breath tell them every day. They then act in accordance with these systems because the neural pathways direct them to keep writing the same script. This continues to solidify the “story” into our DNA which our genes ultimately express. Change the story, however, (or dare I say change the breath) and the activity of each cell also changes, whether that be in humanity or within the framework of our own body.
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)