People are born with different innate talents and propensities. But no matter how much one’s latent talents, the only way it manifests as abilities is through practice. You must have seen jugglers. It is so amazing to see them make objects fly up to the exact height in the exact trajectory. They coordinate their hand movements to such precision that throwing and catching happen to perfection because even a slight mistake would mess it all up. But how do they perfect their act to that level of accuracy? It is the result of practice, more practice, and even more practice. And the same feature can be tapped to train your thoughts through the power of practice.
HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS
When we repeatedly perform an activity—either physical or mental—the neural pathways strengthen themselves. With sufficient practice, we may even reach the point of automaticity, where we can do the activity on autopilot. At that stage, the subconscious mind takes over. We can now perform the task without the active engagement of the conscious mind. This power, together with your imagination, can create success or failure, happiness or unhappiness, opportunities or obstacles. This depends on your mindset.
So, what leads to the state of automaticity? The neural learning theory was proposed by Donald Hebb in 1949. It later became known as the “Hebbian theory” of neuroscience. Hebb concluded that neurons that are repeatedly active at the same time tend to become “associated.” Thereby, activity in one facilitates activity in the other. As the popular saying goes: “neurons that fire together wire together.” This is what results in the learning process. It applies to all kinds of learning and in every field, such as typing, driving, music, and so on.
This “Hebbian learning” nature of the brain affects our thoughts as well. Every time we think, it creates a pattern of neural firings in the brain.
When we revisit a thought pattern repeatedly, the neurons wire up to create a neural highway. As a result, that particular thought pattern comes naturally to us.
For example, someone practiced the sentiment of inspiration repeatedly and has thereby developed an inspired mindset.
Another person practiced the trait of positivity and developed a positive personality.
Here are some strategies for training our thoughts and to make it helpful in daily life:
THINK INTENTIONALLY
So far, we let thoughts happen to us. This was reactive thinking, where situations caused thoughts to arise in us like an automated response. In intentional thinking, we trash the programmed response, and instead, consciously choose our thoughts.
With the freedom to select our emotions, we ask ourselves, “How would I like to feel in this situation?” Possibly, more relaxed, more focused, or more loving? Great! Now the goal is set. We have defined the emotions we would like to have. Next, exert control over the mind and brain to create those sentiments. This is intentional thinking. Then, start putting more energy into your intentionality. Focus on the intentional thoughts you bring to your mind and put more life into them. Add feelings and emotions.
REVISE THE DESIRABLE THOUGHTS
This is the toughest part. Just as any kind of practice is difficult, mental practice is also a laborious task. It requires forcing the uncooperative mind, and this is why people either become lazy or lose heart.
But like any other learning process, we have to push ourselves past the complaining mind. The more we practice contemplative thinking, the better we will become at it. This is just the synaptic learning nature of the brain. So, it is best to exercise this faculty every day.
It could be used as a tool to overcome defects. With this practice, you will taste a little sample of the power of thoughts. Until now, the thinking was happening to you. But now, you are making thoughts happen and reflect in your actions.
FEED YOUR MIND
We feed our body through the mouth, but we fed our mind through all the five senses. Gossip, crime stories, explicit pictures, etc. are all “junk food” for the mind. If we are not careful the worthless banter on social media and political debates on TV will become fodder for your head.
Then, with garbage in our heads, we should not be surprised when it feeds us with pessimism and dismay. Hence, if we wish to develop a brain and mind that can take us on sublime flights of thought, we must carefully watch the diet we provide them.
Proactively feed the mind a good diet of wisdom, inspiration, and knowledge. You can get this by reading good books and listening to educational videos.
Further, modern technology provides the opportunity to listen to lectures on your morning drive and evening walks.
People who get great ideas and innovative inspirations are the ones who feed their minds with divine wisdom every day.
The Power of Thoughts – latest book by best-selling author, Swami Mukundananda, released by Penguin Ananda.