THOUGHTS

We, the humans are at the top of the consciousness tree and whilst awake think almost incessantly. Many of us believe that our thoughts define us.

Neuroscientifically, thoughts are really only electrochemical transmissions in our brain in response to what the brain has perceived. That sounds very complex but it is really simple.
A thought is the response from our brain to a stimulus from one of our six sense – sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing and mind. This could be: your eyes see a ripe orange on the table, your nose picks up it’s fragrance, it stimulates the reward centres of the brain which then trigger you to reach out to pick the orange up and eat it. If you are observant, you may notice that you are salivating already in anticipation. The loop of thoughts that you have had would almost certainly have been missed by you unless you are in a constant meditative state.
Recent experiments by Cognitive scientist have shown that there are a median of 6.5 thoughts per minute. Thoughts can be fleeting or persistent and then there is the quality of one’s thoughts. The quality of our thoughts impact our perceptions and our actions. Happy thoughts may make us laugh and angry ones may result in us shouting.
The question that arises is: ‘Do we have the ability to change the kind of thoughts we have, especially if they are critical or damaging thoughts?’ The simple answer is, ‘Yes.’ The complexity in this arises in whether we have self knowledge, do we even desire to make the change or are we carrying the belief that I am right and the change is required in others?’

Our perceptions and our thoughts give us a worldview which is individually unique and that is our reality. David Eagleman, a captivating academic neuroscientist says that our brain, seated inside a dark, silent chamber of our skull, has no direct access to the external world and never will. He goes on to say that it conjures up the rich, beautiful world we all take for granted. However, for some the reality that evolves may be grim and unwelcoming depending upon their suboptimal life experiences. Our beliefs about life, about ourselves and others are determined by childhood experiences, our family, our religion, our cultures but most importantly by how we perceived these circumstances. Most of the assimilation and synthesis happens at the subconscious level which is the reason why our thoughts and conditioned reactions happen spontaneously.
Some of us who are in this journey to explore our subjective reality and see whether it requires evolution start to look deeper with in so that we begin to get know our own unconscious and subconscious processes. If you are on this journey, how about returning to follow this story of the thoughts and the brain.