Episode 1: Understanding the Brain

Podcast Notes:

In this podcast, Body and Mind Life Coach Betsy Jensen talks about how to start understanding the power of your brain and thoughts.  Learn something new to help be more mindful and compassionate.

Podcast Transcript:

This is Betsy Jensen, and you are listening to Unstoppable Body and Mind-Episode One, Understanding the Brain. 

In this podcast we learn to upgrade our brain and understand the power of our thoughts, to heal and to create the results we want in our life. Become the person in control of your healing and make peace with your life.  Become unstoppable, body and mind. 

Hello, I want to talk today about the brain. Some things I learned about the brain over the last few years that have really changed my life.  The way I look at myself, my thoughts and the power that I have in my life that I’ve gained by learning how to upgrade my brain and become more mindful. 

So first, I want you to think about your brain as an organ in your body. So just like your heart pumps, blood and your lungs exchange oxygen and breathe. Your brain has a function, one of its functions is to produce thoughts.

You do produce 60 to 70,000 thoughts a day. So the brain constantly has this little hum of thoughts going on in the background. Now these thoughts help us with survival. And that’s what the brain has evolved to do. And that’s why some of our thoughts might be a little extreme, and maybe we think they’re even out of character.  We may have judgments about our thoughts. 

We may think that we want to go punch someone in the face sometimes if we think they’ve done something to upset us or they deserve it. We may wish as a parent that we’d never had children, and that can sometimes be a very shameful or horrifying thought for parents. Why am I having this thought, I love my children?  But there could still be the thought that you wish you never had kids, or how much better your life would be without those obligations. 

And then we may have judgment about ourselves or about others.  We may constantly be looking around as we go throughout life, with some kind of judgments about what we see and how others could be better, or usually how ourselves could be different or better or more worthy. 

It’s like we have this constant stream of criticism that goes on in our brain. Again it’s developed, if you look at it in a survival context, to help our species advance- to keep us safe within our tribe, maybe not to upset people.  Or to you know, not go punch someone could enhance our survival. 

So just because we have all of these thoughts doesn’t mean we need to necessarily have judgments about them. It means that our brain is working, it’s doing what is supposed to do what it has evolved to do. And it is just like your heart continually pumping and your lungs breathing.  Your brain is thinking. 

I’ve heard the average person speaks to themselves, an average of 300 to 1000 words per minute. So again, that brain chatter that’s just constantly going is normal in all of our brains.

One thing I want to teach you is how to hack into your brain and upgrade your brain from this default setting of thoughts that just automatically flow, to purposeful conscious thinking.  And how that affects the results in our life and our health. 

Our brain wants to be efficient. Joe Dispenza says that by the age of 30, about 90% of our thoughts are thoughts that are repeated from day to day. They are things that we think over and over again, and seem to almost do subconsciously or automatically.  It’s like our thoughts are thinking us!

 90% of the time, our thoughts are thinking us. 

The brain is made up of nerve cells that create electrical impulses when there’s a thought. So when you think of a thought occurring in your brain, there are neurons or nerve cells that fire and those nerve cells can connect to other nerve cells.  They can travel to different parts of the body sending signals, and eventually at the result, there are neurotransmitters released. So those might be neuro peptides or hormones. Things like dopamine or cortisol. 

And those neurotransmitters create feelings, vibrations in our body. So there are these groups of neurons that are near each other. And when thoughts that we think over and over again, are activated, when these neuronal cells that are close to each other are activated, they have a tendency to also get activated. 

They become these neuronal pathways of groups of neurons that wire and fire together. So imagining this average 30 year old that has 90% of their thoughts, that are things that they think continuously and repeat. There are large portions of their brain that are being activated, lots of neurons that have connections with each other, and make this fast connection that’s very efficient.  We almost don’t have to even think about it. 

There might be some beliefs that we have about getting validation from pleasing other people, that the way that we prove our worthiness is by other people accepting us.  And that we might cognitively start to change and understand that maybe that’s not true. But there’s part of us that just keeps going back to these same patterns or these same experiences.

That can be almost like well-worn dirt road that just has grooves that it’s very easy for the wheel to slip back into – even if you start to climb out of that groove a little bit. So I’m telling you this because we all have some basic thoughts or beliefs (which are thoughts that we think over and over again).  And some of them might not be serving us. 

I know for a long time, I’ve had a belief that I have too much to do. I’m very busy. I don’t have time to do everything. And when I would think that thought over and over, I would get very stressed out, I would want to completely do nothing, I would feel overwhelmed and want to escape. 

Often it would lead to less productivity. And then a reaffirmation that I truly could not get everything done that I needed to, as evidenced by the fact that I scrolled Facebook for two hours and didn’t get the things done that I needed to. So there was a lot involved in changing that thought for me that “I was too busy” or “I would not have enough time.”

I imagine in my brain that there were many, many neurons that had made these connections and I had been thinking this thought for several decades and continually finding evidence to prove that thought.  One of the parts of our brain called the reticular activating system is actually designed just to basically prove our own thoughts true. It’s like a filter that helps us see evidence of things that we already believe. 

So if I do have the thought that I’m very busy, my reticular activating system does a great job of showing me my to do list and thinking of things, other things that I need to do. Maybe some urgent things that are coming up. All of this validates that thought that I have too much to do. 

You may notice people that believe that the world is a horrible place can always find examples on the news or someone they’ve known that has done horrible things and justify that statement. But if you believe that the world is a beautiful place full of love, there are also examples that you can find that prove that.

This can also be called the confirmation bias, where we tend to seek out information that confirms what we already believe. And not only does our brain get very good at thinking the same thoughts over and over.  We also with every thought are producing neurotransmitters in our body that create feelings. So for example, if we’re stressed, we may have the neurotransmitter cortisol that’s released to our cells that would help us activate fight or flight. In the short term, this hormone can make our senses sharper, and keep our brain very active and laser focused. But what can happen is these cells receiving the cortisol hormone get used to having a certain amount. It’s like the homeostasis or resting level of the cell has a certain amount that it’s used to and when that depletes, it triggers the brain to look for more things to be stressed about so that the cells can have that hormone release to make it feel more comfortable or in its normal resting state. 

So in this way, we can actually become addicted to emotions. We can on the cellular level, become addicted to anger or judgment, or shame. I think you can probably think of someone in your life who is always having one crisis or another, or someone who is always angry about something, feeling unjust, or feeling like a victim. And you can think now that their brain is just working efficiently. The cells are just used to a certain amount of this hormone or neurotransmitter and look at it more on a biological level that everything’s working as it’s supposed to. 

Like I’ve said before, it’s kind of like a computer and it’s default settings before you’ve done any of the upgrades. 

So if you can think of our brain like levels, it has levels almost like a house has a basement, perhaps, and a first floor. And so that basement of the brain, the very first primal layer would be the brainstem. And that area is responsible for some of the very basic functions like breathing, or like your heartbeat, also digestion and reproduction,

things that are basic for survival.  Sometimes this is called the lizard brain or the reptilian brain.

Then above that there is the cerebellum, which is an area that is responsible for movement and for what’s called procedural memory. So some thing that you’ve done many, many times, like pouring a glass of water, or driving or riding a bike

might be information that’s stored in your cerebellum in addition to some other things. 

Of course, this is a very simplistic view, and I’m just describing it as an analogy for you to see, the more primitive parts of the brain are lower. And then the next level would be your emotional center- your limbic system. In the limbic system, in that part of the brain, there is the amygdala, which is kind of like a command center for all of your emotions- for your primary reactions like fear, the fight or flight.  And it is one of the most interconnected parts of the brain because it connects the lower brainstem with the area above it, which is the prefrontal cortex. 

The prefrontal cortex is like the top floor of the building. It is the rational part of the brain, the conscious part of the brain. It’s the part that also processes some fear. But in a more cognisant kind of way, and can actually kind of process and control fear. It’s the part that can essentially time travel, thinking of things in the future, maybe things we should be afraid of, or worry about in the future. Thinking about things in the past that we might regret, or feel guilt or shame about.  Activating this part of the brain can even override some of those signals sent out by the amygdala and the limbic system. 

So say, if you have a huge fear of speaking in front of a large number of people, you may with your prefrontal cortex be able to remind yourself that you’re not actually in mortal danger, that this has no impact on your survival. You’re not being chased by a tiger even though you may feel the same type of fear because those same hormones are being released. And so the more we understand about our prefrontal cortex and how to use our brain, the better we can control ourselves in situations of stress, and the more mindful we can become about getting the results we want in our life. 

And of course, we are going to talk a lot about using our brains to help with healing and with achieving health. 

So much focus has been placed in our society, on the physical aspect of our bodies and our health, the physiological components, but not really any of the mental or emotional or spiritual components of our bodies and how it relates to our pain and our health. 

Now one of the worst things for our health is when we are continually living in survival mode. So these hormones and neurotransmitters that are made to help us outrun a predator or lift a car off of a child are just designed to be for a very short term use. But because of the way our brains have been programmed for survival, and because there really aren’t every day type of events that cause us mortal peril, usually we’re not being chased by predators. Our brain now perceives things like someone saying that they don’t like us as a threat to our survival- we could be eliminated from our tribe, which is very dangerous. 

We have a strong need for approval from others in this survival sense. 

I know when I always thought that I did not have enough time and I would never get everything done that I needed to, I created a sense of stress for myself that was continual. And I know that affected my health and my sleep at night. 

Just like our phones sometimes need to be powered down. We’re not meant to go at this fast speed with so much stress for so long.

So much of the stress that we have nowadays we place on ourselves, and we worry about what other people think. Or we worry if we are just good enough generally as a person.  Not good enough at playing the piano or good enough at cleaning the toilet, but just that we’re not good enough in general.  We may have trauma from our past that is unresolved that leads to thought patterns about needing to feel safe or needing to feel in control. 

The last little fact I want you to think about with your brain is that we are born with the genetic material that we inherited from our parents. So half from our mom half from our dad.  Joe Dispenza talks about how even things like anger or judgment or shame

can be inherited, it can be in our DNA that we’re born with. 

I think in my own family, I have many generations of very religious, devout people, who I think also part of their DNA probably has tendencies towards shame, guilt, worry, and judgment. But as we know, the environment also plays a role. We do not develop purely from our genetics but also from the outside influence that we live in. But think about where we go when we are born, who we live with. It’s these same people that we’ve inherited this genetic makeup from. 

So there are patterns that you may have seen as a child Then as an adult, you find yourself doing. Again, it’s nothing to be angry about. It’s just something to understand. It means your brain is working. 

The best news I have for you is that our brain is plastic. So basically, it is always changing. Even as we age, we are still able to make new connections, or get rid of old connections to basically rewire our brain. Even in neuroscience, they’re finding out that they’re able, we are able as humans to switch on or off different genes in our DNA.

So the first thing we need to do in this process is start understanding our brain and looking at our thoughts.  So how do we start to work on our thoughts?

I know when I first learned about doing any kind of thought work, I realized what a negative person I was, and I never had thought about myself as a negative person. But one of the main techniques that you can use, look at your own mind is actually through journaling. 

So if you’re trying to just consciously monitor the thoughts that are going through your head, just remember that what actually makes it up to your consciousness is only a portion of the actual thoughts, a number of thoughts that are created by your brain each day. It’s really not efficient to just think about your own thoughts and analyze and work from that place. 

Have you ever started to describe something to someone that sounds really good in your head, and when you actually put words to it and say it out loud? It kind of sounds ridiculous. So the same thing can happen with thoughts in your head that are not examined. And the best way that I know is to start journaling.  To start to get those

those real core thoughts and beliefs and things that may even sound a little bit silly when you put them down on paper, or maybe even sound horrifying.  You know, maybe it’s something that you don’t want to admit to yourself. 

But all of these little, dark, repressed, undiscovered spots are things that are very beneficial to explore and examine, and to not fear.  Because a lot of times, like I said, once you put them down on paper, once you say them out loud, you realize that they lose their power. 

So for example, when I first started journaling and realizing that one of my main beliefs in life was that I didn’t have enough time to get things done. I started to also realize the power that I placed on getting things done, that I had a lot of beliefs about my value as a person being wrapped up in what I got done. Questioning the belief that I had to get certain things done in order to be a valuable person. Because I know that I’m 100% valuable and worthy just by nature of being a person here on the earth, I’m worthy of love, just as everyone else here is. 

And when I started to realize that maybe I didn’t have to get certain things done, and that I had a choice in what I could get done or not. It took a lot of the pressure off of me thinking that there were just these innumerable amount of things that I would never be able to accomplish. 

Another example could be journaling about something that bothers you that someone does, maybe it’s arriving late. So if you’re thinking that this person is arriving late, and that means that they don’t respect you, or that they don’t love you enough, or that they don’t value you as a person, then that may cause certain feelings. with you because of the thoughts that you’re having. But if you had thoughts about that the scenario, the same scenario of someone coming late as more reflection on that person.  Maybe they have some time management issues, or maybe they’re struggling with things in their own life, and how that is actually more a reflection of them, not of their love for you, or whether or not you’re worthy of love. 

Now, I’m the kind of person that I wouldn’t say I run late all the time, because that isn’t true. But I do run late quite a bit. And it’s interesting because that general thought of I don’t have enough time to get things done, plays into the fact that I sometimes run late. 

I noticed once when I got someplace early, that I felt very uncomfortable. I felt like I should be doing something that this was not a good use of my time to be sitting someplace early. And I also noticed that when I think I need to leave at a certain time, and maybe I have a few minutes before that time comes, I will think, Okay, let me just throw in some laundry, or start a conversation with the kids, or I’m trying to use that last little bit of time to make myself feel more worthy, right. 

This is my unexamined mind before I started examining these things. But me arriving late somewhere, really had nothing to do with who I was meeting or where I was going. But it had everything to do with me, trying to fit in something else to make myself feel a little bit better about myself, and more lovable or worthy.

Now as you start to watch your thoughts and you start to journal, definitely be compassionate with yourself. I learned this first when I very first started journaling and saw all of the negative things that I had to say about myself. And then I really started feeling worse because I thought what a horrible person I am. And so I just heaped a bunch of shame and guilt on top of this criticism of me that I already had going. 

So definitely try to be the most compassionate person that you can. And that was the main reason I wanted to record this first podcast is to teach you a little bit more about your brain about how it works normally, about these default settings that are basically programmed into our brain which help us survive. They’re there for a reason. We don’t have to be scared of it. We don’t have to avoid it. But the more that we understand it, the more that we can change our lives in a positive way and live on purpose. And instead of having our thoughts think us we can think our thoughts, and create our reality.

So I want to challenge you to start journaling. Make it a practice, spend 5 to 10 minutes in the morning, or in the evening before you go to bed reviewing your day, but get some thoughts down on paper. start the process, make it a habit. And don’t be critical of yourself. Write as if you’re uncensored. If you need to afterwards, destroy the paper, tear it up or burn it. But definitely don’t filter your writing as if you’re worried about someone finding it and reading it. You should try to write things that you would be a little horrified maybe that if people found out.  

This is the first step in upgrading your brain, becoming the compassionate watcher of your thoughts, and especially delving into those thoughts through journaling. 

Thank you so much. much for listening. I hope you learned a little bit about your brain today that helps you in your life like it helped me. Please be sure and subscribe and leave a review. And of course be sure and share this podcast with someone you know that wants an Unstoppable Body and Mind.