Neuroplasticity is the capacity of connections between neurons in the brain to change in response to experience and our environment. The good news? It isn’t age dependent. We have brain plasticity till we die if we exercise our brains.
I was just at a spirituality conference in South Africa where an expert on brain science talked about how up until just recently the medical community was convinced that our brains could be mapped showing where each of our abilities, for instance the ability to see, was located in the physical structure of the brain. In other words it was thought this map was the hardwired diagram of our brain. But not so.
The research of the last 15 years has shown our brains can be rewired and remapped. But our brains are not just moldable clay they also has the ability to generate more clay…more brain cells. Neurogenisis or the formation of new nerve cells continues throughout life. ( Daniel Seigel’s book The Mindful Brain is just incredible in this regard.)
What I am interested in is how repetition allows this new wiring to start and then embed.
You know the old saying 21 days to a new habit? Something is happening in our neural networks to make that a reality.
So these are the three key issues undergirding transformative practice we have been talking about.
Intention, attention and repetition. If you haven’t been following this blog post very long take a look at a couple of these to clarify in your mind what these three are. Intention also here and attention here and here
So here is my questions
What practices do you currently engage that are transformative? Remember what we mean by transformation…it is not more horizontal bandwidth acquisition. Transformation will alter the way you see and make meaning of yourself others and the world.
What is happening in those practices? In other words “how’s that working for you?”
What I would like to do for the next couple weeks is talk about what happens in the course of practice.
What are the road signs along the way that we can expect to see. We will explore 6 markers that will help you in the transformative way for living fuller and living deeper.
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Ron,
Looking forward to learning about the 6 markers over the next few weeks.
Today I listened to your Centering Prayer mp3 so this blog is dovetailing well.
Thank you.