In today’s hyperactive socially connected world, people are over stimulated in just about every aspect of life. The Lord rested from His work when it was completed. But the trouble with many of us is, our minds never enter into that Sabbath rest that the Lord prescribes for us.
Our brain is wonderfully made. There are many systems and networks interconnected within the brain that work harmoniously with one another.
I was going to write on Chapter 5, “Entering into Directed Rest” as I work through Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book “Switch on Your Brain.” But, something wouldn’t allow me to move on just yet. There is a little more that needs to be explored in Chapter 4 entitled “Catch Those Thoughts.”
We all have the capability of capturing our thoughts and bringing them into obedience of Christ as called out in 2 Cor. 10:5. This is easier said than done at times.
I used to coach boys and girls little league baseball and softball. To take those little tykes and teach them the fundamentals of the game and to make it fun was enjoyable for me. Their shortened attention spans, but eagerness to please was always evident.
One of the key fundamentals I always stressed was catching the ball. If we were going to have any success and a good time on the ball field, then we as a team needed to be able to do this.
Sports power to change and unite a nation, or community of nations for the better is notable. Nelson Mandela has said:
Sport has the power to change the world … It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.
Of all the things that we can be in this life, it is stated in Dr. Leaf’s book that we are to be our own brain surgeons! Club and scalpel anyone? Thankfully it need not be as drastic as cracking your skull open with a club. Or, using a scalpel on your own brain to slice through it like a warm knife through butter.
To have a skull cut asunder and a scalpel put to the soft tissues of the brain is drastic. Brain surgery in itself conjures up some pretty scary images. Perhaps even of someone like Dr. Ben Carson, the renowned brain surgeon and a recent 2016 Presidential Candidate.
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper ; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn . This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
Is. 54:17
Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
Colossians 3:15 AMP
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Can you walk in a peaceful state of mind when everything appears to be exploding in negativity around you? When perhaps your family life appears as if it’s in utter chaos, and your work life seems to be full of negative drama and toxicity?
God has created us as thinking beings. We are always thinking. At times it might seem like we have no choices in the way that we think, for our minds always seem to be running a dialog with associated feelings. Even in our sleep, our subconscious mind works to sort the days activities out.
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During our thinking process, genetic expression is taking place in the brain. These thoughts we think occupy mental real estate within our brains in the form of proteins which are formed by our thinking.
Linked Science Concept: Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.
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Scientists at one point in time, thought that our brain capacity was fixed. That we were hardwired, and that if anything were to happen to our brains either by injury, drugs, or some other catastrophic event, that it would be incurable, irreversible, and untreatable.
Our mind is designed to control the body, of which the brain is a part, not the other way around. Matter does not control us; we control matter through our thinking and choosing. We cannot control the events and circumstances of life but We CAN CONTROL OUR REACTIONS!