How You Brain Works

This easy to understand model of how the brain works will bring you insight to the workings of your thought machine.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

How Your Brain Works

Years ago I read a fascinating book by Jill Bolte Taylor called My Stroke of Insight. Dr. Taylor is a neuroanatomist who had a massive stroke at age 37. She lost the functioning of the left side of her brain and had to relearn life from scratch. She described herself as an infant in a woman’s body.

During her recovery she noticed something interesting. The brain, she said, works like a filing system—three basic files: pictures, words, and feelings.

When I read that, I smiled . . . because many years earlier a man named Dr. Dave Dobson had taught me the exact same thing—no neuroscience degree required.

Dave said the brain has three filing cabinets: pictures, words, and feelings. The pictures and feelings live on the right side of the brain. Words live on the left. And information zips back and forth between them.

Here’s an example of how it works.

Someone says a word . . . and instantly a picture pops into your mind. That picture triggers a feeling. Then your brain crosses over to the word cabinet and grabs a label to describe what just happened.

All of this happens in the blink of an eye.

Take something simple like Silly Putty if you remember that.

If someone mentions it, you probably get a picture in your mind. Maybe you remember pressing it onto the comics page and lifting the image off the newspaper . . . then stretching the cartoon until the characters looked ridiculous.

Picture. Feeling. Word.

Lightning fast.

Now here’s the interesting part.

The same word can produce completely different pictures and feelings for different people.

That’s why when someone says, “I’m depressed,” and you reply, “I know exactly how you feel” . . . you don’t.

You may both be using the same word, but the pictures and feelings behind that word could be entirely different.

A better question might be: “What specifically is going on in your body?”

That question gets you closer to what the person actually means when they use the label “depressed.”

With that little brain model in mind, here’s a simple exercise.

Think of a word that gives you a visceral reaction. Something that just hits you wrong. For example, broadcaster Katie Couric has said she has a strong reaction to the word “sputum.”

Now that might seem odd to you . . . but when you understand the filing system, it makes sense.

The word triggers a picture . . . and the picture triggers a feeling.

So here’s the trick.

Take that mental picture and distort it.

Stretch it. Shrink it. Make it black and white. Blur it. Turn it into a cartoon.

When you change the picture, something interesting happens.

The feeling starts to change, too.

With a little practice, the word that used to trigger a strong reaction . . . won’t have the same punch anymore.

Which brings me to a phrase I’m not particularly fond of:

“Change your thoughts; change your life.”That misses something important.

Thoughts are really afterthoughts. They come from the pictures and feelings already stored in your mental filing cabinets.

As Dr. Dave used to say:

“Words are the caboose on the choo-choo of life.”

They don’t drive the train. They follow.

So a more precise maxim might be this:

Change your pictures . . . and change your life.

All the best,

John