Romans 12:2 (ESV) “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
DISCLAIMER * If this concept feels overwhelming and extremely hard for you, especially if you have experienced trauma, it is important to find a counselor to walk along this path with you as an empathetic witness.
Imagine you are walking in an endless field of high grass. You walk along a well-worn path, easily, because the path is already formed. Through intention, you decide that this path is no longer taking you in the direction you need to go. You decide it is time to form a new path. Due to the high grasses, it is difficult to forge new path; you must force the grasses down at first and they may even bounce back and hit you in the face. Over time, through repetition and purpose, you form a new path that takes you in a better direction.
This analogy represents what it is like to form new neural pathways, in what neuroscience calls “neuroplasticity.” Neuroplasticity is what allows our brains to change, through the rewiring of neurons. It also represents what psychology calls “cognitive restructuring.” Cognitive restructuring allows us to change the way we think to develop and support a healthy mindset. And last, but certainly not least, it represents what Christians call “spiritual formation.” We are all being formed by something, and we have the agency and ability to be intentional with what we allow to form us. At the heart of it, all three of these concepts point to the fact that we are formed by what we pay attention to on PURPOSE.
To conserve space, I am going to touch briefly on both neuroplasticity and spiritual formation. I wrote in a previous blog about cognitive restructuring, so I am not going to focus in on that.
Hebb’s Law of neuroplasticity is the process of how our brains learn and form memories. When we learn a new idea, our neurons are activated and connect with other neurons to form new networks. Synapses recognize when neurons fire together and can change connections between them. As stimuli are repeated, the connection between neurons strengthens, which eventually leads to new pathways being formed. Over time, neurons that fire together, wire together, and their associations are strengthened by repetition. The more these networks and pathways are reinforced, they fuse together and are released through the nervous system and out into the body.
The most amazing part of this scientific research is that we now are able to see what takes place in the brain when we “renew the mind” as stated in Romans 12:2. This is a fascinating process, and scientific progress has allowed us to see this taking place through fMRI’s. What makes this process so significant when we consider how this affects us on a psychological level, is that what we choose to pay attention to on purpose, is what becomes our reality. If we spend our time focusing on negative thoughts, problems, trauma, tragedy, or things that are outside of our control, we are most likely going to feel hopeless, stuck, overwhelmed, anxious and depressed. When we choose to focus on what we have, gratitude, beauty, the things we have the power to change, and God’s faithfulness; our experience will be changed to joy, peace, and contentment. Hebb’s law essentially comes down to the idea that the more you seek, the more you’ll find.
From a spiritual standpoint, this is also true of spiritual formation. All day long we are being formed by something, either intentionally or unintentionally. We are formed by our habits, our thoughts (what we dwell on), what we watch and listen to, and the people with whom we spend our time. I do not know about you, but I want to form my spirituality intentionally. Since I know and understand how my brain is wired, I want to be intentional about what it is being wired towards because it impacts everything.
Lastly, I want to share my thoughts about one of my favorite passages of Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9. It blows my mind to read this passage considering current neuroscience research. In this passage, Paul describes to us the process of neuroplasticity from a spiritual perspective. He starts by telling us to rejoice – pay attention to the beauty and gifts God has given. He then tells us to not be anxious, and we do this by giving to God what we cannot control and focusing on thanksgiving – gratitude. Current neuroscience research shows that gratitude and anxiety light up the same part of the brain, therefore, we cannot be both anxious and grateful at the same time. Paul then tells us what to think about – this does not mean that we completely ignore the hard things and suffering, it means that our central focus should be on the positive, uplifting, and healthy things. Lastly, he states that these are things we need to PRACTICE. There is that repetition – creating a new path through the tall grass. This is not easy, it is not simple, and it takes practice, but the most encouraging part is that God designed our brains to change and he gave us a template on how to put it into action.
Philippians 4:4-9 (ESV) “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING (emphasis added) let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK (emphasis added) about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and see in me —PRACTICE (emphasis added) these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
