7 Rules of Neuroplasticity
[00:00:00] Your brain is amazing. It is more powerful than you've given it credit for in the past. And when I say your brain, I literally mean the physical organ that you have inside of your head. It is an amazing computer in a very real way. But the interesting thing about this computer that you have in your brain, is that it will literally run any program that you give it.
[00:00:36] And when you hear me say that, you may think, "yeah, right, Stefanie, that's a load of shit. I've tried that before. I can't make this work for myself". I feel you, I've been there, but let's take a little bit of a deeper dive into this.
[00:00:52] The brain doesn't distinguish between true and false. It only takes [00:01:00] what is in your environment and makes stories and programs about that experience so that you can use that to move forward. So, if you, when you were younger, had an environment that taught you certain programs to run, like maybe, "I'm not good enough. I'm not valuable. Other people are more important than me". That program got put in your brain. And then it got repeated and repeated and repeated, and it became something that is automatic and happens on its own.
[00:01:39] So when I say that, you may feel a little bit defeated of, "Well, shit, Stef, that doesn't really help me. I know I'm running that program. I need to know what the fuck to do about it". Yes. Great sentiment. I agree with you. The great news is our brains have this [00:02:00] component or this ability to be able to change and it's called neuroplasticity.
[00:02:05] So the same way, those old programs that you got from growing up put in and repeated and then became automatic, is the same way you can put new programs into your brain, for your brain to run.
[00:02:21] I really want you to hear me on this. This is a hundred percent possible. It doesn't matter how long you've been running the program of, "I am not enough". You can change. And it begins with creating that awareness of what's going on in that program. And the reason it begins there is because if you're not conscious of what's going on, it's going to stay there, running on autopilot, making your choices for you. So that first step being mindful, creating awareness about what's going [00:03:00] on is really important.
[00:03:02] But it doesn't end there. We need to keep going. We need to decide, "Well, what program do I want to be running? What does that look like for me? How do I want to be feeling? What sort of actions do I want to be taking? What sort of results do I want at the end of this?"
[00:03:22] It's important to look at this in a big picture way so that you know where you've been in the past, the programs that you're running. And what you want in the future as well, this future aspect of what you want to be creating for the programs in the brain that you'd like to be experiencing is very important. This is the direction that you are giving your brain. It's the blueprint for the programs that you would like to be installing.
[00:03:53] And I want to share with you something from a book called "The Power of Neuroplasticity". This [00:04:00]book is by Shad Helmstetter. And I like this book because it's an easy read. There's not a lot of science in it. It's based on the science, but it's written in a way that is completely understandable. And in this, he shares the seven rules of neuro-plasticity. So here they are:
[00:04:20] The first one is mindfulness. The second one is choices. The third is intention. The fourth is focus. The fifth is repetition. The sixth is emotion and the seventh is belief. Now he takes a very deep dive into all seven of these in his book, but also at the beginning, when he shares this big picture view of neuroplasticity, he also gives us questions for each of these seven rules that he outlines. And I want to share those [00:05:00] questions with you to help you get a foundational understanding of what it takes to use our brain's neuro-plasticity to our advantage.
[00:05:12] Rule number one: mindfulness. "Am I being consciously minded? Am I always aware my thoughts are programming my brain for me."
[00:05:26] When I think of this rule, I call this rule awareness. That was before I stumbled across this book. Awareness/ mindfulness is very, very important. And the reason it is, is because when we are not mindful, when we are not conscious and not aware of the programs that we are running in our brains, we are fully identified with them. It feels like who we really are instead of just a program that we've repeated [00:06:00] and it feels natural.
[00:06:01] If you follow Dr. Joe Dispenza at all, he lays it out in a way that is really simple and easy to understand. He calls this step, making the unconscious conscious. It's a process of becoming so familiar with with the thoughts, the emotions and the actions that are born from those thoughts and emotions that we are able to catch them as they run through the brain.
[00:06:29] So then at that point, we can go to rule number two, which is choices. It's hard to make choices when we are not aware when we are not mindful. So rule number two is choices: "Am I making choices conscious? Or are my old unconscious programs making them for me."
[00:06:52] So when you're starting out creating a new program to run in your brain, [00:07:00] it's easy to want to skip this step is easy to say, "Well, I don't want to do that. I don't want to look at what's going on. That doesn't feel good."
[00:07:10] So what? You're living that not feel good, the way to change it is to start to become aware with compassion and curiosity of what's going on in your mind so that you can expand your ability to choose something different.
[00:07:28] And that leads us to rule number three intention: "Do I know exactly what my intention is? Do I know exactly what I want? Do I know the goal?"
[00:07:43] And so this step actively brings us to what we want to be experiencing instead. The programs that we want to be running. And before I dive into the other rules that he outlines in his book, I want to pause here. And I want you to be [00:08:00] aware that there is a tool that we can use for these first three steps to help us. In a way that feels supportive and inspiring and it's EFT, emotional freedom technique. It's something that is non-negotiable for me in my life when I am creating a new neural program in my brain. And it's because EFT helps us hold space for that awareness in a way that is nurturing and helps us process what's going on.
[00:08:37] Instead of being in constant judgment of what's happened, it allows a safe space to question and to explore those programs that we've been running for a really long time, and to help loosen that identification with the programs and feeling like that is who we really are. So I want you to imagine that [00:09:00] you have these old programs in your hands, in the palms of your hands right now.
[00:09:05] And if you're in a place where you can actually put your palms out in front of you, go ahead and do that. Imagine those programs. And wrap your palms around them and hold on really tight, this, this feeling. And I really want you to squeeze your palms together. You're holding onto this old programming that is being identified with the programs as being true.
[00:09:28] When you feel like you are genuinely not enough, not good enough. You're holding onto that program. You're fully identified with it and tapping helps us loosen the grip of those programs creates that awareness and that mindfulness. So we can start to choose something different and dream about what we'd rather be thinking, and feeling, and experiencing and what we want to be putting into our brains for programs to run.
[00:09:57] If you've never heard of EFT [00:10:00] before, don't worry. You can Google it if you want to, but there will also be future episodes that take a deeper dive into tapping and how it can help us create those changes that we want to be experiencing.
[00:10:14] And onto rule number four, focus: "Do I focus on my goals and on the programs I want to create?"
[00:10:24] Rule number five, repetition: "Am I using repetition to create the programs I want to create?"
[00:10:32] Number six, emotion: "Am I adding positive feelings and emotion to the programs I am creating?"
[00:10:42] And number seven, belief: "Do I have a strong belief that this outcome will happen for me?"
[00:10:52] So rules four through seven are where the rubber meets the road. When we begin that [00:11:00] physical change in our brain of creating new neural pathways, new neural networks and new programs that become and feel more natural. This is the part where you'll be tempted to give up. This is the part that can be very uncomfortable. The good news about marrying something like neuroscience with EFT tapping is that when we tap through a negative belief or a negative program, it helps us loosen that grip.
[00:11:33] So when we get to the rules four through seven, it does feel a little easier because we are less identified with the old program. And each one of these roles deserves a super deep dive. And that's what this podcast is going to be about.
[00:11:51] It's not going to just be resourced from this book though. It's going to be lots of books, lots of learning, lots of personal experiences, [00:12:00] and maybe even your experience as well. So where are you at right now in your journey of using energy work or the concepts of neuroplasticity? I would love to hear from you.