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Rewiring the Brain – Part Two

Originally posted at: http://applyingmybeliefs.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/rewiring-the-brain-part-two/
by applyingmybeliefs

This is the second part of the Merimnao (the ministry I run) educational advisory on this subject.  Yesterday’s post covered the introduction and first four brain rewiring activities we can get involved in.  This post covers the last three activities and has a summary.

5. Gratitude

Have you ever been around ungrateful people?  We all have, and we all know that ungratefulness is a highly negative attitude that can breed other negative attitudes like unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness.  Even though we may never consciously think this, we all instinctively know that ungrateful people have some measure of what we call in our culture “mental illness.”

God prescribes gratefulness.  Here we see it in the form of a command:

Col 3:15 – And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  ESV

Being thankful instead of the opposite helps to rewire our brains away from the negativeness that can so easily creep in from the world.  Let’s look at an example.

There is a modern trend in our culture to put down fathers within families, this is found in so many sit-coms.  The devaluing of fatherhood in this way is a sign of non-appreciation of the role of a father, which leads to not being grateful for even having one in a family.  The wives who watch this, and the children who see it develop some negative attitudes toward their actual husbands and fathers, ungratefulness being one of them.

Within Merimnao we recognize that one of the signs of a person who has been healed to any extent is the outward demonstration of gratefulness.  We see this in those that talk about what God has done, those that appreciate what the group leaders do, those that serve, those that give back and those that support the ministry in some way.  These are people whose brains have been rewired.

6. Service

Voluntarily serving people rewires a person’s brain.  Involuntary service does not.

If you are not serving then your mindset is all about “me”, or put another way, all you do is for yourself.  Even when you are forced, as a teenager might be made to do chores, or an employee in a job, it is still for your own sake.  The brain wiring we have when we’re born and continue to develop as we grow is such that we are auto-programmed for selfishness.  This is not healthy for any person; in fact self-centeredness leads one to the place where we are the god of our lives.  We are effectively our own idol.  This is mental illness, and it is why God says this very clearly:

1 Cor 6:19-20 – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.  ESV

Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  ESV

Gal 5:13 – For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  ESV

God says that we are not our own (we are His), that He came to serve as our model on how to do life and that service is a great way to avoid being “fleshly”, meaning in this context, that we operate for our own self-oriented purposes.

These scriptures are all encouragements for us to serve as a way to rewire our brains, and service to others from our own hearts has to be voluntary, meaning we choose to do it ourselves, for it to be effective in rewiring.

As an aside here – it is possible to rewire in a negative sense if we are forced to serve others on an involuntary basis.  This is because we internally respond or react with resentment or something similar to being commanded to do something against our will, something that we haven’t chosen to do.

7. Music

Music seems to have a supernatural ability to change our mood.  We can probably all relate to the idea that music can rewire the brain because we know it can affect how we feel.  In scripture we see music play an integral part of many things:

  • (2 Chron 29:25)
  • Celebrating Triumph over enemies. (Ex 15:20)
  • The battle for Jericho. (Josh 6:4)
  • Lifting Saul’s depression. (I Sam 18:10)
  • Prophetic inspiration. (2 Kings 3:15)
  • (2 Chron 35:25)
  • In the Psalms. (Ps 47:6)

All of these applications of music can be thought of in the context of brain rewiring.  In the New Testament we see perhaps the clearest instruction of all about using music to rewire our brains.

Eph 5:19 – Address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.  ESV

This is, of course, a very narrow instruction when we consider the massive breadth of music-related sound we can let into our personal world.  And therein lies the problem.

As every parent knows, it matters what a child is listening to.  I doubt if any parent who loves their children doesn’t worry about this issue.  Some parents have guidelines or rules for their kids on this matter.  Now, translate that to God being our heavenly parent.  While none of us can speak for God, it seems obvious to me from how He worded Ephesians 5:19 that He is very concerned about the music we listen to.

Let’s define music to help us finish this last of the seven activities we can engage in to rewire our brains.  Music is anything with a melody.  This is not of course the classic definition of music but it is a good definition in our context because it gets at the issue of rhythm.  Here is a list of the most common types of communication that fits our definition:

  • Most “classical music.”
  • Most modern music, such as country, rock, rap etc.
  • Words without instrumentation such as poetry and acapella singing.

In looking at this list, which is tremendously broad, we can see that there is likely to be much out there that doesn’t fit the Ephesians 5:19 description.  So here is a way to do a “quick and dirty” evaluation of what we ought to allow into our soul for the purpose of rewiring the brain and for better mental health.

  • If the music glorifies God it is probably okay. (Such as hymns and modern praise and worship songs.)
  • If it glorifies anything other than God, for example an alternative god, it is not. (Such as most modern love songs.)
  • If it celebrates God’s creation without glorifying it, it is most likely acceptable. (Songs about the majesty of the earth, the stars, the heavens etc, these indirectly glorify God.)
  • If it denigrates God’s creation it is not. (Things like modern rap music that puts down other people.)

Mostly we must use our common sense on what we ought to listen to if we want a positive rewiring of the brain.  If in doubt, ask some godly people to read the poetry or listen to the music before your do, and take their advice.

Music in the church is often contentious, but this aspect, brain-rewiring, ought not to be.  How a person treats this subject is very important.  If we are closed to inappropriate music and open to God-glorifying music it can aid our recovery or our spiritual maturing processes.

Even though some of us might enjoy some hard rock, some country, some hip-hop or rap or even the more edgy things like punk rock, grunge or gangsta rap, these are not always good for us.

Within Merimnao we have a significant group who are engaged in good recovery practices such as listening to music.  While we don’t know what each individual listens to, we do know that they at least occasionally listen to songs that relate to subjects such as drugs, alcohol, sex, abuse and emotional pain.  For the most part these are healthy to listen to as they deal with the truth of addictions and recovering from them.  We would therefore consider them acceptable as they celebrate God’s creation with glorifying it (as in III above).  This is true because even though God didn’t create the trouble, that was the result of the fall, He did create the processes that we go through to get out of our compulsions and addiction.  These are all designed to point us back to Him.  So, in an obtuse way, the songs glorify God.  What we do like about some of these songs is that they remind us of where we have come from, what we’ve been through and that we don’t want to go back there.

There is a small caveat to this acceptance of recovery songs.  That is that some songs might seem to be acceptable but when we look at the lyrics and hear how they are presented we notice that they glorify some form of worldly culture.  An example of this would be the songs lauding the use of hallucinogenic drugs from the late 60s and 70s.  The simple rule for us here is to know what we are listening to.  Use common sense.

Final Things

The physical brain is a complex part of the body that God designed for humans, the only creature that is made in God’s image, to use while they inhabit the earth.  It is only been in the last 20 or so years that we have started to really understand this.  The rewiring of the brain, even up to the moment of death, is now an undisputable fact.  For those that are recovering from something this is a very encouraging truth; it provides hope.

We tend to think of brain rewiring as a physical process, but this cannot be true, as it comes after we have done some psychological work.  The body and the soul work together in this.  As our soul works to gain knowledge, understanding, wisdom, beliefs, values and attitudes the brain rewires.  We start to think, feel, choose and then behave in new ways.  This is the basis for all recovery, for all counseling and for all the preaching we ever listen to.

If our brain could not rewire, we could never change.  BUT, since the brain can rewire, all of us can change!  As Christians we ought to celebrate brain rewiring, for it is a gift to us from God.

In Summary

Brain rewiring, Neuroplasticity, is a healing mechanism that is available to all individuals.  However, it is not automatic, we must work at it.

For victims of accidents, or those with certain medical issues, brain rewiring may involve both physical and psychological therapy.

For those that are grieving losses, psychological therapy or support groups may be helpful along with the seven activities listed to help with brain rewiring.

Those that are struggling with life, the seven activities and support groups might help with brain rewiring.

For those in recovery, brain rewiring can be speeded up if they work on their programs and fill their lives with the seven activities.

The results of brain rewiring can be astounding, here are a few examples:

  • Emotional pain can be diminished.
  • New thought patterns develop.
  • Depression and anxiety can be lessened.
  • Dysfunctional behaviors can be stopped.

So, let us pay attention to this subject and speak of it when it is relevant and appropriate.

Suggested Resource

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a Christian Cognitive Neuroscientist from South Africa.  She specializes in this field of rewiring the brain.  She even has a “Statement of Faith” on her website.  If any person reading this MEA wants to learn more, her works might be helpful.  Her site address is:

http://drleaf.com/

©Merimnao 2014 – not to be used without permission.

 

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REVISION – ISA Partner’s Meeting Information (New Number & Access Code)

Castimonia’s primary purpose is to help men recover from sexual impurity and reach a Biblically-based sexual purity.  However, Castimonia fully supports the healing of our spouses via various recovery groups.  Occasionally, we will post information for spouses of men who struggle with sexual purity.  Below is some information sent to us from a couple’s therapist to share with the recovery community.

There is a new call-in partner’s meeting that began last week. Friday at 11:00 am Central, Infidelity Survivors Anonymous started a weekly call-in meeting. These meetings will last for one hour.
Infidelity Survivors Anonymous (ISA) is a 12-step fellowship for women who are or have been in relationship with a sex addict. ISA is the only major partners’ fellowship that I know of that is focused on the trauma partners receive in their relationships rather than on codependent behaviors.

In order to add new features to the call, the ISA call-in meeting has a new number and passcode:

New number (515) 739-1020
Access code: 876512#

You will remain anonymous and after the meeting is over you can stay on the line for fellowship with the other members who were on the call.

Please share this email on your social media accounts.
For more information about ISA, go to www.isurvivors.org.

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Rewiring the Brain – Part One

Originally posted at: http://applyingmybeliefs.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/rewiring-the-brain-part-one/
by applyingmybeliefs

I have written what we in Merimnao (the ministry I run) call an “educational advisory”, a item of interest to those of us who serve, volunteer or participate in our work.  This on is on the subject of brain rewiring as a part of God’s healing mechanisms.  This post will introduce the subject and cover the first four individual activities we can get involved in that will help our brains rewire.

Did you know that the brain can be rewired?  In fact there is a whole area of medical science that deals with this; it is called Neuroplasticity.  Here is a basic definition of this, (taken from the about.com website), although there are many similar definitions available.

  • Brain plasticity, also known as Neuroplasticity or cortical remapping, is a term that refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. Up until the 1960s, researchers believed that changes in the brain could only take place during infancy and childhood. By early adulthood, it was believed that the brain’s physical structure was permanent. Modern research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information and create new memories.

Neuroplasticity goes on throughout our lives and is the key to recovering from physical brain damage, as with stroke patients – and, surprise, recovering from many other things such as a life of dysfunctional behaviors, being a psychological trauma victim and from addictions!

Within Merimnao we deal with individuals who are brokenhearted; that is they may carry wounds, have issues, are anxious or depressed and generally don’t function as well as God designed them to.  Our role is one of coming alongside these individuals and assisting God as He does His healing work in them.  One of the things we all have to do, in the context of healing, is to educate those God sends to us about His ways.  Neuroplasticity is part of God’s created design in humans, and we suspect other creatures too.

We have identified seven activities that any person can engage in that will rewire their brain.  Each of these has been proven to work by modern science, and there is plenty of free information on the internet about all the research that has been done in recent years.  Of course God has been encouraging us to do each of these since the beginning of time; the scientists are finally catching up!  First we’ll list them, and then we’ll discuss each of them.

  • Meditation, Prayer, Laughter, Rituals, Gratitude, Service and Music.
  1. Meditation

The spiritual discipline of meditation is also known as mindfulness in modern psychological literature, in the scriptures it is often called “thinking about.”  It has been around for thousands of years and all the major religions that have survived through time practice it at some level.  Here are just a couple of useful scriptures:

Ps 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  ESV

Phil 4:8-9 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, 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 about these things.  ESV

There are literally hundreds of definitions of meditation that give us a plethora of explanations for what it is.  As Christ-followers we probably ought to ignore all of them, even the so-called Christian descriptions, and concentrate on whatever the scriptures actually say.

Our perspective is that we would be well served to meditate as described in Philippians 4:8-9.  And even more specifically acknowledge that all of God’s word fits the criteria the Apostle Paul laid out in that short passage (true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise) so that we can trust it to guide our meditations better than our normal wandering minds might, because they are so susceptible to worldly interference.

So then, our view is that the safest and most healing form of meditation begins with pondering over something from God’s word.  The Holy Spirit will honor this, and part of God’s process of healing, the rewiring of the brain, will be occurring.

  1. Prayer

This is also a spiritual discipline, and is often linked with meditation, but it is different.  Where meditation might be thought as a time of trying to experience God in our soul processes, prayer is our method of two-way communication with our creator; it is a conversation with God.  God says many things about prayer in His word, here are some of the things He says that are relevant in our discussion of brain rewiring:

Matt 6:6 – But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.  ESV

Luke 5:16 – He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.  ESV

1 Thess 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.  ESV

Jude 20 – But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.  ESV

In this sample of prayer scriptures we see some important principles laid out.

  • Pray privately and intimately to God, make it a one-on-one conversation when it is possible.
  • Get away from the distractions of life.
  • Pray about everything.
  • Believe that prayer builds you up in your faith, think of it as exercising a faith muscle.

As we converse with God He will reveal things to us and work with us in our minds and while He speaks with us, He rewires our brains.

  1. Laughter

This is not a spiritual discipline, but it might be just as important.  This is what the Bible says about this:

Prov 17:22 – A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  ESV

This was written about 3,000 years ago, and is just as true today.  Laughter has a way of filling us up and helping to redirect our thinking away from areas that get us into difficulty.  It helps to reduce anxiety, reduce depression and help us to focus on the joys of life.  If we experience laughter often enough we’ll begin to see the fruit of a rewired brain in our attitudes and behaviors.

On the problem side of laughter is what the world offers as comedy is often disguised judgmentalism or denigration.  Modern day sit-coms for example are supposed to be funny and yet they often picture certain individuals in demeaning ways.  There is a wealth of comedy, produced back when media producers were actually concerned with such things as respect for persons, for us to watch on our TV, computer or phone.  Similar things can be said about cartoons or books designed to make us smile.

Laughter is best experienced in the context of relationships.  This can be seen at most human gatherings of a social nature.  When we think about the good times we’ve had with friends we can remember the best times always involved fun; laughter was present, and although we didn’t know it, our brains were being rewired.  Who we hang out with is very important in the context of laughter or having a mirth-filled heart.  Scripture reminds of this here:

1 Cor 15:33 – Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”  ESV

So, seek laughter for rewiring, but do it with good people.

  1. Rituals

Of the seven brain-rewiring activities we have listed, this one might seem like the strangest, but read on to see why it makes sense.

Here is one of many pieces of scripture that relate to the subject of ritual in God’s word:

1 Cor 10:16-17 – The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?  Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.  ESV

This relates to what we call communion, one of the two great rituals of the church, the other being baptism, although we usually call them ordinances.  A similar situation is described in all the elaborate rituals of the Old Testament that were prescribed by God.  Notice we are using the word “prescribed” instead of commanded; this is intentional.

Rituals are all about these three features of life before the fall, things that were lost in the Garden of Eden:

  • Connection
  • Emotional Safety
  • Personal Security

Look at any system of beliefs, commonly called a religion, and you will find rituals, and at the bottom of these rituals are the three lost features.

Before the fall we were connected to God and each other, before the fall we were safe, meaning we wouldn’t come to harm in the garden and before the fall we were secure, knowing that we were under God’s direct protection.  While Adam and Eve may never have known that these three things were true because they had no knowledge of good and evil, once they had lost them, they knew.

So then, God prescribed, as a doctor or healer might, some emotional medicine for the first couple, the ritual of offerings as first mentioned in Genesis 4.  The early rituals are often thought of as issues of worship, which is accurate, but the worship had a point.  It was to stay connected to God, it was so that the people of God would know that God was with them and He would keep them safe and secure.

This is why the church has developed so many other rituals, even though they didn’t know it.  Most churches have the basic two, communion and baptism.  All churches, and we mean all, have other rituals in their worship services.  These are most often seen in liturgical worship services, but even the ones that think they’re free flowing still have them if one looks closely.  The rituals we see in churches are all helpful in getting our thinking pointed in the right direction, toward Christ, and that is how they help rewire our brain

Our position then is that rituals are scriptural, but we subscribe to this way of thinking about them:

1 Cor 10:23 – “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.  ESV

Applying this here; any person can do any ritual, but not all rituals are good for us.  We must be thoughtful about the rituals we engage in.  A simple example is that we might get up each morning and read scripture; that rewires the brain toward godly thinking (healthy).  However if we got up and read the Koran, that would rewire our brain toward ungodly thinking (unhealthy).

Rituals are very important!

Tomorrow we’ll look at the last three activities and summarize the subject.

©Merimnao 2014 – not to be used without permission.

 

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Castimonia Purity Podcast Episode 18: Grace for the Addict

Ronnie Norman is the Senior Minister for the First Colony Church of Christ in Sugarland, Texas.

He discusses his views of God’s amazing grace for all of us. He talks specifically of addiction and how grace is our undeserved gift from God, and how it is free, but not cheap.

He shares his wisdom on how to accept grace, and what the Bible promises us as sinners.

He shares his love of the Celebrate Recovery ministry at First Colony Church of Christ. Information about that minister and other information can be found on their website.  https://www.firstcolonychurch.org/

He also shared x3workshops.com and faithandsexcenter.com as resources for those struggling with sexual impurity.

For more information on the podcast or to get help please email us at puritypodcast@castimonia.org.

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Journal Through Recovery Entry 04: Isolating

“So how often are you reaching out to the guys in your recovery groups?”

That was what my counselor asked me yesterday in my session with him. Reaching out?  Does he mean like actually talking to them or just being in group?  No, he meant actually texting and calling other men to “talk.”  There was just one thing my counselor didn’t know.  I don’t know how to reach out and actually talk to men.  These are guys who have problems.  They have issues and they share them openly so I know what they are struggling with.  Why would I want to reach out to them and talk to them?

“You need to start working on building intimacy with other men. It’s how you learn to build relationships.”

Ok, is he really serious? What am I supposed to talk about? And to whom? I know they pass a phone list around during the meetings that people sign up on and then copy other guys numbers. I even hear guys talking about how much this helps them to talk to each other when they are struggling or arguing with their wives or even when they have something good to share.  I just don’t know how to do that. How can I reach out to someone else when I can’t even be honest with myself?  There is so much I don’t want to face. Talking to someone else is terrifying.  I struggled to just tell my counselor most of what I had done.  I have shared in group which fortunately is just about talking without interruption.  Now he wants me to talk to other people?  I really just want to protect myself and isolate back into the quiet of my own lies.

So I went to the next meeting. I like the smaller ones.  I have actually had casual conversations with guys in the group. They seem genuinely interested in how I am doing, without being intrusive or really pushy.  So, I tried.  I texted a guy who seemed like he was nice enough.  He actually responded and wanted to know how my day was, when was my disclosure (hopefully I can still avoid that!) and how was my wife handling things right now.

Ok, that was one. I responded and answered his questions and even checked on him.  He has been in recovery for almost a year.  He was out of the house for seven months before his wife said she wanted him to come back home.  He told me that the only way it happened was that she saw him practicing what she had always wanted, a loving and honest husband.

Next, I saw a guy I knew from our previous church. We had great conversations then about who knew more scripture and was more intelligent.  Ok, maybe we were both a bit full of ourselves.  Anyway, he is humble.  He isn’t the same anymore.  I like this version of him a lot.  His compassion seems real and his words are full of honesty and not arrogance.  I have a lot to learn.

Reaching out is terrifying to me. However, I have been able to talk to a few guys.  The other night when my wife was overwhelmed with sadness from the depth of my betrayal towards her, I went and stayed with a friend.  I was scared.  I didn’t think she would want to talk to me again.  I didn’t think God would want me because of how dirty I am. I reached out and one of my new friends shared this with me:

Psalms 25 has been my cry to the Lord. “He hears you when you cry out to Him and is with you.”

I am discovering that sharing is painful and necessary and healing and encouraging.