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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Gregg Braden
Read between
October 21, 2020 - September 10, 2021
A single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress. — ANDREW NEWBERG, M.D., NEUROSCIENTIST, AND MARK ROBERT WALDMAN
know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. — EMILY DICKINSON, POET
Once I understood this simple truth, it made perfect sense that we already have the power to rewire our brains on demand, and in doing so, to choose—to self-regulate—the way we respond to life’s extremes.
the words of our everyday language directly influence the way our brain “wires” itself when it comes to how we think, and even what we are capable of thinking about.
Whorf recognized a previously overlooked nuance in the language of the North American Hopi. Speakers of this language describe the events of everyday life without using—or even referencing—the experience of time. In other words, the Hopi language uses words that describe the present moment, and what’s happening in the moment, with no words to directly describe the past or future.
Within this system of oneness, the Hopi view cooperation between people and within nature as everyday expressions of a universal harmony that extends throughout the cosmos.
New discoveries in biology, as well as other life sciences, now reveal that cooperation, not competition, is the fundamental rule of nature.
The implications of the word-life relationship are profound. It appears that the language we use—the words we choose to describe ourselves and share our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and beliefs—actually forms the framework for the unity or separation that we experience when we think and solve the problems of everyday life.
“Over time the structure of your thalamus will also change in response to your conscious words, thoughts, and feelings, and we believe that the thalamic changes affect the way in which you perceive reality.”
Our words influence the chemistry in our bodies, the neurons in our brains, and the way our neurons connect and “fire” to determine: How we think of ourselves and solve our problems What we are even capable of thinking about
Our ancestors preserved their secrets for the people living in their time, as well as for those living in a future they could only imagine—for us. They sensed that future generations would need the same emotional anchors and psychological strength to prevail in the struggles of war, climate extremes, and social chaos that they’d experienced in their day, which they suspected would return. From the ancient Sanskrit Vedas, believed to have originated over 7,000 years ago, to the Mahabharata, the teachings of the Buddha, the “lost” texts of the Judeo-Christian Bible, and the sacred mysteries of
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As many and varied as life’s tests may seem to be at first glance, a closer look at the challenges that we face reveals a subtle relationship between our experience and our perceptions. The relationship is this: What we often perceive as separate issues are in reality different expressions of the same underlying issue.
For example, while we commonly think of anger, jealousy, and criticism as separate issues to be dealt with one by one, each ultimately points to the same core issue: unresolved fear. By healing (resolving) our underlying fear, we dismantle the need for safety and the reasons why varied expressions of the same fear may be showing up in our lives.
The first five parts of this book are each dedicated to one of the core issues that challenge us most in life: protection, fear, loss, strength, and love.
“I am” and “I will,”
Familiarize yourself with the wisdom code you have selected by reading its source and background.
Shift your focus with the Quick Coherence Technique.
Focusing our awareness in the heart is effective because while the brain typically perceives the world as filled with polarity, such as left/right, good/bad, success/failure, and so on, the heart does not. It is a nonpolar organ. When we embrace word codes from the unified perspective of our heart’s intelligence, we give ourselves objectivity and a healthier way of seeing our challenge.
Many of the paradigm-altering discoveries regarding the human heart have been made by scientists at the HeartMath Institute, a pioneering research organization dedicated to understanding the full potential of the human heart.
Reread the wisdom code. From the perspective of heart/brain connection that you created in Step 2, reread the wisdom code that you’ve chosen, either silently or out loud.
Notice how your body feels. Your body will respond quickly to the changes you create in your awareness and your breathing. While these shifts may be subtle at first, they become more apparent as you become more attuned to the sensations.
And with that ease, the more natural the experience begins to feel. With growing ease, you’ll be able to sustain the heart/brain connection for longer periods of time.
While the scientific studies describe coherence, and why it works as it does, our ancestors didn’t need the science to benefit from the harmony that coherence gave them in their lives. They discovered that the techniques of regulating their breath and creating a heart focus in times of need gave them the edge they needed to survive the extremes of their lives. If
Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. — PATRICK ROTHFUSS, WRITER
Following a typical human lifetime of complex and intimate relationships, difficult choices, and the sheer challenges of survival, at the time of death the soul naturally questions the decisions it’s made over the course of its lifetime. And it’s this personal life assessment that can lead to a sense of doubt when it comes to the soul’s feelings of being worthy of the next world.
The key to supporting the soul on its journey at death was to trigger a powerful shift in thinking before the time of death. It’s this shift that would initiate the physical process that assured a successful journey to the afterlife for the soul.
“When we see your prayers,” I began, “what are you doing in your body? When we see you tone and chant mantras for fourteen to sixteen hours a day on the outside, what is happening to you on the inside?”
“What you have seen is what we do to create the feeling in our bodies. The feeling is the prayer, and the words create the feeling!
“Ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire so that your joy may be full
Though the times have changed, we’re not so different from our ancestors in how we respond when life’s tests arrive at our doorsteps. We still reel from the loss of our loved ones. We still ask for protection when we’re afraid. We still seek guidance when we make difficult choices. And like our ancestors, we still can benefit from the wisdom codes they discovered in their day.
WISDOM CODE 1: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psalm 91, also known on occasion as the Prayer of Moses, the Prayer of Protection, and the Soldier’s Prayer, is one of the most powerful examples of what I mean here.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.
The reasons: fear appears in different ways, we experience it for different reasons, and it means different things to different people.
The pioneering work of Candace Pert, Ph.D., and her revolutionary book Molecules of Emotion,
Behavioral scientists tell us that unsourced, seemingly unexplained experiences of fear are ultimately expressions of a single primal, typically subconscious fear: the fear of annihilation and nonexistence.
Who are we? Where do we come from? Where do we go when we die?
The key here is that as different as the expressions of our fears may appear to be, they actually stem from one of, or a combination of, three universal fears: the fear of abandonment, the fear of not being worthy of living, and the fear of annihilation.
The soul is not born, nor does it die. It did not spring from something, and nothing sprang from it. It is unborn, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.
The soul is not born, nor does it die. It did not spring from something, and nothing sprang from it. It is unborn, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. — YEHUDA BERG, RABBI
Experiments in quantum physics do show, in fact, that the act of us looking at something as tiny as an electron—just focusing our awareness upon what that electron is doing for even an instant in time—changes its properties during the time we are looking. The experiments suggest that the very act of observation is an act of creation, and that consciousness is doing the creating. These findings seem to support Wheeler’s statement that we can no longer think of ourselves merely as onlookers who have no effect on the world that we are observing.
Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories. — ROGER C. SCHANK, COGNITIVE SCIENTIST
THE POWER OF THE PARABLE
