Your brain does not know what is real
When I say that our brain does not know what is real, what do I mean by that? First of all let me say that our brain is awesome, because it is. As awesome as our brain is it is limited. It operates on limited information. Our brain thinks that certain things are true because they seem true, not because they are true.
On September eleventh two thousand and one my brain deceived me. When I saw those planes slammed into those buildings on national TV, I thought I was watching movie. My first thoughts were almost thoughts of excitement. I really thought it was “special affects†of a movie.
I had never experienced that in real life, only in a movie. I felt so guilty for my initial feelings of excitement until I heard other people saying that they had felt the same thing. I did not even realize a skyscraper could come down like the Twin Towers did.
When my brain finally told me it was real, I was shocked and wept for days. When I awoke in the night at two in the morning I would hope that I had been dreaming. When I realized it wasn’t a dream, I would cry till dawn. This happened for weeks.
At that time I was developing twenty one acres of land. When the news casters said that the “rubble of the twin towers was expanded to sixteen acres†I could not fathom that. I would walk on my land and look at sixteen acres and try to imagine, seven stories high of steel, iron, concrete and three thousand people’s remains, I couldn’t!
Every time there is a tragedy, people say “it didn’t seem real.†Young people have a belief system that says “that can never happen to me.†Young people think they are invincible and can live forever. As we get older we realize it can happen to us and we become more careful and appreciative of life.
Our brains rely on past experiences and patterns to discern what is real. There are two crucial things we need to understand about our brain. First we need to realize that our present situation may be new and our brain is looking for past references to understand it. You might be in a new relationship and your brain is trying to draw references to a past relationship. This could be bad for you, especially if your current relationship is good and your past relationship was bad and abusive.
The second thing we need to understand about our brain is that it is limited. As awesome as it is it only knows what has been programed into it. Our brains are like cameras. They only have pictures of things that they have experienced and been pointed towards. Our brain is unreliable for those two reasons. It bases current situations from past experiences, sometimes that is good and sometimes that is bad. And because of that it gives us limited and unreliable information. Our brain can’t tell the future, present or the past from each other. And it can’t discern what is real and what is make believe.
Our brains can experience vertigo when flying a plane. This is where the brain can’t tell if your fling up, down or straight. For pilots this is called Spatial Disorientation. The three semicircular canals in their inner ears send them the wrong message. They have to fly by using instruments and not by their feelings.
The instruments on the plane represents our faith. Our brain is limited and our faith is unlimited. “All these are possible to them that believe.†The apostle Paul said it like this “we walk by faith and not by sight.â€
Sight represents our five senses and how we feel. Faith becomes our sixth sense. Faith becomes our navigational instruments when our senses are giving us misinformation.
Your feelings or senses might be telling you that you are not good enough or that you can’t have the desires or your heart. Your feelings and brain may bring up past disappointments, pain and failure and these feelings can paralyze you and keep you from taking action on a new endeavor.
Stop dwelling on past failings and allowing your brain to send you all the negative emotions. And instead feed your brain new thoughts. Tell your brain “I can, I will and I am!” “Faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of truth.” Speak the truth on who you really are based on your new faith and your new belief system. Stop speaking the old lies that cause fear instead of faith in your heart.
When “you think on these things” your brain and faith will make them come true. When you think and dwell on past lies about yourself your brain and fear will try and make them come true. Walk by faith not by old negative feelings.