This is Part 1 of a two-part series about the physical brain and virtual mind partnership.
Did you know that your mind and brain are different? Did you know that since birth, you have been actively constructing your own mind, which then impacts your brain’s development, which then circles back and impacts your mind and how you react to your own thoughts and feelings.
If you didn’t know that, well welcome to the club of being human. Most people never stop and take time to consider that a mind and brain are different. Even fewer ponder if there is a circular development between our mind and brain. But now, if you keep reading, that is going to change in the next 1,029 words. Words that will help you better understand and manage your own mind, brain, and mental health.
The human brain is a complex, 3-pound physical organ inside your head. It is made up mostly of water and fat, but also includes blood, fluids, chemicals, hormones, electrical impulses and neurons that connect through synapses or tiny spaced gaps in the neuron. A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billions synapses. Your very complex physical brain controls all aspects of your whole body and also emits your mind.
Before we talk about your mind, think of a light bulb. Your brain is like a light bulb. You can see it, feel it and hold it in your hands. Your mind is like the light, which only appears when the light bulb is working. Both are very real, and how they function, interact, and develop are very different.
The human mind doesn’t have a physical presence. Instead, your mind is a collection of mental processes that are emitted from the brain and include your thoughts, emotions, memories, experiences, relationships and more. In a sense, your mind is a virtual brain. Your mind is how you see and experience life, while your in real life (IRL) brain provides real physical connections to life.
Now think of a cell phone. Your brain is the cell phone, and your mind is the apps. As you down load and use new apps, it changes how your phone works and functions. There is an interaction between the phone and apps. Each new app changes a phones abilities. The same is true of your mind and brain.
There is a circular interactive development between your mind and brain. You direct the development of your mind by thinking, a mental process, that impacts how our brain develops, a physical process, which then impacts the development of your mind. In short, how you think changes your brain which impacts your mind and how you think. And the circular interactive process repeats with every new thought and experience.
An example of this circular process is a study on how abused children react differently to neutral events. The neutral event was getting bumped while walking through a crowded sidewalk or hallway. Everyone gets bumped when walking through a crowd – so many people and so little space. We usually consider it as accidental contact and move on. Not so for the abused child, they think it is done maliciously and on purpose. They think this, then they get angry and want to push back to get even. They start thinking of, believing in, focusing on and creating a harsher world view as they lump together neutral and malicious events. They are developing a brain to support their angry mind with their angry thoughts.
A second example is playing piano. Thinking about and playing piano impacts how your brain develops and adapts its neurons, synapses and electrical pathways so you can improve how well you think about and play piano. You brain develops stronger, more balanced neurological connections that improve coordination between your hands to play piano.
One thing to remember from these examples is that you can always change your mind, which changes your brain. You can focus on feeling peaceful instead of angry. Learn to accept that accidental contact in crowds happens. You can quit playing the piano. At any age, and under any situation or circumstances, you always have the ability to redirect your thinking which changes your mind and brain.
Now your brain and mind each have their own distinct processes for change. Your mind or virtual brain is like anything virtual, it can completely change in an instant. In contrast, your IRL brain requires time and effort to change and adapt to any new thoughts, experiences or demands. Your brain’s ability to change is called plasticity.
A fun analogy about how your virtual brain and IRL brain change differently comes from the movie, Princess Bride. There is a scene when The Dread Pirate Roberts (TDPR) catches up with Vizzini, the Sicilian who has kidnapped Princess Buttercup, and they have battle of wits by choosing between two cups of wine, with one cup poisoned with iocane powder. Vizzini believes he is smarter than TDPR, so he accepts the challenge, mentally figures it out, drinks his cup… and then dies. The TDPR explains, “They were both poisoned. I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder.” So, while Vizzini and TDPR minds thought they could win a battle of wits, only TDPR brain and body actually had the immunity to survive.
While your mind might think your are ready for something new, sometimes your brain and body hasn’t built up an immunity to a thought or experience and can’t comfortably handle unexpected or unwanted new thoughts and emotions. Sometimes your brain struggles from your mind over-reaching and you mentally and physically struggle trying to grow, adapt and learn new skills to face life’s challenges. Your mind might be ready to drink the iocane poisoned cup of wine, but your brain and body isn’t. You might need time to build up your brain’s immunity and ability to deal with difficult thoughts, or they could overwhelm you.
While the the Princess Bride scene is make believe, consider the real life experience of Tim Friede. Tim Friede’s 18-year mission was to build up his immunity to protect himself when handling poisonous snakes. He did so by enduring 200+ bites and 700+ injections of venom from some of the world’s deadliest snakes, including multiple species of mambas, cobras, taipans and kraits. Every bite or injection was potentially lethal, yet Tim’s brain and body were prepared and had adapted to survived. But don’t do what he did, as nobody else in the world has ever survived such extreme experiences.
The key takeaway is that your mind and brain form an amazing partnership with how adaptable, interactive and distinct they are as they work together to deal with whatever you think and experience. Just like a phone and apps work together, your physical brain and virtual mind work together to connect you with the world. So, mindfully consider the mind apps you want to download into your brain phone.
Dane Jorento, MSW, LICSW is a speaker available for keynotes, seminars, and workshops on mental health, emotional well-being, trauma, ADHD, self-esteem, relationships, and sexual health. His expertise includes BCA Holistic Therapy, EMDR, and DBT approaches.
