This Lesson Changed My Life
Thinking isn't what I thought it was.
After obtaining degrees in chemistry (BA), business (MBA), and chiropractic (DC), practicing this lesson I learned in a book by Vernon Howard has brought me more peace and happiness than anything else. It is the foundation of success.
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich stated that we are closest to our Creator when we are controlling our minds. I read the book when I was a teenager. It was nearly three more decades before I realized what he meant.
I was reading a book by Vernon Howard. He gave a simple experiment. Sit with your eyes closed and visualize a yellow pear. If you find your mind wandering, stop and bring it back to the yellow pear. Please stop reading now and try the experiment.
Did you find your mind wandering? Did you get control and bring your mind back to the yellow pear? If so, you are in control of your mind!! This is the most amazing ability we have. Few practice it and really get the benefits.
Howard recommended practicing until your mind no longer wandered. Then practice thinking about the pear while walking across the room. I did it.
The next step is to notice that you catch your mind wandering and it takes just a little time before you are thinking about the yellow pear. That is the gap between your thoughts. I began to focus on the gap. No thoughts!! What I call the chatter-free mind.
In my Udemy course, instead of a yellow pear, I use a red ball. I call it the Red Ball Experience. During practice, I have students concentrate for five minutes and give 30 second announcements to help those whose minds are out of control. If you are in a hurry, or just want extra help, you can take the course here.
Why is that so important?
I was reading In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat by physicist John Gribbin. It is a book on quantum mechanics for non-physicists. He stated that the question physicists have been ducking since the time of Newton is - Is the universe determined? By determined it is meant that the future can be predicted from the past.
Newton’s Laws of Motion are:
Inertia - a body at rest remains at rest or in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.
Force = Mass x Acceleration - if the force is the same and the mass of an object is doubled, the acceleration will be half. If the force is doubled for the same mass, the acceleration will double.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction - when I press on something, it presses back.
Based on those laws of motion, if we knew the position and velocity (speed and direction) of all particles in the universe, we could predict where they would be in the future. That would mean we live in a determined universe. Everything could be predicted.
Couple Newton’s Laws with the Theory of Evolution
The Theory of Evolution is basically an explanation for changes in the frequency of gene pools over time. Berkeley states four basic mechanisms of evolutionary change:
Mutation - A change in a DNA sequence, usually occurring because of errors in replication or repair. Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation.
Migration - Some species move to a different area. For example, in my area we often see large gray squirrels. When we moved here in 1984, I saw small black ones.
Genetic drift - Changes in genetic frequency due to chance. Berkeley uses the example of someone stepping on green beetles and not brown ones. The number of green beetles would go down just due to chance.
Natural selection - Berkeley gives the example of green beetles being easier for birds to spot than brown beetles. Birds would eat more green beetles and fewer would survive to reproduce. The result would be a higher proportion of brown beetles.
Notice that all of evolution is based on random forces. Based on Newton’s Laws, there are no random forces. If we combine the two ideas, we get a predictable process of evolution.
Why does that matter?
If we maintain ourselves within the realm of science, we could predict evolution. We could predict when you and I would come on the scene. If our mind is an effect of the brain, we could predict our thoughts.
It would mean that our brains are biocomputers and we are robots. There seems to be a lot of evidence supporting that statement. If we look at today’s Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can chat with Alexa, Siri, and Gemini and find it difficult to tell the difference between AI and the “real” thing.
Where does the force come from to change a neuron in the brain?
That becomes the important question. If the force comes from the environment, then the environment is controlling the brain. Our actions could be predicted. Let me explain.
I was born with a brain. My brain is the result of the genetic combination of my parents. It is a biocomputer with an operating system. The operating system is the connection of neurons in my brain. My brain continued to develop as I aged. My parents taught me to talk and that became programming. I went to church and programming was created based on that input. I went to school and programming was created based on that input.
Many of my actions can be traced back to my programming. For example, on a dark winter morning, I was working at my computer. Mandy, my wife, came into the room and began opening the blinds to look out. It was dark outside, and the lights were on in the house. I was upset. An hour later, I got on the bus to go to work and realized that I was still upset. I questioned myself. Why am I upset? I instantly got a memory of my mother training me when I was about seven years old, “We close the blinds at night when we turn the lights on so people can’t see in.” I was upset with my wife because she didn’t have my mother’s program installed in her brain!! I realized how silly I was and began opening the blinds for my wife.
Now, where did the force come from that enabled me to question my thoughts? I don’t believe it was from my environment. I believe that I am the operator/programmer of my brain, when I choose to be.
There is a realm of spirit, or mind, or whatever you choose to call it that can control your nervous system.
I believe that is what Napoleon Hill had in mind when he said that we are closest to our Creator when we are controlling our minds. I believe that I am a spirit using my body as a vehicle. I use my brain as a computer. I can download programs that help me live my life. I’ll give you lessons that I believe you will find helpful. I’ll also give you examples of programs that have not helped me, like my mother’s program.
Most people never (or rarely) take control of their minds. They just allow their programming to run. They argue with other people who are just allowing their programming to run.
Action: Practice taking control of your brain. Develop a chatter-free mind. I have found it to be the most liberating thing I have ever done.
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