09.19.07
Top-Down Processing
Over at Occupational Adventure, there is an interesting post about how our brain is wired:
“If the top is convinced, the bottom level of data will be overruled.” In other words, what you believe, you see. That has so much potential to be either an amazing asset, or an excruciating obstacle.
Take a look at your life. More specifically, take a look at the idea of creating a life that feels fun, meaningful, and fulfilling. How do you see it? Is the top convinced that it’s possible, or a pipe-dream? With a 10 to 1 ratio of information going down as coming up, you can see why - however you see it - you’re probably right.
In other words, we see what we believe. A great example of this is the success of placebos–our belief is that the medication will help, therefore it helps. This basically means that our brain is wired for visualization and manifestation. Our picture of reality is literally based 10x more on our beliefs than by what is actually in front of us. If we wake up and and believe that it’s going to be a crappy day, everything we see will reflect that belief. If we believe we are ugly, every time we look in a mirror our ugliness will stare back at us. If on the other hand, we believe that great things are going to happen and that we are beautiful, the things we see will reflect that belief.
Just imagine the power of our physiology at work here. It shows the amazing power of positive thinking in a very concrete way. If we deliberately reprogram our beliefs to focus on positive things, what we see around us will be positive. The momentum of that positivity will lead to wonderful things.
