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There is power in the mind. Movie after movie has been made about some poor waste of a human coming into a place where they posses the ability to access greater and greater portions of their brains. I love these kinds of movies. I wish I were able to tap into the fullness of the potential of my mind like portrayed on the movie screen.
It is said that humans only use ten percent of the potential of their brains. I have always wondered about that "fact." I did a little research and found that many neurologists say that, that much believed axiom about the brain is actually a myth that has been perpetuated for many years. The reality is that we use almost 100% of our brain on a moment by moment basis. It is true that many of the brain's activities might be considered mundane but the fact is that the brain is being utilized fully most of the time.
It is during times of rest that the notion that only ten percent of our brains is being used might be more accurate. When I read this, a thought triggered in my brain that I think has a lot to do with victim thinking and victor living. Let me explain that a bit now.
From what I understand, it is during times of rest that our brains shift into auto-pilot mode. What I mean by that is that critical functions, like breathing and our heart pumping, don't need to be thought about when we turn off our bodies and minds in rest. Other things like reasoning, logic, belief, judgement and about a million other things our brains do each and every moment are less and less evident when we are at rest. The idea of our brains being on auto-pilot is what got me thinking about the victim to victor prospects in our life.
How much of our day do we turn our brains on auto-pilot? I'm not talking about the kinds of healthy automatic brain activity needed while we sleep. I'm more concerned with how much time we simply go into automatic mode in our daily lives? Let me share an example for you to consider.
How many times have you driven down a road only to look around and ask, "How did I get here?" It wasn't that you were sleeping as you drove. It was that you might have driven this section of road so many times in the past that automatic was all your brain needed at that time.
The same can be said for when we react to situations in well worn ways. The routine of life has a way of lulling our brain into auto-pilot in ways that I think make the fullness of the potential of our brains somewhat of a waste when it comes to maintaining our victor status.
Our coping mechanisms create formulas that enable the brain to just sit by idly as they do what they have done a million times before to bring into your life whatever you have deemed needed at that time. That's why I believe addictions are so prevalent today. We have allowed our systems designed to cope with the pain we feel to over take the amazing possibility of freedom the fullness of the mind wants for us to have. I know that is an over simplified statement to the cause of addiction. But go with me in that direction for a second.
Pavlov found that it was quite easy to turn a dog's brain into auto-pilot mode. By ringing a bell then following the bell with a treat, the dog was quickly trained that sound equaled food. It didn't take long for the dog's body to shift into food mode with the sound of that bell. Although our brains are much more advanced in many ways than a dog, coping mechanisms are nothing more than bells in our lives as well. It is when we wake up to the reality that we need the fullness of our brains to make victor living possible that we begin the process of moving away from victim thinking
Take a look at what God said through the Apostle Peter in today's Bible reading.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
Look at how God described the way our mind should be working when it comes to what we believe. We are to have a brain that is alert, fully sober and set to do what God needs it to do to make victor living what God intended it to be in our lives.
I believe alert speaks to the need to keep our brains from going into auto-pilot. We have to fight the desire to slip into times of rest when we need the fullness of the miracles that our brains are. During times of challenge and difficulty that might trigger pains from the past, we need the power of our brain to come alive during that time. Lulling our brain to sleep with well used and worthless coping mechanisms does nothing to make change happen in our situation.
Then there's Peter's use of the word sober in today's reading. This has little to do with abstaining from intoxicating substances. Sober here means to be calm and collected. That calmness comes as we are alert and attentive to what is going on. Sober can't happen when our brains are at rest. Though rest might make our body calm, that calmness isn't what Peter is talking about here with regards to God's power in our lives.
Finally, Peter uses the word "set" when it comes to our minds. He is talking about making a determination. Set speaks of a willful and deliberate choice to move in a certain direction. We have a choice in everything that comes our way. We can either set our minds to auto-pilot or we can set our minds to believing all that God has said about our victor status. This choice makes all the difference in the world when it comes to keeping victim thinking from taking over in our lives.
To be alert, to be sober and to set our minds into action are all strategies that take incredible will power. It is so, so easy to just let our brains go to auto-pilot when the challenges of life hit. What a waste it is of valuable resources when we choose to go to that mode.
Victor living is only possible when our minds are thinking rightly. What out minds need to be thinking on is the power of God's love in our lives. He has said who we are. He has made our status as a victor something we can lean on when we have victory in our lives as well as when victory is far form all we do. Our minds play a critical role in taking us to the fullness of who God wants us to be.
Take time today to check your thinking. Don't let the bell of past ways of operating be what makes your future fall short of where you want it to be. Live in the present of who you are. Let your minds be fully engaged while living out your victor status. Though this may not always change your circumstances, it will change how you function in the middle of those circumstances. That in it self is a change I hope to see more and more in my life. I pray that to be the same for you today as well.
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