BLISS BRAIN: REMODELING YOUR BRAIN FOR RESILIENCE, CREATIVITY, AND JOY, WITH SPECIAL GUEST DAWSON CHURCH, AWARD-WINNING SCIENCE WRITER

Love University with Dr. Alexander Avila

Recent research into neuroplasticity has told us that our brains can change over time in a positive way. Through various techniques and exercises, you can restructure your brain to experience more beneficial and uplifting thoughts and feelings. Our guest on Love University, Dawson Church, esteemed brain science expert, enlightened us on how to rewire you brain so you can have more joy, creativity, and success in your life. Here are some of the important lessons we learned from Dawson:

*Find the blessing in small things: When his home burned down and he lost his possessions and two beloved cats, Dawson learned how to be grateful for the smallest of things (he found a pair of eyeglasses that were scratched up, but usable). No matter how difficult life seems, counting the good things in your life can uplift your mindset and lift you from doubt and despair.

*Build the things that won’t burn in a catastrophic fire. After the horrific fire, Dawson realized that he needed to focus on the things that won’t burn up in life: for example, compassion, optimism, and love. It’s impossible to burn these things because they are in your mind and soul. Concentrate daily on building up these powerful traits and you won’t feel at a loss when things go wrong.

*Engage in positive and productive activities. In one study, subject using a smart phone app recorded feeling happier when they did a task, even if it was somewhat repetitive and routine, than when they were just sitting still and thinking about their problems. This week, find something you love to do—art, sports, music, working with your hands, being in nature—and lose yourself in it. By doing this, you will have great passion and joy as you diminish your negative overthinking mind, known in the East as the “monkey mind”—the mind that never stops chattering.

*Take the 30-day meditation challenge. As Dawson explains, his students agree to meditate for thirty straight days no matter what. He has found that a majority of his students become “positively addicted” to meditation because pleasurable brain chemicals are released. Once you begin to get over your resistance to meditation (and the monkey mind), you will find that the activity becomes self-rewarding and you want to keep doing it—feeling more refreshed, focused, and at peace the more you do it.

*Extend loving energy without expectation. One of the best ways to rewire your brain is to give love to others without expecting anything in return. Smile at others, give them sincere compliments, help them with practical tasks, give them the gift of empathetic listening (listen from their point of view). When you give love without expectation to others, you also give it to yourself. You become the healer as well as the healed.

Yes, it is possible to remodel your brain, no matter what you have gone through in life. Develop a mind of gratitude, engage in positive and productive activities, mediate, and give unconditional love to others and to yourself. If you do these things, you are well on your way to having a beautiful and loving brain that brings joy, contribution, and success into your life. Here’s to your new Bliss Brain.