A Taoist story tells of a farmer and his prized horse. One day the horse ran away. His neighbors said, “What bad luck” to which the farmer replied, “Maybe.”
The horse returned, bringing back many wild horses with it. The neighbors thought it was wonderful news for the farmer to now have many horses, while the farmer again simply replied, “Maybe.”
Soon after the farmer’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses, and was thrown, breaking his leg. The neighbors again expressed sympathy, saying it was an unfortunate accident. Again, the farmer simply replied, “Maybe.”
The military came to draft his son into the army but since the boy’s leg was broken they passed him by. The neighbors thought this was great news for the farmer, telling him that his son’s broken leg was a blessing. The farmer replied, “Maybe.”
The farmer experiences life not as bad/good, opportunities/problems, but simply as experiences and chances to respond. His brain has somehow been programmed so his thoughts assist him in flowing easily through life, something not many can do, especially those with adverse programming such as survivors of trauma.
Sometimes when I ignite my fireplace I worry if it will malfunction and start a fire. It’s a beautiful, relaxing device by nature yet because I’m sometimes just waiting for the next bad thing to happen — likely due to my own individual programming — it becomes a small source of anxiety.
It crackles, pops and makes noises I don’t understand so it must be up to no good. Yet it’s simply a misunderstanding. It could be up to no good. Likely it’s just operating as a gas fireplace should. This is a simplistic example (thankfully this source of anxiety passes quickly) but yet a tiny fractional example of the internal soundscape going on within many of us everyday. This is the noise within our head based on past experiences and the programming we began to experience the moment we came into life.
Our heads are so heavy with what has happened in the past and what could happen in the future that our “now” moments become ruined. It is a broken record of noise pollution — think of the worst music you’ve ever heard playing on repeat. It’s often the record we (whether consciously or subconsciously) choose to put on as opposed to a record playing peaceful, uplifting music or one inspiring us to dance.
The Solution to Rewiring Your Brain
Is there a solution to rewire your brain? Dr. Bruce Lipton, a biologist specializing in epigenetics (the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes affecting the way your genes work) and Dr. Joe Dispenza, a neuroscience researcher/author who used the power of his mind to make a miraculous recovery after his spine was shattered when an SUV hit his bicycle, believe so!
In fact, both believe in the power of retraining the conscious and subconscious mind through hypnosis, repetition (think affirmations) and through various psychology modalities, or energy psychology, including EMDR, holographic/resonance repatterning, EFT, body talk and the one Dr. Lipton recommends most is PSYCH-K, in which kinesiology is used to communicate with the subconscious mind. In all modalities, it is a form of defining problems and then using techniques to transform the subconscious beliefs/programs preventing you from reaching the outcome you desire.
When you are stuck in situations that don’t seem to be working well, it usually means you have a limiting belief of some kind. But these methods change the limiting beliefs. In essence, they bring greater awareness to your beliefs and with committed focus, help you to use that awareness to change your belief systems.
In the case of trauma — what drives much of my own anxiety and the anxiety of many — these techniques, because they work deeply on various levels of consciousness, can help heal wounds no matter when they occurred in your life.
Resources for finding help: