According to ancient Egyptian custom, the main purpose of writing was not to be decorative nor was it initially intended for literary use. The most important function of writing in the language of hieroglyphics was to bring an idea into existence. This placed great responsibility in the scribe who had the means to make something out of nothing.
As archaic as this Egyptian principle may seem, it matches what we have come to understand through modern neuroscientific discovery. Within the last decade, studies in the neurobiology of the mind has revealed that as you think you make a choice that causes genetic expression to formulate actual physical proteins in the brain. This means that your thoughts take up physical real estate within your brain. So as you think and make choices you in fact create or recreate your own reality. Next time you tell yourself you are not creative you now have a counterpoint!
In her book Switch On Your Brain, Dr. Caroline Leaf expounds upon the latest discoveries where neuroscience intersects with our identity. Leaf explains that what you think every moment of every day becomes the running commentary by which your identity is formed, thereby reaffirming your attitudes, core beliefs about yourself and others, and values. It’s this mental real estate, and not your DNA, that determines much of the quality of your life!
This discovery reveals why it is so important to pay close attention to what you allow yourself exposure. What you allow into your mind will eventually become reality if you permit yourself to focus on it for too long. Your thinking by extension will become part of your identity…whether it is based on reality or not. How many people look in the mirror and do not like what they see regardless of the beauty that exists in the image looking back?
These discoveries in the brain affirm the truth written by the apostle Paul. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). If your mind is filled with toxic trash, it will assuredly take up mental real estate in your brain. It will affect your day-to-day decisions, making that toxicity a reality and a concrete part of your identity. However, you can make the active decision to focus your thinking on Christ. Frame your thoughts on His truth, regardless of the circumstances, and His values will become your reality and an immovable part of your identity.
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