BodyBrain: Neurophysiology, Faith, and Self-Brain Surgery

Good morning my friend, I hope you're doing well. It is time for a little self brain surgery.

I am Dr. Lee Warren and I've got an interesting conversation with you today about what my

granddaughter Scarlett when she was little used to call body brain.

She had a headache or a tummy ache or something. She didn't have the right words and she would say my body brain hurts.

My body brain hurts. I want to tell you, you actually do have a body brain.

Your body reads your mind.

Your body responds to what your brain thinks about and does.

It's very clear from research. I'm going to share a fascinating story with you this morning.

A little talk about art, a little talk about ancestry, and a couple of scriptures to help

us understand that your body really is connected to your brain and your brain really is connected

to your body. And what does that have to do with faith?

It's all about neurophysiology and how we get our minds together.

That the things we think about turn into the ways that our body works, and how that has to do with God

and what he can do for us when we get our spirit lined up with our physiology.

We're gonna do all of that, but we're gonna start with one question.

Hey, are you ready to change your life? If the answer is yes, there's only one rule.

You have to change your mind first.

And my friend, there's a place where the neuroscience of how your mind works smashes together with faith,

and everything starts to make sense. Are you ready to change your life?

Well, this is the place, Self-Brain Surgery School.

I'm Dr. Lee Warren, and this is where we go deep into how we're wired, take control of our thinking, and find real hope.

This is where we learn to become healthier, feel better, and be happier.

This is where we leave the past behind and transform our minds.

This is where we start today. Are you ready?

This is your podcast. This is your place. This is your time, my friend.

Let's get after it. Alright, I want you to imagine a thousand years ago you are your great great however.

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Many greats a thousand years is grandparents, okay?

Your grandma and grandpa way back in the day and you're young and you're in a mud hut in

your village and your family is sleeping, it's the middle of the night and you hear a noise.

Okay, you hear a noise, you're responsible for the safekeeping and the livelihood,

really the very lives of your family, okay? You hear this sound, you know exactly what you're

hearing, the bear is back, the danger is in the camp. You jump up and grab a torch so you can see,

you grab your spear, you run outside and your heart is racing, you feel a clenching in your gut,

you feel acid running up your throat because there's real danger out there and sure enough,

There it is. The bears have come back and your camp is in danger. Your family is in danger. Your life is in danger,

Immediately you go into battle and you fight the bear off and you save your family and after it's over even for a while

You're stressed You're keyed up your heart's racing your hair standing up in the back of your neck and you feel acid in your throat because your body,

Has responded to your brain telling it that there's real danger your body's responded

Physiologically to the threat and the fight that was at hand that you needed to have to keep you alive as an adaptive

Response that we now call fight-or-flight. It's a stress response and it's helpful because there was real danger out there.

Your body has responded to your brain your body brain kicked into gear and it saved your life. It saved your family,

Guess what else happened you code those helpful?

Full physiological responses, you don't need blood flow to your gut, you're not eating

and digesting when you're in danger.

So you code the fact that you can divert blood flow from your gut and push it towards muscles

so you can use your muscles to get you out of trouble, throw the spear, fight off the bear, do whatever.

So you code genetically the switching on and switching off of certain things when you feel

the neurophysiological trigger that there's danger at hand.

So that fear response becomes adaptive or helpful to you and you code that in your genes and you pass that a little bit of

Adaptation on to your next generation. So they're a little bit more savvy even than you are at jumping immediately.

Into the fight and they code all those proteins so that and all those genetic switches come on and off so that those people in your next generation,

Are a little more able to survive the bear attack when it happens to them because you learned it and you pass it on to

That's body brain. Okay, that's the way neurobiology works That's the way epigenetics work things in your environment turn genes on and off so that you become more able to survive,

Now let's fast forward thousands of years and you're now okay me your job And there's no bears outside as you're in your office in Dallas or wherever you live and you hear your boss

Over here your boss having a conversation with their boss and you hear them discussing the fact that they're going to be laying some people off.

And all of a sudden you feel your gut clench up and some acid in your throat and the hair on the back here,

Next stands up and your heart starts to race a little bit and you feel fear,

Because you're thinking gosh, I'm gonna lose my job and I'm gonna have trouble making the mortgage and my spouse is gonna lose her spectrum

And I'm gonna have we're gonna have to sell one of our cars We might have to downsize our house and and my kids won't have the clothes they need and I'm gonna be in trouble and you

start,

forecasting fear Because of the threat of potentially losing your job.

So I just want you to be aware that some of the ways that you are reacting to this perceived threat,

You were programmed to react in that way because of the bear attack a thousand years ago in your village,

So you learned that that fight or flight can keep you alive when there's a real threat,

but notice the difference.

Now there's just a possible threat and it's an economic one.

Now you're just thinking about a potential threat, even though there's not really a bear,

even though there's not a pink slip on your desk when you get back to your desk.

It's a possibility, right?

It's sure there's some people are going to get laid off. There's a real potential threat, but it's not right now and it's not necessarily happening

to you.

But what's happened? Your body brain has generated the exact same response.

The stress response, the fight or flight response, because you learned genetically that's what

you do when there's a trigger of potential danger.

Let's look at a third one your home on the weekend. You're hanging out with your family. You're having a great time

You're relaxing you're on the boat. Maybe you're at the beach. You're in your backyard. You're watching the sunset over the North Platte River

You're you're relaxed. You're having a good time. It's Sunday night. You've had a good day. You went to church

You're you're having a good time. You're holding hands with somebody you love your kids are down the hall,

Grandkids called they had a FaceTime. It's been a good weekend, right?

And now you start thinking you're getting ready to go to bed and you start thinking about work tomorrow.

And you think gosh, I've got to deal with that moron. He's my boss. I know there's still layoffs coming

I managed to survive the last round of layoffs, but I know it's got to be coming soon. Maybe tomorrow I'll get there

I'm gonna find that I'm getting terminated. I got to deal with that jerk down the hall

He's always on my busting my chops I got to deal with this employee who's not doing their thing and you start worrying

Worrying about what you might encounter when you get to work tomorrow you start forecasting,

All this potential issue and then you think about this problem that you had on friday with somebody,

Down the hall in another office and you realize when you get there tomorrow

They're not going to let it go this particular person always brings it back up and you start,

Feeling that clench in your gut and this fight that you're going to likely have tomorrow,

And you start feeling that acid and you're throwing the fear comes up in your and you remember that your boss said one more

Interaction with this person and one of you is getting fired if you guys can't solve this

I'm gonna have to let one of you go and you start thinking. Okay, it's gonna be me. They always choose me

I'm nothing ever works out for me I'm the one that always the bad thing happens to this other guy seems to skate by no matter what happens

I'm gonna lose my job tomorrow and.

And then you go right back down that rabbit hole because your body brain is telling you

that there's something to be afraid of.

Now it's not overhearing your boss and it's in real time. Now it's not the bears actually outside.

Now it's thinking about something that may or may not happen tomorrow, but you're having

the exact same physiological response.

Why is all that happening is happening because of your neurophysiology is happening because of genetic,

Programs that got written into you and the way that you handle stress because of the bear that attacked your grandparents village a thousand years ago

It's happening because your body and your brain are intimately connected I imagine do you remember Bob Ross that painter that used to be on PBS or if you don't know who Bob Ross is imagine

watching an artist paint, our daughter Kimber's a painter,

and they have a palette that they hold on their hand or have it on their desk next to their easel,

and the palette has a whole bunch of little piles of paint, right?

Seven or eight or 10 or 12 colors, depending on how many colors they chose to put on their palette.

And then they have a canvas that they're painting this picture on,

and everything that goes on the canvas, all the amazing colors that they turn out

that a great artist can make, a sunrise or a sunset or whatever it is that they're painting.

All of those colors on the canvas come from combinations of the five or six or seven colors on the palette.

We talked a couple of days ago about a Mexican food restaurant

and how they can make all these incredible meals

out of a small number of ingredients and it's all about how they combine them.

And an artist can paint a picture, a vast millions of different pictures

with a very few number of colors in the palette.

Well, guess what? Your physiology does the same thing. There's only a few neurotransmitters,

and those neurotransmitters are the chemicals that tell your brain what a feeling is.

This is what fear feels like. This is what anxiety feels like.

This is what happiness feels like.

This is what peace feels like. There's only a small palette of neurotransmitters,

and they combine in different ways to tell you that you're feeling a certain thing.

And if you don't learn how to tell your brain

Take a critical look at your thinking Then you will feel you will think that whatever you feel you have to react to and you won't even give it a second thought

You'll find yourself yelling at the guy in the hall at work,

Because you felt fear and you need to take charge and i'm gonna win this argument instead of thinking a second. Wait a minute,

They haven't even said anything to me yet. I am not obligated to get into this fight. I can just walk away.

You didn't think about it. You just reacted your body brain made you aware of a feeling and you reacted to it just as if you jumped up

and grabbed the spear and the torch and went out after the bear. Your body brain

will push you around unless you take charge of it. Now let me tell you

something interesting from Scripture, okay? You're not stuck with the brain

that you have. You can change it. Romans 12 says, I plead with you to give your

Bodies to God give your bodies to God,

Because of all he has done for you. Let your body be a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will find acceptable

This is the true way to worship him.

You understand that you give your body say hey God. I'm not doing such a great job with my body brain here

I'm thinking the wrong stuff. I'm feeling the wrong things. I'm reacting to feelings instead of biopsy my thoughts

Can you help me have a new mind?

Can you let me worship you by giving you my brain and maybe you can help me?

Operate it better. Maybe your spirit can help me operate this better than I've done because I really,

Pledged in September that I'm gonna be more purposeful about changing my mind. I want to change my mind God,

Paul says in Romans that is your true and essential act of worship now

I told you before what got you here to this place at this time listen to this podcast won't get you to the place that

You want you've got to change something. You got to do some brain surgery to make it different,

Psalm 19 says let the words of my mouth and The meditation of my heart be acceptable on your side,

So we're pretty good sometimes at controlling what we actually say, but how good are we at controlling what we actually think?

And Paul says Romans 12 renew your mind. Don't be conformed. Don't let the world don't let your feelings

Don't let your ancestry don't let your genetics tell you how you have to think you can be

Transformed and have a new mind and that will give you this incredible superpower to be able to test and improve

What is good pleasing and perfect?

Now I would suggest that the reason you're listening to this podcast is some of the things you've been feeling and experiencing are not good

Pleasing and perfect. They're not working for you and you want them to be different,

So Jesus promises us, in Matthew 7,

Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for keep on seeking and you will find,

What you're seeking keep on knocking and the door will be open friend I'm telling you if you keep on trying to let God change your mind

He will not fail to help you change the way you think to take charge of every thought to learn how to get your body

Brain under control. I'm gonna give you some research,

This is fascinating. You don't think this body brain thing is real Scarlett was on to something. There's some research into wound healing.

There was a incredible research project done at Ohio State a while back. Ronald

Glasser did this research where he created a little wound that they took a suction cup and made a little blister on the arms of married couples. Okay, just a

little tiny wound and then asked them to have a conversation for about 30 minutes

and they said keep it neutral. Don't real fight about anything. Don't argue about

anything. Just have a pleasant conversation and then for three weeks after that wound and 30 minutes of conversation between the married couples,

the researchers measured, they did blood work, and they measured the production of

proteins that are involved in wound healing in these married couples. And

then they brought them back, made a new wound, and asked them, I want you to have

a conversation in which you typically get into an argument about something.

These were couples that were struggling with some certain aspects of their marriage. They said, we want you to have an argument for 30 minutes. And what they

What they did then is they let these couples argue after they created a little wound, and

then they did another three-week observation of the healing proteins in their bloodstreams

and how those wounds healed.

And they noticed, especially in the couples that had real fights and put-downs and sarcasm

and being mean to each other and criticizing each other and all that, they noticed that

wound healing was delayed by up to 40% in the couples that had increased hostility and

anger and arguments with one another.

And what in the world could explain that your body brain can explain it when you're stressed,

When your mental state is off your body doesn't heal properly,

There's been new research that shows that families who are going through people who are going through great family strife

Have much worse outcomes after surgery. This is so real in my practice that we're starting to think about rescheduling surgeries

When people are actively going through a divorce or they're an abusive situation or they're in a situation where they're under great emotional stress.

Because wounds don't heal Infections happen people stay in the hospital longer their pain scores are off the chart when your body brain isn't firing properly,

You don't heal properly,

your body and your brain down to the level of the proteins that you make in response to wounds are,

are,

intimately tied together And that incredible this is why my friend you have to learn how to change your mind

This is why you have to learn how to biopsy your thinking you have to say wait a minute

I've got this problem in my body. I got a wound. I need to heal I can't be filling my mind with negative thoughts or I'll never heal this wound. You got to think about it that way,

And remember, feelings aren't facts.

Feelings are a combination of neurotransmitters like paint on an artist's palette that can

only tell a small story, and the story is, I feel something that is akin to fear.

There's really a bear outside. That feeling is helpful to you. It's adaptive as dr. Phil said it's working for you,

When there's not really a bear when there's just a possibility of getting laid off

Then a more adaptive response would be to say I need to get back

I need to be a better worker So I make myself more valuable to my company so I'm less likely to be laid off and if I do get laid off

Guess what? I'm gonna be diligent about being good with my money

I'm gonna make sure that I have a backup plan what what I can do I'm gonna make sure my resume is up-to-date. I'm gonna go out and find another opportunity and God will provide

He'll help me and make sure I land on my feet. So you take care of yourself in times of,

plenty Joseph was told to do store up during the years when there's not famine so that when there is famine you're prepared

So you just you think differently about the threat instead of wreck instead of reacting to the physiology

And guess what your body brain will start feeling better your body brain will begin to work.

You can ask God you can change your prayer and say like David says in Psalm 51

Creating me a clean heart remember heart and mind in the Bible are almost synonyms,

Creating me a new mind. Oh God renew a right spirit within me,

If your body brain is giving you trouble if it's not working for your friend if you forgot that your physiology

Doesn't have to be dictated or will be dictated by your thinking but you can change your thinking and therefore change your physiology

If you're tired of the wound whether it's on your skin or in your heart not healing

Then maybe it's time here at the end of September to do what we said at the very start of September

Remember what got you here won't get you there.

To take that oath that I asked you to take go back and listen to the very first episode in September

And I said make an oath to yourself make a statement about what you intend to do in mind was this I am going to be

More purposeful about changing my mind. I want my body brain connection to be helpful to me and not harmful to me.

And you can change your mind my friend you can change your life, but you have to remember you have a limited palette,

Of neurotransmitters that make all your feelings and feelings simply are not facts

They are chemical events in your brain And how you think about your life turns into what happens in your body down to the level of whether or not

Your wounds heal and if you're standing here with me on this day at the end of september

or the end of whatever month you hear this in,

and you're saying, gosh, it's just not working.

This isn't healing. I need some help.

Then it's time to get after it. It's time to change your mind.

It's time to change your life.

It's time to get your body brain under control. And the good news is, my friend, you can start today.

One, two, three, four.

Hey, thanks for listening. The Dr. Lee Warren podcast is brought to you by my brand new book, Hope is the First Dose.

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and go to my website and sign up for the newsletter, Self Brain Surgery, every Sunday since 2014,

helping people in all 50 states and 60 plus countries around the world. I'm Dr. Lee Warren

and I'll talk to you soon. Remember, friend, you can't change your life,

until you change your mind. And the good news is you can start today.

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