The Power Of Belief

By Lynn L. West, PhDc, BCETS, LCPC

Lynn L. West & Associates, LLC

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The Power Of Belief

Epigentics reveal our genes do not control us; we control the expression of our genes through our lifestyle and the beliefs, emotions, perceptions and attitudes that we hold.

Understanding how our mind works to create beliefs, perceptions, emotion, and attitudes, can free us from unwanted and unproductive behavioral habits that are interfering with achieving what we want in life including happiness, health, and fulfilling relationships. Thought gives rise to emotions, and emotions give rise to neurochemistry that shapes the biology to compliment the thought. To heal, you have to change your unconscious programs and thoughts to programs and responses that support your wishes, desires, and what you want in life. If you aren't getting what you want, it's your unconscious mind.

Stress is reflected in the body as disturbed cellular biophysiology. Everyone is familiar with the placebo effect.

The nocebo effect is the belief that your diagnosis of cancer, for example, means you will be terminally ill and die because cancer is a disease that runs in your family and several members of your family have died from cancer. The impact of stress and its effects on the nocebo effect is that scientific researchers have determined that 70% or more of all cancer comes from lifestyle, and 90% of disease is related to lifestyle.

The action of our brains functions like two minds operating independently. The conscious brain is active about 5% of the time. It is located in the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). It is the seat of our personal identity, and directs our behavior towards achieving our wishes and desires. It is not time bound (can consider past, present, and future).

However, our unconscious mind operates 95% of the time and is the default position whenever the brain is not consciously active. It operates unreflectively (stimulus/response) as a mechanical automatic playback device that simply plays someone else's programs that were downloaded and recorded in the brain at some earlier time and have nothing to do with our own thought processes.

When the brain is triggered to respond to a stimulus, the individual's response will react to what they have been programmed to expect about the situation in the past and will not by consciously evaluating and responding to what is happening in the present situation. Usually, the response will reflect self-limiting beliefs or an expression of negative assumptions or expectations.