Living Life Awake

Day 7

Yesterday I asked you, “Why is it necessary to live awake or consciously?

Here are some answers you may have thought of:

The brain isn’t very smart.

It can only analyze what is within it.

It doesn’t know all facts or how others feel or what they think.

The brain isn’t very reliable.

It relies heavily on proper care to function well.

It sometimes remembers inaccurate information and doesn’t know all things.

When your brain (and mine, and your friends’) was developed at birth, it did not have wired in it all the wisdom of the world. In fact, it didn’t have the skills to even do the basic necessities of life: eating as an adult, talking, and walking. It has to learn math, reading and how to drive. We also need to learn effective social skills for interacting and develop the ability to perform the tasks of a job.

Just as the brain and body learn by trial and error in learning to read and do math tasks, it is also learning by trial and error for general living.

Add to that the fact that it is a physical organ with its own limitations in recording and recalling information.

And then add to that, the limitations the brain has with lack of rest or proper nutrition.

With this in mind, the brain is always somewhat unreliable and very unreliable sometimes.

Don’t get me wrong. The brain can hold and process information in a way that we cannot fully comprehend. It keeps us breathing without a thought from us. As miraculous as it is, it is-nonetheless- an organ that works by scientific laws. Fortunately, as we’ve discussed and know from personal experience, some functions of the brain and body are built to work automatically; others can be made to work automatically, such as language and movement.

Likewise, the same laws apply to the development of habits, beliefs, and expectations. These, too, can become automatic responses. With each reaction and action of the brain, habits are born. From habits…character and personality. In other words: you. But, not entirely the real you. That information can be easily overlooked. I’m going to restate it: Some functions of the brain and body are built to work automatically; others can be made to work automatically, such as language and movement. Likewise, the same laws apply to the development of habits, beliefs, and expectations. These, too, can become automatic responses. With each reaction and action of the brain, habits are born. From habits…character and personality. In other words: you. But, not entirely the real you. (If it seemed like I just repeated myself and you have no clue why, it is because your brain started reading words and not paying attention to the message. Seven lines above, I tell you that I’m going to repeat myself. If you caught that: GREAT! If you didn’t: Great learning opportunity!)