It
has long been known that whatever we focus on, repeat day after day and
habitually do creates more of the same thoughts, beliefs and patterns in the
brain. The brain wraps itself around whatever our strongest focus is. Norman
Doidge in How the Brain Heals Itself, writes about competitive plasticity
and the brains ability to rewire itself.
The
good news in this is that we can change our brain by exposing it to what we
need or want it to believe or perceive in the process healing. It also confirms
that doing activities like showing up to meditate and doing the practice, even
when it seems hopeless and unfruitful, still helps rewire the brain and deepen
and strengthen the networks in the brain that will allow better and more
focused meditation in the future. So practice does pay off.
I
work with children who habitually wrap their brain around video games such as
“Call of Duty” and “Grand Theft Auto.” That is the realty that is being
reinforced and absorbed by their brains. These types of games normalize the
violence and abuse that some of these children have lived through and help
program the children to display behaviours that support violence.
I
have also witnessed children who have come from abusive homes and foster homes
who have been moved to nurturing and safe foster homes whom have changed so
dramatically that I can hardly believe it. Their brains rewire to the new
environment and as a result the child looks cared for, act like they matter,
develop empathy, and start to like themselves.
I also feel that in coming to Art Therapy and
being exposed to the arts, they get another healthy piece of reality in
learning that they are creative and they can create. I do therapy with my
clients, but if I only did art, that alone would expand and heal the children
whom I work with brain networks. It opens out a whole new world to explore for
some of my clients who have never picked up a paint brush, touched clay or made
a toy from scratch.
Brain
research is fascinating and confirms for me that I picked the right profession.
