What the Bleep Do We Know?

I watched a fascinating movie this weekend, recommended to me by several friends. What the Bleep Do We Know? is all about harnessing the power of your thoughts. It's got a lot of New Age hogwash, (there is no good, there is no bad...welcome to the kingdom of heaven--it's inside of you...we all are god), but if you sift through all of this hokum, there's a lot of truth to be learned. Truth that has been proclaimed by Scriptures long ago: as a man thinketh, so he is, as well as the need for taking captive your thoughts.

There is new scientific research on how the brain works that is quite compelling. Conventional wisdom used to be that our brains remained fairly unchanged from childhood throughout the rest of our lives, with the conclusion that you essentially can't teach an old dog new tricks. This is far from the truth. Our brain is constantly rewiring itself, as a result of our thoughts, actions and environment.

The film discussed how certain emotions can be hardwired to be associated with other outside stimuli. The most powerful example of this is that our brain has the capacity to associate the feeling of love with all kinds of things, both good and bad. To the researchers in the film who have studied brain chemistry extensively, this can explain in part why some people continually make bad choices with regards to relationships. Over time, their brain has rewired itself to associate love with negative feelings, and for some bizarre reason, our brains become addicted to these feelings and the chemical responses that a bad relationship can trigger.

The flipside of this is true as well. If our brains have been wired through repeated behaviors throughout our life, then it's possible to retrain and "rewire" our brains in other directions, towards positive outcomes. They speak of the "power of intention," which is a New Agey term that's in vogue these days, from people like Wayne Dyer and the like, but I do believe that at it's core is truth that believers can grab a hold of too.

The filmmakers talk a lot about quantum physics, to the point of relegating the "quantum field" almost to a point of deification. Essentially, quantum physics speaks of the reality in the physical world of infinite possibilities, that there is a theoretical possibility (outlined by Einstein) of "parallel universes" and the like, all stuff that sounds very hocus pocus. They point to the example of certain particles that when not being observed, are a wave, while when they are observed, are actual a fixed point. The physical state of these particles actually changes simply by the fact that they are observed. Heady stuff that only Einstein could dream up, but it is accepted as fact as much as gravity is.

The filmmakers talked with many people who have turned this idea of "infinite possibilities" into a philosophy of life, where our lives are for us to shape, with the power of our thoughts. Our lives are like that particle: when we observe it, we change it. When we think something, we create it, as if we're on some big, cosmic holodeck. Now this is where it gets loopy, and very New Agey. This is the hogwash that needs sifting out.

But in with the hogwash, there is a lot of truth that I'm still thinking about and trying to process. The world around us is shaped by our thoughts, not in some cosmic telekinetic way, but I do believe that our thoughts have power to shape us, which does impact our relationship with the world and those around us. My future is dramatically effected by my thoughts. I don't "create" my own reality, as one of the filmmakers says, but I can shape what happens in my life through how I think.

I have seen this in my own life, when I have set myself on a path to fulfill certain goals, and have given everything I had to bring them about. In high school, I set a goal to become a professional musician, and in the back of my mind, I hoped to teach at my alma mater when my professor retired. This was the path that I set out for myself, and both things have happened.

In my life, that is the one goal that I have worked at the most, the one goal that I told myself that I would give everything I had towards the effort. It happened, I think, through a combination of my hard work, and most importantly, the grace of God. I think the fulfillment of that dream was a combined effort between God and me (though I would readily admit that all good things we are able to do are an extension of the grace of God--it's that whole paradox of free will and grace, applied to a non-spiritual part of my life. It's also that debate about God giving us the desires of our heart: does he grant us our desires, or does he create the desires within us that will please him, or is it a mystical combination of the two? Which came first? I think God delights in our individuality, much as parents delight in seeing the individuality of their children--even though God is omniscient, I wonder if he delights in seeing us develop into the people that we are becoming, and then, as a loving Father, grants us bread instead of stone. I don't have answers to these questions.)

This all brings me to the question of how to jibe this with the teaching of Scripture, and the will of God. I guess I'm right now asking more questions than anything, but this movie is one point in a continuum where I have really begun asking the questions about how our thoughts impact our lives, and I want to make sure that it fits in with the will of God.

Here's the exciting part for me. What these people don't take into account is the power of the Holy Spirit. I mean, what these people are saying about the scientific reality of the human brain is true: our body has the power to rewire the neural nets of our brain, neural nets that impact our behavior. When you consider the phrase "be transformed by the renewing of your mind," and you mix in a dash of the Holy Spirit, you've got some exciting possibilities before you.

"Take every thought captive to Christ." Amen, brother!

What is it that holds us back? What thoughts have ruled our lives? Is it one where I'm destined to think I'm always going to be rotund? Is it one that thinks I've gone as far as I will in my career? Is it one where I doubt I'll ever find the love of my life? Is it one that fears the possibilities of pursuing my dreams? I believe that the doubts I have about these issues in my life directly impact my ability to achieve them, and are the primary obstacles in the way of achieving those goals. And I think this is as true as gravity.

These filmmakers talk about "creating my own reality." Well, if I had a choice, I'd let the creator of the world create my own reality, thank you very much. I think I could trust him a bit more than me (at least I'm trying to get there). The message for me from this film is that I must always combat negative thoughts, and replace them with thoughts that are uplifting.

"Finally brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things."

I believe that we should follow our dreams, with every fiber of our being, with the belief that God is with us. I don't say this in an ignorant or naive manner, as if the fact of our relationship with God is a magic pill to help us get what we want. But if we are pursuing goals that we believe are God-given, and that are pure and fit in with the categories laid about by Paul in the passage above, then I say pursue it with everything you've got, with the wind behind your sails and a belief that God will walk with you, and open doors for you that could only be explained by his intervention.

One man in the film begins each day, with the goal of "creating his day," and he speaks some mumbo jumbo to the "quantum field," asking that he be shown signs of how his thoughts have shaped the world around him throughout the day. We don't need no stinking quantum field: we have the Creator of the Universe watching our back. What I desire to do, is to wake each day, and ask for the strength to combat the negative thoughts and lies that I hear all the time, to replace them with thoughts that are encouraging and uplifting, with the belief that I can and will achieve the goals I've set out for myself, with the assistance of God.

Admittedly, our relationship with God isn't all about "achieving our goals." But it is certainly about finding freedom from the lies we tell ourselves. And once those lies are removed from the databank, and we are in the center of God's will, the possibilities are limitless.

Sometimes I believe that I have a fear of success, or a built in caution against success, which stems from an overwrought sense of what it means to "submit to the will of God." We're supposed to walk humbly before our God, and all that, so maybe I shouldn't dream about "making it big" in the music world, or becoming a successful food writer, or becoming known as the best bread baker in five counties. That, I am convinced, is a huge lie that needs to be expunged from my life.

We are made for work. It is good for man to get his hands dirty, and to feel the sweat of his brow. God is glorified when we work! The parable of the talents comes to mind: What will I do with the gifts I've been given? Will I nurture them, develop them and do great things with them, or will I be content to sit by and wile away the hours of my life, hoping for what "might have been?" Will I embrace the goals, dreams and aspirations that thrill me, with the belief that God blesses these desires and wants to see me succeed in them?

I'm going to choose the latter, starting today.

I'm very curious what your thoughts are.