8A MIND AND BRAIN
1. While there is no single, agreed upon definition of the mind, there is a common belief that it is the
activity of the brain. Where do you think mind is situated? Are scientists certain that it is situated in
the skull?
2. Do you believe in the healing power of the mind or the
power of visualisation techniques? Have you heard of any
tangible proofs that this really works?
Discuss these questions in groups, then read the text and
compare your views.
WHERE IS OUR MIND LOCATED?
There has been extensive research on mind suggesting that the neuropeptides, which form the
communication network of our emotions, are present not just in the brain but everywhere in the
body. As Dr Cadence Pert, chief of brain biochemistry at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health
writes, “The more we know about neuropeptides, the more sense it makes to speak of a single
integrated entity, a body-mind”. So, while the brain remains the primary analyser, our mind is more
like an information-processing field spread across the body. Every cell in our body is capable of
feeling; every cell can express emotion. No wonder that people’s thoughts and emotions sometimes
change after an organ transplant or that emotional problems can manifest into physical disease.
There is a complex communication network between various cells of the brain and the body. All life
forms have their own intelligence, or life energy flowing through our body. The interesting thing is
that this intelligence cannot tell the difference between an actual situation and a thought. Thoughts
are treated by the body-mind as real and they cause the same changes in the body-mind as an actual
physical event. Thus, a genuine threatening situation or fearful thoughts have the same impact on
the body. To heal ourselves, we need to be aware of our thoughts and feelings as when we are angry
or anxious, along with a psychological impact there is also a physical cost. If we are conscious of our
negative thoughts, we are able to put them aside as soon as they arise. On the other hand, if we
notice positive thoughts and build on them, they result in healthier bodies. When we visualize
ourselves to be healthy, calm and joyous, the neuropeptides carry those thoughts as if they are real
and make us feel that way. These techniques are used by athletes to visualize e.g. a 100-metre dash
or a perfect golf shot, several times in their minds, before the actual event.
3. Do you have at least a general idea of how the information that comes in through your senses
triggers an emotional response?
Dr. Daniel Siegel, professor of
psychiatry at UCLA school of
Medicine executive director of
the Mindsight Institute and
author of several books, has
come up with the concept of
the Triangle of Well-Being. He
developed this into what has
become
known
as
interpersonal neurobiology.
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Our senses take in information from the environment. The electrical signals then travel through the
nervous system to the brain, which then gives this information a certain meaning, and releases
neurochemicals and electrical signals that regulate the body, control movement and influence
emotions. An integral part of the mind is the energy and information exchange between and among
people. This happens through the spoken or written word, or through eye contact, facial expression,
body language, posture and gesture.
Because of neuroplasticity, i.e., the capacity of the brain to create new neural connections and grow
new neurons in response to thoughts and experience, each point on the triangle influences the
others, and the flow of energy and information along this triangle goes in all directions. The mind
can change the structure of the brain and relationships. The brain can change the structure of the
mind and relationships. Relationships can change the mind and the brain.
In 2007, Debbie Hampton sustained a global brain injury in a suicide attempt. Educating
herself about the brain and doing everything possible to influence and promote
neuroplasticity, she healed fully beyond medical predictions. Her Facebook page, The Best
Brain Possible, encourages, educates, and inspires us all to improve our brains, our minds, and
our lives. She is now working on a book detailing her journey.
 Which of the following do you think can be regulated by your mind? What else can/cannot be
regulated by your mind?
blood pressure, allergic reactions, short-sightedness, eye colour, colour blindness, scars and burn
marks, IQ
Have you heard of dissociative identity disorder? Read the following extracts in pairs, then exchange
the information and check it against your previous views.
The Power of Belief: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) by Chaki Kobayashi (abridged)
People with DID have at least two distinct personalities. When one “takes over” from another, often
the difference in personality is discernible not only personality-wise, but also physically.
There was a case in which one personality was allergic to orange juice and the other was not, both in
the same body. When the immune personality was inhabiting the body, there was no reaction at all to
orange juice. However, when the allergic personality would consume orange juice, his body would
break out into hives. Further, if the allergic personality would take over during digestion of orange
juice, not having consumed it himself, his body would break out into hives. If the immune personality
took over, the itching and even the hives would subside.
In some cases one personality is colour-blind and the other is not. In other cases two or more
personalities require different prescriptions for their glasses, and sometimes even their eye colour is
even different. These are all documented cases.
The point is that within one body, two or more distinct personalities can alter the body’s physiology.
This is proof that it is possible to change our physiology with our thoughts and beliefs.
Of course, it’s easier for someone with DID to display these physiological changes than it is for the
average person who has only one personality. People with DID don’t just believe they do or don’t
have an allergy. They know it. Knowing something is the deepest level of belief, and it’s not easy to
change, sometimes even in the face of evidence to the contrary.
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THE POWER OF BELIEF by Caroline Cranshaw (abridged)C}}abridged|aroline Cranshaw
Our beliefs operate as filters that affect everything we experience. Whether positive or
negative, they influence how we take in and respond to the world, and how we see
ourselves.
The power of belief and its effects on our reality and health is made evident by cases of
Dissociative identity disorder (DID). People with (DID) have several different identities,
referred to as “alters”, that may display differences in many areas including speech,
manners, beliefs, and even gender. They may have different artistic abilities, foreign
language fluency, and IQ.
Even more amazing are the biological changes that can take place in their body when they
switch personalities. Commonly a medical condition exhibited by one personality will
mysteriously vanish when another personality takes over. One personality may be an insulin
dependent diabetic, while the other “alters” show no symptoms of the disease. Other
conditions that can differ from personality to personality include scars and burn marks. One
personality can be colour-blind and the other not, and even eye colour has been documented
to change. There have been cases of women who have two or three periods each month
because each of their sub-personalities has its own cycle.
Dr Braun, who runs a 10-bed psychiatric unit that uses psychotherapy, hypnosis and drugs to
treat people with multiple personalities, says that ‘the drastic physical changes seen in
patients going from personality to personality could be duplicated for emotionally normal
people under hypnosis’ (source, New York Times).
CAN YOU MANAGE YOUR CHIMP?
1. Have you experienced a situation when your emotions took over? If so, did you regret it afterwards?
2. Is it good to be always in control of your emotions? Where can emotions help you? Do you think
that snap judgments can be helpful?
3. Which do you think is stronger: your reason or your emotions?
4. Here is an extract from the book “The Chimp Paradox“ by Dt. Steve Peters.
When you were in the womb, two different brains, the frontal (Human)
and the limbic (Chimp – an emotional machine) developed
independently. The Human and the Chimp have independent
personalities with different agendas, ways of thinking and operating.
The Chimp offers thoughts and feelings that can be very constructive or
very destructive. Having a Chimp is like owning a dog. You are not
responsible for the nature of the dog but you are responsible for
managing it and keeping it well-behaved. When the two disagree, the
Chimp is more powerful and gets control of your thoughts and actions. The Human operates by the
laws of society, using ethical and moral drives while the Chimp operates by the laws of the jungle,
having powerful drives and instincts.
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4. Read the following list and decide whether the patterns apply to the Human, i.e., the rational part
of your personality, or the Chimp, i.e., your emotional side. Then think of the situations where these
behaviour patterns influence your responses.
__ acts on impressions and jumps to conclusions
__ searches for the facts and evidence and tries to establish the truth
__ its thinking is inconsistent
__ its agenda is survival
__ the Fight, Flight, Freeze response (depending on how vulnerable it feels)
__ its interpretation of the situation is not always correct
__ its assumptions are based on hunches
__ thinks with perspective
__ always looks for danger and thinks about self-preservation
__ its agenda is personal fulfilment
__ is governed by drives such as dominance, security, pleasure, parenthood and protection of
territory
LEAVING YOUR BODY WHILE ALIVE?
Discuss the following questions in pair or groups.
1. Have you heard of out-of-body experience (OBE) or near-death experience (NDE)? What do you
think: are these experiences real, or imaginary?
2. Do you think we can communicate with the spirits of the dead?
3. What do you think of haunted houses and apparitions of the dead?
4. What do you think of the reported memories of the past lives?
5. Now read the following extracts in pairs and exchange the information.

Life after death? Largest-ever study provides evidence that 'out of body' and
'near-death' experiences may be real by Adam Withnall, 7 October 2014
One man who was clinically dead - then brought back to life - accurately described what had
been happening in the room.
Experts currently believe that the brain shuts down within 20 to 30 seconds of the heart
stopping beating – and that it is not possible to be aware of anything once that has happened.
But scientists in the new study said they had compelling evidence that patients experienced
real events for up to three minutes after this had happened – and could recall them accurately
once they had been resuscitated.
Dr Sam Parnia, who led the research, said that, previously, patients who described near-death
experiences were only relating hallucinatory events. One man, however, gave a “very
credible” account of what was going on while doctors and nurses tried to bring him back to
life – and says that he was observing his resuscitation from the corner of the room.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Dr Parnia said: “We know the brain can’t function when the heart
has stopped beating. “But in this case, conscious awareness appears to have continued for up
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to three minutes. “The man described everything that had happened in the room, including
two bleeps he heard from a machine that makes a noise at three-minute intervals. So we could
time how long the experience lasted. “Everything that he said had happened to him had
actually happened.”
The Experience of Death and Dying:
Psychological, Philosophical, and Spiritual Aspects
By Stanislav Grof, M.D.
It is important to mention that some of the apparitions have certain characteristics that are
very interesting for researchers. There exist a number of cases describing apparitions of persons
unknown to the percipient, who are later identified through photographs or verbal descriptions. Such
apparitions may also be witnessed by many different individuals over long periods of time, such as
"haunted" houses and castles. Of particular interest are those cases where the deceased convey
some specific new information that can be verified. Here are two examples to illustrate the nature of
such observations. The first example depicts a young patient who had made repeated suicidal
attempts.
In one of his sessions, Richard had a very unusual experience involving a strange astral
realm. This realm was filled with discarnate beings that were trying to communicate with him
in a very urgent manner. He could not see or hear them; however, he sensed their presence and
was receiving telepathic messages from them. I wrote down one of these messages to subject
them to subsequent verification.
It was a request for Richard to connect with a couple in the Moravian city of Kromeriz
and let them know that their son Ladislav was doing well and was taken care of. The message
included the couple's name, street address, and telephone number; all of these data were
unknown to me and the patient. After some hesitation, I went to the telephone, dialled the
number in Kromeriz, and asked if I could speak with Ladislav. To my astonishment, the
woman on the other side of the line started to cry. When she calmed down, she told me with a
broken voice: "Our son has passed away; we lost him three weeks ago".
The second example involves a close friend and former colleague of mine, Walter N. Pahnke.
He had deep interest in the problem of consciousness after death, and worked with many famous
mediums and psychics.
In summer 1971, Walter went with his wife Eva and their children for a vacation in a
cabin in Maine, situated right on the ocean. One day, he went scuba-diving all by himself and
did not return. An extensive search failed to find his body or his diving gear. Under these
circumstances, Eva found it very difficult to accept his death. Her last memory of Walter
involved him full of energy and in perfect health. It was hard to believe that he was not part of
her life anymore and to start a new chapter of her life without a sense of closure of the
preceding one.
Being a psychologist herself, she decided to have a psychedelic experience to get more
insight and asked me to be her sitter. In the second half of the session, she had a very powerful
vision of Walter and had a long dialogue with him. He gave her specific instructions
concerning each of their children and released her to start a new life, unrestricted by a sense of
commitment to his memory. It was a very profound and liberating experience.
Just as Eva was questioning whether the entire episode was just a wishful fabrication of
her own mind, Walter appeared once more and asked Eva to return a book that he had
borrowed from a friend of his. He then gave her the name of the friend, the room where it was,
the name of the book, the shelf, and the sequential order of the book on this shelf. Following
the instructions, Eva was able to find and return the book, about the existence of which she
had had no previous knowledge.
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MIND AND BRAIN – LANGUAGE WORK
1. a) Combine a word on the left with a word on the right to make meaningful compounds.
brain
.child
reader
mind
.storming
teaser
.set
.wash
-bending
b) Now match the compounds from above with their definitions.
1. __________________ – a way of thinking, an attitude (often difficult to change)
2. __________________ – s.o. who knows by intuition what someone else is thinking
3. __________________ – an idea that someone has conceived without any help
4. __________________ – a difficult problem you enjoy trying to solve
5. __________________ – meeting with a group of people to try and develop ideas
6. __________________ – to make s.o. believe sth by using force or confusing them
7. __________________ – difficult to understand or solve
c) Complete the sentences with the above compounds.
The international conference on AI is John's latest _________________________.
We had a __________________ session yesterday to come up with a new brand name.
One needs a logical _________________ to develop computer programs.
Mark really enjoys crosswords, puzzles and all sorts of ______________________.
Filing letters is not exactly a _______________________ task.
Young people are being __________________________ by various religious cults.
One doesn't have to be a ________________________ to know that they are trying to undercut their
competitors.
2. Fill in the missing prepositions from the box.
UP (2X)
AROUND
OVER
ACROSS
TOGETHER
INTO
TO
Chimps that are insecure may read many things _____ harmless situations. They overreact _____
these situations and fuel them ______ high and intense emotion. Chimps may also judge others, try to
get revenge or to wield power ____ someone. The Chimp often pieces ______ its irrational, black-andwhite impressions to draw _____ conclusions and a plan of action. On the other hand, Chimps have
drives, which compel them to get _____ and do something. If we didn’t have drives, we would just sit
_________ and do nothing.
Our mind is like an information-processing field spread _______ the body.
3. Wishes and regrets. Rewrite the following sentences, beginning each target sentence with “I wish
/If only… Use the words in brackets.
I am not confident enough. If only ____________________________________________ (MORE)
You are working very hard. I wish _____________________________________________ (SO)
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I do not love him/her. If only _________________________________________________ (COULD)
We had a row yesterday. I wish ______________________________________________ (HAD)
I always break down in tears. I wish ___________________________________________ (DID)
I didn’t say what I actually thought. If only ______________________________________ (MIND)
4. Replace the underlined phrases with a phrase containing the word MIND either as a verb or as a
noun.
It’s got nothing to do with you - it’s private!
Well, I’m afraid I’m the sort of person who says what he thinks.
Hurry up and decide! The shop is shutting in five minutes.
Be careful of the step just before the entrance.
Could you possibly lend me some money? I haven’t brought any cash with me.
Actually, I have changed my decision. I will come with you, after all.
5. Put the words in brackets into the correct form by adding suffixes.
Human beings sometimes succumb to (wish) __________ thinking. Too often we believe what we
want to be true.”
Does it benefit or harm the eye to keep wearing different (prescribe) _________ glasses from previous
years?
When the best footballers (vision) ___________ scoring a goal before the actual match, they can feel
their foot hitting the ball, the smell of the grass under their foot and the sound of the crowd.
There is a barely (discern) _______________ difference between the effects of real antidepressants
and those of placebo. An (appear) ___________________ is a supernatural appearance of a nonphysical entity.
6. Complete the sentences with the correct idioms from the box in the correct form.
have butterflies in your stomach bury your head in the sand
break someone’s heart
break the ice
be over the moon
go through the roof fall head over heels in love
When I discovered he’d been unfaithful, it _______________________________________________
I was so nervous when I went for that job interview. I ______________________________________
The party was very tense until John told some of his funny stories. This ________________________
She doesn’t want to hear about her husband and his secretary, she just ________________________
When I won a trip for two to Venice, I____________________________________________________
My father will be furious when he hears I’ve crashed his car. He ______________________________
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