Your Brain Can't Tell The Difference Between Real & Imagined

Did you know that our brains can't tell the difference between what we call real and what we imagine or visualise?

It's probably something that most of us haven't stopped to consider, yet this is a fact worth knowing. Especially when it comes to learning or developing new habits, which we could call programming the brain.

It turns out that the brain can be programmed equally well by practising an activity just in the mind, using our imagination and visualisation, as by physically practising the activity. Dancers, actors and instrument players have known this intuitively for centuries as they are used to rehearsing by running a piece through in their mind or by 'marking' things through. In fact, we probably all know this intuitively because almost everyone has experienced waking up from a dream feeling emotionally moved by how real it felt. What most of us have sensed to be true through experience has now been proven, through scientific study, to be a measurable fact.

A study, published in the Journal of Neurophysiology in 1995, tested this by asked two groups of people to practice learning a 5 finger piano exercise over 5 days. They found there was almost no difference in brain changes between the group which practised the exercise physically on the piano and those who practised only in their mind, using their visualisation.

The significance of this study is that it showed the brain was just as plastic—meaning just as able to learn and change—with mental effort directed at learning something specific as with physical effort to do the same thing. This suggests that if a person spends time visualising in detail something that's practically doable, the brain develops in a very similar way as if they were to actually do it physically.

This has huge and far-reaching implications because it means that when we focus our mind and repeatedly imagine doing something well, we'll get better at doing it well. The reprogramming of the mind could be applied to many areas where people sometimes struggle in life, it could be to improve confidence in work or social settings or public speaking, it could be getting better at getting up on time in the mornings or it could be retraining yourself to be calmer or kinder to yourself or other people in your life. If you can simply imagine yourself in the new way, you are already starting the rewiring for that change of habit to happen easier. Conversely, what it also means is that if you don't see yourself changing and improving, if you don't see yourself as overcoming your anxiety or lack of confidence or if you cannot see a realistic path to uplifting yourself, you make it harder for yourself to put these changes you want into practice. And worst still, if you practise giving yourself negative messages, such as “I'm no good at...”, “I'll never be able to...”, “I'm such a...” all you do is teach and train your brain to get very good at thinking and being what you don't want to be.

Moreover, as your brain can't tell the difference between what you're really experiencing now and what you're imagining or remembering, whatever circuit you light up in your brain will be real for you. Even if it's an old feeling from years back or something completely imagined, you live it as though it's real in the present moment. This alone is reason enough to learn to choose your thoughts with care.

Ultimately, what this study proves is something I have seen a great deal of evidence for in my own Clinical Hypnotherapy practice. This study has proven both how powerful visualisation is and how a person's mind is plastic; able to change and create new patterns. At Clarity Flow Hypnotherapy, we use the power of visualisation within hypnosis to help individuals make significant important changes and take great leaps forward in many areas of their lives. In the process, a person learns to consciously choose their thoughts with care and become very mindful of the movements of thought in their mind.

If you'd like to teach your mind to practice you preferred thought and make positive practical changes in your life, you can book a free Initial Consultation to get started with this rewarding process.

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TO BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION FOR CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY CLICK HERE

Maral Kojayan MA HPD
Clinical Hypnotherapist
www.clarityflowhypnotherapy.com


Reference:
Pascual-Leone, A. et al., 'Modulation of muscle responses evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation during the acquisition of new fine motor skills', Journal of Neurophysiology, 74(3), 1995 Sep, pp. 1037-45.
https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1995.74.3.1037

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