Change Your Mind

Breaking Free from the Ruts in Your Thought Life

By Sandy Mayle

Over a birthday meal at Cheddars with my friend Linda, our wide-ranging conversation turned to the amazing skills some people possess—for instance, pianists who play complex music at mind-numbing speed. How do their fingers fly so far ahead of conscious thought?

“Maybe,” I theorized to Linda, “their minds are just running in the ruts they’ve laid down through repetitive practice, like neurologists tell us happens in our thought life. We dig ruts of thought that in time we mentally gravitate toward.”

It turns out that the piano teachers’ adage, “Practice makes perfect,” has scientific support. Repetition creates what is termed “muscle memory.” Masterclass.com explains, “Performing an action repeatedly . . . creates a new neural pathway between the central nervous system and the muscles you’re moving. Once you’ve established muscle memory, you can accomplish the task without consciously thinking about it.”

Neurologists call this neuroplasticity. Our adaptable brains are rewired as we learn, forming new connections between brain cells. This means we can learn complex skills; it also means our brains can make new pathways around damaged areas—good news in physical therapy, but also good news in spiritual healing from trauma, harmful thought-ruts, and other areas of inner need.