You may have heard the word “conviction” a few times in your life, right? Conviction: belief or firm opinion about something (Google). Have you ever wondered how much a person of strong convictions is ahead of a person full of insecurities? Your mind tells you what your eyes really want to see.
In 1932, Walter B. Cannon concluded that the organism of living beings is constantly seeking ways to be in balance. For this much-desired balance, Cannon gave the name of homeostasis. Thanks to this programming, that tends to constantly seek the balance of the organism, the human brain unconsciously seeks ways to satisfy our most intimate yearnings. However, there is also the possibility that unpleasant effects may occur if an individual does not provide accurate information to his or her own brain. Strange, isn’t it?
Jorge is fat. Very fat. By the way, extremely fat. One afternoon, dissatisfied with his own appearance, he decides to enter a gym. After a few weeks of heavy training, Jorge is convinced that he is thinner and continues to lose weight.
His coach runs a series of tests with him and realizes that Jorge’s weight has not decreased. On the contrary, it has increased. Jorge trained a lot, but he ate twice as much as he was used to. Excited and hoping to hear a good response, Jorge asks his coach if he is losing weight or getting fat.
Out of compassion (and not to lose a potential client), his coach lied and stated that Jorge was losing weight. A broad smile appeared on Jorge’s face. Every day when he woke up, Jorge admired himself in the mirror for a long time and swore he was thinner. Was he lying? No. He really looked thinner. The question is: how and why?
HOW ?
Jorge’s body was, like everything else in the universe, a phenomenon. The other people who watched him did not have in mind the full conviction that Jorge was really struggling in the gym, that is, they saw in him the body he always had. Thus, they continued to see the phenomenon and their minds interpreted it as: a simple overweight man. If Jorge talked to a person and convinced him that he was overtraining and feeding himself correctly every day, the person’s concept of Jorge would automatically be changed.
This same person’s brain would understand that Jorge is burning many calories, so it is logically impossible that he is still fat as before. Believing faithfully in this, the interpretation of the phenomenon “Jorge’s fat body” would be modified to “body, now, not so fat Jorge.”
Jorge already had a slight belief that he was losing weight, but after hearing from the mouth of his own coach that the numbers indicated weight loss, his mind began to deliver to Jorge’s eyes what he faithfully believed. These processes can also be explained by the placebo effect studies.
WHY ?
All these strange phenomenons occur among the chemical processes of Jorge’s brain because his organism was programmed for it, bringing balance to his psyche.
If Jorge craves exaggerated weight loss, and external stimuli, along with his beliefs, inform his mind that weight loss is actually occurring, so that his psyche (or, according to some, the soul) remains in peace, his brain simulates. Through the sensory system, what the individual wants and needs to see, hear, smell, touch or taste.
In other words, for the subject’s own good, the brain “deceives” its own master.
BE CAREFUL !
You have already realized that you are not as aware of what is going on in your mind as you thought you were, do you? When I began my long conversations about philosophy and psychology, I came across two types of people: sceptics and those who faithfully believe every word I say.
It’s funny to think that even with so many mentalists, hypnologists and magicians around the world, there are still people who believe they have complete control over their minds. There are those who are more radical than I, and claim that in reality it is the brain that completely commands the individual.
I firmly believe in the power of choice we all have. The brain and its processes undoubtedly have a lot of power over the person, but the final choices belong to the soul, the psyche, or whatever you, reader, want to call it.
If we reflect deeply, we will come to the conclusion that the brain often gives the psyche what it wants and needs and, on the other hand, the psyche gives information to the brain of what it needs and simply wants.
