Caroline Leaf Quotes

Frame your world with your words.

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought. Peace Pilgrim

You are not a victim. You can control your reactions. You do have a choice.

You cannot sit back and wait to be happy and healthy and have a great thought life; you have to make the choice to make this happen. You have to choose to get rid of the toxic and get back in alignment with God. You can be overwhelmed by every small setback in life, or you can be energized by the possibilities they bring.

Our brains are made for love. Not fear. Not performance. Not aggression. But LOVE.

The sins of parents create a predisposition, not a destiny.

Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.

God designed humans to observe our own thoughts, catch those that are bad, and get rid of them.

We are not victims of our biology. We are co-creators of our destiny alongside God. God leads, but we have to choose to let God lead. We have been designed to create thoughts, and from these we live out our lives (Prov. 23:7).

Multitasking is a persistent myth. Paying deep, focused attention to one task at a time is the correct way.

Because we are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26) and have the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16), our normal state is one of perfection.

Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), will come at you with a thousand negative probabilities, but you always need to remember that a probability has no power.

Main Scripture: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV Linked Science Concept: When you objectively observe your own thinking with the view to capturing rogue thoughts, you in effect direct your attention to stop the negative impact and rewire healthy new circuits into your brain.

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (NIV).

Your body is not in control of your mind—your mind is in control of your body, and your mind is stronger than your body. Mind certainly is over matter.

What your mind creates only your mind can take away.

Daytime thinking is a building process, whereas nighttime thinking is a sorting process.

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.

How we think not only affects our own spirit, soul, and body but also people around us.

The American Institute of Health estimates that 75–90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems.

We are not victims of our biology or circumstances. How we react to the events and circumstances of life can have an enormous impact on our mental and even physical health.

You are wired for love, and fear is a learned and not a natural response (2 Tim. 1:7). You have the

Research shows that 75 to 98 percent of mental, physical, and behavioral illness comes from one’s thought life.

As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

Reaction is the key word here. You cannot control the events or circumstances of your life, but you can control your reactions.

Things are uncertain, but I can handle it. I’ve never experienced this before, but I can handle it. These are uncertain times, but I can handle it. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I can handle it.

One would have thought that not even Joyce could have maltreated a salad to the point where it became inedible, but one would have been wrong. Abustle with wild life, it was also soaked in a vinegary dressing. Barnaby lifted a soggy lettuce leaf. A small insect emerged, valiantly swimming against the tide.

By the same token, if you choose to add a signal—for example, saying something like, “My mother had depression and that’s why I have depression, and now my daughter is suffering from depression”—then the epigenetic marks are activated. The thinking and speaking out the problem serve as the signal that makes it a reality.

Your brain cannot change until you accept the anxiety or depression as a signal giving you information on its cause, or origin, and in this way you make the anxiety or depression work for you and not against you.

Our choices—the natural consequences of our thoughts and imagination—get “under the skin” of our DNA and can turn certain genes on and off, changing the structure of the neurons in our brains. So our thoughts, imagination, and choices can change the structure and function of our brains on every level:

The process of thinking and choosing is the most powerful thing in the universe after God, and it is a phenomenal gift from God to be treasured and used properly.

If the brain can get worse by constantly focusing on the problem, then the brain can get better by understanding how to eliminate and replace the problem.

New thoughts are formed over twenty-one days, and these new thoughts are formed into habits after sixty-three days.

In fact, when it comes to exercise, your nervous system changes first, followed by your muscles.

When we step out of our Perfect You, we will be in conflict and this will make us frustrated and unhappy, and even temporarily reduce our intelligence and potentially lead to mental ill health.

Many animals are also given growth hormones to further speed up the fattening process.18 These hormones are associated with a number of health risks in both animals and humans, including a possible correlation with cancer, which is why many countries no longer permit the use of hormones in industrial meat production.

Excessive consumption of the high amounts of sodium in processed, salty foods can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, stroke, kidney damage, cancer, weight gain, osteoporosis, and overeating—this list is equally long and alarming.2

Our mind is designed to control the body, of which the brain is a part, not the other way around. Matter does not control us; we control matter through our thinking and choosing. We cannot control the events and circumstances of life but we can control our reactions. In fact, we can control our reactions to anything, and in doing so, we change our brains. It’s not easy; it is hard work, but it can be done through our thoughts and choices.

Faith motivates us to pursue these goals. Hope leads to expectation, which creates peace, excitement, and health in our minds, thus increasing brain and body health.

are not a victim. You can control your reactions. You do have a choice.

If you put your mind to it, you can achieve what God says you can achieve.

What do corn and soy have to do with meat and dairy? Today, animal feed is made up largely of corn and soy.

Grocery stores, for example, deliberately place candy and chocolate bars by the checkout counter in order to promote “impulse buying.

social media addict? This is a very real problem—so much so that researchers from Norway developed a new instrument to measure Facebook addiction called the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale.[3] Social media has become as ubiquitous as television in our everyday lives, and this research shows that multitasking social media can be as addictive as drugs, alcohol, and chemical substance abuse. A large number of friends on social media networks may appear impressive, but according to a new report, the more social circles a person is linked to, the more likely the social media will be a source of stress.[4] It can also have a detrimental effect on consumer well-being because milkshake-multitasking interferes with clear thinking and decision-making, which lowers self-control and leads to rash, impulsive buying and poor eating decisions. Greater social media use is associated with a higher body mass index, increased binge eating, a lower credit score, and higher levels of credit card debt for consumers with many close friends in their social network—all caused by a lack of self-control.[5] We Can Become Shallow

Likewise, healthier products are often put close to the bottom on the shelves, while processed, sugary foods with bright packaging are put at eye level, socially conditioning us to buy more of them.48

What you are thinking every moment of every day becomes a physical reality in your brain and body, which affects your optimal mental and physical health. These thoughts collectively form your attitude, which is your state of mind, and it’s your attitude and not your DNA that determines much of the quality of your life.

Reaction is the key word here. You cannot control the events or circumstances of your life, but you can control your reactions. And controlling those reactions is the difference between healthy minds and bodies and sick minds and bodies.

The brain is never the same because it changes with every experience you have, every moment of every day—and you control this with your unique thinking, feeling, and choosing. You use your mind to use your brain. You are the architect of your brain.

Yet the animals are not just fed corn and soy. Expired cookies, candy, and even other animals are often turned into feed, including feed for large-scale dairy operations. We have turned herbivores like cattle into carnivores, often with fatal side effects.

Matter does not control us; we control matter through our thinking and choosing. We cannot control the events and circumstances of life but we can control our reactions. In fact, we can control our reactions to anything, and in doing so, we change our brains. It’s not easy; it is hard work, but it can be done through our thoughts and choices.

Happiness comes from within and success follows—not the other way around.

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

because whatever you think about the most will grow. This applies to both the positive and negative ends of the spectrum.

The bottom line is this: we cannot improve our lifestyle until we learn how to manage our thinking. This is incredibly empowering.

Thinking, as you will see, plays a dominant role in eating. Toxic thoughts can negate the positive effects of good nutrition. Healthy

The mind is a key factor throughout this book. Thinking, as you will see, plays a dominant role in eating. Toxic thoughts can negate the positive effects of good nutrition.

Scientists have found that the amount of time spent milkshake-multitasking among American young people has increased by 120 percent in the last ten years. According to a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry, simultaneous exposure to electronic media during the teenage years—such as playing a computer game while watching television—appears to be associated with increased depression and anxiety in young adulthood, especially among men.[1] Considering that teens are exposed to an average of eight and a half hours of multitasking electronic media per day, we need to change something quickly.[2] Social Media Enthusiast or Addict? Another concern this raises is whether you are or your teen is a social media enthusiast or simply a

When you use the 5 Steps, your self-regulation improves and you can start getting a handle on managing your anxiety. This doesn’t mean it will go away entirely; you actually don’t want it to, because anxiety is telling you something about your life that you need to know. It does mean, however, that your anxiety will decrease over time, and you will learn to manage it—it will work for you and not against you. Anxiety is not an illness; it is a warning signal that something needs attention in your life. It is normal to feel periods of anxiety. The Neurocycle method can help you find and manage what needs attention.

Chapter 1 Summary The debate in science is between the mind being what the brain does versus the brain doing the bidding of the mind. The correct view is that the mind is designed to control the body, of which the brain is a part, not the other way around. Our brain does not control us; we control our brain through our thinking and choosing. We can control our reactions to anything. Choices are real. You are free to make choices about how you focus your attention, and this affects how the chemicals, proteins, and wiring of your brain change and function. Research shows that DNA actually changes shape in response to our thoughts. Stress stage one is normal. Stress stage two and stage three, on the other hand, are our mind and body’s response to toxic thinking—basically normal stress gone wrong. Reaction is the key word here. You cannot control the events or circumstances of your life, but you can control your reactions.

Processed, heated, and refined fats, as well as “trans fats” (hydrogenated fats), are the bad fats commonly found in foods such as margarine, shortening, your average American pizza, and the processed cheese so widely available in grocery stores. These bad fats have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, certain cancers, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, infertility and endometriosis, and depression.3 (For more on fats, see chapter 16.)

Quantum physics is creeping into every field, causing confusion among scientists, dealing a deathblow to the Newtonian dream, all because it points directly back to God, “the old man,” who has ultimate control. I love it when his plans come together.

Eric R. Kandel, a Nobel Prize–winning neuropsychiatrist for his work on memory, shows how our thoughts, even our imaginations, get “under the skin” of our DNA and can turn certain genes on and certain genes off, changing the structure of the neurons in the brain.[1] So as we think and imagine, we change the structure and function of our brains. Even Freud speculated back in the 1800s that thought leads to changes in the brain.[2] In recent years, leading neuroscientists like Marion Diamond, Norman Doidge, Joe Dispenza, Jeffrey Schwartz, Henry Markram, Bruce Lipton, and Allan Jones, to name just a few, have shown how our thoughts have remarkable power to change the brain.[3] Our brain is changing moment by moment as we are thinking. By our thinking and choosing, we are redesigning the landscape of our brain.

Step 1 (Gather) involves embracing the toxic thought, habit, or trauma (cutting open with the scalpel). Steps 2 and 3 (Reflect and Write) are the processing steps (performing the surgery). Steps 4 and 5 (Recheck and Active Reach) are the reconceptualizing steps (closing up and healing).

How real, then, is the food in our supermarkets? Real food, again, is fresh and nutritious, predominantly local, seasonal, grass fed, as wild as possible, free of synthetic chemicals, whole or minimally processed, and ecologically diverse. We have seen that in our supermarkets, even the fresh produce isn’t very fresh. Foods are no longer whole, but processed to extend shelf life.

Why the Neurocycle Is the Solution to Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. MARIE CURIE Overview Simple mind-management tools for personal use—to address and ameliorate such warning signals as anxiety, depression, toxic thinking, inability to concentrate, irritability, exhaustion, and burnout before they take over someone’s mind and life—

Monday 7 May [Halifax] Foolish fancying about Caroline Greenwood, meeting her on Skircoat Moor, taking her into a shed there is there & being connected with her. Supposing myself in men’s clothes & having a penis, tho’ nothing more. All this is very bad. Let me try to make a great exertion & get the better of this lazyness [sic] in a morning – the root of all evil… Now I will try & turn over a new leaf & waste no more time in bed or any way else that I can help. May God’s help attend this resolution.

Healthy thoughts can enhance the effects of good nutrition and mitigate the effects of bad nutrition—to a degree. In fact, healthy thoughts lead to better food choices. Eating and thinking are so intertwined that what you are thinking about before, during, and after eating will impact every single one of the 75–100 trillion cells in your body, including the cells of your digestive system. Your state of mind will have a negative or positive influence on your digestive health, and your digestive health will also have a negative or positive influence on your state of mind.

During a workshop in San Francisco, I’d spent the night at the house of a lawyer named Anne. On her nightstand there was a thin book by a guy named Joel Kramer. Unable to sleep, I picked it up and leafed through the pages. He explained the emotions Caroline and I were feeling best: We have this idea that love is supposed to last forever. But love isn’t like that. It’s a free-flowing energy that comes and goes when it pleases. Sometimes it stays for life; other times it stays for a second, a day, a month, or a year. So don’t fear love when it comes simply because it makes you vulnerable. But don’t be surprised when it leaves, either. Just be glad you had the opportunity to experience it. I’m

His gaze fixed on her chest as he rose, and she realized, with mortification, that her dress was askew. She turned her back, but his arms came around her. "Let me." His hands steady again, he ran his palms up her bodice to smooth her gown back into place. He took his time, his cheek against her temple, and Eliza tried not to shake like a leaf when his fingers brushed her nipple one last time before his hands drifted to rest on her hips. He put his mouth next to her ear. "Should I apologize for what happened?" The tiniest shake of her head. His lips touched the sensitive skin behind her ear. "May I call on you- just you, not your father?" Her heart was about to stop. She would faint and slide through his arms to land in a senseless heap on the ground. "Yes," she whispered. "Thank you." Gently, he turned her around. Eliza gazed up at him, wondering if he could tell from looking at her that she was about to fall headlong in love with him. A small smile touched his lips, bemused but reassuring.

Summary for the 21-Day Brain Detox Plan You do the 5 steps of the Switch On Your Brain technique daily for 21 days on one specific toxic thought. It takes you seven to ten minutes to work through the 5 steps, and then you do your selected active reach at least seven times

Our choices have an impact. Our choices become physiology,

that the more you apply a pattern of deep, intellectual thought in your brain, the more you will improve the physical structure of your brain.

progression goes like this: the amygdala provides input to the mind about the emotions—gather; the thalamus and hypothalamus provide input on motivation; and the memory networks provide information on the existing memories—reflect; the central hub in the brain mixes and integrates this all together—write; and the heart acts as the checking station, and you make the decision—revisit.

You can overcome and control depression and anxiety—some scientists are showing you can even control and overcome schizophrenia and OCD. You don’t

God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.” A

Local and Nonlocal Effects of Coherent Heart Frequencies on Conformational Changes of DNA.” This study showed that thinking and feeling anger, fear, and frustration caused DNA to change shape according to thoughts and feelings. The DNA responded by tightening up and becoming shorter, switching off many DNA codes, which reduced quality expression. So we feel shut down by negative emotions, and our body feels this too. But here’s the great part: the negative shutdown or poor quality of the DNA codes was reversed by feelings of love, joy, appreciation, and gratitude!

So when we make a poor-quality decision—when we choose to engage toxic thoughts (for example, unforgiveness, bitterness, irritation, or feelings of not coping)—we change the DNA and subsequent genetic expression, which then changes the shape of our brain wiring in a negative direction.

What you wire into your brain through thinking is stored in your nonconscious mind. The nonconscious mind is where 99.9 percent of our mind activity is. It is the root level that stores the thoughts with the emotions and perceptions, and it impacts the conscious mind and what we say and do. Everything is first a thought.

to

Whether we switch on happiness, peace, and good health or switch on anxiety, worry, and negativity, we are changing the physical substance of the brain.

Science and Scripture both show that we are wired for love and optimism[5] and so when we react by thinking negatively and making negative choices, the quality of our thinking suffers, which means the quality of our brain architecture suffers.

Research shows that 75 to 98 percent of mental, physical, and behavioral illness comes from one’s thought life.[4] This staggering and eye-opening statistic means only 2 to 25 percent of mental and physical illnesses come from the environment and genes.

A toxic choice produces the opposite effect: The acetyl markers reduce and the methyl markers increase, causing us to have less peace.

The active mind changes the brain; the brain is the passive part of existence.

show that not only does food change generational patterns, but so does thinking.

What a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptivity of the human brain God has given us.

La Agencia Internacional para la Investigación del Cáncer y la Organización Mundial de la Salud12 han concluido que el 80 por ciento de los cánceres se deben al estilo de vida y no a la genética,

Breakthrough neuroscientific research is confirming daily what we instinctively knew all along: What you are thinking every moment of every day becomes a physical reality in your brain and body, which affects your optimal mental and physical health. These thoughts collectively form your attitude, which is your state of mind, and it’s your attitude and not your DNA that determines much of the quality of your life.

5. Acercamiento Activo. Escoge vestirte de una mentalidad para el día. Para saber más sobre las mentalidades, consulta mi libro Piensa, aprende, ten éxito. Estos son algunos recordatorios útiles de Acercamiento Activo en la mañana: Escribe cinco cosas por las que estés orgulloso de ti mismo; ¡comienza tu día celebrándote a ti mismo!

Population studies indicate that something is going terribly wrong: people ages twenty-four to sixty-five are dying eight to fifteen years younger than previous generations from preventable lifestyle diseases. There’s a pressing need to change the way we approach health care, including mental health. We must shift our focus from a symptom-centered approach to one centered around each person’s complex story and unique experiences. This is the approach I’ve taken in this book. You are uniquely, wonderfully you—your quest for optimal health and well-being should be just as singular as you are.

ourselves. We need a new narrative, one where we listen to each other’s narratives and problem-solve through them together. In fact, I strongly encourage you to seek out a support system for your healing journey. The 5 Steps of the Neurocycle method we are going to learn are how you’ll get through the day, the week, and the rest of your life. Talking to someone about how these steps are helping you in this journey can give you perspective and provide a sounding board. Humans need this—because as we’ll discuss, it’s not about you, it’s about you in the world.

Feeling guilty because you “failed to think positively enough,” “didn’t have enough faith,” or didn’t reach some “ideal” is damaging to your psyche and your physical body.

New thoughts are formed over twenty-one days, and these new thoughts are formed into habits after sixty-three days. This is extremely important to learning and life, because there are a lot of myths surrounding habit formation happening over just twenty-one days. This myth seems to have

When you are young you are too busy with yourself — so Caroline thought — you haven’t time for ordinary little things, but, when you leave youth behind, your eyes open and you see magic and mystery all around you: magic in the flight of a bird, the shape of a leaf, the bold arch of a bridge against the sky, footsteps at night and a voice calling in the darkness, the moment in a theatre before the curtain rises, the wind in the trees, or (in winter) an apple-branch clothed with pure white snow and icicles hanging from a stone and sparkling with rainbow colours.

changes are occurring beneath the surface, on a nonconscious level, can be a powerful motivator, because it brings with it a sense of autonomy, encouraging someone to persist with therapy and mind-management techniques even if they don’t feel different for some time.

Write five things you are proud of yourself for—start your day off celebrating yourself! Write five things you are grateful for. Ask yourself not what you want to or have to do today but rather who you want to be today and how you want to feel. Set reminders or write a note to remind yourself that no matter what happens today, it will be a great day. Ask yourself these three questions: What am I letting go of? What am I grateful for? What am I focusing on?

If you find yourself unable to sleep, don’t allow yourself to lie in bed panicking about not sleeping. Instead, get excited and embrace the fact you’re awake. Tell yourself, This is going to be a nice, quiet time, where I’m not bugged by texts, emails, or people needing something. I am going to get that research done, finally read that book, watch that program on the Discovery Channel, tidy that closet, or work uninterrupted on a project!

am determined to self-regulate my thinking, feeling, and choosing all day, which will help boost my intelligence, prevent cognitive decline, and reboot brain energy levels. ​• ​I will not let any thoughts just wander chaotically through my mind today. I will be very analytical about capturing my thoughts. ​• ​I will watch the words I say and recognize that they reflect my mind-in-action.

Whatever we plant in our minds and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality. EARL NIGHTINGALE

Mind-Management Must Be a Priority You are your mind, you are always using your mind, and your mind is always with you.