Understanding Our Brain, Part 1

I’m fascinated with the amazing way God created us as relational beings!  Even the structure of our brain and how it works is designed for relationship.  Over the next week weeks, I will be sharing in the blog a little about this so we understand better why we do the things that we do.

Dr. Jim Wilder calls the right side of our brain the “master control center” as this is where so many critical things happen in how we feel, think and ultimately act.  Our left brain is vital for our ability to process logical thought and to verbalize it.  But it is considered our “slow brain” compared to our right brain.  It is also helpful to understand that information passes first through the right brain and then into the left brain.  We try to control our thoughts and behaviors from our left brain, however, this usually trips us up because the design is right to left.  We first respond unconsciously before we even have time to process logically from the left side of our brain.

The first level where information enters is the attachment center, our thalamus.  As the name implies, the question here is “Do I belong to someone(s)?” which is the core need we all have.  The second question relates to how memories are stored - “Is it personal to me?”  We have tons of input all day to things around us and in the thalamus things are sorted as relevant or not relevant.  The things that are not relevant are discarded.  The things that are relevant go to the next level for processing. 

The attachment center (thalamus) operates at the unconscious level.  We aren’t always thinking consciously if we are connected and belong, but it is always running under the surface.  It is also non-verbal. 

When we have a secure attachment here (not logical, but relational/experiential) then we can rest in that love/security.  If we’ve been through a lot of trauma and/or my emotional needs were not met in infancy, this is a difficult place where pain resides and I’m always looking subconsciously for that secure attachment (anxious attachment) or tuned out completely to not feel the pain of it (avoidant attachment) or a combination of both (disorganized attachment). 

The good news is that no matter what we missed, it can now be developed with True FAMILY and healthy community.  Next week, we will look at the Assessment center – the amygdala.