Scriptorium Daily
...we both claimed that consciousness is in the mind not in the brain, and that the mind can cause things to happen to the brain and vice versa. We also agreed that free will is not only real, but obviously so. Indeed, those who take the time to tell you that free will isn’t real are assuming that you have the free choice to listen to them and change your views accordingly!
Regarding free will, years ago Schwartz took brain scans of obsessive-compulsive people who engaged in repetitive hand-washing rituals. They all had a very distinctive, abnormal brain configuration. Schwartz then told the patients to do something for a few weeks and come back: Ever time they felt the compulsion to wash their hands, they were to exercise free will, choose to think different thoughts (for example, “I don’t need to wash my hands; a little dirt isn’t going to kill me”), and repeatedly practice this. When new scans were performed, all the patients had different and normal brain configurations. Lesson: By exerting free will, the mind can change the physical structure of the brain.
Subsequently, Schwartz has done experiments in which people’s brains are monitored as they watch videos of carnage at automobile-accident scenes. The anxiety center of the brain goes wild. Then he tells them to pretend they are paramedics who must make snap decisions of whom to treat first and what to do. When showed the same scenes the anxiety center remains calm. One can alter one’s brain and its role in facilitating anxiety, anger, and so forth by changing how one thinks and adjusting one’s perspective. Here was Schwartz’ punch line: People who see the glass half full regarding their lives are healthier, happier and more functional than those that don’t. And, he said, Christian theists who have a background belief that God is real, good, and caring will have a leg up on those without such a belief. (more)
