Moment by moment, each and every day, as we think, choose and wire thoughts into our brains, we are poisoning or strengthening our immune system, body and mind, which will, whether we want it to or not, have an impact on our spiritual development!
When we meditate on good things, and not on toxic, poisonous things, we increase the gamma waves in our brains, which means we increase our attention, memory and learning capacities. Research has shown that with healthy thinking we build up portions of our brain that produce happiness, just as healthy, fresh ingredients can make a pasta so much more delicious. Moreover, science also shows that meditating on good things, like what the Bible teaches or a good classic, improves moods in a far superior way than antidepressants, and with no poisonous side effects!
In truth, when it comes to aging, research has shown that older people with healthy attitudes and NOT toxic poisonous ones lived seven and a half years longer! Now that is my kind of pasta!
Additionally, the thoughts we put into our brains have powerful genetic effects on the production of healing proteins in our bodies, just as the ingredients we use in a pasta dish will affect our health. What you think, feel, and believe constantly changes the genetic expression and chemical composition of your body on a moment-by-moment basis.
High stress levels – the result of poisonous toxic thoughts- suck biochemical resources away from cell repair and kill brain cells, as would a dish of poisonous, bitter pasta. With over 1400 chemical reactions and more than thirty hormones shifting chaotically in response to toxic thinking, what was good can become really, really bad–a poisonous concoction, indeed!
The expert chef understands that he can control the quality and ingredients of his food, and he understands that what he makes will not just affect himself but those individuals who are relying on his expertise, and are looking forward to a good meal.
The same can be applied to our brains: when you begin to understand that with every feeling and thought you are performing epigenetic and genetic engineering on your DNA, you realize you actually have a degree of leverage over your mental and physical health that can make a critical difference to your life…and the lives of those around you.
When you “bring your thoughts into captivity to Christ Jesus” and “choose life”, you intervene consciously with positive emotions, thoughts and prayers. Besides making you feel good, these healthy “ingredients” benefit your body, modulating your gene expression towards a better life, mentally, physically and spiritually. This peak is different for everyone and we shouldn’t compare ourselves.
Random life situations and events are generally beyond our control, but we can control our reactions, which are thoughts, to these situations. So, no matter how sick or how many problems we currently have, we have the ability to CHOOSE our thoughts with their embedded feelings, and select those that support peak mental, spiritual and physical vitality.
Bon appétit, and remember: no more poison in the pasta!
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Dr. Caroline Leaf is a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist with a Master's and Ph.D. in Communication Pathology and a BSc Logopaedics, specializing in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980s, she has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory. She was one of the first in her field to study how the brain can change (neuroplasticity) with directed mind input. 
