Embracing Life
Anticipation -- Mind Poetry in Motion
Pretend you are a contestant on "$100,000 Pyramid." The host provides the following clues to help you determine the correct SUBJECT: (1) racing heart, (2) upset stomach, (3) insomnia, (4) sweating. Are you correct by answering, "Physical Symptoms from Mental Anticipation?"
Long before game shows, Mark Twain said, "The poetry is all in the anticipation, for there is none in reality."
After reading Twain's quote, I pondered its meaning for months. Was he suggesting our minds create reality?The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states, "Anticipation implies prospect or outlook that involves advance suffering or enjoyment of what is foreseen; a mental picture of something to come."
I began to understand Twain's possible premise and the definition of anticipation by observing individuals as significant events unfolded in their lives.
First, graduation day arrived for a law student. In today's tumultuous times, her loans, exceeding $130,000, dampened her spirit. As family and friends gathered, she was unable to eat and felt faint. Once she walked across the stage, her color returned and was ready to face the economy.
Next, the beauty pageant contestant's hands noticeably shook in the final moments of the competition as the runner-ups were recognized. After being crowned the winner, she regained her composure and accepted her reign with grace.
Lastly, a friend's blood pressure and pulse rose to deadly readings as she waited for her husband's doctor to provide an update on his surgery. When his physician finally delivered the results, she bravely faced the challenge with renewed courage.
It seems to be a common phenomenon for people to respond physically prior to experiencing pain or pleasure. It also appears that humans have the cognitive ability to envision a future event; that mental snapshot triggers corporeal effects. Did Twain's quote refer only to negative human physical reactions? My quest for an answer continued.
Alfred Hitchcock said, "There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it."
Hitchcock was an early Hollywood genius; an expert in provoking fears from simple theatrical productions. Spectators knew they were watching fictional films. Nonetheless, the escalating suspense frightened and entertained his audiences. Horror films continue to attract crowds. What desires do patrons satisfy by watching terrifying movies? Could it be the adrenaline rush felt while visualizing their individualized anticipated outcomes?
The neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center had similar questions. Their research produced fascinating results. Josef Rauschecker, PhD., director of the Program in Cognitive and Computational Sciences said, "The brain is all about anticipation and prediction..."
Georgetown scientists examined the brain images of students as they listened to their favorite CDs. During the silence between songs, their brains were filled with activity. The volunteers began to dance or sing to the music they predicted would follow. Other students who listened to music they had never heard in sequence before did not have that same neural movement.
Rauschecker added, "This same process, known as cued associative learning, likely occurs whenever a human is expecting any particular action to happen, be it in sports, music or language. It is how a skier is mentally prepared to go down a familiar course during the Olympics, or how a piano player knows to move fingers along the keyboard to hit the next correct key."
Rauschecker's findings, coupled with Rhonda Byrne's philosophy written in "The Secret," are an exciting concept. Byrne is an advocate of the Law of Attraction -- a belief that people's thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) dictate the reality of their lives. She believes our thoughts control the universe and we manifest our desires. If Byrne and Rauschecker are correct, we are capable of controlling and predicting the future.
Embrace this question for a moment: Do we collectively have the power to eliminate hunger, eradicate illness and exterminate terrorism by anticipating only good results?
Thousands of years ago, Solomon may have answered that question when he wrote in Proverbs 4:23, "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts."
Now imagine you are an contestant on "Jeopardy." Alex Trebek reads the final answer to the category: The Year 2525. "The method humans used to save planet Earth." You reply, "What is positive mind poetry in motion?" Would you be the new Jeopardy champion? §
