BACK DOOR TO THE BRAIN
The unique ability of stories to generate powerful emotions within us is a well-known phenomenon
. Neuroscientists, Vittorio Gallese, and Leonardo Fogassi, explain that the culprit in our brains is a system of "mirror neurons" which causes our bodies to experience a story as though it were happening to us even though we know for a fact that it's not.
That's why I was not surprised when a good friend of mine said, "I'm teaching a class debunking the DaVinci Code.'" I just smiled. I wondered, "Why does the DaVinci Code need debunking?" It is an admittedly false story. It's a novel.
Finally, I said it, "If Dan Brown had simply issued a one sentence statement to the effect that Mary Magdalene gave birth to Jesus' children and hid them in France,' would anyone have listened?" Would anyone have cared? Would it have caused a raging international debate and a documentary on the National Geographic channel contemplating the possibilities? Would five or more books have been written for the sole purpose of proving that this theory was false? Somehow I doubt it.
So, why all the controversy? Why all the fuss? A novel, by definition is a false story. Nothing in a novel is supposed to be taken as true. Yet, somehow, millions of readers of the DaVinci Code were able to suspend rational thought and for the first time in their life seriously consider whether Mary Magdalene might have given birth to Jesus' children and hidden them in France. This phenomenon, in turn, created a crisis among the true believers who consider this theory a heresy. The crisis was so severe that it spawned an entire genre of literature that could easily be called "The Anti-DaVinci Code." But why?
Why are we unlikely to believe a factual statement made in a vacuum, such as "Mary Magdalene gave birth to Jesus' children and hid them in France," but when that same message is clothed in an absolutely captivating and suspenseful drama, somehow we are open to its message? The answer lies in how our brains process information.
There are three sections of the brain: (1) reptilian; (2) mid-brain; and (3) forebrain. The reptilian brain isalways functioning behind the scenes without conscious thought. It keeps our heart beating, and our lungs breathing. The MID-brain is the non-rational part of the brain. It controls our animalistic reaction to things. It allows us to have such emotions as fear, anger, love, passion. It drives our fight-or-flight reaction.
The FOREbrain is the rational part of the brain. It's what allows us to step outside of ourselves and look inward. It is allows us to see ourselves thinking. It allows you to hover outside of yourself and observe yourself reading this page, and be consciously aware that you are reading this page; and be aware that you are aware. It allows us to ask the question "why?" It allows us to analyze a situation after it has happened and draw lessons from it. It allows us to recognize patterns in order to predict the future.
Suspenseful, highly emotional stories enter our consciousness through the MID-brain. Bullet point lists of boring facts and most power point slides enter our consciousness through the FOREbrain. That's why most people fall asleep during power point presentations. The data is sterile and uninteresting. It's the kind of stuff we need to memorize for a test.
Compelling stories, on the other hand, have the ability to flood our bodies with chemicals that cause us to experience anger, fear, happiness, sadness, excitement, anticipation. But why is this?
Neuroscientists, such as Vittorio Gallese, and Leonardo Fogassi, and psychoanalysts, such as Maxwell Maltz, tell us that our bodies do not have the ability to distinguish between a real event and one that we've only imagined. That's why our hearts literally beat faster during a scary movie, and why we look over our shoulder on the walk to our car through the dark parking lot afterward. That's also why some people walk or talk in their sleep, and why teenage boys experience "wet dreams." Our bodies are merely acting out what is happening in our brains as though it were real. This is a very well-known and accepted phenomenon. A good storyteller can make your mouth water just by describing the act of biting into a freshly cut lemon in vivid detail.
That's the part of our brain that a good story touches. Once your emotions are involved, it's too late. The FOREbrain has to take notice. Something is going on inside. When you are feeling happy, sad, excited or scared, your FORE-brain says, "Why am I feeling this way? Maybe the story is TRUE!" Once we start saying things like "what if? and "maybe," the door to our belief systems has been opened, even if just by a hair. We are suddenly willing to consider "facts" that we would never consider if they had tried toenter in the form of a bullet point list - through the front door of the brain.
The most powerful and compelling stories have the ability to influence our beliefs because they enter the brain not through the front door of our cognitive thinking, but through the one we leave unlocked, the one that is always open because it is receptive to emotional triggers.
When you combine an emotionally charged story with the power of repetition, most people are defenseless to its message. Psychologists tell us that the more often we hear a message, the more likely we are to accept it as true. Advertisers also know this and pay billions of dollars every year banking on it.
Before the masses learned to write, we had to repeat stories to each other over and over in order to preserve them and cement their credibility in our minds. In the book of Exodus, Moses admonished the Hebrews to tell the story of the Passover and the Exodus to their children and their children's children over and over "lest they forget." Similarly, Jesus Christ admonished his disciples to tell the story of his death and resurrection to everyone they knew, and even to the whole world repeatedly until he comes back. They are still doing it today.
Every religion in the world started with a good story. The strength of the religion depends on the strength of the story and its power to capture our hearts every time we hear it, and to generate the kind of emotions that motivate us to action. Many stories can generate strong emotions. But only a very special story can inspire us to get up off the couch, to donate money, to donate labor and time, to build a boat, to buy a certain product, to build a cathedral, to not eat for days, to endure physical torture, to even torture others or go to war.
Where would Judaism be without the powerful stories of Moses delivering the Hebrew children out of bondage and into a land flowing with milk and honey? Where would Christianity be without the dramatic story of Jesus being betrayed by one of his best friends, being tortured and killed and then overcoming death itself? In fact, most of the religions of the world, including, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism and Mormonism all started with what can be called a "pretty good story." Where would these religions be without their compelling stories?
The truth and veracity of a story is not nearly as important as its ability to sneak through the cognitive barriers of our brain by entering through our primitive brain first, and then to grow and thrive there through the power of repetition. Most of the people I know who have read the DaVinci Code were excited to see the movie, even though they know how it ends. Why? Not because of the central message of the story, but because the message was wrapped in a highly suspenseful and mysterious murder mystery, which is interesting in and of itself. What kept us from putting that book down? We wanted to know what the big secret was that was hidden for generations. We wanted to know who that dark, shadowy figure was that was trying to destroy the keepers of the secret. And most importantly, we wanted to know who won in the end.
By involving the most primitive of emotions, Dan Brown was able to sneak his message into the brains of millions of otherwise rational people worldwide, who are now wondering if, "Maybe Mary Magdalene did give birth to Jesus' children." The story was admittedly false to begin with. But through the power of a good story, Dan Brown has achieved what every good story teller from the beginning of time has achieved, which is to make people wonder "What if?"
Dan Castro is the owner/broker of Austin Options Realty in Austin, Texas. He is also the award-winning author of CRITICAL CHOICES THAT CHANGE LIVES.
www.greateraustinrealestateguide.comBACK DOOR TO THE BRAIN
By: Dan Castro
The Choice Of Remaining At Home Making Up Your Mind For Retirement Homes How To Earn Money From Home Without Your Own Product Or Service Is The Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer Worth The Money? Basic Home Security Systems and Some Available Options Are You Trying To Save Your Home? How To Help Alleviate The Discomfort Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality First Real Estate Signs Robin Barron To Their Team Of Real Estate Professionals Picking The Best Outdoor Grill When To Call A Plumber Fireplace Screen Accessories - 3 Must Have's Used Cubicle Furniture Dos And Donts A CAST IRON FIREPLACE GRATES COMPARISON