By Steven Giron, PhD

Are you stuck in some part of your life—trying to move forward, but bound by the past?

Famed neurologist Oliver Sacks observed that “narrative truth,” rather than “historical truth,” shapes our personal identity. In other words, it’s not the events in our past that shape us, but how we see those events and our role in them.

Do you see yourself as the victim or the hero in a certain event? Do you blame yourself for something bad that happened? Do you feel you were you unworthy of love? Do you think of yourself as a failure?

Belief Becomes Reality

Whatever the reality of our past, we’re always interpreting the meaning of it and we always have a choice. It’s our belief about what happened that becomes the narrative that we tell ourselves about who we are. That narrative shapes our perspective, our choices and our progress.

Consciously reframing “stuck” narratives into future possibilities clears a space to move forward into a new story. You’re not changing the facts of the narrative (like the pain of injury). But a new perspective releases your suffering—and more important, it shifts your gaze from where you’ve been to where you want to go.

The practice of mindfulness is an excellent tool for reframing those stuck narratives. In fact, the newest breakthrough “discovery” in neuroscience is that mindfulness is a key to joyful living.

Reframing Through Mindfulness

Mindfulness changes the physiological structure of our brains, which changes every single thing about our lives and the way we live. It reduces stress levels. It helps us connect with ourselves and others. It makes rich the simple things we take for granted.

It’s the ultimate momentum-builder.

Mindfulness boosts the energy and function of our prefrontal cortex, also known as the “higher brain”—the seat of clarity, creativity and calm decision making. The more we flex the “muscles” of the prefrontal cortex, the better we are able to navigate life, and the more capacity we have for intentional living. When we’re free from the past, our future is full of possibility.

Higher Brain Living is a new and proven revolutionary technique that energizes the prefrontal cortex, which shifts your perspectives and gets you unstuck so you can start living forward again. Simply put, it helps you get beyond the past and moves you powerfully into the future.

To find out how to unleash your full potential by utilizing your mostly untapped higher brain, get free instant access to an online workshop at HBLStevenGiron.com.

Steven Giron, PhD, is a facilitator for Advanced Higher Brain Living at Healing Arts Center, 420 E. 81^st St., Ste. 1 (Upper East Side), Manhattan. For more information, contact him at 612.483.2994 or visit HigherBrainLiving.com, Facebook.com/higherbrainliving or Higher-Brain-Living.Meetup.com.