We know a lot more about our brains than ever before. Based upon what we now know, it is clear that it is possible to really change how our brain reacts to situations. It is possible to develop new axonal and dendritic connections and create new neural pathways. New neural pathways means that we have new ways of knowing and responding to the world.
These kinds of changes can now be measured and verified using brain scanning technologies. This is really cool because it shows that non-medicinal healing practices really do change the brain, really do help the brain find more functional ways of dealing with situations. This is true even for individuals who have suffered from severe trauma (this is even true with many kinds of brain injury, see N. Doidge).
However, we really need to understand how the brain works if we are to make use of our new knowledge to facilitate the kinds of healing that are possible.
