As a creative arts therapist, creativity is a daily routine, and recently I tried coming up with some creative analogies for understanding the concept of “rewiring your brain”. Here’s how I did:
“Rewiring your brain” being like a device update could work, but updates just take up precious memory, and cause the whole thing to break! And with your life, unlike your phone, you can’t just go and buy a new one.
“Rewiring your brain”, is more like a superpower. What you’re doing when you’re rewiring your brain is your superpower: you are controlling electricity. Thoughts are electrical impulses in your brain, and by transforming thoughts and actions, you’re controlling electricity to battle your arch nemesis. The twist? Your arch nemesis… Is you!
Well, at least some of your thoughts are acting like a nemesis. But you’re not your nemesis, you are your best friend.
Maybe “rewiring your brain” is like going to a wizarding school. You learn neat spells to make your life easier and defend yourself from evil wizards. It’s like defeating your evil boss, with spells of compassion!
That’s good, because “rewiring your brain” can seem magical, but it’s real science!
“Magic is just science that we don’t understand yet.” – Arthur C. Clarke.
Though, I don’t want to imply that “rewiring your brain” is any kind of battle: wizards or superheroes. Rewiring your brain for healing and growth should be fun, meaningful, and made to be as peaceful as possible.
How about, “rewiring your brain” is like rewiring a house. It’s a good idea to check in once in a while, make sure everything’s safe and up to date, and if sparks are flying…Fix it before you burn the whole house down!
Got it!
Even though I don’t want to think about “rewiring my brain” turning out like all my other home repair debacles, it works because If your brain is wired in a way that isn’t serving you and you don’t fix it? You, like that house, will get burnt out!
It’s also good to think about your brain as your home. Wouldn’t it be nice to flush some of your worries down the imaginary toilet of your mind?
The point is, you can transform habitual thoughts and actions, into different habitual thoughts and actions, through conscious and/or unconscious thoughts and actions. In the analogy of the house. You’re examining the wiring you have, and delicately replacing it with updated wires, to prevent a fiery disaster!
I’ll stop there with the analogies.
Eric Lebowitz, MT-BC, LCAT, is a music therapist and founder of InVibe Creative Arts Therapy. He helps adults, dementia caregivers and family members, and seniors navigate stress, grief, and life transitions through music, creativity, and mindfulness. With training from Berklee and NYU, Eric blends neuroscience-informed care with accessible creative tools to help people feel grounded, capable, and connected to themselves and those they love.