Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life

behavioral activation
(borrowed from evidence - based treatment) and 
cognitive restructuring
(borrowed from cognitive - behavioral therapy) 
can shift your brain to a different
attractor state
(borrowed from 
neurodynamics) in your left frontal lobe. I ’ ll also explain how light 
affects your biochemistry and your mood. You ’ ll learn how to stay 
positive and enjoy life with optimism. 
In chapter 4 , you ’ ll learn about memory skills that you can culti-
vate by wiring your brain to improve your memory. Various memory 
techniques have been used for thousands of years, and you can refash-
ion them to enhance your memory capacity. You ’ ll learn mnemonic 
devices to make your memory skills work optimally. 
In chapter 5 , you ’ ll learn how to ensure that your brain creates the 
right biochemistry for making your brain cells communicate with one 
another so that you can be calm, energized, and focused. In addition 
to consuming the right amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, you ’ ll 
need the correct essential fatty acids to ensure that your cell mem-
branes are supple and fl exible, enabling neuroplasticity to occur. 
In chapter 6 , you ’ ll learn that exercise and sleep play a signifi cant 
role in how your brain rewires and creates new neurons. Exercise 
is one of the most powerful ways to jump - start the neurochemi-
cal mechanisms of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. You ’ ll learn 
about the role of sleep in memory and how to achieve a healthy 
sleep cycle. The exciting fi eld of psychoneuroimmunology (the links 
among the mind, the brain, and the immune system) is explained, 
and suggestions are made to achieve healthy and vibrant living. 
In chapter 7 , you ’ ll learn about the research on the brain systems 
that are collectively referred to as the social brain. This system 
includes mirror neurons, spindle cells, the orbital frontal cortex, and 
the anterior cingulate. I ’ ll describe how these neural systems help 
to build relationships and empathy. You ’ ll read about research that 
has shown that people who maintain positive social relationships 
live longer and feel more satisfi ed with their lives. You ’ ll learn how 
to expand and vitalize your relationships. 
In chapter 8 , you ’ ll learn what factors increase your ability to 
be resilient and to approach life with vitality despite obstacles. 
You ’ ll also learn how to make aging a gain instead of a loss. You 
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x Pr e fa c e
can acquire wisdom by maximizing your brain ’ s capacity to see the 
bigger picture and thus make your later years wise ones. Concepts 
from positive psychology, such as optimism and a positive focus on 
healthy ambition, offer an antidote to the passive and material focus 
that is endemic in contemporary society. In addition, the practice 
of compassion and nonattachment provides an antidote to needless 
tension and suffering. Since there are always bumps on the road of 
life, resiliency and openness allow you to rewire your brain to be 
fl exible and accepting of the rich complexity of life. 
In chapter 9 , you ’ ll learn about the calming yet vitalizing role of 
attention, your prefrontal cortex, and attitude. The subtle power of 
parasympathetic meditation can increase your tolerance of stress 
and your sense of peace. You ’ ll learn how to increase your ability to 
be mindfully present and to maintain a sense of connectivity with 
others and the world you inhabit.
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1
T
here is a revolution occurring in brain science. Not long ago it 
was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you 
would die with and that the brain cells you had at birth were the max-
imum number you would ever possess. The brain was thought to be 
hardwired to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that this is 
not true. The brain is not hardwired; it ’ s “ soft - wired ” by experience. 
It has been a common belief that our genes dictate our thoughts, 
our emotions, and our behavior. Throughout the 1980s and the 
1990s, the press was fi lled with stories on how genetics predetermine 
everything we experience. There were also stories about identical 
twins who were raised apart but who nevertheless had the same man-
nerisms or favored the same color. Popular culture saw these stories 
as evidence of the power of genetic hardwiring. 
Neuroscientifi c research is now telling us that the brain is quite 
plastic. The brain you were born with is actually modifi ed by your 
experiences throughout your life. Your brain is changing all the time. 
In fact, new brain cells can be born. Genes lay out potential and 
vulnerabilities, but they do not dictate your thoughts, your feelings, 
1 
Firing the Right 
Cells Together
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2 Rew i r e
Yo u r
B r a i n
or your behavior. It turns out that behavior is not rigidly determined. 
You can even turn genes on or off with your behavior. 
Two of my books,