Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…. (Romans 12:2)

Ever wonder why when you get into a really great novel, a favorite hobby or a good movie it seems like you lose track of time? As unfocused and distractible as most of us are, once we really get into something, it seems like our house could burn down around our ears without us even noticing!  Natalie Phillips, an English professor at Michigan State University, was curious about that very phenomena and decided to study it.  Why is it that at times we are easily distracted and other times so completely absorbed?  She teamed up with some neuroscientists at Stanford University and designed a research experiment to explore this.  While scientists imaged volunteer’s brains using MRI technology, participants were given a chapter from a Jane Austen novel to read, but they were instructed to read it two different ways.   First they were instructed to read in a casual way, like they were standing in a bookstore- skimming, flipping around, while checking Facebook and Twitter or observing other activities that were around them.  The second reading was done in quiet isolation- in a very focused and sustained way. 

The neuroscientists expected their to be minimal differences between the two types of reading- after all, reading is reading. They anticipated that the only difference between casual, easily distracted reading and intense focused reading would be heightened activity in the portion of the brain that controls attention. Instead, they discovered something completely different.  When a person is multi-tasking and involved in casual reading a relatively small portion of the brain is engaged. But when a person participates in sustained and focused reading, their whole brain engages- it literally lights up like a Christmas tree.  Phillips said, “What’s been taking us by surprise in our early data analysis is how much the whole brain — global activations across a number of different regions — seems to be transforming and shifting [during] the intent, focused reading.” 

This has obvious implications for all of us.  

You know how your kids tell you that they can effectively do their homework while simultaneously sitting on the couch, eating snacks, listening to their iPod, texting, checking Facebook and watching Sports Center on ESPN?  They can’t.  Sure, they may get the right answer to the math problem or get the general gist of the English literature story, but their brain is not really connecting with the material in a focused and sustained way.  They are not truly engaging their whole mind in study that will truly benefit them.  Maybe it’s time to reduce or remove distractions.

This recent discovery in cognitive research also impacts how we approach our own personal discipleship and spiritual disciplines.  One of the repeated commands of scripture is for us to “be transformed by renewing our mind.” (Romans 12:2) As followers of Jesus, we want to make space for this process, so we often set about reading devotional material, listening to Christian music, or going to a worship service and listening to the teaching.  However, if we engage in these spiritual practices in a casual or distracted  way, we are not really engaging our whole mind at all- only a small portion. Our brain never “lights up like a Christmas tree.” Our smart phone, social media, commute, to-do list or whining children (or spouse) keep us from ever reaching this deeper level of mind transformation.  It is only through focused and sustained concentration that our brain experiences “global activations across a number of different regions.” 

This may explain why the latest episode of Revolution, Psych or The Edge (or whatever you watch on TV) sticks with you longer and makes a deeper impression than your daily devotional reading.  You are being shaped and formed by whatever truly captures your attention.  

We live in a busy and distracted world.  It is easy to think that casual pursuit of spirituality is enough to sustain and transform us. Could it be that our enemy is actively trying to clutter up our lives so we never go deep with God and are transformed?  Maybe he knows that half- read devotions or multi-tasking spirituality accomplishes little.  Let’s relax and de-clutter! It is God who does the transforming work, but we can partner with him by intentionally removing distractions.  

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/09/162401053/a-lively-mind-your-brain-on-jane-austen