Amanda’s story reveals life changing insights into mind conditioning, including actionable takeaways about reframing stories of pain into power.

This talk goes into the neuroscience of resilience. He also talks a bit about the “7 Resilience Muscles Model” by Linda Hoopes and how to work out these muscles so they can be developed when needed.  “We are dynamic and we are complex and we have a choice…  I am a work in progress but I invite you to join me on this wondrous journey as we leverage this down world to tune up our personal resilience.”

The Resilient Mindset Model^TM serves as a framework for understanding the brain in order to help people make mindfully resilient choices.  Mindfulness is the focusing of attention and awareness.  The idea behind the model is that by becoming consciously aware of what is happening in the brain, we are empowered to make more mindful, intentional choices. 

This short clip is a bit of a marketing pitch, but has some interesting images, includes the grasshopper, ant, glow worm and dragonfly in our brain.

What makes this story stand out is the attention given to the role of meaning, purpose, growth, and mental fitness for resiliency.  After surviving the ‘Death Ward,’ Ernest Gordon started a university in the prisoner’s camp in order to add purpose and direction to the lives of the men. At first, the school was held in secret, but eventually the Japanese allowed it to be held in the open. The men who chose to study discovered hope, and it was through this hope that the men were able to exemplify respect and forgive their captors, even while they were still in the camp.  As a result, many of the POWs experienced a revival of faith. The story is told under the title To End All Wars, Miracle on the River Kwai, and Through the Valley of the River Kwai. It was made into a very compelling movie in 2001, which I also highly recommend. 

 

Stress is a massive issue in our 21^st century culture, and the Church is by no means exempt. Harnessed stress can facilitate greater wisdom, strength, and growth, which in turn, produces resilience. Stress provides a platform for developing resilience; without experiencing stress, we are unable to develop mechanisms for overcoming. In her book Refuel, Kate Middleton (no, not the Kate Middleton) provides Christian leaders not only with tips to identify and understand the dangers of stress, but also demonstrates that although inevitable, stress need not be a negative factor in our lives. She provides helpful ideas for reducing and managing stress in a biblical way. 

Kate Middleton is a British pyschologist and director of a Christian mental health organization in London. She has become quite influential in the area of mental health in the UK church. I include her book as it is likely that she is lesser known in North American circles