Reality Isn’t Just What You See, It’s What You Do
Self-brain surgery™ to see things more clearly (Part 2 of 3)
Hey friend,
Last week we talked about perception and perspective, how your brain filters reality, and how choosing to see things differently can unlock growth, healing, and peace.
Today, we’ll go one layer deeper.
It turns out, changing how you look at something doesn’t just change how you feel about it. In some cases, it literally changes the thing itself.
Today we’re stepping into the fascinating space where neuroscience meets quantum physics. We’re discovering the astonishing fact that paying attention- observing, focusing, and noticing- can actually shape reality.
This isn’t metaphor. It’s measurable. And it has massive implications for how we live, think, and grow.
🧠 Neuroscience Nugget: Your Brain Filters Reality
Let’s define some terms.
Perception is what your brain receives: raw sensory data filtered through experience, emotion, and expectation.
Perspective is what your mind chooses: the frame you apply to that data, the story you tell about what you’re perceiving.
But here’s the twist: your perspective can reach back and affect your perception. Over time, the way you choose to interpret things trains your brain to filter the world differently. This is neuroplasticity in action.
Now add this: in both your brain and the quantum world, what you observe becomes more real. The brain reinforces what you focus on. And in quantum physics, the act of observation collapses probability into actuality.
In other words, your perspective doesn’t just influence what you perceive—it can actually shape what becomes real.
📖 Faith Fact: “We see through a glass, darkly”
The Bible makes it clear (no pun intended) that what we see with our eyes and perceive with our brains isn’t always what it seems. Paul puts it plainly in 1 Corinthians 13:12:
“ For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (KJV)
He’s telling us that the things we think we know aren’t clean-cut, left-brain facts. Everything we see, feel, and believe is filtered through past memories, emotions, assumptions, fears, and expectations. It’s not objective, it’s interpreted.
So what do we do if we want something real to hold onto?
Paul answers that too, in 2 Corinthians 4:18:
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Faith has always understood what science is only beginning to explore: our reality is shaped not only by what we see, but by what we choose to look for.
This isn’t denial, it’s direction.
When we fix our eyes on eternal truths, we participate in a deeper, more stable reality—one that isn’t shaken by momentary circumstances.
🧬 News for Your Neurons:
Topic: The Observer Effect in Quantum Physics
In quantum experiments, particles like electrons behave differently depending on whether they’re being observed. When left alone, they exist in a state of superposition, multiple potential states at once. But when measured or observed, that field of possibility collapses into a single outcome. Observation changes reality.
Combine that with what we know about selective attention and the reticular activating system (RAS) in the brain, and we get this:
The brain makes more real what you pay attention to, just like the quantum field responds to observation by becoming something specific.
🔄 The Science-Faith Smash:
Science says: Your attention shapes what becomes real.
Faith says: What you fix your eyes on defines the kind of life you’ll live.
Put them together, and here’s the breakthrough:
👉 Your power to choose where you focus is your power to create change.
Whether it’s your brain reinforcing thought patterns or the universe responding to observation, both Scripture and science agree: what you look for becomes what you live with.
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🎧 Next week on the podcast, we go deep on how to choose the best approach to seeing things more clearly!
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📣 Next week: We take a final dive into perception vs. perspective, to learn the self-brain surgery of how to make positive changes in our lives by harnessing the power of quantum physics, renewed thinking, and neuroplasticity.
💊 This Week’s Prescription:
Pick one area of uncertainty in your life right now. Something unsettled. Something undecided. Maybe even overwhelming.
Instead of fixating on every possible outcome (that’s superposition), choose to observe one path with intention.
Focus on the best, most hopeful version.
Speak it aloud.
Pray: “Lord, help me fix my eyes on what is true, and help it become more real in my life.”
Take one action that supports that perspective.
Your attention is energy. And where you place it, especially when you place it in faith, can start to change everything.
Your brain- and your life- will start to change. Small shifts lead to big transformation. Keep track of your progress by journaling your perspective shifts over time.
The good news is, you can start today. 🧠✝️
Hit reply and let me know what you’re paying attention to now!
Lisa and I are praying for you.
Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope),
Lee
Psalm 71:14 ("As for me, I will always have hope.")
From the banks of the North Platte river on Moon River Ranch in Nebraska, USA
Be sure to check out the archive of previous posts if you missed last week’s letter.
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