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The ReWired Brain: Free Yourself of Negative Behaviors and Release Your Best Self
Trade Negative Thinking for Confident, Fearless Living
Most of us don't realize that we have a surprising amount of control over our own thoughts and behaviors and can unintentionally influence our brains negatively, causing cycles of bad choices and experiences.
The ReWired Brain offers a clear framework for understanding our brains and the decisions we make, showing how certain fears and instincts drive unhealthy emotional dysfunctions and related behavioral patterns in the most important areas of life. This book shows how to reframe negative experiences, overcome fears, experience emotional and spiritual healing, and ultimately rewire our brains, empowering us to be free and to live fearlessly.
Most of us don't realize that we have a surprising amount of control over our own thoughts and behaviors and can unintentionally influence our brains negatively, causing cycles of bad choices and experiences.
The ReWired Brain offers a clear framework for understanding our brains and the decisions we make, showing how certain fears and instincts drive unhealthy emotional dysfunctions and related behavioral patterns in the most important areas of life. This book shows how to reframe negative experiences, overcome fears, experience emotional and spiritual healing, and ultimately rewire our brains, empowering us to be free and to live fearlessly.
Audible Audio
Published August 2, 2016
217 people are currently reading
1007 people want to read
About the author
Ski Chilton
9 books6 followersDr. Ski Chilton is a professor in the department of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He has authored or coauthored more than 130 scientific articles and four books, including Inflammation Nation. His work is regularly featured in such venues as WebMD, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Prevention, the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, and more. He lives in North Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
December 30, 2019
Rewired vs renewed
Contrary to the author's assumption, I did not read his book searching for help or answers. I read it because I am interested in neuroscience and psychology, among other things, and I like to get different perspectives, particularly from the more spiritually inclined.
I am bothered by the extent to which Christians today engage in syncretism, usually with a preference for whatever is being synchronized, with the teachings of scripture. In the author's case evolution, neuroscience, and psychological theories take precedence over the Bible, with scripture as a nice addendum as needed. Many who do this aren't even aware they do it.
I wish believers would embrace more of a biblical epistemology, holding scripture in its rightful place as the supreme and PRIMARY authority over humanity. One gets the sense that they feel humanistic and secular wisdom is so far above biblical understanding that the Bible is hardly needed. I don't mean to seem harsh, this author is closer to the mark than most, but really, the Bible is not deficient in a comprehensive understanding of humanity.
The writer also writes an entire section on "finding and understanding the true self" - - one of my least favorite approaches. I am of the opinion that the more self-searching a person is, the least likely one is apt to find what they seek. When one focuses on God, surrendering to Him and serving others, and forgets himself, he is far more likely to gain himself. In fact, Jesus said almost exactly that in Matthew 16:25: "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."
Dr. Ski talks of rewiring the brain by habituating differently, reflecting the latest neurological insights, but is the Bible behind the curve on this? I think not:
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Rom 12:2.
This is not some glib pronouncement, it is a realistic proposition that requires hard work and retraining the mind. Many Christian psychologists forget that the Holy Spirit exists and in an active participant in the life and mind of every Christian. Moreover, "system 2 thinking" is actually taught in numerous places in scripture, in wisdom literature, as well as in the advice to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."
I applaud this author for his emphasis toward the end of the book on trusting God, and for his deemphasis on psychotropic drugs and "chemical embalance" theories. I wish he were more explicit in critiquing drug treatments for psychological health rather than merely omitting them. Altogether, I recommend the book for some of it's keen insights and recovery strategies. Don't give the Bible short shrift, however. It is quite adequate in it's understanding of the human condition.
Contrary to the author's assumption, I did not read his book searching for help or answers. I read it because I am interested in neuroscience and psychology, among other things, and I like to get different perspectives, particularly from the more spiritually inclined.
I am bothered by the extent to which Christians today engage in syncretism, usually with a preference for whatever is being synchronized, with the teachings of scripture. In the author's case evolution, neuroscience, and psychological theories take precedence over the Bible, with scripture as a nice addendum as needed. Many who do this aren't even aware they do it.
I wish believers would embrace more of a biblical epistemology, holding scripture in its rightful place as the supreme and PRIMARY authority over humanity. One gets the sense that they feel humanistic and secular wisdom is so far above biblical understanding that the Bible is hardly needed. I don't mean to seem harsh, this author is closer to the mark than most, but really, the Bible is not deficient in a comprehensive understanding of humanity.
The writer also writes an entire section on "finding and understanding the true self" - - one of my least favorite approaches. I am of the opinion that the more self-searching a person is, the least likely one is apt to find what they seek. When one focuses on God, surrendering to Him and serving others, and forgets himself, he is far more likely to gain himself. In fact, Jesus said almost exactly that in Matthew 16:25: "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."
Dr. Ski talks of rewiring the brain by habituating differently, reflecting the latest neurological insights, but is the Bible behind the curve on this? I think not:
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Rom 12:2.
This is not some glib pronouncement, it is a realistic proposition that requires hard work and retraining the mind. Many Christian psychologists forget that the Holy Spirit exists and in an active participant in the life and mind of every Christian. Moreover, "system 2 thinking" is actually taught in numerous places in scripture, in wisdom literature, as well as in the advice to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."
I applaud this author for his emphasis toward the end of the book on trusting God, and for his deemphasis on psychotropic drugs and "chemical embalance" theories. I wish he were more explicit in critiquing drug treatments for psychological health rather than merely omitting them. Altogether, I recommend the book for some of it's keen insights and recovery strategies. Don't give the Bible short shrift, however. It is quite adequate in it's understanding of the human condition.
January 15, 2017
There are some nuggets of useful information in this book, but it's not something I would recommend to non-Christian readers. It was a little too light on the science for my taste.
January 19, 2017
Definitely interesting. A fascinating read, although it did not get as much into the practical aspects of how one rewires a brain as I would have liked.
October 11, 2023
I was expecting to learn something interesting about the brain but instead I got religion mansplained to me and a quote from Elon Musk
April 15, 2021
My first thought going into the book was that he calls himself a Christian but I’m always a bit leery of this as too often “Christian,” is not defined by its historical and Biblical definition. I noticed a few pages in that he does cite Scripture, once in a superficial way and another in a decently accurate way with asolid application. So, I don't want to be too critical because while he says that he has read theologians, he is not a professional one himself. So I won't hold the highest standard, but he will be held to a higher standard than the regular Christian author.
The following is not a review of each chapter, but just some thoughts on several of the chapters. I will give concluding thoughts at the end.
Chapter 1
The Good:
He does speak about dualism, dividing the mind and the brain. Another thing he did that I did enjoy was that he did define his terms in the multiple ways that a person thinks, such as "the two mans" that we often have within ourselves. He used "System 1" to speak about the emotional way of thinking and "System 2" to speak about the logical way of thinking. He was very consistent about this throughout the book, so that was actually pretty good.
The Medium:
He discusses determinism/free will which is a great discussion both philosophically and theologically, especially in the realm of counseling. However, he does not discuss the difference between theological, philosophical, and biological determinism/free will and blends them all together as if they all speak about the same thing since it is the same term.
The author cites C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters to show the psychological outcome of a lack of responsibility in toxic behaviors within relationships also has theological outcomes and reasons. While Lewis was not a professional theologian, he was decent and far better than several others this author cites, so this is a "medium."
The Bad:
The author stated that he was a Christian, but reading the chapter you can tell that this is not explicitly Christian, which not only is troubling it is an admission that it mixes truth with error. For example, he admits he is heavily influenced by socialist Erich Fromm.
Another thing that I did not enjoy was that he states that these "systems" (System 1 and System 2) developed over millions of years. I understand there is a debate within the realm of Christianity on evolution, however, the error was assuming evolution within our biological makeup and not pointing to the truthfulness of it. The author goes as far as saying that system 2 is the youngest of these systems that only developed about 150,000 years ago and scientifically, this does not seem to be the case. This is more like a philosophical assumption, not scientific data.
The author uses the term “self” to mean the individual’s life force that longs to be expressed, however, if one is a Christian, this is not the way we ought to define "self." I would suggest the readers of this book as well as the authors to read Carl Trueman's "Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self."
To discuss further "bad" things I saw in this chapter was that the author talks about neuroplasticity, which started to be a good subject but then switched it quickly to use the discussion to claim that human beings can be “co-creators” with God via neuroplasticity. This is heretical from a Christian standpoint.
Finally, while I did enjoy that the author cited Scripture, the times he has cited Scripture, he does so from The Message version which is not a translation but a paraphrase. In a sense, you might have well not cited it at all.
Chapter 2
The Good:
The Medium:
He discusses briefly that those who live in “system 1 overdrive” (overly emotional, not balanced with slow thinking logic) are often some because of trauma in their past. He provides no theological reason nor way of responsibility for those who do live overly emotional lives. Granted, he is not a determinist which he had stated but never pointed toward personal responsibility in his explanation. Since this is supposed to be a Christian writing this book (one he went to a short length trying to defend in his opening), I would have expected not just the neuroscience, but the theological perspectives as well. I marked this part as a medium because he still did give the neuroscience which was helpful to hear, just not the commentary surrounding it.
The Bad:
The author discussed the “primal root” of much of our personal sins as "power." This seems entirely like psychologized language rather than theological language, and given that "sin" is a theological category, the author should have stayed with theology and not psychology. This assumption was even forced (without explanation) into Scripture as if that was what causes Cain to murder Abel. While I certainly don’t like the Marxist power dynamic inserted in Christian work, it is more than a mere preferential issue that I have, rather, it is a theological issue. It is also because of this, he celebrated the peaceful protests of MLK and Gandhi, and while peaceful protests are ideal, they are not ideal because of a power dynamic. The author then goes on to say that this power dynamic is then assumed into racial tensions. He moves to then discuss oppressed/oppressor paradigms in the language of trauma and bully/bullied language. This was not only a swing and a miss for the author but a waste of time for the reader and frankly, a bit of brainwashing and manipulation on the part of the author.
Chapter 4
The Good:
He starts the chapter off with a cool story about brain remapping from a woman named Cheryl, who lost her sense of balance due to an antibiotic injury after surgery. This story is to discuss the science behind what is called neuroplasticity and epigenetics. Essentially this says that the human being can still change no matter how old again and that they are not completely fixed or static in either their personality or email medical and physical traumas.
While this speaks to the greatness of God‘s creation, one thing I would caution is taking Hope in the perfectability of humanity through this. The authors do not suggest such a thing, rather, the sinfulness of humanity will inevitably twist to suggest such a thing. Just in a sense, Neuroplasticity and epigenetics may even suggest physical sanctification to complement moral sanctification and epistemological sanctification, which we should see sanctification finalized in the glory of the coming of Christ and the restoration of all things.
Has a story about two dogs fighting, one weak and the other vicious. Which one wins? The one you feed the most. Reminds me of Galatians 5-6 about feeding the spirit and not the flesh. He did not point to Galatians 5-6, but he did mention Romans 7 when Paul had his own inner turmoil.
The Medium:
The Bad:
This chapter wasn't overall bad, but you don't really learn much overall. It seems like fluff.
Chapter 5
The Good:
He says that while on this planet he only has one job and that is to love. While I do wish this statement was drawn out and clarified a bit, its basic principle is true. This is God‘s command to us and Jesus made it clear that to love God and love others is the greatest command. Yes, as the author asserts, that love is the cure to loneliness and despair, then it would seem that God‘s law not only has a moral imperative but a counseling balm.
The Medium:
He goes into the Explanation of what it means to be a human. It was nice to see that he was starting off with scriptural definitions. However, the more he talked about the Bible, the less theological it was as it was simply cursory readings of the Bible that most theologians would agree that the passages he sites do you not ultimately come to the conclusions he asserts.
At one point he even says while speaking about God’s grace toward Adam and Eve after the fall, he says, “at that point I see God as a father not so different from me.” This hit awkwardly. And trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, I could say that in good instances the author was emulating God. But the way it was stated almost makes it look like God is emulating the author even to the point that the author and God were nearly the same people. When one thinks theologically, this is actually a very bad scenario.
The Bad:
Towards the end of the chapter, he speaks about the universe giving back to us by saying that both the universe and God give back. This is utter syncretism and not Christian.
Chapter 7
The Good:
The Medium:
The Bad:
He goes into discussing trauma as not “part of God’s will.” Again, he claims to have studied theology and a cursory study of theology would show that it is part of God’s secretive will but not part of his prescriptive will. He then quotes a liberal Protestant (who denies Christ’s divinity, didn’t really believe in the virgin birth, said Jesus didn’t claim to be God nor did Jesus claim to be sinless, and that a blood sacrifice was not necessary, and denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit because “that would make two gods,”) to validate his point.
Ch11
The Bad:
1 Cor 2:9-10 out of context. He uses this to speak about “soul searching," whereas Paul is not speaking about it as "soul-searching," but as the fallenness of humanity, that we do not see because we do not wish to see. We run from the truths of God because we are sinners. That is what Scripture says in this passage, but the author either was ignorant or ignored it, or worse, manipulated it.
Ch 12
The Bad:
I found out why he seemed more like a secularist with God/Christianity sprinkled through. He said that he oscillated between Methodist and Presbyterian church leadership.
Concluding Thoughts
This book is a great illustration of what secular philosophy looks like when Jesus is sprinkled into it a bit. This book is certainly not a Christian book, but a secular book with Christ sprinkled into it. I would caution the Christian reader while reading this, do not to take much of anything besides the science directly, seriously. I would suggest reading other books altogether because while the author does provide some science, it will be difficult for the reader to waste their time picking out the science from the commentary. If you are a Christian looking for something similar to what this book suggests in its thesis, go check out Ed Welch. He also is a neurobiologist but is also Biblically sound.
The following is not a review of each chapter, but just some thoughts on several of the chapters. I will give concluding thoughts at the end.
Chapter 1
The Good:
He does speak about dualism, dividing the mind and the brain. Another thing he did that I did enjoy was that he did define his terms in the multiple ways that a person thinks, such as "the two mans" that we often have within ourselves. He used "System 1" to speak about the emotional way of thinking and "System 2" to speak about the logical way of thinking. He was very consistent about this throughout the book, so that was actually pretty good.
The Medium:
He discusses determinism/free will which is a great discussion both philosophically and theologically, especially in the realm of counseling. However, he does not discuss the difference between theological, philosophical, and biological determinism/free will and blends them all together as if they all speak about the same thing since it is the same term.
The author cites C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters to show the psychological outcome of a lack of responsibility in toxic behaviors within relationships also has theological outcomes and reasons. While Lewis was not a professional theologian, he was decent and far better than several others this author cites, so this is a "medium."
The Bad:
The author stated that he was a Christian, but reading the chapter you can tell that this is not explicitly Christian, which not only is troubling it is an admission that it mixes truth with error. For example, he admits he is heavily influenced by socialist Erich Fromm.
Another thing that I did not enjoy was that he states that these "systems" (System 1 and System 2) developed over millions of years. I understand there is a debate within the realm of Christianity on evolution, however, the error was assuming evolution within our biological makeup and not pointing to the truthfulness of it. The author goes as far as saying that system 2 is the youngest of these systems that only developed about 150,000 years ago and scientifically, this does not seem to be the case. This is more like a philosophical assumption, not scientific data.
The author uses the term “self” to mean the individual’s life force that longs to be expressed, however, if one is a Christian, this is not the way we ought to define "self." I would suggest the readers of this book as well as the authors to read Carl Trueman's "Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self."
To discuss further "bad" things I saw in this chapter was that the author talks about neuroplasticity, which started to be a good subject but then switched it quickly to use the discussion to claim that human beings can be “co-creators” with God via neuroplasticity. This is heretical from a Christian standpoint.
Finally, while I did enjoy that the author cited Scripture, the times he has cited Scripture, he does so from The Message version which is not a translation but a paraphrase. In a sense, you might have well not cited it at all.
Chapter 2
The Good:
The Medium:
He discusses briefly that those who live in “system 1 overdrive” (overly emotional, not balanced with slow thinking logic) are often some because of trauma in their past. He provides no theological reason nor way of responsibility for those who do live overly emotional lives. Granted, he is not a determinist which he had stated but never pointed toward personal responsibility in his explanation. Since this is supposed to be a Christian writing this book (one he went to a short length trying to defend in his opening), I would have expected not just the neuroscience, but the theological perspectives as well. I marked this part as a medium because he still did give the neuroscience which was helpful to hear, just not the commentary surrounding it.
The Bad:
The author discussed the “primal root” of much of our personal sins as "power." This seems entirely like psychologized language rather than theological language, and given that "sin" is a theological category, the author should have stayed with theology and not psychology. This assumption was even forced (without explanation) into Scripture as if that was what causes Cain to murder Abel. While I certainly don’t like the Marxist power dynamic inserted in Christian work, it is more than a mere preferential issue that I have, rather, it is a theological issue. It is also because of this, he celebrated the peaceful protests of MLK and Gandhi, and while peaceful protests are ideal, they are not ideal because of a power dynamic. The author then goes on to say that this power dynamic is then assumed into racial tensions. He moves to then discuss oppressed/oppressor paradigms in the language of trauma and bully/bullied language. This was not only a swing and a miss for the author but a waste of time for the reader and frankly, a bit of brainwashing and manipulation on the part of the author.
Chapter 4
The Good:
He starts the chapter off with a cool story about brain remapping from a woman named Cheryl, who lost her sense of balance due to an antibiotic injury after surgery. This story is to discuss the science behind what is called neuroplasticity and epigenetics. Essentially this says that the human being can still change no matter how old again and that they are not completely fixed or static in either their personality or email medical and physical traumas.
While this speaks to the greatness of God‘s creation, one thing I would caution is taking Hope in the perfectability of humanity through this. The authors do not suggest such a thing, rather, the sinfulness of humanity will inevitably twist to suggest such a thing. Just in a sense, Neuroplasticity and epigenetics may even suggest physical sanctification to complement moral sanctification and epistemological sanctification, which we should see sanctification finalized in the glory of the coming of Christ and the restoration of all things.
Has a story about two dogs fighting, one weak and the other vicious. Which one wins? The one you feed the most. Reminds me of Galatians 5-6 about feeding the spirit and not the flesh. He did not point to Galatians 5-6, but he did mention Romans 7 when Paul had his own inner turmoil.
The Medium:
The Bad:
This chapter wasn't overall bad, but you don't really learn much overall. It seems like fluff.
Chapter 5
The Good:
He says that while on this planet he only has one job and that is to love. While I do wish this statement was drawn out and clarified a bit, its basic principle is true. This is God‘s command to us and Jesus made it clear that to love God and love others is the greatest command. Yes, as the author asserts, that love is the cure to loneliness and despair, then it would seem that God‘s law not only has a moral imperative but a counseling balm.
The Medium:
He goes into the Explanation of what it means to be a human. It was nice to see that he was starting off with scriptural definitions. However, the more he talked about the Bible, the less theological it was as it was simply cursory readings of the Bible that most theologians would agree that the passages he sites do you not ultimately come to the conclusions he asserts.
At one point he even says while speaking about God’s grace toward Adam and Eve after the fall, he says, “at that point I see God as a father not so different from me.” This hit awkwardly. And trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, I could say that in good instances the author was emulating God. But the way it was stated almost makes it look like God is emulating the author even to the point that the author and God were nearly the same people. When one thinks theologically, this is actually a very bad scenario.
The Bad:
Towards the end of the chapter, he speaks about the universe giving back to us by saying that both the universe and God give back. This is utter syncretism and not Christian.
Chapter 7
The Good:
The Medium:
The Bad:
He goes into discussing trauma as not “part of God’s will.” Again, he claims to have studied theology and a cursory study of theology would show that it is part of God’s secretive will but not part of his prescriptive will. He then quotes a liberal Protestant (who denies Christ’s divinity, didn’t really believe in the virgin birth, said Jesus didn’t claim to be God nor did Jesus claim to be sinless, and that a blood sacrifice was not necessary, and denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit because “that would make two gods,”) to validate his point.
Ch11
The Bad:
1 Cor 2:9-10 out of context. He uses this to speak about “soul searching," whereas Paul is not speaking about it as "soul-searching," but as the fallenness of humanity, that we do not see because we do not wish to see. We run from the truths of God because we are sinners. That is what Scripture says in this passage, but the author either was ignorant or ignored it, or worse, manipulated it.
Ch 12
The Bad:
I found out why he seemed more like a secularist with God/Christianity sprinkled through. He said that he oscillated between Methodist and Presbyterian church leadership.
Concluding Thoughts
This book is a great illustration of what secular philosophy looks like when Jesus is sprinkled into it a bit. This book is certainly not a Christian book, but a secular book with Christ sprinkled into it. I would caution the Christian reader while reading this, do not to take much of anything besides the science directly, seriously. I would suggest reading other books altogether because while the author does provide some science, it will be difficult for the reader to waste their time picking out the science from the commentary. If you are a Christian looking for something similar to what this book suggests in its thesis, go check out Ed Welch. He also is a neurobiologist but is also Biblically sound.
June 7, 2017
My boyfriend recommended this book, and I'm glad. It took me over 4 months to read it, as I put it down a lot and only read it during meals and such.
It does a lot to break down and explain why we respond to things the way we do in easy-to-understand terms, describing our natural sympathetic nervous system responses as "System 1" and our logical, informed, self-aware responses as "System 2" and discusses the interplay between these and the intentionality required to engage and maintain "system 2" responses despite our conditioning to be emotion-or-habit-driven and self-defensive creatures. It explained about how neural pathways in the brain are strengthened or weakened depending on how they're used.
As this is written by a Christian scientist, the discussion is intertwined with discussion assuming that God made us to be this way, and emphasizing His role in helping us to overcome negative behavior patterns and embracing prayer and meditation and scripture as tools to achieve freedom. I can see how this would be problematic for some, but as a believer whose faith is integral to my life, I appreciated the balanced view of science with nature and supernatural faith.
On a personal note, this book really helped me come to terms with my father's illness and death. He was a long-time addict and near the end of his life faced mental and physical health problems. This book enabled me to realize that my father was literally trapped in himself because he had lost the tools to be able to change his neural responses to things; it wasn't that he didn't love us enough to change - it was that he had literally lost the ability to change at the stage of life he was in. And realizing that has freed me from any feelings of resentment, and allowed me to be grateful that he has found relief from the prison of his own mind and body.
If you recognize negative response patterns in yourself, this book can help you understand and change them (even if you're not a christian and you ignore those parts related to faith). If you recognize and deal with negative response patterns in others, this book can help you come to terms with why they are the way they are and help you to accept and understand them. It's also a good book if you're just curious about how and why we respond to things the way they do. It's written in a very casual, conversational tone that's not hard to follow. I'll be recommending this book a lot.
It does a lot to break down and explain why we respond to things the way we do in easy-to-understand terms, describing our natural sympathetic nervous system responses as "System 1" and our logical, informed, self-aware responses as "System 2" and discusses the interplay between these and the intentionality required to engage and maintain "system 2" responses despite our conditioning to be emotion-or-habit-driven and self-defensive creatures. It explained about how neural pathways in the brain are strengthened or weakened depending on how they're used.
As this is written by a Christian scientist, the discussion is intertwined with discussion assuming that God made us to be this way, and emphasizing His role in helping us to overcome negative behavior patterns and embracing prayer and meditation and scripture as tools to achieve freedom. I can see how this would be problematic for some, but as a believer whose faith is integral to my life, I appreciated the balanced view of science with nature and supernatural faith.
On a personal note, this book really helped me come to terms with my father's illness and death. He was a long-time addict and near the end of his life faced mental and physical health problems. This book enabled me to realize that my father was literally trapped in himself because he had lost the tools to be able to change his neural responses to things; it wasn't that he didn't love us enough to change - it was that he had literally lost the ability to change at the stage of life he was in. And realizing that has freed me from any feelings of resentment, and allowed me to be grateful that he has found relief from the prison of his own mind and body.
If you recognize negative response patterns in yourself, this book can help you understand and change them (even if you're not a christian and you ignore those parts related to faith). If you recognize and deal with negative response patterns in others, this book can help you come to terms with why they are the way they are and help you to accept and understand them. It's also a good book if you're just curious about how and why we respond to things the way they do. It's written in a very casual, conversational tone that's not hard to follow. I'll be recommending this book a lot.
January 24, 2018
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Being a Psychology graduate, I love reading about the brain and how we interpret the world. This book helped to describe how sometimes we react to a situation on a primitive level, or as a reaction or taught-behaviour based on previous experiences, without actually letting the logical part of our brain take over and think the situation through. This is something I definitely agree with, and can see how my past has influenced how I treat and react to others, repeating dysfunctional cycles.
I would recommend actually partaking in the tasks at the end of the book, as this is where I feel I learnt the most about how little elements of my life actually related to each other in ways I didn't realise. Now that I can recognise why I crave certain things in relationships, or immediately react positively or negatively to the behaviours of others, I can work towards changing these and thinking logically about these situations next time.
This isn't a Christian-heavy book, rather just a few scriptures thrown in here and there. I'd probably recommend as a basic, beginners book for people new to psychology and self-analysing but I feel that if you are someone who naturally analyses your actions and behaviours this book won't be as helpful as others may be.
Review: Being a Psychology graduate, I love reading about the brain and how we interpret the world. This book helped to describe how sometimes we react to a situation on a primitive level, or as a reaction or taught-behaviour based on previous experiences, without actually letting the logical part of our brain take over and think the situation through. This is something I definitely agree with, and can see how my past has influenced how I treat and react to others, repeating dysfunctional cycles.
I would recommend actually partaking in the tasks at the end of the book, as this is where I feel I learnt the most about how little elements of my life actually related to each other in ways I didn't realise. Now that I can recognise why I crave certain things in relationships, or immediately react positively or negatively to the behaviours of others, I can work towards changing these and thinking logically about these situations next time.
This isn't a Christian-heavy book, rather just a few scriptures thrown in here and there. I'd probably recommend as a basic, beginners book for people new to psychology and self-analysing but I feel that if you are someone who naturally analyses your actions and behaviours this book won't be as helpful as others may be.
May 31, 2021
I listened to this book as a free download from Christian Audio. I did not like it.
First reason was that this book was purported to be a “Christian” book by a “Christian” author, but the “Christian” principles in the book were at best poorly presented and at worst just wrong. Second reason I did not like this was because it was also purported to be a “scientific” book, but much of the “science” was either anecdotal or watered-down information. (Not to mention, it often contradicted the “biblical” principles he was trying to lay out 🤦♀️).
Perhaps listening to it was not the best format because I was also peeved that there was very little credit given in the text as to who/where the information or quotes were from...I could not hear the footnotes or Notes section of the book.
To summarize, this book would have been better if it had been written by a more theologically-trained neuroscientist...or if the authors had kept it purely scientific.
Blech. 😝
First reason was that this book was purported to be a “Christian” book by a “Christian” author, but the “Christian” principles in the book were at best poorly presented and at worst just wrong. Second reason I did not like this was because it was also purported to be a “scientific” book, but much of the “science” was either anecdotal or watered-down information. (Not to mention, it often contradicted the “biblical” principles he was trying to lay out 🤦♀️).
Perhaps listening to it was not the best format because I was also peeved that there was very little credit given in the text as to who/where the information or quotes were from...I could not hear the footnotes or Notes section of the book.
To summarize, this book would have been better if it had been written by a more theologically-trained neuroscientist...or if the authors had kept it purely scientific.
Blech. 😝
October 12, 2020
Didn't finish. We need a new category: books that we just couldn't finish.
If this was supposed to be a Christian book, it failed. It mentioned the apostle Paul, but then the little I could bear to listen to negated what Paul actually said in the letters he wrote.
I didn't make it past the first chapter, but it doesn't--at this point at least--point to God and his work in our lives to redeem us from trauma and sinful patterns. It seems like he is going to talk about how, if we just try hard enough, we can change ourselves.
Correct me if I'm wrong about the book, if he really does get to that later on.
If this was supposed to be a Christian book, it failed. It mentioned the apostle Paul, but then the little I could bear to listen to negated what Paul actually said in the letters he wrote.
I didn't make it past the first chapter, but it doesn't--at this point at least--point to God and his work in our lives to redeem us from trauma and sinful patterns. It seems like he is going to talk about how, if we just try hard enough, we can change ourselves.
Correct me if I'm wrong about the book, if he really does get to that later on.
October 6, 2020
The mixture of evolutionary and "Christian" language creates more confusion than clarity about a solidly biblical approach to the idea of "renewing your mind."
July 20, 2021
"Understanding dual process reasoning has been the most important discovery of my life." - das ist schade! 😔
Psychologisch sehr interessant; theologisch sehr schwach. Das meiste dreht sich um das „Ich“ bzw. um „myself“; unter’m Strich ist das alles Selbstrettung durch positives Denken und damit ein anderes Evangelium. Mancherorts ist Common Grace sichtbar, aber insgesamt ist das psychologische Gehirn-Paradigma der Autoren (mit "schnell-emotionalem" System 1 und "bedacht-logischem" System 2) zwar interessant, aber ultimativ nicht wirklich imstande, um unser größtes Problem korrekt zu diagnostizieren bzw. um basierend darauf auch die korrekte Lösung anbieten zu können. Darüberhinaus kommt es mir auch etwas komisch vor, Ehetipps von einem zweimal geschiedenen anzunehmen.
Nützliches:
→ Angst als häufiges darunterliegendes Problem in unserem Denken; mit Franklin D. Roosevelt: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
→ gute Erklärungen und Illustrationen, wie unser Hirn funktioniert - zum Beispiel:
(1) häufig benutzte "Denk-Wege" werden zu mehrspurigen Highways ausgebaut, während kaum genutzte Pfade verkümmern.
(2) Structural Genome als Blueprint für den Haus-Bau unseres Lebens. Epigenetics als spätere Änderungen an jenen Bauplänen...
Insgesamt schade... Leider beläuft sich das "christliche" an christlicher Seelsorge oder christlicher Psychologie oft eben doch nur auf ein paar christliche Floskeln und Bibelverse dazwischen – ohne dass Menschenbild, Gottesbild und Weltbild tatsächlich von der Bibel definiert würden...
Psychologisch sehr interessant; theologisch sehr schwach. Das meiste dreht sich um das „Ich“ bzw. um „myself“; unter’m Strich ist das alles Selbstrettung durch positives Denken und damit ein anderes Evangelium. Mancherorts ist Common Grace sichtbar, aber insgesamt ist das psychologische Gehirn-Paradigma der Autoren (mit "schnell-emotionalem" System 1 und "bedacht-logischem" System 2) zwar interessant, aber ultimativ nicht wirklich imstande, um unser größtes Problem korrekt zu diagnostizieren bzw. um basierend darauf auch die korrekte Lösung anbieten zu können. Darüberhinaus kommt es mir auch etwas komisch vor, Ehetipps von einem zweimal geschiedenen anzunehmen.
Nützliches:
→ Angst als häufiges darunterliegendes Problem in unserem Denken; mit Franklin D. Roosevelt: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
→ gute Erklärungen und Illustrationen, wie unser Hirn funktioniert - zum Beispiel:
(1) häufig benutzte "Denk-Wege" werden zu mehrspurigen Highways ausgebaut, während kaum genutzte Pfade verkümmern.
(2) Structural Genome als Blueprint für den Haus-Bau unseres Lebens. Epigenetics als spätere Änderungen an jenen Bauplänen...
Insgesamt schade... Leider beläuft sich das "christliche" an christlicher Seelsorge oder christlicher Psychologie oft eben doch nur auf ein paar christliche Floskeln und Bibelverse dazwischen – ohne dass Menschenbild, Gottesbild und Weltbild tatsächlich von der Bibel definiert würden...
April 24, 2018
This book was definitely interesting, it gave me a new perspective on the "system 1" of our biology type of brain and our emotional "system 2" type of reactions to situations. I wanted to give this book more stars, but however I cannot. There was a certain writing technique which irked me so many times throughout the book, I literally scared my SO by screaming "NOT THIS AGAIN!!".
I'm almost certain this nuisance is in every chapter, if not every other. Dr. Chilton states "we will talk more about this later", "we will touch on this in Chapter 5" (while I'm in Chapter 3), and "while writing this paragraph I was doing such and such". I felt pestered. I felt that I was being pushed to skip ahead onto something more profound that is going to be discussed. When I got to said chapter, I was only met with more of this badgering - "we will talk about the next subject more toward the end of this book".
I just wanted to shout, don't tell me what you WANT to talk about later, just talk about what is happening right NOW!
I also felt like the book had a lot of fluff. IE, a lot of quotes from many different sources, a lot of "what this book will do for you", some of the quotes were of course research based, which were appreciated - but the others that began each chapter just seemed to be quotes from the author's personal collection of favorites that did not add much to the quality of this book.
I'm almost certain this nuisance is in every chapter, if not every other. Dr. Chilton states "we will talk more about this later", "we will touch on this in Chapter 5" (while I'm in Chapter 3), and "while writing this paragraph I was doing such and such". I felt pestered. I felt that I was being pushed to skip ahead onto something more profound that is going to be discussed. When I got to said chapter, I was only met with more of this badgering - "we will talk about the next subject more toward the end of this book".
I just wanted to shout, don't tell me what you WANT to talk about later, just talk about what is happening right NOW!
I also felt like the book had a lot of fluff. IE, a lot of quotes from many different sources, a lot of "what this book will do for you", some of the quotes were of course research based, which were appreciated - but the others that began each chapter just seemed to be quotes from the author's personal collection of favorites that did not add much to the quality of this book.
August 6, 2022
At a surface level this book delivers on what it sets out to do. Explain how our brains develop connections, how to be aware, and actively work to create new synopses to form new behaviors. With a peppering of how faith plays into his personal experiences.
I've seen a few reviews give this book a hard time about not being entirely focused on faith which is a bummer because 1.The last three chapters are in essence focused on it. 2. Miss out on a more clinical view of how to work through different behaviors.
To conclude, while the content of the book isn't ground breaking and if you've taken some psychology/anatomy classes in university or the like this information is useful as a reminder or refresher to take stock of how you behave and what you struggle with and to take excercise to improve or recommendations to reach out to a professional.
I've seen a few reviews give this book a hard time about not being entirely focused on faith which is a bummer because 1.The last three chapters are in essence focused on it. 2. Miss out on a more clinical view of how to work through different behaviors.
To conclude, while the content of the book isn't ground breaking and if you've taken some psychology/anatomy classes in university or the like this information is useful as a reminder or refresher to take stock of how you behave and what you struggle with and to take excercise to improve or recommendations to reach out to a professional.
November 1, 2020
Johns Hopkins scholar Ski Chilton presents an engaging (if at times unfocused) analysis on how stress can rewire the brain. He draws upon “dual process reasoning” between two systems of the brain.
Reflect: System 1 (reactionary; primitive) and System 2 (abstract) reasoning.
When one system (usually System 1) is in overdrive, the other system underperforms.
System 2 should correct and evaluate the reasoning and impulses of System 1, usually in response to some perceived threat or fear.
System 1 is survival. System 2 puts those survival instincts in proper perspective.
The book has promise. I think he should have spent more time on how the brain actually rewires itself than on issues like codependency, especially in the later chapters.
Reflect: System 1 (reactionary; primitive) and System 2 (abstract) reasoning.
When one system (usually System 1) is in overdrive, the other system underperforms.
System 2 should correct and evaluate the reasoning and impulses of System 1, usually in response to some perceived threat or fear.
System 1 is survival. System 2 puts those survival instincts in proper perspective.
The book has promise. I think he should have spent more time on how the brain actually rewires itself than on issues like codependency, especially in the later chapters.
January 17, 2025
Absolute drivel. Glad I scanned ahead towards the end before moving past page 50. Apparently, after stringing you along with what is supposed to be science and neurology, the answer to all your problems according to the book - "God!!" I was impressed by the practical exercises in the first chapter, and then see you are literally told to say prayers in the last chapters. The book that claims to be a study of neurology and how to overcome deep anxieties is nothing more than 250 pages telling you that you must love and pray to "God" to have your problems solved. FUCKING GARBAGE. This is written by a doctor!??? I wouldn't trust this guy with a broken finger if his answer to serious health issues is "pray to God." This book should be sold in churches, not book stores.
November 4, 2020
I was looking forward to reading this book, not only because it was about neuroplasticity, but because it was written from a Christian perspective. I was a little disappointed, however. Even though there were many things I agreed with, there was also a lot of faulty theology here.
I was also a little disappointed, because as someone who has already read much on neuroplasticity, there wasn't really any new information here. So I felt like it was basically a reminder of things I already knew. However, someone who wants to read about this topic without much technical info might appreciate it.
So while this book was okay, it definitely wasn't a favorite.
I was also a little disappointed, because as someone who has already read much on neuroplasticity, there wasn't really any new information here. So I felt like it was basically a reminder of things I already knew. However, someone who wants to read about this topic without much technical info might appreciate it.
So while this book was okay, it definitely wasn't a favorite.
December 1, 2020
A fascinating read on brain epigenetics at the cross-roads of sanctification. System 1 brain function, the reptilian brain, is where sin takes root and builds neuro-highways in the brain. System 2 makes us human and includes our sense of self-awareness and morality. Through sanctification, both systems can change, rewriting the very genetic makeup of our brains. Stop “system 1’ing it out” with your impulsive responses and learn to rewire your brain with God’s help.
December 20, 2022
It seems the author likes to elevate his accomplishments and encourages rewiring our brains. Yet demonstrates through his own admission that he apparently hasn’t been successful in rewiring his own as he lists off multiple ex-wives he has. He seems to also invoke “the universe” as much as he does The Creator of the universe. Rather bland, uninspirational and probably one of the poorest self-help books I have read.
April 3, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. The description of how the brain works and what needs to happen between automatic response and conscience thought was huge. I work with people in the recovery arena and this truly explains the recovery process and adds some context to the science of change. I would recommend this book to anybody trying to improve and grow. I also think underlying was the relationship between science and Christianity and reinforces the fact that they truly support each other.
September 3, 2023
This book was free for a limited time with some audible memberships so thought I'd check it out. The beginning was interesting, and surprising as the author interjects God into the content along with science. The content then morphs into something different with less science, and in parts seems more like a journal for the writer as he goes through therapy. Not terrible but not life changing either.
February 22, 2021
Hmmmm, one thing which irked me from the beginning was his evolutionary bias, and basis that we are animals. I totally disagree with this. I was hoping for more scientific basis, and was disappointed. Having said that though, there were some positives in the book. Generally it gave some helpful advice.
March 15, 2021
It was ok. There is definitely truth to some of the claims about system thinking that Chilton proposes. But the book was far from focused and seemed to be copying pages from his personal diary at times. The "Christian" part of the book was simply intertwining modern evangelly-fish christianity with some of the experiences he had in his life. Really 2.5 stars but I round up.
November 15, 2022
Not much basis in science and repeatedly promotes Christianity and Christian practices with no clear scientific backing. Too much of the advice in the book is very subjective and is based on the author's own experiences as opposed to methods that are tested and proven on many individuals. Don't read if you're not Christian and not seeking to become one.
November 26, 2023
The book is an okay introduction into the world of neuroplasticity and epigenetics but it missed the mark for me by focusing too much on God and Religion rather than the practical science behind brain re-wiring.
I appreciated the connection between religion and neuroscience as I think that is a largely unexplored arena; however, the over-reliance on God as the solution became tiring.
I appreciated the connection between religion and neuroscience as I think that is a largely unexplored arena; however, the over-reliance on God as the solution became tiring.
August 21, 2024
This book simultaneously lacks scientific backing and utilizes a poor theological understanding to perpetuate an understanding of the human mind. This book was far too "wishy washy" for my liking. Rarely do books water down the science AND water down the Christianity. Read your Bible and a textbook instead.
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December 6, 2017
System 1 vs System 2
This book helped me see that my knee-jerk reactions (System 1) to things are not necessarily good. Taking a moment to stop and engage reasoning, thought, and possibly a change in behavior (System 2) can give me a better result.
This book helped me see that my knee-jerk reactions (System 1) to things are not necessarily good. Taking a moment to stop and engage reasoning, thought, and possibly a change in behavior (System 2) can give me a better result.
March 2, 2018
It was an interesting read. There were times that there were some solid points made, but then later, sometimes in the same paragraph, would be comments or "conclusions" that were made that I personally did not quite agree with. Not a bad book, but not mind blowing either.
June 19, 2018
Sort of read like a novel. Didn’t want to put it down.
I have ordered the work book and will complete the exercises soon. Enjoyed the personal stories... helped me understand the ideas better. Well written.
I have ordered the work book and will complete the exercises soon. Enjoyed the personal stories... helped me understand the ideas better. Well written.
February 8, 2020
Excellent book
Dual process reasoning is described very well, so we can understand ourselves much better. We can pause, wait for the information to get to the reasoning part of the brain, then choose how react on a higher level.
Dual process reasoning is described very well, so we can understand ourselves much better. We can pause, wait for the information to get to the reasoning part of the brain, then choose how react on a higher level.
June 16, 2020
Interesting. I read it with a book club of ladies from church. It did inspire interesting discussions. It is something that is good to read if you struggle in life, had abusive or traumatic experiences in the past.
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