Translated by AI

From Brain Filtering to Reality Manifestation: It All Starts with the Focus of Attention

In the Impermanence Sutra, it is said, "Appearance follows the heart, the environment changes with the mind," meaning a person's appearance and aura stem from inner thoughts, and external circumstances change as inner thoughts shift.

This may sound like a philosophical viewpoint, but modern neuroscience can partially explain the workings of this wisdom. The key lies in our brain's "Reticular Activating System" (RAS).

RAS is the gatekeeper of your brain's attention. It decides what you see and what you ignore. It doesn't process all external information but automatically filters information based on what you believe, value, and frequently pay attention to.

RAS is the Scientific Basis for "Environment Changes with the Mind"

When your inner focus is on lack and insecurity, RAS will automatically magnify risks and gaps in the world, making it easier for you to notice mistakes, indifference, crisis, and rejection. It's not that you're less fortunate; it's that your brain is striving to prove "what you believe is true."

Fortunately, if you begin to consciously set your focus, such as saying "I deserve support," "I am moving towards abundance," or "I have choices," RAS will adjust its search logic and start helping you see the clues you would otherwise overlook: the person who proactively helps you, the message that responds to you, the opportunity that seems "just right."

The world hasn't changed; it is your heart that has turned, and your brain has changed its "attention filter," leading your life experience to "change with the mind."

When the "Environment" Changes Long Enough, "Appearance" Will Follow

"Appearance" refers not only to looks but also to your overall state: your temperament, tone of voice, facial expressions, walking posture, even how others perceive you—these are all external manifestations of a long-term inner state.

When a person consistently notices the beauty, lives in gratitude and trust, their RAS will continually help them see hope and resources. Over time, their body will be lighter, their gaze softer, and their expressions warmer—this is the tangible manifestation of "appearance follows the heart."

Conversely, if one is long focused on criticism, hostility, and a sense of victimhood, RAS will repeatedly reinforce that worldview until your complexion, tone, and energy field become tense and sharp.

What you pay attention to determines how you perceive the world; how you long-term perceive the world will determine the kind of "appearance" you exude.

This is the Energy Cycle of Heart → Brain → Body → Environment

1. Heart Focus: I choose what to believe and set clear intentions
2. RAS Focus: The brain begins to automatically search for clues that align with my beliefs
3. Change in Environment: The world I perceive changes, experiencing new possibilities
4. Natural Transformation of Appearance → My energy and temperament undergo concrete changes with stable inner feelings

This process begins with "inner settings," progresses through attention filtering and changes in physical and mental states, ultimately practically altering the world you live in—a complete cycle of energy-cognition-action.

You Create the Appearance and Environment You Are Willing to Believe In

When you say, "I cannot change the world," it is because you assume the world is external. The reality is that you are daily telling your brain "what I choose to focus on," and RAS will decide the reality you experience accordingly. You can see order amidst chaos, and you can find beauty in seemingly ordinary daily life; the key is not in the world but in how your heart focuses.

What you are willing to believe will create the appearance and environment you experience.