Brainspotting and the Bible
My goal is for everything I do in the therapy room to align with God’s Word. Brainspotting is a tool I have recently added to my toolbox, and I’ve been amazed at how it aligns with what God has taught me through Scripture:
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
We Become What We Behold
I would say 2 Corinthians 3:18 is one of my “life verses.” My first blog that I had way back when was called “Unveiled Faces,” and you can still find it somewhere in the dark recesses of the internet.
So many important truths are held in this verse:
Our faces are UNVEILED before the Lord.
This reflects the Temple curtain being torn: we need have no shame as we come into the very presence of God, as we enter the Holy of Holies. We can see and be seen, as even Moses could not, thanks to the power and glory of the New Covenant.
We behold AS IN A MIRROR the glory of the Lord.
WOW. Let that sink in. As. In. A. Mirror. How often do we pray or sing worship songs that are rooted in a sense of separation from God and yearning to be united with Him, rather than in a CELEBRATION of the unity that Christ has already purchased for us? Spoiler alert: When you look at yourself, YOU LOOK AT JESUS. Jesus himself said that whatever you do for someone, especially those who cannot pay you back, you do for Him. This is not just a symbolic, nice thing to say; it is a reality. Paul used the phrase “in Christ” more than 100 times in the New Testament to talk about all the unbelievable riches, treasure, and blessings that are ours IN HIM.
We BECOME what we BEHOLD. We STEER where we STARE.
As we gaze at Him, as we contemplate Him, as we spend time with Him in His Presence, we are transformed from glory to glory—from one degree of glory to another. We live even more fully into what is already ours in Christ Jesus. Just like the Promised Land belonged to Israel even before they conquered all of it, so all of Christ’s blessings and power belong to you, even if you’re not walking fully in them yet. Ahead lies even MORE awareness of your freedom from condemnation, your awareness of abundance, your freedom from the law of sin and death, and your love, peace, and joy.
In conclusion, our GAZE is vitally important. Where we look affects how we feel and how deeply we heal. I got this from the Bible first!
“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.”
This is another verse that’s relevant to Brainspotting. In context, Jesus is encouraging his followers not to store up treasures on earth, but rather in heaven. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also!
I don’t know about you, but when I find a treasure, I stare at it. I admire it in the sunlight.
Did you know that both your pain and your strengths are treasures? Your pain is precious. When you’re doing Brainspotting and you choose to focus your eyes in an area that activates painful emotions and perhaps difficult sensations in the body for you, you are leaning into healing and release. You are inviting the Holy Spirit into the darkness, to bring his light where it’s most needed.
During a Brainspotting session, when you choose to gaze at what we call a “Resource Spot,” or an area that brings up feelings of peace, calm, and confidence, that also is a treasure. You are focusing on the strength, resilience, and wisdom that God has placed within you—the resources He’s given you to help you deal with whatever life throws at you, whatever trials you may face on this earth.
So What Is Brainspotting, and How Does It Work?
Brainspotting bypasses the conscious mind to get at the brain. When we face trauma, part of our brains often gets “stuck.” This “stuckness” can cause us to continue to repeat the same unwanted patterns over and over, even though our conscious minds desperately want to change. Brainspotting accesses the more primal, emotion-driven parts of our brain that often got left out to dry in order for us to survive, without words, logic, or what we often call the “adult brain” (prefrontal cortex) to help process, integrate, and come to peace with what happened to us. This more emotionally driven part of our brain also connects to our nervous system, so Brainspotting can even help us regulate our nervous systems through drawing on the innate resources God has already put within us.
As David Grand writes in his book Brainspotting, “Our eyes and brains are intricately woven together, and vision is the primary way that we, as humans, orient ourselves to our environment. Signals sent from our eyes are deeply processed in the brain. The brain then reflexively and intuitively redirects where we look, moment to moment. … The brain is the ultimate scanner, monitoring every cell in the body, as well as itself, on a 24/7 basis. Brainspotting harnesses this scanning ability and the brain’s ability to process and heal itself” (p. 3-5).
Is Brainspotting Compatible with My Faith?
Just like any form of therapy, especially innovative approaches like this one that have only emerged in the last few decades, Brainspotting is not directly addressed in Scripture. But I believe therapy as a whole is a sacred space in which a human tunes wholeheartedly in to another, mirroring the Papa heart of God toward his kids. I believe that in this set-apart atmosphere, this Holy of Holies that blocks out the noise of the rest of the world, God can often speak to us in profound ways. I’m seeking to attune to you, to the dynamics of our relationship, and also to the Holy Spirit within the room. I’m listening to Him and inviting Him to speak and unlock any parts of your mind that need to be unlocked during the session. It’s incredible to see how this approach builds trust within the client and builds confidence in your own ability to hear from God and take the lead in your own healing and growth.
If you’re curious about Brainspotting, why not ask the Lord about it right now? If you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out on my contact page. I’m just beginning my journey but will be glad to let you know about my experience practicing with other therapists on the receiving end of treatment, and what I’ve learned through bringing this approach to my own clients.
