Tony Blair told leaders in Pakistan today what many mid-lifers said all along, that “Force alone can’t beat terrorism.” Baby boomers live in ideal spaces - somewhere between cruel ravages of yesteryear’s wars, and lively prospects for peace that could distinguish a new era. Luckily research shows novel ways that human brains adapt from traditions of battle - into legacies of peace. Why so many wars then, as we’re reminded in Brad DeLong’s more than fair daily journal?

It takes jumpstarting a brain’s working memory for tactics that rewire old basal ganglia habits. Those well-reinforced words images and traditions for violence unfortunately control a whole cultures’ basal ganglia. You may recall from earlier posts how the basal ganglia stores and resurfaces mental habits. Because of war words, battlecry images, the basal ganglia holds us in ruts with routines for tough talk and one-upness that lead to war.

In contrast, peace plans rewire human brains for remarkable benefits, when leaders draw from hidden or unused parts that rejuvenate the brain’s working memory for change. Yes, even a warrior’s brain rewires when peaceful benefits override the horrors from war. It starts with one act of peace, because the brain reshapes itself based on stimulation from what we do.

Not surprisingly, the brain’s plasticity is rewired for non-violent solutions, when peacemakers lead us to question, target, expect, move, and reflect our way to redirect our brains toward the power of peace. In the past week, I’ve run into several such leaders - who show how the minds of peacemakers work.

One such remarkable leader at Strong Hospital, Reg Stewart, pulls together diversity that draws the best from people’s cultural background as well as their unique intellectual strength.

Reg Stewart’s brain-based-peace-plans inspire us to QUESTION … “What if people come together to build on every person’s strengths in ways that that would benefit their entire communities?

When we question to ask, “What if…” as Reg does, the brain builds new neuron pathways for peaceful benefits on both sides of any challenge. Peacemakers spark amazing mental acumen - that removes guns from the equation - and offers peace possibilities in place of battle plans. Have you noticed how great questions tend to target action?

You may remember Crash Davis, a baseball great played by Kevin Costner, in the movie “Bill Durham,” who described a TARGET to peace. Do you recall Davis’ plan for people to come from all over the place philosophically and “have some fun at the same time?”

Target peace, as Crash Davis did, and you also release serotonin … a chemical that surges through the brain to increase non-violent solutions through cooperation and well being that shows up in respect for others. Serotonin is less available to those who wage wars to get their way. Instead, its enemy hormone, cortisol tends to rage through brains of people lash out… strike back… or seek revenge…. Spark this chemical and war’s a done deal, because it is the brain’s hormone for violence and self-serving.

EXPECT your brain to show you exceptional solutions with hope for more global interests, when you draw from Dr. Howard Gardner’s wider mix of intelligences. Dr. Gardner prospers peace and we-being by helping peacemakers to rewire their brains for words and images that spark success from multiple angles. Expect your best options, see the benefits, and it’s time for action before any lasting peace plan takes root. Moves from peacemakers are easily missed by those who bank on armies. Mother Teresa showed us why….

MOVE peace forward the way Mother Teresa did, and you experience its advantages in smaller packages at first. She simply followed a call to act peacefully on a daily basis, and her brain rewired for goodwill that followed. In spite of criticism from many groups, Mother Teresa moved from one needy person to another, and refused to be intimidated by big groups organizing to fix the “bad guys.” She taught teachers one at a time under trees, airlifted sick babies to hospital after commissioning enemy airplanes, refused payoffs, and took time to hold the hand of one person at a time in spite of many who clamored for her help. For the brain to light pathways to peace, it needs time and space to reflect on war in all its horror and rewire victory in non-violent ways.

REFLECT for peace as a tool for the next overwhelming dilemma you face and share with one other person how peace replaced war to bring victory. It’s too early to tell, but New US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, took advantage of the brain’s plasticity to reverse trends of war-wired brains, when she broke traditions of scraping with political opponents and spoke of freedom that follows when leaders listen to, respect, and work with the other side. Wow – let’s support these words and images of peace that could mean change for Western nations. Imagine new neuron pathways in minds that prosper peace and preclude wars.

Never have we faced a better time to celebrate diplomats like King, Gandhi, the Dali Lama, or contemporary ambassadors of harmony listed here. With their skills for humanity, they also refuel a brain’s basal ganglia where the mind stores peace and reverses violence.

While many mid-lifers tell you they’ll do anything for peace, far fewer find practical plans to help harmony happen. It’s no surprise when you look at how the human brain wires and shapes itself based on what we do. For instance, because we wire our brains for war daily, through words, traditions and images, we miss opportunities to encourage peace.

Peace tends to move somebody’s mind long before its power is felt by families, friends, and community.

Whole cultures hard wire their brains for war simply, because of focus more on words, images, and traditions for battles, and that focus should concern us. For instance, if psychologist Donald Hebb has it right. Hebb discovered that because of “too much focus on narrow details … ” people lose sight of any broader horizons…. In other words war images, heroes and constant reminders, result in what is known as “Hebbian Learning….” It literally changes the way human brains wire and it precludes peace.

We act on what we know … and we know what we focus on … that’s how the brain operates. It’s also how peace continues to allude us as a culture.

Physical and psychological changes in our brains, based of a culture’s constant reminders of violence, begin to make war seem the only sensible solutions to problems. In a catch-22 dilemma… changes in the brain’s plasticity make it harder for people to embrace peace. Gradually even well-intentioned leaders reject innovations that could end wars and cultivate calm….

You see this Hebbian problem most in people who insist on one view or opinion and who no longer appear to see any alternative angles. Eventually their belief systems wire so they can no longer consider opposing views … and only envision fighting as a viable option. Listen to war generals talk of their battle plans, their war heroes , or the best battle books on the market, and you’ll see why they can no longer offer options for peace or its prosperity. Their words reflect Hebbian focus of brains hard-wired for war, even when they crave peace. War becomes their only option, and so their focus narrows to how to carry it out in the best manner. What about the rest of us?

Mind-bending peace plans come from minds pre-wired against violence … long before a conflict comes calling for a fight. Martin Luther King rewired his brain for the dream etched in history through his Nobel Peace Prize winning speech. It’s futile to crave for peace with a mind wired for war, but Thanksgiving seems like a terrific time to remember those, like King, who pre-wired for peace. What do you think?