Everyone starts out with about 100 billion nerve cells linked by thousands of connections for each nerve cell-and these connections are forming and reforming all the time. The cells and linkages function as parts of many different processes, often simultaneously. So it s really impossible to determine how much of the brain is being used for what purpose at any one time. The significant lesson to draw from these rough statistics is that the brain is a dynamic organ. It alters from millisecond to millisecond-yours is changing as you re reading these words.
Some experts describe the brain as the signature of one s wishes, desires and actions.
According to the Dhammapada, an ancient Buddhist text, all we are is the sum of all we have thought. And, like any other organ, the more you exercise it, the more it develop. When you choose to develop certain kinds of abilities or areas of expertise, the brain is immediately altered by those choices. And by learning about and participating in different activities, you physically alter the configuration of your brain. A musician s brain, for example, is physically organized very differently from that of a scientist.