The RAS — Why You Only See What You Already Believe

Right now, your brain is being flooded with information. Eleven million bits per second — from every sensory system, every corner of your environment, every signal your body is generating. Your conscious mind will process approximately 40 of those bits. Someone is deciding which 40 make it through. That someone is the reticular activating system — and it is one of the most important mechanisms you have never been taught about.

The reticular activating system, or RAS, is a network of neurons in the brainstem that functions as the brain's master filter. It receives input from nearly every sensory system and determines, based on criteria established by your dominant beliefs and identity, which stimuli are important enough to reach conscious awareness. Everything else is discarded before you ever know it existed. The RAS is not making random choices. It is operating from a blueprint — the blueprint of your current identity program.

You have experienced this mechanism without knowing it. You decide to buy a specific car — and suddenly that car appears everywhere. It was always there. Your RAS was simply not filtering for it before. The moment it became relevant to your identity and attention, it started flagging every instance. The same mechanism runs your entire perception of reality. A person who identifies as unlucky notices every piece of evidence that confirms that belief while filtering out the counterevidence. A person who identifies as someone for whom opportunities flow constantly notices openings that are completely invisible to someone with a scarcity-based identity. The world is the same. What differs is the filter.…