*Cosmetic Brain Surgery: Introduction*

Welcome to Cosmetic Brain Surgery. Unlike the risky and invasive approach to self-image issues, this 'operation' requires no elaborate equipment, expensive clinics, or nasty scalpels. It inflicts no pain or scarring, and it leaves no lingering feelings of phoniness or sharp pangs of regret. You will wake up from this operation feeling vibrant, authentic, and rejuvenated, because all that Cosmetic Brain Surgery requires is a little imagination.

How does it work? During this operation you will be encouraged to creatively re-think many aspects of your existence, for example, your identity, your habits, your friendships, your intimate relationships, your culture, your personal history, your dreams, and your aspirations (to name a few). Why? Because it is in these deeper layers of who you are and not in your flesh layer that the re-shaping must take place if you truly want to be at peace with yourself.

By carefully opening and gently probing into these areas of your life, you will discover all the little hidden thoughts, feelings, and experiences that have been eroding your self-esteem and turning your self-image into an ugly stranger. You will also discover all the secret, gifted parts of yourself that have been aching to be exposed, expressed, and celebrated. By combining self-discovery with potent doses of creative thinking, you will finally possess the only tools you have ever really needed to re-design yourself into the person you have always wanted to be.

You will also find that as your self-compassion grows, your empathy for others will also increase, and your whole relationship to the world is likely to shift. Why? Because when you explore your own life in a deep and creative way, you automatically enter into the collective consciousness of everyone around you. By knowing yourself and spending time with yourself in this progressive way, you will become more synchronized with others. Your intuition will deepen, your creativity will blossom, your courage will grow, serendipity will increase, and unusual and auspicious encounters will abound. In other words, a whole new world of possibilities will be granted to you, all you have to do is let it happen.

But, before all these wonderful transformations can happen, you need to deeply embrace one key principle. Much like a Zen master, you will have to realize that the way you see yourself is a deeper reflection of the way you see everything else. Let's use the principles of quantum physics to shed some light on this issue. Relax, it's easy to understand, and besides, you are brilliant, remember? Let me explain.


At the quantum level the true substance of the universe seems to be made of either pure, physical matter, more commonly known as objects; or made of flowing, interrelated actions,generally described as events. Depending on your perspective of the universe (the tools and methods you use to view it) it will appear to be made of one or the other, either objects or events. With this theory in mind, I invite you to apply this apt metaphor to the way you perceive yourself.

If you want to be an 'object,' you can continue to see yourself as a finite product in a material world. You can continue to see yourself as an isolated and faulty object that needs fixing in order to belong, rather than seeing yourself as a remarkable event participating within millions of other miraculous events within the universe.

If you want to be an 'event,' you can begin by seeing yourself as a dynamic, shifting series of actions, rather than seeing yourself as a static form. For example, most authentically-creative people are events, and their sense of self is derived from their connection to the wonder and flow of a greater creative energy in the world. Truly creative people are not objects, nor do they want to be. They are active producers and their inspiration comes from tapping into and emulating a greater creative force--not from imitating static perfection. Although they create beautiful or evocative objects, most realize that their creativity is a continual process--not a final product. They understand that life itself is a massively divine event, and they are a simply echoing this process in a micro-dimensional way.


Events come and go. They have high points and low points. They inspire us, persuade us, and move us into new territory. Events are sublime specifically because of their impermanence. They represent transformation, risk, and revolution. Objects, on the other hand, must be locked away or forever guarded to stay the same. While they may look precious and perfect behind a hard, glass case, they remain untouchable, cold, and dead.

With this said, these ideas are designed to help you become less of an object and more of an event in all areas of your life. By reading and engaging in the creative exercises, you will be shining a brilliant light into all the hidden areas of your life. There you will discover someone that has been waiting for your attention all along, a much deeper self, full of curiosity, courage, and originality beyond your wildest dreams. I welcome you to find yourself now.

Barbara Bernath
All Rights Reserved

What you are reading is from a book I have been working on for the past number of years. The underpinnings of this work stems from my Master's Thesis, which was called "Body Of Evidence; Using Art Therapy To Uncover The Underlying Issues of Anorexia and Bulimia." After writing my thesis, establishing a private practice as a creative therapist, and turning my attention back to the mainstream world, I realized that people everywhere (not just those afflicted with eating disorders) were having trouble accessing their creativity and living happily ever after in their bodies. Therefore, I decided to write 'Cosmetic Brain Surgery' as an upbeat remedy to the current body-altering craze that is happening everywhere. Although I have written it mostly for women, it applies to men as well. If you are looking for a new perspective, read on. Several more excerpts can be found right here - on the right hand side bar. Enjoy!

For information, inspiration, and contact info, please go to my main Barbara Bernath site.

*Nobody is perfect*

Nobody is perfect; no 'body' is perfect. While some women tend to have natural features that just happen to correspond at this moment to the current standards of beauty, these women too will age and change. And, just as certainly, the current standard of beauty will change, too. The physical features that were considered beautiful in years past are not the same features considered beautiful today. For example, small breasts were 'tres chic' not so long ago, but they are now considered to be a deformity in need of surgical alteration.

Remember, beauty is based on that which is rare. So the moment the desired feature, such as large breasts, becomes commonplace (as it is now through surgical implants) the feature will lose it's rarity, and hence, it's beauty. Soon, small breasts will be considered exotic again. Just wait and see.

So instead of trying to alter yourself to keep up with an ever-changing standard, it's best to appreciate yourself the way you are. Your uniqueness is what makes you beautiful. However, if you still insist on seeing yourself as an object, at least try viewing your self as a rare and delightful object of art.

Creative Strategy
Look around your home. Find an object you love and which you consider to be highly unique, exotic or antique. It might be natural or human-made, it doesn't matter. If you don't have anything like this, it's time you did. You need constant reminders of this kind of truthful beauty in your everyday environment, so take some time over the next while to find something. When you have it, spend some time looking at it closely and touching it gently. What is it about this object that draws you to it? It's unusual shape? It's rarity? It's lovely weathered exterior? It's inevitable cracks and chips. It's intricate design? It's origins? It's connection to your personal history or even the history of your family? Or perhaps it comes from a culture, shoreline, or time period other than your own and therefore brings with it a treasured feeling.

Now try looking at yourself with the same perspective. Maybe you too have an unusual shape; a rare feature; a beautifully weathered exterior; or a scarring from a life truly lived. Maybe you too come from an interesting, exotic place and you carry the marks and stories of your ancestors' experiences and adventures. It is interesting that we enjoy surrounding ourselves with unusual and original looking things, yet we show great disdain for these same features in bodies and ourselves. We fill our museums, galleries and shops with rare and antiquated items. This love of mysterious and ancient things reveals our need to be connected to the organic, historical and creative process of life. If we could apply some of this aesthetic to our present bodies and selves we would be much happier.

Look at your object again. Place it in front of you. Now try writing a short piece about where it might have come from and all the things it has experienced. Then, when you are ready to give your story a title, call it by your own first name.

*Celebrate your uniqueness*

While it is important for us as human beings to feel like we belong to our culture, our sense of belonging has to be in balance with our need to express ourselves as individual beings and to truly be accepted as such. This is the underlying philosophical premise behind all free societies. You are not expressing your right as a free person, in a free society, when you feel you must conform to a standard that goes directly against your uniqueness.

In other words, what happens when society keeps telling you to be more like an object, but deep down you know you're an event? Granted, it is a precarious task. It is not easy to have societal harmony while simultaneously expressing all of our personal quirks. However, there is a balance that can be struck, and any society, culture, or species for that matter that does not encourage diversity risks stagnation--or worse--extinction. Just ask Charles Darwin.


Creative Strategy
Look at yourself closely. Do you think you look a little strange? Do you sometimes feel like a freak? Are their features of your face and body that are unusual? Great! Terrific! Congratulations! These supposed 'flaws' are a great reminder that there are also other things about you that are wonderful, unique and part of the natural force of evolution.

Now, write down all the supposed physical 'flaws' you believe you have. Then, match every single one of these attributes with other aspects of yourself (not your physical features) that make you feel proud to be distinctive. They can be experiences, ways of thinking, skills, talents, etc. Write about these aspects of yourself and how they make you feel special, gifted, and favorably unique. Then, the next time you are feeling inadequate about your physiology, refer to these other matched qualities, and re-identify yourself as a unique event rather than a flawed object.

This exercise is designed to help you to see that your uniqueness doesn't just express itself in your external shape, it is reflected in all the other layers of who you are. Life is a product of evolution and evolution is all about diversity. Diversity keeps the gene pool constantly recombining in new ways, which keeps it healthy and immune to extinction.

Diversity is the key to survival. This is why humans and all other living entities on the planet have evolved into a myriad of shapes, sizes, and colors, among millions of other traits. It's what keeps humanity--and life itself--strong, flexible and flowing. So do yourself, your society, and your planet a huge service by expressing the real you.

*Surgery is not fashion, it's permanent alteration*

First of all, surgery is not fashion; surgery is permanent alteration. Fashion is meant to be a costume we put on and then take back off, not a look that lasts a lifetime. Aren't you glad women didn't get huge, saline, shoulder-pad implants in the 1980's! Don't you see how fickle fashion is? Don't you understand that the body image you think you need to have in order to be 'fashionable' right now will look and feel really out-dated in a matter of years?

While many cultures encourage body beautification and alteration, and it is a common custom to commemorate the natural stages of life through permanent body-markings, the cosmetic alterations practiced in our society are in direct antithesis to the true progression and celebration of life. In fact, most of our procedures and fashions actually honor stagnation and regression, while denying natural development and evolution.

For example, do radical anti-aging procedures for the older face, or the alteration of breasts twenty years after puberty reflect a deep and meaningful celebration of life's journey? Hardly! What is going on? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that fashion is an industry in our culture. Our body image ideal is actually commercially driven and therefore, fashion must go against the flow of nature if it is to be economically triumphant. It must drum up new insecurities and false solutions to remain profitable. If natural aging and physical diversity were celebrated and considered beautiful, we would not need to buy new 'looks.' Profits would decline. The industry would fall apart at the seams.

This constant hype on having new things can be fun when it relates to clothing; you can continually buy new clothes and fanciful accessories; you can recycle your outdated items; you can really laugh at what you used to wear ten years ago; or you can hang onto these items and wait for some unknown length of time for this stuff to perhaps come back into style again (or not). However, your body is not quite so tolerant of whim. This is because you are a living, breathing event--not a trendy object.

Although the body can be a wonderful tool of creative and visual expression, the current trend in cosmetic surgery is to make everyone look exactly the same: endlessly young and perfect. The same procedures are done over and over. It's so predictable and boring. It would be much more interesting if cosmetic surgery was used as an opportunity to express original, conceptual body art.

For example, I might want to have a kangaroo-type pouch sewn onto my stomach so I could carry a drawing pad around with me for inspiration wherever I go. Or it might be great to have a sleek flashlight implanted in my fingertip to light the way when I feel lost in the dark. Or maybe I could play the devil's advocate more convincingly by having little black horns grafted to my head. The possibilities are endless. If you are going to fantasize about altering your outer self, why not really let your imagination go.

Creative Strategy
Pretend you are the main character in a science-fiction book. Imagine that you are on an important mission. What is the mission about? Now envision that you have the magical ability to transform your body in three ways that directly assist you in this mission. What are these three features? For example, do you have hidden wings? Infrared vision? The ability to change your sex at will? Be as creative, revolutionary, and whimsical as you can be.

If you are looking for a creative project, try drawing a picture of yourself as this extraordinary creature, or write a short story about it.

*Inspiration versus envy*

This is a drawing I did called "The Uptown Arguement."

Envy is one of the biggest and most expensive distractions of life. It keeps us focused and spending billions on what we are not, rather than what we are. It makes us aware of what we lack rather than what we already have. It wreaks havoc on our self-image because it turns our attention away from our authentic selves and shuns us from the task of cultivating our own unique ways of being. Envy does not inspire us to be who we really are, but rather, it capitalizes on our superficial desire to imitate something we are not.

Envy seeks status and false rivalry, while it squelches the true flame of originality. To make matters worse, once envy gets a hold of us, it replicates itself quickly. Like a nasty little virus, it wiggles its way into our psyche and we find ourselves being its subservient host. Suddenly, we too, want to be enviable and superficially powerful. We want the object of envy to be us. Without fully realizing it, we then infect others, and before long we have an epidemic of envy on our hands.

However, there is a cure. It is called inspiration. While envy lures us into becoming false objects, inspiration motivates us to become innovative events. When a woman inspires us, we do not envy her, nor do we want to imitate her. We are not jealous of her--we are moved by her. She stirs a mysterious and wonderful feeling deep within us. This is because true inspiration works by positively reminding us that somewhere within ourselves there too is an equally valuable gift, talent, or unique way of being. You just have to pay close attention to what really moves you in others to discover these hidden gifts inside of yourself.

If you think you might have been infected by the epidemic of envy and have therefore become part of the problem and not the solution, please do the most responsible thing: Get tested!


Creative Strategy: The test

Write the names of all the women you have envied or continue to envy in your life. Now draw a representation of all the potential women those women that you envy, envy. Then all the potential women those women envy, and so on. Using a tree shape, show the way that envy branches out to epidemic proportions (you may have to use mural sized paper to get the full impact of this exercise)! See the negative way that envy multiplies and generates more of its ugly self? Why would you want to be part of such a huge and ugly epidemic? Wouldn't you rather be an inspiration to yourself and others?

Now, write the names of all the women who have inspired you or continue to be an inspiration in your life. Think all the way back to your early life and then up into the present. Remember all the girls and women along the way who inspired you. Remember how their lives, in whatever way, kindled a compassionate flame in your own heart. Now, pick one of these women from your list and write a letter expressing how she inspirered you. Then send it to her. You'll both really enjoy the experience.

Please note: If the person you want to send the letter to is from your past, this might give you a chance to find them again and reconnect (and it's easier than ever to find people now through the internet and various 'people-find' services). If the person you want to write the letter to is no longer alive, you could send it to someone else who knew her and was close to her. This would be a confirmation and celebration of how powerful and long-lasting inspiration actually is. If the person is a celebrity or 'out of your reach' in some way, be brave and send it anyway. If she's truly inspirational, she'll appreciate it.

*Youth and Beauty are definitely separable*

Youth and beauty can be separated quite easily. First, define what you mean by beauty. Is it purely a visual thing? Of course it’s not and neither are you! Beauty is something that moves us, employs all the senses, and therefore stirs the soul. It has little or nothing to do with youth.

For example, is music not beautiful? Aren’t certain luscious aromas and flavors beautiful? Can’t a feeling be beautiful? Aren’t certain thoughts or phrases beautiful? Are specific moments not beautiful? What have these things got to do with youth? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Youth and beauty are separable because you are not just a visual object--you are an event, and you have a multitude of beautiful levels. Your ideas, talents, experience, history, struggles and triumphs, are all beautiful, and they have little - if nothing - to do with your looks.

Creative Strategy:

To help you to re-evaluate what “beautiful” means, and to put you back in touch with all of your senses, you need to spend some time expanding what beautiful means to you.

Make a list of ten beautiful feelings, thoughts, sounds, etc, as long as they are not visual in any way. Can you connect your self to this kind of beauty and see the equal-- if not greater depth-- there is in it? If you can, you may want to throw a little party for you and your friends, and get each guest to bring something to celebrate this newfound “sense” of beauty. Beauty is everywhere. You just need to re-define it to really feel it all around you.