Subconscious Rules

The Subconscious Mind Rules.

Imagine a person riding an elephant bareback. Or better still: imagine yourself riding an elephant bareback. If the elephant is not going in the direction you desire, how will you fix that? Imagine your self pushing and pulling, leaning left and right, maybe patting on the elephant... what else would you do to steer that elephant? If the elephant continues going where it wants to go, in spite of your best efforts, is it fair to say the person sitting on top is driving the elephant?

Many people find the elephant and rider a useful model for the subconscious mind and the conscious mind - where the conscious mind is the rider, and the subconscious mind is the elephant.

Riding or Driving

Looking out the window it is clear that some people's elephants are running wild. The good news is there are ways of communicating with the subconscious mind. While you may not be able to tame your subconscious, you can certainly learn to steer it better.

Communicating with the subconscious is like talking to a child.  The subconscious is very litteral, and it has trouble understanding big words, which is why pictures work well. Most importantly, the subconscious can only understand positive representations, which means the subconscious skips over words like "Don't"  "not" and "without".  To communicate to the subconscious one must be positive and precise: more reasons to use pictures.  Some experts recommend actual photographs of what is desired, like a specific photo of a specific car you would like to own.  I find a mental picture is better. Imagining the person you want to be in as much detail as you can gives your subconscious a better target to aim for.

Always Listening

And while you are working towards your goals, it is good to know that the subconscious is always listening.  Listening to what goes on outside and inside. Self talk is both generated by the subconscious and listened to by the subconscious.  If a person takes control of their self talk by repeating positive statements (affirmations) the subconscious can be gently guided in any desired direction.  Because the subconscious is always listening, it is possible to record affirmations in an mp3 file and listen to that file on low volume while you go about your day.  If you listen to effective affirmations, you will notice improvements almost immediately.

Effective Affirmations are positive, present tense and specific.  An example of an effective affirmation is: "I go for a walk every day".  For contrast, an ineffective affirmation would be: "I am not sedentary".  In the first case the subconscious can see itself going for a walk every day and will grow into that reality.  In the second case the subconsicous skips the word 'not' and understands the message as "I am sedentary." For more examples of effective affirmations visit New-Habit.com/affirmations.

The more an affirmation is repeated, the more influence it will have with the subconscious.  Research confirms that a message repeated often enough is as good as true to the subconscious.

Language of Pictures

Research also confirms that imagery - mental pictures - is the 'language' of the subconscious.  If a situation can be described in enough detail the subconscious will accept it as real.  This feature of the subconscious can be leveraged with visualizations.  With your eyes open or closed, imagine yourself in your ideal state.  Imagining in great detail gives the subconscious a better target to aim for.  Repeating the exercise of imagining your ideal self every day is an excellent way to steer the subconscious towards the person you want to be.

Many people have difficulty concentrating on such detailed image with all the distractions of daily life.  To help with this I make audio recordings that guide the listener through the excercise of imagining that ideal self in a consistent and detailed way that provides the subconscious with what it needs to effect positive change.  Guided Visualizations provide quick and effective communication with your elephant in the language it understands.

Habits are driven by the subconscious mind. If you want to change a habit, you must persuade your subconscious. Affirmations and visualizations are the fastest ways to persuade your subconscious. Start with a few affirmations and see for yourself how to harness the power of the subconscious. For even quicker results try guided visualization.