Our Subconscious: Growing the Seeds of Our Thoughts
I always ask for any suggestions on topics you would like to see in the newsletter. Well, I finally got a request. The reader wanted to know more about the subconscious mind and if affirmations had any affect on it. I have knowledge of affirmations and visualization and other techniques that affect the brain. But in researching this topic I was surprised about the power of the subconscious mind.
Here are some facts comparing the conscious mind and the subconscious mind:
Conscious Mind Subconscious Mind
Comprises 17% of Brain Mass Is 5/6 of Your Brain Mass
Looks for Patterns and Objects that Averages 400 Billion Operations Per are Familiar Second
Is Where Your Free Will Lives Is Non-Verbal (sees in pictures and patterns)
Is Under Your Control Doesn’t Know Truth From Fiction
Determines Your Results Directs Sensory Input
Is Re-Trainable
Conscious Impulses Travel at Speeds Up to Unconscious Impulses Travel
140 mph 100,000 mph
NeuroGym/John Assaraf
The human brain is the fastest processor in the universe.
I imagine you are in awe at the capabilities of the subconscious mind but are wondering – what does it do for me? Our moods, personality development, personal and professional development are all shaped by our subconscious mind. One of its duties is to store and process all the pieces of information that are in our minds but we are not aware of them. Your subconscious makes sure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed. It does not have the power to think or reason independently. It obeys the commands it receives from your conscious mind. So it ultimately works day and night to make your behavior fit a pattern consistent with your emotional thoughts, hopes and dreams. Brian Tracy uses the analogy of the garden and the gardener to explain the conscious and subconscious: “Just as your conscious mind can be thought of as the gardener, planting seeds, your subconscious mind can be thought of as the garden, or fertile soil, in which the seeds germinate and grow.”
Your subconscious mind will act on any request you make. Remember – it obeys the conscious mind. Any thought that is continuously repeated will make an imprint on the subconscious. The practice of visualization, affirmations and guided imagery are so effective because the subconscious mind does not distinguish between what is real and what is imaginary. Repetition creates images that the subconscious acts upon.
My reader specifically wanted to know how affirmations work on the subconscious. Affirmations are statements that are repeated over and over to yourself. They work because when you continually verbalize these statements they are influencing your thoughts. There are some guidelines for successfully using affirmations.
Always affirm in the positive. Make your affirmation a positive statement. Use words that reflect what you want to happen.
Make your affirmations short and simple. Use a phrase or at the maximum a short sentence. You should be able to repeat this over and over without even thinking about it.
Don’t force yourself to believe it – just say it. You just have to repeat and repeat over and over again and the affirmation will naturally have an effect.
Mind Power/John Kehoe
This practice is widely used. Athletes use them for performance; business people use them to close deals and run their business; artists use them for creativity. What a simple, powerful way to change your brain and change your life.
Assaraf,J. 12 amazing facts about your brain. Retrieved December 10, 2015 from http://blog.myneurogym.com/12-amazing-facts-about-your-brain/#.VmoReoTUGRs
Kehoe,J. Quantum physics positive mind energy and mind power. Retrieved December 8, 2015 from http://www.learnmindpower.com/using_mindpower/basics/
Operation-Meditation. How does the subconscious mind work – amazing facts and exciting insights. Retrieved December 10, 2015 from http://operationmeditation.com/discover/how-does-the-subconscious-mind-work-amazing-facts-and-exciting-insights/
Tracy,B. Understanding the subconscious mind. Retrieved December 8, 2015 from http://briantracy.com/blog/general/understanding-your-subconscious-mind/
Contact me at: patricia@myboomerbrain.com