Are you aware of your subconscious mind?
You’ve probably heard of the subconscious mind and how powerful it is. Many of the coaches, speakers, and writers who work in the field of personal development refer to theories and assumptions about the subconscious mind and how much it impacts our daily lives. A common assumption is that the subconscious mind occupies up to 95% (some people say even 97%) of our lives.
“The greatest impediments to changes in our traditional roles seem to reside not in the visible world of conscious intention, but in the dark realm of the unconscious mind.”
– Augustus Y. Napier
When you do familiar tasks, like riding a bike or driving, your autopilot kicks in. This means that your subconscious mind is executing the program, that is, your actions. The same is true of all the automatic functions of your body. With each beat of the heart, the blood reaches all the veins of your body, without you having to give the order. Stretching your arm can be a conscious decision, but your subconscious mind is the one that ensures that all the muscles coordinate their actions to make this happen. This is good and necessary for it to work. If you had to consciously think about all the processes that take place in your body or how to do all the things that you do every day, you would not even get out of bed!
Your subconscious mind governs many of your thought and behavior patterns, often in ways that do not serve you, and without you realizing who is in charge.
This is not your fault. Your subconscious mind is trying to protect you and keep you alive and it does so based on programs that are inherited or taught during your lifetime.
A large part of the learning took place during his first seven years. Your teachers were your parents, family and friends, school, television, society and other people around you. If an experience teaches you that the world is a dangerous place and if that fear remains with you, it may be caused by a bodily sensation, something you see, hear, or smell. You will relive the experience and your body will go into fight or flight mode even though you are in a safe place and your conscious mind knows that you are not in danger. The subconscious mind will take over and run the program that has been stored to keep you safe!
The subconscious mind is also programmed with beliefs that have a profound impact on how you act (or don’t act) in your daily life, ultimately influencing what you attract into your life. If you learned that it is difficult to make money or that money makes people greedy, it will permeate your belief system. This will influence everything you do and, by extension, your financial situation. If you believe that money is hard to earn and that money makes people greedy and if you don’t want to be greedy, it will be difficult or even impossible for you to earn and keep money. Your reality reflects your beliefs.
Some sources say that we have around 1,000 thoughts per day and others that we have up to 100,000 thoughts. Most thoughts are repetitive, up to 90% according to some sources, and many thoughts are negative and limiting. Most thoughts are subconscious and based on our programming and we are often not aware of them. Neuroscience shows that repetitive thoughts strengthen neural pathways and make it easier for the same thought or thought pattern to happen again. You get stuck in a repetitive thinking loop. The good news is that you can reverse this and take off. By learning to notice these repetitive thoughts and take your thoughts and attention away from the thoughts that are keeping you stuck, for example by practicing mindfulness, you begin to build new paths. When you are no longer stuck in repetitive negative thought patterns, you are free to choose your thoughts. Take back your power and it is you who decides what to manifest.
