My friend has a theory about the mind. I've told him time and time again that mine is just a small mind. He still disagrees. (*smile)
Being well-versed in matters of the conscious and unconscious minds as a hypnotherapist, he described a little exercise for me to do. He told me a few things to preface the task that, at first, were confusing to me. No, I'm not blonde! I'm just a blonde wannabe.
And so I will share this activity with you today. I had stumbling blocks and reservations. I didn't even see any Indians either, although I must say that I've tripped over the blocks more than once. So I would like to share the information he gave me before I attempted to execute his plan.
First of all, the conscious and subconscious minds are at odds with each other in a struggle for power. The conscious mind is the decision maker and supposedly the seat of reason. It's happy being in a rut. It doesn't like a person to make waves in their life. It's very happy with the status quo. It abhors change and anything to do with it. It can and will make your life miserable if left to its own devices, especially if the information it has was flawed to begin with. It is very calculating and will do just about anything to keep things on an even keel so that things don't change. In its own mind, it is the adult in the relationship and thinks of itself as God, more or less. It certainly does NOT like being challenged in any way.
The unconscious mind, on the other hand, is like a child. In fact, it is estimated that the average 'age' of the subconscious mind is around five years old. If you have ever been around children, then you know how they love to please you. But as in all other types of paradox in life, it is the subconscious who really rules the mind. Its power is phenomenal. Its sole purpose it to make and keep you happy, unlike the critical and scrutinizing conscious mind. It is the part of the mind which helps you feel that feeling of well being - 'All is well in my world.' And that's all fine and dandy with the conscious mind as long as it isn't creating any waves.
Enter a dilemma... any dilemma... but for the purpose of this exercise and to use an example, I will tell you about my experience. I won't bore you with details. This exercise works with ANYthing, so you can fill in the blanks to suit yourself and your own personal dilemmas.
It was brought to my attention that I was, shall we say, less than positive about my outlook on life. My first reaction is that I was horrified. But as the shock began to subside, I noticed other thoughts. I don't know if this will sound like you, but this is what happened to me.
"What gives him the right to say that?'
"OMG, what if I can't change it?"
"I thought I 'fixed' that. What happens if I can't?"
"And if I can't, he won't talk to me any more."
And the list went on and on. Aside from the negative thinking itself, I was riddled with fears. It made no difference what those fears were. I had lived with them for so long I couldn't see an end to them.
Those thoughts I had were a product of the conscious mind leaping up to defend its space. No changes, remember? And it must have felt threatened somehow by the statement that I was giving off a negative aura. In rebuttal it poured all those thoughts into my mind in order to fend off any action on my part. I have come to lovingly call these thoughts Monkey Farts.
And although the monkey farts leap in, what is a person to do about them? You can push them away, ignore them, run from them, deny they exist and agonize from them.
OR... you can stand up face to face with them and fight!
What I had always done was brush those thoughts aside as if they didn't exist. Oh, I still knew they were there all right. I just told myself all along that I had won anyway. Talk about denial and illusion!
But this time was different. This time I would be given a tool to use to vanquish them and make them monkeys on the run. I could be in control of, not only those thoughts, but my life in general. Now THAT was a scary thought! I was assured it could and would work if I put forth the effort and kept due diligence. I thought about it. I had done more for less. I agreed to try it. What could it hurt? And as I had discovered in other times of my life, if at any time I didn't like what I was doing, I could go back to the old ways and my misery would be cheerfully refunded.
My friend explained to me that the conscious mind was like a sentinel. It guards information from leaking through to the subconscious mind. It deals with millions of bits of information in any given day. It calculates what was done in similar situations and makes decisions and passes them on to the subconscious to carry out. And although much information that could be passed is uplifting and positive and good for a person, it doesn't get through because, very simply, it would upset the apple cart and make changes that, quite frankly, the conscious mind does not want to deal with.
I was astounded. If its purpose was to protect me, how could it NOT let in the good stuff? Then I became angry. (But that was the just monkey farts throwing a brat attack.) Determined, and feeling betrayed by my own mind, I decided to go into it headlong and abandon myself to it. I felt like my life couldn't get any worse, so why not?
The exercise would bypass the conscious mind straight into the subconscious. I found that idea intriguing. "Tell me how.... NOW... Please!!!" Maybe this was the answer I had been searching for for so very long.
The first thing a person needs to do is decide what information needs to bypass the monkey fart zone. I kept it simple for myself. Knowing my own insecurities and feelings of unworthiness, I decided my statement would be, "I am a good person, I love myself, and people care about me." It was a throwback to another time in my life. But I had seen improvement then and hoped I would see it now. Once you choose the sentence for you, write it down on a piece of paper.
Then pick a newspaper, any newspaper. Get one with HUGE headlines. The exercise is three steps long.
Try to choose a time when you know you will not be interrupted. About 20 minutes will do it. Relax and try to empty your mind of the troubles of the day. Once you start and concentrate on the task at hand, those troubles won't matter for a few minutes.
Concentrate on the headline of the newspaper. Read it over and over and over, out loud. Read it for about 7-8 minutes. By this time it seems to have lost all meaning. The purpose of this part of the exercise it to distract the sentinel. Its job, remember, is to filter all information going in the subconscious. Reading the headline over and over and saying it out loud focuses its attention on the exercise.
Immediately, when you have finished this leg of the course, begin reading your statement over and over out loud for another 5-7 minutes. The conscious mind is on a short delay. The first couple of minutes it won't realize that you have introduced something new and will let it pass. By the time it realizes it, it will have already been installed in the subconscious mind.
When this part of the journey has ended, then you are to do this... it seems impossible, but trust me, it CAN be done... and with excellent results, I might add.
Go back to the newspaper once more. Right near the headline place the note paper with your statement on it. Now concentrate really hard on this part. Recite the headline out loud... BUT read the statement with your eyes. By this time the sentinel knows that something has gone wrong, but it is powerless to actually do anything. Focus on reading out loud and reading something different with your eyes... Like I said, IT CAN BE DONE!!!
Well over a year later now, I realize that one exercise opened up all manner of horizons that I didn't even know existed. I have used it time and time again for different dilemmas. I choose to believe I have control in my own life now rather than being at the mercy of Fate or worse. A person really can write their own story. The way is difficult but so much more rewarding.
I leave you now with two thoughts... the first (in red)... is the headline. Then my statement (in blue). If you concentrate, you can read them both at the same time. The color choice? Well, let's save that one for another time.
0 comments:
Post a Comment