The Automatic Self
The subconscious mind refers to the part of your mind that works without your control. It can’t be changed directly and automatically reacts to situations we come across in life.
To change the beliefs stored in your subconscious, you need to purposefully use your conscious mind in a way that benefits you. This means focusing on what you want, instead of what you don’t want.
By creating and setting goals, targets, and giving meaning to your life, you give yourself direction instead of drifting aimlessly through life, uncertain of where it will take you.
Always remember that the mind is designed to pursue the goals you set for it.
When you emotionally connect with your desired outcome or your ideal life, the subconscious mind will adopt it. Similarly, the subconscious mind accepts any idea that you emotionally connect with and genuinely believe in. In other words, your subconscious accepts what you believe to be true.
What are the characteristics of the subconscious mind?
According to Neville1, the subconscious mind is:
- Impersonal and non-selective: It remains objective to your thoughts and ideas.
- It receives ideas from the conscious mind: Only ideas that are emotionally charged and believed to be true are accepted.
- The realm of cause: It influences your behaviour and shapes your life.
The subconscious mind responds to and accepts only those ideas that the conscious mind genuinely believes to be true. For example, you might tell yourself that you are healthy, but your subconscious will not accept it unless you truly, genuinely believe and feel healthy.
Think of the subconscious as a part of yourself that needs convincing. You have to make it believe that your idea is excellent, that you are passionate about it, and that it will not only happen but is already as good as done. You need to feel and believe the same way. That’s what it means to say, “It is true”.
By utilising your imagination and experiencing the feeling that something is already a part of your reality, you show belief and faith. The subconscious then accepts it as if it were real and already present.
The subconscious mind doesn’t differentiate between fantasy and reality. Just like waking up from a nightmare, even though you know it was just a dream, it still felt real because you felt the fear emotionally and physically – you believed it. And so the subconscious accepted it as true.
Whether you’re awake or asleep, your subconscious mind never rests and doesn’t distinguish between the two states.
The Vault of Our Beliefs
Additionally, the subconscious holds all the beliefs we consider to be true. Our beliefs, including fears, hopes, perceptions of others, our environment, and ourselves, all reside within the subconscious mind. That’s why unless we consciously change our beliefs, we will continue to experience the same results.
This is the reason why you’re where you are in your life right now, and why certain experiences seem to repeat themselves. It all comes down to the beliefs stored in your subconscious mind.
Start by deciding the kind of life you want and desire. Determine the person you want to become, the beliefs you want to have about yourself and others, and what you believe you can do and are capable of. Write down these aspects and read them daily. If something feels unnatural, replace it with something that feels better. If there’s something you desire but it doesn’t feel natural yet, leave it there; with daily repetition, you will gradually accept it and reaffirm it to yourself, until the day comes that it feels real and true.
Repeat these affirmations at least twice a day, ideally when you wake up and just before you go to sleep. These times are when the subconscious mind is most open to influence. By doing this before sleep, you give your mind something to work on while you rest, as sleep is the realm of the subconscious mind.
Remember: What you repeatedly and consistently tell yourself each day and the affirmations you practice, will become reality in your life. Your mind is wired to pursue goals, it’s a goal-seeking mechanism, so the thoughts you focus on become the objectives your mind works towards.
As you gain knowledge, understanding naturally follows. Understanding strengthens belief. And with belief, faith emerges. Through faith, we start reshaping our mindset and ultimately change our lives for the better.
The conscious generates ideas and impresses these ideas on the subconscious; the subconscious receives ideas and gives form and expression to them. – Neville Goddard
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. – Matthew 6:6
1Neville Goddard – Feeling is the Secret
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