I thought this subject appropriate for the coming festivities of Halloween. When most of us think of Halloween we think of ghosts, gobblins, monsters in the literally sense, but what about the unseen demons that haunt us, our own thoughts and beliefs? Some of these thoughts and beliefs are like a well-known ghost that haunts our daily life creaking the stairs in the hallway of our minds, something we have become accustomed to. However, some of these tricky little haunting thoughts creep up unbeknownst to us. They lead us on a path of destruction over and over, and can keep us up at night, these hidden little ghosts making noise in the house of our mind that we can’t quite hear or pin point.
Ever noticed that circumstances in life of a similar situation seem to always have the same unsatisfying outcomes in your life? Think this is coincidence or bad luck? Think again. Once your subconscious learns a pattern in life it tends to play a repeat in similar circumstances again and again like a broken record whether you notice the repeat or not. The most dangerous of these automatic choice selectors are the ones that go unnoticed; the haunts that stay hidden in the deep crevices of our minds. Because if you don’t know that the demons exist pulling the strings to your life how can you learn to exorcise those demons?
This understanding of thought dates all the way back to the time of Freud. While this interesting gentleman may have had a peculiar way of thinking about some aspects of the mind, he set the standards to how we have come to understand the complexity to the levels of our thoughts and beliefs and how they affect our lives daily. He was the first to break down the mind into three stages likening it to an iceberg. The first part that we ‘see’ or use on the daily and are aware of is the conscious mind, the tip of the iceberg. The intricate and important part below the water of the mind is the preconscious and the unconscious, which to the dislike of many psychologists, is now often referred to together as the subconscious. The preconscious represents a place for thoughts that are often needed and can enter into consciousness easily, often referred to as the mental waiting room. For example you do not always need to know your mothers recipe for chicken noodle soup, but when you think about it, there it is. Where the unconscious represents beliefs and thoughts that influence judgments, behaviors or feelings. This is also believed to be a place for repressed feeling or experiences too traumatic for the mind to handle. Our feelings, motives, and choices are often influenced by past experiences that have programed our unconscious into a belief system that is set to repeat until it is reset. The mind is so powerful that resent studies have proven the connection between cell health/ disease and mind connection, another words if you believe you are sick, you will be.
Have you been finding you are having trouble sleeping, always in a daze, are you in the middle of stressful decision making, or drowning in a sea of multiple choices to multiple problems? Or maybe you feel impending doom but are unsure of why? This can be a sign of an unforeseen subconscious ghost rearing its ugly head. So if your mind is overwhelmed and full of constant chatter of all the typical daily haunts how do you clear the clutter to find the hidden thoughts or beliefs deep in your unconscious self? Meditation is the answer.
Meditation is a way to learn to clear the clutter of the daily, to find the hidden thoughts and beliefs on the outskirts of a clearing mind. As the mind begins to quite and come into a deeper state of meditation, the random deeper concerns that otherwise may not surface appear. Often in meditations people will come out of a session saying they were thrown for a loop when a thought or belief they were unaware they were holding onto surfaced. This is one way to find the unknowns holding you back or keeping you stressed. Another way to find the answers if you know the challenge in your life you are seeking answers for is by focusing on the challenge at hand as you meditate. This can help you filter to see what runs through your mind and as you get to the quitter end of the meditation the answers may appear. These deeper hidden thoughts may help you to understand why you fall into the same patterns over and over again.
Ok so now you know what is holding you back. How do you change the outcome this time? Changing a belief is challenging. However, if you put forward the question of how you can go about finding a different answer to your subconscious, or as some people refer to it as your higher self, you have now challenged the subconscious to find an opposing choice to solve a problem, which already has had a previous set reaction or belief. This opens the door to a possibility of new beliefs or a new way of thinking. Thusly breaking the vicious cycle of the same outcomes.
Also once you know where you are being led astray you can help to lead the mind to a better outcome through visualization and affirmations. The key to this is to stay in the present tense. The subconscious doesn’t know the different between real and imagined realities. It also doesn’t work in future or past, only in the present. While your conscious mind understands you do not have these dreams or wants in the present and are working towards them, the subconscious sets beliefs to what happens in the moment or the present. So by affirming that you have these things you desire now, although you may not truly have them yet, you confirm the belief system in your subconscious for future outcomes.
So now you have the tools to clear the cobwebs and find the little haunter in your mind. You have the power to exorcise your ingrained beliefs and change your outcomes. So will you continue to be haunted? Or will you open yourself to the possibilities of a clear mind and the amazing outcomes to come in your journey of life?
Have you had a truly amazing enlightened moment to your unconscious self while meditating? If so share below what it was and how you handled overcoming your preexisting beliefs.
Until next time, enjoy the good life,
Woman on the Journey
Resources:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/unconscious-mind.html
http://www.lifetrainings.com/Your-unconscious-mind-is-running-you-life.html
http://lonemind.com/26-experts-reveal-secrets-subconscious-mind-people-dont-know/