How your CONSCIOUS and SUBCONSCIOUS Work Together
As many of us may know, the conscious and subconscious minds work together. New neural pathways (circuits) and connections are continually forming in your brain and old ones are continually breaking. They’re like the tracks on the old vinyl (phonograph) records. Remember those? You’re playing one song (or thought pattern), then you pick up the needle and put it on another track or song (a different thought pattern). One of the things that determines how these connections are formed are your thoughts and beliefs (and repetition of them).
You can actually use your conscious mind to help shape your unconscious mind. This is not an easy process because it entails overriding your unconscious (subconscious) mind. You must change the image of yourself (and the automatic or default beliefs and thoughts) that are stored in the subconscious (unconscious) mind. It means rewiring your brain and it requires awareness and consistency. It’s about training your brain for success---your version of success.
To put it simply, the brain is divided into two distinct yet connected systems: the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.
CONSCIOUS MIND:
This is your logical, rational, every day mind, getting things done in your life mind. It receives information from your five senses. Logic rules here and this is the mind we are aware of but this conscious mind does not really control our behaviors and actions (approximately 5%)…the subconscious mind (deeper, underlying mind) does (95%).
SUBCONSCIOUS MIND:
This is our ‘storage center,’ where all that we learned early on, from our families, society, school, institutions (between 0-7 years) were absorbed. These are the ‘automatic’ beliefs and thought patterns, which may be limiting, negative and unhelpful, that we continue to live with today, unless we make the effort to make changes. This mind is largely ruled by instinct and emotions. It’s where your intuition and creativity live.
When we absorbed all of the information we did, in our early days, we didn’t ‘decide’ or choose what to keep or what to let go of. We just did what we had to, to stay safe and survive.
REMINDER: The primary job of our brain/mind/body, is to keep us safe and surviving.
The subconscious mind is quite powerful and is much stronger than the conscious mind. This mind doesn’t reason or judge. It just acts and is often leading and commanding your actions (and often without you being consciously aware of it).
You can’t just outperform your subconscious mind’s stored image of yourself. If your subconscious mind’s image of success does not match your conscious mind’s image, then achieving success is just about impossible. There is an internal conflict and to diminish it, you must look deeper inside (into the body and the subconscious mind), become aware and accept what’s hidden there, and then, take action, to process it (ie: healing, trauma healing, etc.)
These two minds work together to determine your behaviors and your actions. To bring you more happiness, achievement and success, you have to know how to use them and how to connect them.
NEUROSCIENCE:
With our present-day research in neuroscience and epigenetics, there is the concept of NEUROPLASTICITY, or brain plasticity, which is the brain’s ability to reorganize, restructure or rewire itself by forming new neural connnections (pathways, circuits) throughout life, no matter your age or stage of life.
Neuroplasticity lets the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain compensate for disease and injury and also, to adjust their activities in response to changes in their environment or new situations.
It’s great to know that you can always be changing or rewiring (reprogramming) your mind/brain. And it doesn’t matter how old you are. We’ve come to learn that we’re not stuck with who we were at birth. We can always be changing, learning and growing. This is great news!
So, let’s go over some ways to do it. You have to TRAIN YOUR BRAIN. (develop MIND MASTERY). You begin to train your subconscious (unconscious) mind to support your goals, desires, dreams and then, you’ll be on your way to success.
1)First thing is to decide what YOU really want in your life. What’s YOUR definition of success? What are the goals, intentions and desires that will make you feel successful, fulfilled and bring you joy? It’s necessary to be aware of those desires and dreams that come from outside of you (ie: parents, community, society) and are not really yours vs. those that are authentically yours.
This step is vital because without knowing this, you may be on a path to success but not necessarily the one you want or are meant for. You may ‘look’ successful on the outside but feel empty, unfulfilled and on the wrong path, inside.
You may need the help of a coach or other practitioner to get you to your specific and unique goals.
2)See yourself and your life as though you’ve already obtained these goals, desires, dreams. Techniques like: visualization, mental imagery and others, are quite helpful. It’s also helpful to read and learn about the Quantum field, universal consciousness, and more. These fields are opening up us to the opportunity for unlimited potentialities in our lives. I will be writing a new blog about these new and exciting ideas.
3)Find and use the tools and techniques that work for you. With my coaching clients, we use exercises such as: the morning routine (including 12 codes of conduct), evening routine, PTT: positive thinking time, NTT: negative thinking time and many more. Meditation, mindfulness, mental imagery and others, are also helpful.
4)Be your own Objective Observer: look at your own thoughts and behaviors as if you’re an impartial observer. See what words you are using, what thoughts you are thinking and if they’re helping you or not. Are you repeatedly telling yourself you’re: stupid, ugly, worthless, not deserving, etc. (you get the idea)? Here’s one tip: tell yourself STOP aloud, at least 3 times, with increasing volume and emotional intensity, until your mind goes somewhere else. Doing this repeatedly will start changing the patterns in your brain and will start organizing new and better ones for you.
5)Start moving towards your goals and desires. Take action, one step at a time, whether you’re ready or not (we never feel ready) or you think things are perfect (they never are) or not. Remember to celebrate your progress and yourself along the way; ie: do the exercise: give yourself a pat on the back and smile (refer to blog post: It’s Time for A ‘Pat on the Back’………For You and From You!)
6)Be kind to yourself; don’t judge and don’t compare. Remember------what you call failures or mistakes are simply ways for you to learn and grow and teach your mind to pursue YOUR success. This is when you learn and grow the most…..
These steps above are necessary and they are also a bit general. If you’re needing help or an ally to get more specific about your definition of success and your best life, in formulating your specific goals or are needing the momentum, follow through or accountability, please feel free to be in touch……….
Once you begin and then continue training your subconscious mind to support your conscious goals and desires, you’ll be on your way to success. Your brain will start building the connections (new neural pathways) that will empower you to pursue your goals, intentions and the life you are really meant to live.
You’ll find your fear, anxiety and inner conflict diminishing and you’ll build up your confidence, resilience and self-love.
Your subconscious mind cannot be at odds with your conscious intentions; they must be in tune with and aligned with each other!
Like it or not, this is a process that never ends, so you must stay active, keep it going and give yourself some kindness and compassion on the way. Eventually, you’ll see and feel your life changing, as the neural pathways in your brain are changing and the sensations and feelings in your body are calmer, more peaceful and more in tune with the true you.
You’ll start to develop Mind mastery, which will lead you to Self-mastery, which is your power to control your actions, impulses and emotions, and to do it in a responsive way instead of in a reactive one.
It may not be an easy journey but it’s one that’s well worth it!
With smiles and love,
Dr Gigi
PS: If it’s your time and you’re ready to learn how your conscious and subconscious minds can work together, for your success, then, SCHEDULE your Free Clarity Call with Life Coach NYC & Mindset Coach: gigiarnaud.com and get my blog posts and free GUIDE: 7 Life-Changing Mind Shifts…….for your SUCCESS & FULFILLMENT.
I really look forward to meeting you!
Change your Mind, Change your Life
You are worth it. You deserve it. You are enough!