The subconscious only understands images and emotions.

3 Ways to Talk to the Subconscious Mind for More Effective Change

The subconscious mind is responsible for holding all our thoughts, emotions and memories. It is like a child, in that it doesn’t really process those memories in the way the superconscious mind does, but reacts to them like a precious 5-year-old. The conscious mind is like a wise parent or teacher in training, and the superconscious mind, also known as our Higher Self, is the fully developed, non-ego consciousness that understands where we are on our developmental and spiritual paths, forever guiding us toward our next lesson so that we can grow.

We are all acting mostly from our subconscious memories and beliefs. We are given free will to grow at whatever pace we like, but we must note that the subconscious mind is creating about 90 percent of our reality. Our habitual thinking is ruled by the subconscious. We have to change our most deeply held thoughts and beliefs – the ones running constantly in the background of our minds, so that we can really create lasting changes in our lives.

Since the subconscious ‘thinks’ like a child we must speak to it in a language that it understands. Here are ten ways to more effectively communicate with your subconscious mind so that you can more effectively create change in your life:

Always talk to your subconscious in the present tense.

The subconscious mind doesn’t understand time. When you use positive affirmations, be sure to phrase them in the now.

Don’t focus on the problem you want to release. Focus on what you want to obtain.

Focus on what you want to obtain. The subconscious does not understand negation. If you repeat an affirmation of goal like, “I don’t smoke any more.” The subconscious mind eliminates the “don’t” and you end up reinstalling the same habit or behavior you want to correct. Instead, you would phrase your affirmative goal as such, “I am healthy, my lungs are clear, and I love taking deep breaths in fresh air.”

Your subconscious mind doesn’t understand where not to go, only specific instructions for what you want to do, be, or where you want to go in life. Be specific, and talk to your subconscious in concrete, affirmative terms.

Use sensory based language, without abstraction.

The subconscious mind cannot discern ‘soon,’ or ‘somehow.’ It also doesn’t understand abstract goals. The more specific you can be about what you want to create, the better able the subconscious mind can aid the conscious and conscious minds to help you obtain your goals.

No, they don’t understand each other, if they understood each other our goals would be fulfilled in a moment!

Conscious mind speaks in a language of logic and analysis, dividing things for “good and bad”, “black and white”

Subconscious mind speaks in a language of imagines, emotions, fears, and safety it looks like an if-else program code.

Subconscious and conscious mind very often have a different opinion on the same situation.

Often the subconscious is like a mine-field of limiting beliefs and old outdated “programs” that are no longer worthy of who you are, or who you are becoming. These limiting subconscious beliefs affect all aspects of your life.

shift negative self limiting beliefs into positive self enhancing beliefs

Subconscious programs are created when a series of beliefs are supported in reality through emotional experiences over time.  If this program goes unchecked it grows stronger and stronger.  You must turn it off by claiming power over it. 

The Differences Between Your Conscious and Subconscious Mind

• The conscious mind contains all of the thoughts, memories, feelings, and wishes of which we are aware at any given moment. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. This also includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily and brought into awareness.
• The preconscious consists of anything that could potentially be brought into the conscious mind.
• The subconscoius mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict.

Let’s first take a moment to consider the fact that your subconscious mind is like a huge memory bank. Its capacity is virtually unlimited and it permanently stores everything that ever happens to you.

The function of your subconscious mind is to store and retrieve data. Its job is to ensure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed. Your subconscious mind makes everything you say and do fit a pattern consistent with your self-concept, your “master program.” 

The Battle of the Conscious vs the Subconscious Mind

Your mind can be torn between the beliefs of your conscious and your subconscious.

Our subconscious fears drive our motivations and actions through emotions.

aware of the benefits of connecting it to the subconscious

that the first simple job your mind has is to keep you alive for as long as possible. To do that, your subconscious mind is hardwired to move you away from pain 

Your mind loves what is familiar and prefers to avoid anything unfamiliar.

Fortunately for most people, the programming language of the subconscious is extremely easy to learn yet extremely powerful!

The programming language of the subconscious is primarily in two forms: Sensations (VAK Model) and Emotions.

• Sensations are anything that stimulates an immediate sensory response in the mind, i.e. Visual, Auditory, or Kinaesthetic (hence VAK). For simplicity let’s use ‘Visual’ as the primary sensation

• Emotions are psycho-physiological responses in the mind and body

Essentially, the subconscious only understands images and emotions.

Too often when people make affirmations to change their subconscious behaviour they use words. Just think about all the times you tried to tell yourself to change or do something with ‘words’ only, i.e. I will stop smoking, I will be a millionaire etc.

Going back to our speaking Chinese to an American person example, you can see that the words have minimal impact in influencing the subconscious.

Hacking the Human Mind

Ok, now that we know the programming language we can begin to hack the human mind. Just like how there are many ways to hack into a computer there are various ways to hack the human mind. We will cover various hacking methods in future articles.

The easiest way to hack the mind is a common technique called ‘Visualization’.

Images are extremely powerful. As the new adage goes ‘a picture is worth a million words’ especially given that the subconscious is literally a million times more powerful than the conscious mind.

Let’s use for example: try to imagine a shape whose center is equidistant from all points given a specified radius. Now it might have taken you maybe 3-5 seconds for your mind to register these words, however if I showed you a picture of a circle – you would have knew instantly what I was talking about, better yet practically every single person on this planet would have understood with the picture rather than the words.

Now how to use visualization as a method to hack our own minds? Here are two powerful uses

For optimal goal attainment

If you ever wanted anything in life all you had to do was see yourself achieving it. Seeing your goals significantly increases the chances and rate at which you achieve them.

Professional athletes are known to use visualization before they attempt new challenges. For instance in the case of olympic gymnasts, they would visualize precisely how they would actually perform a routine in their mind before they actually do it. This dramatically increases the chances of them succeeding as their subconscious mind (which controls all parts of their body) roughly knows how to perform to achieve that particular feat. As in all cases, practice makes perfect, once the subconscious knows exactly what is required it becomes effortless.

Improved Memory and Learning

Using visualization as a learning tool is incredibly effective. We know rote learning can be extremely time consuming and let’s face it ineffective. By visualizing new concepts and information it becomes extremely effective in retaining in our memories.

This is why flashcards and infographics are used.

The Subconscious Mind

Below all human consciousness exists a subconscious and unconscious partition of the mind. For convenience and simplicity we will refer to them both as the subconscious mind.

It represents an infinitely large repository of life, a virtual library of every single thought, feeling, memory and experience you’ve ever had in your entire life. It is hyper-intelligent beyond our conscious mind and is responsible for creating and defining who we are today.

The problem is most of us don’t how to access and control this vast virtual library optimally. Instead, we allow it to run on ‘auto-pilot’, allowing it to control us and operate on a sub-optimal level.

Now, what if we could manually (or consciously) optimize the way our subconscious operates? Effectively hacking our own minds so that we can utilize the infinite potential the subconscious mind possesses. Turns out there simple ways to hack the mind, however, we must first understand how it operates.

To give you an idea of magnitude of power the subconscious mind holds compared to the conscious mind, it estimated that we can process on average of 40 bits of information consciously. On the other hand, the subconscious mind can process on average of 40 million bits of information effortlessly! Just imagine the power you can achieve if you learn how to harness the power of your subconscious mind.

Limiting beliefs and subconscious programs are usually unknown. However, you can examine potential areas, beliefs, and patterns that could be the result of subconscious programs.

When you identify and reprogram a core issue it can automatically address other issues. For example, it’s like updating the software on your computer. After the main software has a “system update,” the other programs that operate within that software will update automatically. That’s also how your subconscious mind works.

directed at changing beliefs held in the subconscious mind. Our beliefs are the predecessors of all behaviors, feelings and interpretations we experience in our life.

People can learn how to change their subconscious programming at the first indication of a challenge, thus creating a different outcome.

Permission also ensures the desired subconscious programming change is in the best interests of the person at that particular time. If Permission or Commitment are not allowed for the desired change, this goal cannot be worked upon at that time. Instead, a higher priority will be identified and will be addressed first.

Belief systems are like the symptom of a disease. They are not the real problem. They are a result of the problem, which is often trauma or stress. Release that trauma or stress and the belief systems change automatically. 

change outdated subconscious perceptions and beliefs
do-with process that depends predominantly on the inner wisdom of the individual seeking change. It is designed to engage and activate the inner resources of the subconscious and conscious minds

One very important feature of aligning conscious and subconscious processes is the Permission Protocol. Many simply assume it is a good idea to “fix” a problem without first considering the possibility that the problem may be cleverly disguised as an opportunity to learn the origin of the difficult feeling.

The problem you want to fix or get rid of may actually be a solution to a much greater problem. (thr issue is not the issue) What may appear to be a disability to do one thing may actually be an ability to do (or avoid) something else.

Problems are a part of our meaningful experiences. They can be the bearers of important messages.

Permission is requested from both the subconscious and superconscious minds to assure the safety and appropriateness of proceeding with the belief change process.

“This is safe here and now in current reality although I am scared I can give myself- my csubconscious and conscious permission to do…”

I have practiced this and have got positive results.

This practice doesn’t choose what you should believe. It helps you believe what you choose.

As complex beings need support and time to discover what is at the root of the issue. Be patient with yourself 

This journey is full of challenge, and growth. We grow from challenges when we apply ourselves and continue to learn.

calls us to step into our personal power and confront that which we may have been running from for a long time

Do you feel like your life doesn’t reflect the wisdom from your intentions?
That’s because knowledge, intention, willpower, and positive thinking are processed in the conscious mind. The conscious mind only processes 40 bits of information per second while the subconscious mind processes 20,000,000 bits of information per second.

In the same way that your conscious mind is reading my website and taking in information, your subconscious mind is responsible for your breathing, heart rate, memory, feelings, and emotions (especially repressed ones!)

More importantly, your subconscious mind is a storage for your beliefs, including those that are self-limiting and self-destructive.

we inherit most of our beliefs from the people and environment around us by age 6. Through socialization and accumulated traumatic experiences in our life, we acquire many limiting beliefs, which hold us back and prevent us from our true potential.

the root cause – the underlying belief. Since our beliefs ultimately determine our behaviors, the most effective way to change a behavior is to change the belief that supports it.

transforming limiting beliefs into beliefs that empower you

You have consistently reinforced messages to your subconscious mind about what to be afraid of. 

You will communicate these beliefs, feelings, and ideas to your subconscious no matter what. You can’t control exactly what comes out of the process, but you can lead it in the right direction by sending it the right messages. 

By doing so on a habitual basis, you can change your decision-making to a point where it is automatic and effortless to make the right decisions. 

The subconscious mind doesn’t understand language. The subconscious does understand images, emotions, and feelings.

This is why athletes and high-performers spend time visualizing success.  It’s more than just a practice of building confidence, it is a way to influence their subconscious minds and help them make those split second decisions on the field.

To do this yourself, you want to get into a state of relaxation. When you’re fully relaxed, your conscious mind doesn’t need to respond to external stimuli and be on high-alert. This allows your subconscious to take over, and gives you an opportunity to influence it. 

Below you will find a practical 20min exercise that will guide you through this process. [2]

If you need more help, try this mindfulness program.

EXERCISE: ACCESSING THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND THROUGH RELAXATION

1. Move to a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.

Lie down on your back with your feet slightly apart, arms slightly extended from your body, palms facing down and make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. You don’t want anything to distract you from relaxing(i.e. sound, temperature, cell phone, etc). 

2. Fix your eyes on a point in the ceiling and begin by taking 3 long deep breaths. 

Exhale deeply and slowly and feel a wave of relaxation come over you as you let go of any worries or tension you may be feeling. On the third breath, let your eyelids close.

3. Take 7 more deep breaths, each time imagining yourself sink deeper into the bed.

With each breath, think to yourself “deeper and deeper” as your body becomes more and more relaxed. After 7 breaths, you should be in a state of deep relaxation. If you’re not, continue to breathe deeply and wait until every muscle in your body feels completely tension-free. 

When you reach this state of relaxation, your subconscious doesn’t need to work as hard on things like moving muscles, tracking motor functions and regulating temperature, so it is has your full attention. In scientific terms, your brain switches from producing Beta Waves–which are produced at your highly conscious state–and begins producing Theta Waves. These waves naturally relieve stress and allow us to influence our subconscious minds.