WHAT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND?
In some schools of thought, the subconscious mind can also be known as the unconscious mind; other schools of thought see it as something slightly different.
LET’S EXPLORE THE DIFFERENCES …
HERE’S MY SIMPLE AND SLIGHTLY CRUDE EXPLANATION …
You may be familiar with the famous iceberg diagram, which is an excellent summary of the subconscious mind.
The conscious mind (10%): what I know
The unconscious mind (90%): what I don’t know / don’t remember from the past
The subconscious mind: (infinite!!!) being in auto-pilot e.g.breathing, riding a bike or making a cup of tea. It’s also linked to survival behaviour.
WHY DOES THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND MATTER?
These crude numbers speak for themselves.
If everything I know is only 10%, then 90% of my actions are unconscious. This could be viewed as pretty terrifying as you may feel that you are not in control of yourself. But remember, a significant part of your mind is on auto-pilot to keep you safe, so from this perspective, it’s very comforting to know, your subconscious mind is always looking after you.
AM I IN CONTROL OF MY LIFE?
Yes and no.
We are in control of our conscious actions and behaviours, but not anything unconscious. Carl Jung summarises this nicely.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
Without awareness of this, our actions, behaviours and patterns could be negatively affecting others around us. This includes how we are with our friends and family, colleagues, partner, kids, strangers we meet in the street, and animals as they can sense our energy.
🤔 Do you always snap at your partner?
🤔 Do you always think the worst?
🤔 Do you fall out with all your colleagues?
🤔 Do you blame others immediately or go into defence mode?
This list of questions could go on and on, and you get the gist. Do you keep repeating a pattern that is causing you problems?
People with great self-awareness may be aware of these patterns and can try and re-programme the behaviours. This is excellent and should be commended.
WHAT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND?
HERE’S A MORE EVOLVED ANSWER …
THE ROLE OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND IS TO PROTECT YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE
✅ On the one hand, it serves you well.
❌ But on the other hand, it doesn’t.
HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE - “I DO NOT FEEL SAFE”
If at a subconscious level you have the belief “I do not feel safe” your subconscious mind may be working very hard to keep you safe.
💰 MONEY
This could include
✅ you always have saving
✅ you always have a home
✅ you are always able to pay your bills
❌ what if I fail?
❌ how will I make money?
❌ what if no one buys my product?
❌ it’s too risky
This is a good thing.
However, if you are also a budding entrepreneur and wish to turn your passion project into a thriving business, this subconscious belief is no longer working in your favour.
Your conscious mind is working very hard to turn your passion project into a reality, but your subconscious mind is protecting you as you “do not feel that it is safe” to expose yourself to such risks.
❤️ ROMANCE
This same principle applies to every aspect of your life. At a conscious level, you may really want a romantic relationship and you may meet perfect partners. However, it’s possible that at a subconscious level you feel that it is not safe to be in a romantic relationship due to past experiences with people that you were close to.
✅ I am ready for a committed long-term relationship
✅ I want to grow with my partner
✅ I would like our values to be aligned
✅ I would like us to be a team
❌ it’s safer to be on my own
❌ I will lose my independence
❌ what if they steal my money
❌ what if they do like my children
👨💻 AT WORK
In the workplace, you may have strong desires to change your career, but subconsciously, you may also feel that it’s not safe to leave your current job. Now imagine that you’re in a job that you really dislike - this is problematic. But on the plus side, your subconscious mind is keeping you safe ensuring that you are able to pay your bills and reminding you of everything that is familiar to you as at a subconscious level, something new and different might be unsafe.
✅ at least I’m familiar with my current job
✅ I can pay my bills
✅ I like some people I work with
✅ I have a good pension
❌ I hate my job
❌ what if I fail?
❌ I’m not good enough for the promotion
❌ what if I don’t like the people?
This is a hypothetical example. Everyone is unique with unique experiences and therefore all beliefs, feelings and emotions are unique to you. We all have many disempowering beliefs that are not serving us in the way that we desire.
SUBCONSCIOUSNESS AND ROMANCE
Let’s take a deeper look at romance and the subconscious mind.
When looking for a romantic partner, many people are looking for a “hot” partner - essentially, someone they find incredibly attractive. This is actually a red flag and can cause a lot of drama, trauma and pain in the relationship.
In his book, ‘Deeping Dating’, psychotherapist, Ken Page discusses the Attraction Scale. Imagine a scale of 1 to 10, where there’s no attraction at the bottom end of the scale (1-2), and a very intense attraction at the top end (9-10).
Most people are looking for the 9’s and 10’s. However, the book suggests that any potential date that we feel is that high on the scale actually reminds us of the best and worst qualities of our primary caregivers, at an unconscious level, we are attracted to these people as we know they will cause us similar pain and trauma caused by our primary caregivers, and on some level, we are hoping that these romantic partners will help us heal the past hurt.
Now that’s something to think about …
Don’t worry, the solution is not to date people that you are not attracted to at the bottom end of the spectrum.
However, if you do only want to date people at the bottom end of the scale, be mindful, this could lead to a very unfulfilled relationship, lacking in passion and engagement.
THE DATING SECRET SAUCE …
The secret to finding a compatible romantic partner is to date people in the middle of the scale, and if there’s something attractive about them, go on a second or third date and get to know them.
It doesn’t matter what you find attractive about them - it could be their smile; it could be the way they talk about their family; it could be something they are passionate about. It doesn’t matter.
Simply, get to know them more as this is what will happen …
It might turn out that you don’t have much in common and you go your separate ways
You become friends
Or you could create a very deep connection and they become a natural 10 and ultimately your life partner!
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BT DATING PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATTRACTION SCALE
😱 SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES 😱
Subliminal messages can be a hotly debated topic, especially as many scientists do not believe they exist let alone can change a person's behaviour.
If you’re reading this, ask your intuition what is the highest truth regarding subliminal messages, and that will be the right answer for you.
I believe they do exist and I believe that in today’s society we are surrounded by subliminal messages - in adverts, in music, on television and famously in Disney movies. These are inherently bad and are then deep-rooted in our subconscious. It’s possible that these subliminal messages are contributing to fear, anxiety, stress and depression. The 1988 film ‘They Live’ depicts this really well. The main character finds some special sunglasses. When he wears them he is able to see subliminal messages all around him telling him how to behave.
THE BIGGER QUESTION IS IF SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES EXIST, WHY DO THEY EXIST?
If the role of the subconscious is to keep you safe, and subliminal messages are potentially causing fear, anxiety, stress and depression, altering your behaviour, it’s possible that we are giving away our power without evening knowing it.
Assuming subliminal messages exist, deeper alternative healings are wonderful solutions to release these beliefs leaving you feeling more at peace.
HOW CAN I MAKE THE UNCONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS?
ThetaHealing can release any disempowering subconscious beliefs and keeps virtues or any positive secondary gains from the disempowering belief. There is always something positive in all situations, no matter how negative you may feel it is.
After an energy healing, clients often feel lighter and at peace. Sometimes the results are immediate and obvious. For example, in my first ever healing I cleared a periodic ongoing cough that I’d had for years. Other shifts are more subtle but are powerful.
For example, one client had never been able to tell his long-term girl that he loved her, but could after a healing. His subtle shift was that he was able to express himself in ways that he had never been able to before.
If you’re trying to make a change in your life and struggling, it could be down to a deep-rooted limiting belief or emotion that is preventing you from moving forward.
Many of these deep-rooted limiting beliefs are held within our subconscious mind, which is approximately 90% of our mind. The other 10% is our conscious mind, which is where most of us focus.
Our subconscious programming comes from a variety of experiences - childhood, growing up, past lives, genetic beliefs that are carried from our ancestors, or even the collective conscious.
These disempowering beliefs then create our reality, which explains why we may not always have the results that we want.
These disempowering beliefs then create our reality, which explains why we may not always have the results that we want.
IN CONCLUSION …
If you have ever wondered why you keep repeating patterns in your life, or if you’re trying to make a change in your life and struggling, it could be down to a deep-rooted limiting belief or emotion in your subconscious mind that believes it’s keeping your safe, but in fact, it is preventing you from moving forward.