The Subconscious Mind
TLDR - You have both an analytical brain and a subconscious mind. While it’s often said that we don’t have control over our subconscious, there are techniques that allow us to influence and reprogram it.
Difference Between Analytical Brain and Subconscious Mind
The analytical brain, also known as the conscious mind, is responsible for logical thinking, reasoning, and deliberate decision making. The subconscious mind operates beneath the surface, influencing your emotions, beliefs, and automatic responses.
Analytical Brain:
Conscious Thought: The analytical brain operates in the realm of conscious thought, where you are actively aware of and engaged in thinking processes.
Problem Solving: It involves logical reasoning, critical thinking, and systematic problem solving.
Focused Attention: This aspect of the brain is engaged when you are concentrating on specific tasks, making decisions, and analyzing information.
Associated Brain Waves: Beta waves (13-30 Hz) are typically dominant during analytical thinking and focused mental activity.
Subconscious Mind:
Automatic Processes: The subconscious mind handles automatic processes that do not require active, conscious thought, such as habits, instincts, and reflexes.
Memory Storage: It stores memories, experiences, and learned behaviors that can influence thoughts and actions without conscious awareness.
Emotional Influence: Emotions, intuition, and creative insights often arise from the subconscious mind.
Associated Brain Waves: Alpha waves (8-12 Hz) and theta waves (4-7 Hz) are commonly associated with subconscious processing, including relaxation, creativity, and intuitive thinking.
Additional Differences:
Processing Speed: The subconscious mind can process information much faster than the analytical brain, as it does not require the same level of conscious deliberation.
Control: The analytical brain is under voluntary control, allowing you to direct your focus and thoughts, while the subconscious mind operates more automatically, often without deliberate intention.
Examples
Public Speaking: Your analytical brain may rationalize that there is nothing to fear. You’ve practiced your presentation, you know your material, and the audience is friendly. However, as you step onto the stage, your subconscious mind may recall a past experience where you felt judged or embarrassed in front of a group, triggering a fight or flight response. You then find yourself breathing faster, your muscles tensing, and your heart racing, despite your conscious mind saying everything is fine.
Fear of Heights: Your analytical brain might remind you that you’re safe on the observation deck of a tall building. However, your subconscious mind, wired to protect you from perceived danger, might disagree. As you approach the edge, you might experience sweaty palms, dizziness, or even panic, as your subconscious tries to steer you away from what it perceives as a threat, regardless of your conscious reasoning.
Reprogramming the Subconscious Mind
The subconscious mind is not fixed and is open to change. We have the power to tap into this deeper part of ourselves and reshape how it perceives and reacts to the world around us through images and emotions saved to our subconscious. If the thought of giving a presentation currently triggers anxiety and self doubt, we can reprogram our subconscious to associate public speaking with confidence and calmness. Over time, this shift can make us feel more assured and composed when standing in front of an audience.
Techniques
Note that there is much more to changing your subconscious than what is described below. Look for more detailed strategies in future posts.
Meditation: Meditation is a powerful tool for quieting the analytical mind and accessing the subconscious. Through regular meditation, you can become more aware of the thoughts and beliefs that shape your reality, allowing you to consciously reframe them.
Hypnosis and Self Hypnosis: Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation where the subconscious mind becomes more open to suggestion. A trained hypnotherapist can guide you through this process to address fears, habits, or limiting beliefs. Self hypnosis, is similar to meditation and a technique you can practice on your own. It involves entering a similar state and using affirmations or visualizations to reprogram your subconscious.
Muscle Testing: Also known as applied kinesiology, muscle testing is a method used to communicate with the subconscious mind through the body. By asking questions and observing the body’s physical response, you can gain insights into subconscious beliefs or blocks that may be holding you back.
Visualization: Visualization involves creating mental images that align with your goals or desires. By vividly imagining a desired outcome, you can program your subconscious to believe that it’s achievable, making it more likely to manifest in reality.
Journaling: Writing down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences can help you uncover subconscious patterns and bring them into the light of conscious awareness. Journaling is a reflective practice that allows you to explore and understand the deeper layers of your mind.
Affirmations: Affirmations are positive statements that you repeat to yourself to replace negative or limiting beliefs in your subconscious. Over time, these repeated messages can help shift your mindset and create new, empowering beliefs.
Breathwork: Conscious breathing techniques (similar to meditation) can help you access and release stored emotions in the subconscious mind. Breathwork practices, such as deep diaphragmatic breathing or specific pranayama exercises, can calm the nervous system and allow you to tap into your subconscious.
The Consequences of Misalignment
When your analytical brain and subconscious mind are not in alignment, it can create internal stress and discomfort. For instance, if you find yourself engaging in behavior that goes against your core values or beliefs, your subconscious mind will likely signal distress. This could manifest as guilt, anxiety, or a nagging sense that something isn’t right.
Over time, this internal conflict can lead to more serious issues, including physical health problems. Chronic stress, tension, and unresolved emotions stored in the subconscious can weaken the immune system, contribute to chronic pain, or lead to other health concerns.