The Merriam-Webster definition "Of Two Minds" is 'having two opinions (beliefs) or ideas about something'. As evidenced perhaps by examples such as promising yourself to get in shape, but then never consistently exercising or deciding it's time to pursue that new business idea, but weeks later no action has happened....the list goes on. It's true, we don’t have one mind, we have two: The Conscious and the Subconscious.
The Conscious Mind is volitional. It sets goals and judges results. It thinks abstractly; it's conceptually based. It's responsible for short term memory and time-bound being past and future based. It's why we may have regrets about the past or worry about the future. The Conscious Mind is also the one that reads the motivational book and gets excited about making changes for the better.
The Subconscious Mind on the other hand, is habitual. Its job is to monitor the operation of the body and prefers the familiar. This mind is literal; it sees the world through the five senses. It's timeless being only in the present moment. It's responsible for long term memory and retains knowledge of things we may have consciously learned at one point, but now the Subconscious has made it an "automatic function". It's why we don't have to relearn how to walk or drive every day when we wake up.
The two minds couldn't be more different, but when the Conscious and Subconscious Minds work in concert, lasting transformational changes take place. It's easier to change habits of thought and behavior if you access the Subconscious Mind because it stores the beliefs, perceptions, attitudes and values that we have accumulated throughout our lives. In fact, most of the beliefs and perceptions were instilled (or programmed) in the Subconscious Mind from the last trimester of pregnancy before we were even born, until about the age of seven. And so, when our Conscious Mind is engaged in thinking (which is 95% of the time), these Subconscious programs start playing without our awareness. Although many of the Subconscious beliefs are supportive and helpful, there's an equal (if not greater) amount that are self-sabotaging and limiting.
Many self-help and change modalities such as affirmations or main stream Psychotherapy, mainly try to create Subconscious change through Conscious means (talking, language and logic) but it doesn't translate from the Conscious Mind to the Subconscious Mind. As a result, some changes can be achieved in this manner, but they can be limited and typically take a significant amount of time.
What's important to know is that we all have the the power and ability to change beliefs in our Subconscious Mind learn after the age of seven:
Repetition (Habituation) - After all, it's how we learned to drive. Consciously learn something and then practice it over and over again.
Hypnosis and Meditation - This is similar to how we learned in our first seven years of life; our brain was operating in a low vibrational frequency. At these lower brain wave frequencies (Theta and Delta brain waves), beliefs and programs can be communicated.
New Belief Change Modalities / Energy Psychology - Methods to communicate with the Subconscious Mind to replace limiting beliefs with supportive beliefs. Two examples include PSYCH-K® and Emotional Freedom Technique.
So now with this awareness, imagine if you communicated with your Subconscious Mind and changed the beliefs (or programs), so they reflect the wishes and desires of your Conscious Mind. Both minds would be in sync, focused on creating the life experience you desire. What an experience indeed.
*Bruce H. Lipton, PhD. The Biology of Belief
*Robert M. Williams, M.A. PSYCH-K The Missing Peace in Your Life
*Artwork by Ikon Prints
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