The subconscious rules so much of our lives from behind the scenes. From the moment that the sperm meets the egg and begins to process of forming a life, you are governed by the subconscious- your mothers and your own. The subconscious is the force that tells your heart how to beat, when to blink, when to feel hungry.
All of your physiological functions are the work of your deeper mind. It also has a huge impact on how we perceive the world. The subconscious works very quickly, analyzing the world around you all the time, finding the patterns and making assumptions that you realize consciously.
In metaphysical terms, the subconscious is the force that can make or break our creative and spiritual processes. In many ways, the subconscious is a truer reflection of your soul – it is the foundation upon which the ego and the conscious mind our built. So how do we make it listen?
This is not an easy answer. There is not one method that will make everyone’s subconscious change its old patterns to conform to the new paradigm that we wish to consciously install. I have decided to explore the methods that are either the most popular or the most effective to me personally that I do not see being explored as much as I think they should. Try them out, experiment and explore, and you will find something that works for you so long as you maintain an open mind.
1. Meditation and Visualization
Chances are, we all have heard about the many many benefits of meditation, so I won’t go on beating this dead horse for too long. All you need to know for these purposes is that when you meditate you blur the boundary of the conscious and unconscious and begin a sort of integration process.
The reason we focus on our breathing so heavily when we meditate is that it is one of the actions that can be controlled by both the conscious and subconscious minds. As we relax more deeply we become a mix of subconscious and conscious, until eventually both are united and transcend to a state of super-consciousness. It is during this process that we can very easily release old paradigms and install new ones. Simply visualize your intent while you meditate.
This is rewriting your subconscious. All a personal paradigm really is, is a story that we keep subconsciously telling ourselves until it becomes real around us. Now is the time to write a new story with a happier ending.
2. Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis works very similar to meditation, the only difference and benefit being that there is someone to guide you every step of the way.
Many people find that meditation and visualization do not work for them because they get distracted, their phone starts buzzing, or they just can not figure out how to be both relaxed and invested at the same time. A good hypnotherapist can assist in all of those things.
More likely than not he or she will have you turn your phone off on the outset of the session. Their voice and instruction that are both calm but authoritative will keep you focused, and the fact that you probably paid money to have this session take place will make you much more invested in focusing.
He or she will teach you how to relax and have an environment that you may feel more suited to this work than your own home. I am aware that not everyone has the opportunity to find a hypnotherapist, and that is okay. There are still other methods that can be explored, and there are also a wide variety of guided meditations and recorded hypnotherapy videos online, for free.
3. Sleep
Sleep, like meditation, is a time when the boundary of the two minds is thinner. How often do we find ourselves falling asleep thinking about all the things they don’t want to do tomorrow or are already stressed about from the past day? Have you found yourself drifting to sleep thinking about work, the fight you had with your lover, all the errands you have to run tomorrow, or just loneliness?
Many people find that when they are about to fall asleep that this is the time they are no longer distracted and their worst anxieties and fears can bounce around our minds.
This is an unfortunate side effect of a culture that teaches us to fight and fear what we hate rather than focus on and create what we love. It is especially unfortunate because as you are in that half asleep state, you are just pouring these ideas in their purest form straight into your subconscious. As you fall asleep you are essentially a tiny coin being thrown into the giant wishing well of the subconscious.
If night after night after night you are placing all that stress and negativity into the great wishing well of the subconscious, than that is all your subconscious is going to know how to see the next day.
As you fall asleep, think about the things you want. Picture yourself with your perfect guy, visualize yourself working at that perfect job, explore your dream vacation. This begins filling the subconscious with positivity. You will wake up the next day feeling great, and the subconscious will begin rewriting itself to meet these positive goals.
4. Ritual
The final method I have here is the one I have found most personally effective. There is, among much of the spiritual community, a distinction between what Occultists and Pagans call Magick, and this force that the New Age community refers to as the Law of Attraction. Many enlightened individuals realize that these to forces are actually just different names for the same idea.
However, New Agers go about making vision boards and using affirmations while Witches and Occultists make talismans and say spells. There are people on either side who do not respect the “nonsense” of the other side. But really, I think the people who are the most enlightened are the ones who see the similarities behind both sides and realize what they have in common and how they can help one another.
One big way that the New Age community can learn from its seemingly darker sister is that rituals work. Plain and simple, doing a ritual gets results. This is because our subconscious speaks symbolically. It is very receptive to symbols, and a ritual is, on a level, a way of communicating symbolically to your subconscious.
When a Wiccan lights a green candle, burns some incense, and says a spell to attract abundance they are communicating to their inner self. Their subconscious understands the symbolism and accepts it, and sets to work making it happen. The rituals do not have to have ancient hymns to long dead gods or blood sacrifices. It can be as easy as lighting a candle and saying some words. The best rituals are personal ones, so devise some for yourself! Be creative!
There are many other methods that I have not included in this article for the sake of length. I will explore this in later articles, but I feel this is an excellent starting point. If this is new information to you, tell me if this is helpful! If this information is old hat, than tell me about methods you have tried that you find to work! As always, love and light my beautiful brothers and sisters.