Subconscious

As a reminder, affirmations are positive self talk. The goal is to state, feel, and ‘be’ the part, as if your goal were already achieved. For example, if I were interested in being more patient with my family, I might say:

If this were the line you were rehearsing, I would suggest doing so in front of a mirror or with your eyes closed. The goal is to integrate all five senses into this affirmation, so you can see, touch, smell, taste, and hear what your life will be like when this goal is hit. You might imagine your children playing, hear their laughter, feel them run to give you a giant hug, while stinking a bit from rolling around in the mud; to the point their stink is tainting the the taste of the piece of gum you just put in your mouth.

Now, practicing affirmations is a great habit. Adding sensory integration by using all five senses is even more powerful. Some people like to create drawings or visual aides to help them process what their lives might look like when they hit their goals.

To take things one step further, what about healing subconscious beliefs that no longer serve you? In other words, you could center all of your time on new patterns and beliefs which you desire to be your every day life. Or, you can work on changing/healing past belief systems that cause you to make poor choices and prevent you from realizing your dreams.

The key is to balance creating affirmations for a positive subconscious conversation and also re-writing old beliefs that no longer serve you.

In order to re-write old belief patterns, there are three steps:

1. Identify you don’t feel good (anger, fear, resentment, jealousy, sadness, loneliness, frustration, anxiety, etc.)
2. Connect to achieve a loving state (i.e. connect with nature, think of a loving memory, and envisions yourself back in that time)
3. Go back to your earliest memory of this same feeling and look at the younger you with compassion, as you attempt to re-process what happened through adult eyes.

Here’s a practical example from my life:

When I was 6 years old and moved to Pennsylvania, many people called me the ‘fat kid’. I began to describe myself this way, and look for examples of how I was fat every time I looked in the mirror. Even through high school and college, I had a tendency to be in great shape and throw it all away in cycles of hard work and play. Whenever I glanced at the mirror, even if it were during water polo season and I looked my best, I would grab a love handle or pinch my lower belly to see how much fat was left.

As an adult, I learned affirmations and to envision myself thin, in shape, and feeling great. I saw this every day and this became my reality. Yet, I would still go for fake food and poor health habits whenever life became stressful.

It wasn’t until recently when I felt angry, resentful, and fearful in a group situation that I connected the dots and realized this started on the school bus when I was being made fun of for being a fat kid. I could tell the situation in our group was not enough to throw me off kilter like this, so it didn’t make sense I was experiencing a flood of emotions. My first recollection of this exact emotion was on the bus, so that was what I needed to heal.

I went back in my memory bank to being six years old, saw myself on the school bus, but this time ‘adult me’ was sitting right next to ‘six year old me’. I listened to what was going on, took it all in, and then explained to ‘younger me’ that it was all going to be ok, and this experience would one day result in me helping hundreds of thousands of people lose weight and improve their health. I also confirmed that kids are only mean because they want to see what it feels like, and they eventually learn it feels better to be nice. Younger me smiled, sat back, and relaxed. The words bounced off me from that point on, and I seemed to have a smile on my face throughout the bus ride.

The process of going back and revisiting a memory from childhood that may have created a ripple effect in your life is powerful. If you think of positive self talk as 50%, this is the other 50%

Heal your mind and change your reality. The ripple effect of every thought you have and place into your subconscious mind changes what you see, how you feel, and when you act. Your subconscious is powerful. You might consider it your command center, so make sure it’s as healthy as can be!

I’m so grateful for you,