Most of our thoughts happen, in secret, in our subconscious. Recently, researchers have found many hidden 'people' — subpersonalities — in our brains! These subpersonalities cause us to 'act out of character,' or wonder, "Now why did I say that?" or stop us from getting the goals we most desire. Perhaps Epictetus had an inkling of this when he said, "People get disturbed not by things, but by the view that they take of them."
Your subpersonalities make up your 'subconscious.' Curiously, your subconscious can't tell the difference between real life and imagination! That makes you cry over a sad but fictional movie, laugh at a nonsensical joke, or believe a silly rumour.
What secret beliefs do you hold?
The secret beliefs in your subconscious control your feelings, actions and success. You may hold your belief in the world as the most fundamental. Ask yourself these two questions.
- Do you believe in a friendly or hostile universe?
- Do your thoughts, words and actions reflect this belief?
Even if you believe in the best possible world, if your subconscious disagrees, you will fight a losing battle.
How can you train your subconscious?
Luckily, it doesn't take much effort or, usually, very much time to retrain your subconscious. Follow these four simple steps for a great start.
- Look for beauty and wonder. Do you normally find reasons to complain or criticise? Each time you do so, you tell your subconscious that you live in a bad world. If you keep looking for the good in everything, you tell your subconscious that you live in a wonderful world.
- Don't judge other people. You can't possibly know how you would act if you had someone else's upbringing, experiences and knocks, can you? Make it a habit to wonder at the incredible differences in people's reactions to the same things. You will find greater peace of mind — and people will love you for it!
- Praise yourself. Do you "beat yourself up" when you fail at something? Or moan, "About time!" when you finally succeed? Instead, when you fail, ask yourself what you can learn. When you succeed, celebrate — no matter how small the achievement! If you really can't succeed, one of your subpersonalities has stopped you. Ask yourself, "What makes me secretly want to fail at this? What do I wish for instead?" Your subpersonality just may answer!
- Praise others. How often do you say something horrid to or about someone? Every time you find you doing that, interrupt yourself! Make a compliment. Praise that person. Mother Theresa said it so well: "I can do no great things; only small things with great love."
Perhaps you find your laptop or desktop computer puzzling, confusing and frustrating. Imagine how much more so your "necktop" computer! Don't feel sadness when your brain doesn't always do what you want. Instead, wonder at its incredible complexity, praise it, and move on to a better life!
I leave you with this:
Further reading
- Discover Your Subpersonalities by John Rowan
- Life Makeovers by Cheryl Richardson
- Neurospeak by Robert Masters
