Self Hypnosis : Using Unconscious Learning to promote Well-being and health Self Hypnosis: Using Unconscious Learning to promote Well-being and health
Your mind is similar to a computer, what you experience shows up on the monitor of your consciousness, without a thought of where it came from. But, like your computer, much work happens behind the curtain, processes, programs, electrical pathways of information and direction, and the vast storage of memory.
You may think you have one mind, but you actually have two, or perhaps better put, you have two parts of one mind: the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious mind, like the computer monitor, enables you to experience what's going on, gives you choices, and brings awareness, allows you to interact.
If you use your computer, occasionally you get automatic messages that pop-up on the screen. Many of these messages are routine prompts from the computer to perform a routine action, and others come with immediate warning, and may bring feeling of confusion and frustration. These messages come from the computer program or processor, from behind the curtain, just like the thoughts and feelings which appear in your mind, seemingly out of nowhere.
Ever ask yourself where your thoughts come from? Some are directed by the conscious process of concentration, initiated by a focus of directed thought. But, most thoughts during the day seem to just pop into your mind. If you're like most people, you then feel the obligation to begin pondering on those thoughts, sometimes right out to the bitter end.
The conscious mind is your monitor for the world, it gives you information for your consideration and action. Before you take action you must choose, using your critical thinking, will power, and reasoning… all, important aspects of your conscious mind.
Your unconscious mind, however, is void of judgement. Like the computer processor, it performs its functions dutifully and without question. A computer will run a bad program, just as well as it does a good program. It does what it believes you want by the direction it is given.
Unwittingly, you give direction to your unconscious mind every day. Each time you repeat an action, any time you use a common word or phrase, and even the emotions you feel most often become direction for your unconscious mind. This direction we can also call learning. As a computer is programmed, so to is your unconscious mind through all your life's experiences. The unconscious mind, running all body systems and automatic functions, takes in all of your experiences, all sensory input from sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, and so forth. It also records events, images, thoughts, and feelings over your entire life span, and stores them as memory. It has been estimated that the human memory can store billions of bits of information each second, and by the time you're eighty or ninety you still will have only used about two-thirds of its capacity. Your memory seems virtually limitless.
The problem is, you don't need all that information. It would be system overload if all of your life's experiences came flooding through. When you're on your computer looking for a file or searching the web for information, you don't want all the data your computer has stored, you just want the information you need at this moment.
Therefore, the unconscious mind must have the means to process information, and to prioritize and retrieve what it believes you need, when it's needed. It must learn. In fact, one of the prime directives of the unconscious is to gain learning. As the unconscious has no judgement, it regards everything as learning.
Your learned behaviors can be good or not a good idea. We all possess both good habits and bad habits, however you may not remember that they are formed by the same process associated with unconscious learning.
Consciously you can determine, or choose what is desired and not desired. However your conscious mind isn't always given the choice before the unconscious has acted upon it. The unconscious mind provides treatments to all of your inner resources; memory, recall, creativity, and body functions.
Everything you are good at, every talent, skill, and capability follows this same path of learning. This unconscious learning takes place in three primary modes: repetition, association, and emotion.
Repetition - the more you repeat a behavior, the more you'll probably repeat the behavior, as your unconscious mind develops an easy pathway for it. Your mind believes you want this frequently used behavior by the very fact that you keep on doing it. Actions sometimes speak louder than words. Consider the smoking habit, what more than smoking does a smoker do each day. A pack a day smoker repeats this behavior 20 times a day, every day. There's lots of repetition there. That's why “practice makes perfect". Even things you start out doing bad, in time become easier as you master the behavior, talent or skill.
Because your unconscious runs all your body systems, it can benefit you develop in the repeated behavior. Every smoker will tell you that in the beginning cigarette taste terrible. But, in time, with practice and diligence, repeating smoking again and again, an amazing thing happens. The cigarette that tasted terrible now becomes enjoyable. The unconscious mind, taking in all the information from your body and all the senses, makes it much simpler for you by adjusting the sensory information to really make it more enjoyable. This is how you acquire tastes for things. The unconscious mind helps you do what it believes you want, without judgment, even if its bad for you.
This is a good example of the difference in conscious and unconscious processing. The conscious mind knows all of the hazards and problems of smoking, yet, the unconscious mind, connected to the body, drives the smoking addiction.
Even though you don't smoke there are many examples in your life of this process. Have you ever worked at a spot for several years, driving your car the same route every day? Then, one morning you drive to work, park your car, and as you close the door think…"how did I get here?" While your conscious mind was wandering in dream, worry, or thought, your unconscious mind and your body were driving the car. They know the route well. Or, have you ever been anxious to get home, and suddenly look down to discover that you are speeding. Your foot has unconsciously pressed down further more on the pedal. Just the thought made your body react, without any supervision from your conscious mind.
Association - the unconscious mind works primarily by association. As one behavior is associate with another, there is a double bind. That's why even the aroma of coffee can bring about an urge to smoke a cigarette. Have you every observed that when you turn on the TV you suddenly feel a bit hungry? When you're with friends telling jokes, does that trigger you to suddenly think of some funny things yourself? Since your unconscious mind and your body are in constant communication, your body reacts to these triggers.
Emotion - emotion is the strongest form of communication from the unconscious mind. Isn't it true that your strongest and most vivid memories are those linked with strong emotion. Emotion drives the most fundamental programs for your survival, the “fight or flight" response. Think about what emotion is helpful for a fight - anger. Anger can mobilize powerful resources within your body to help you fight with power and fury. An emotion that is helpful to flee from a threat is - fear. Fear will put an extra skip in your step, allowing you sprint like an Olympic athlete. You can run pretty fast without fear, but with it your body springs into action automatically, you don't even have to think about it. Emotion helps the mind distinguish between events and information from your life's experiences, which it thinks is important for both you and your survival. Those things without emotional value are lost to conscious recall.
The unconscious minds ultimate priority is to guarantee your survival. Maintaining automatic functions like your heart beating and respiration going is a job it takes very seriously. Since the unconscious lacks judgement, it interprets any negative emotion as communication to mobilize the body for action. That's why when you're anxious, stressed, worried, or depressed, you feel that unconscious muscle tension in your neck, shoulders, or back, your heart race, and that pit in your stomach.
These sensations are your body speaking to you. This communication is important for you to understand as your body can be used to communicate messages back as well. A tense muscle calls for more support and energy from the unconscious mind. The unconscious responds with the release of stress hormones, sympathetic nervous system response and quickened pulse. It all happens automatically, but, if a tense muscle calls for the stress response, then a relaxed muscle will reverse the request and call for relaxation.
Breathing is another powerful mind-body communication method. Breathing is important because it is an automatic system run by the unconscious mind, yet it is also consciously controlled. Breathing provides a valuable and effective bridge of communication between conscious and unconscious mind. During stress you breathe shallow and rapidly, sometimes even holding your breath. But, when you're relaxed you breathe deep and slowly, like when you sleep. When you consciously change the rate of your breathing, a chemical change occurs within your body. Stress hormones begin to stem their flow, and the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged with all of its calming effects.
You communicate guidance to your mind and body with the words you use.
What words do you use in that running commentary of your internal thoughts? Are those words encouraging or penalizing? Words are electric, you need to choose them for the emotional voltage that they bring.
Remember that emotions are the most powerful driver of unconscious processing. Words stimulate emotion, and emotion is the source of all motivation. Begin to think of your thoughts as magnetic. Whatever you hold in your predominant conscious view, will simply attract a lot of same. Worry and self-doubt will come as easily as confidence and focus. The unconscious mind provides you with what it believes you're asking for by association. You get what you ask for, so choose only good things.