While it’s true that we only have one mind, that mind has 2 parts that each have a different purpose and work in different ways. Those two parts are known as:
- Conscious
- Subconscious
If you would think about your mind as a computer processor, your subconscious mind has a million times the power that your conscious mind holds. The primary reason why people tend to fail at attracting what they want in their lives is because they are using their conscious mind to override their subconscious. They try to fix issues using a tool that is basically powerless instead of using the most powerful one of all.
However, you must keep in mind that it’s not possible to override the powerful programming of your subconscious with the weak/powerless programming of your subconscious mind. Once you accept this, you’ll be able to start working on reaching your goals based on this knowledge.
Understanding Conscious Mind
Your conscious mind is located in the top layers of your brain. This area includes the lobes and neocortex. To be more specific, it’s located at the top and sides of your brain. In some scientific circles, this is referred to as the upper brain. Others refer to it as the “new brain” because it is the most recent addition to the brain. This part of our being has only existed for about 300,000 years and is in charge of the following:
- Self-control
- Voluntary thought
- Awareness
- Planning
The conscious mind is where our willpower lives and is able to overcome our “autopilot” routines and habits. It has the ability to stop sudden impulses and mute our emotions. However, the conscious mind is not able to multi-task, it can only process one thing at a time. When we are multitasking, we are actually causing our brain to switch from one task to another, which wears us out.
Subconscious Mind
On the other hand, your subconscious mind is located in your brain stem and limbic system. Some people refer to this as the lower brain and others refer to it as the old brain because it’s been around for millions of years.
The subconscious mind is very powerful, and has the ability to operate continuously and to solve problems without a conscious effort. Your subconscious mind is in charge of the following:
- Forging/managing all habits
- Emotions
- Creativity/insight
- Autonomic nervous system
Your subconscious mind works much more quickly and efficiently than your conscious mind does. It is able to multitask and make decisions quickly. Though your conscious mind needs some time to rest, your unconscious mind continues to work- solving problems, nudging us to do certain things and stop others, comprehending things, uncovering opportunities, and so much more. When you have a feeling that something is not right it is because your subconscious mind discovered something that your conscious mind could not see. This is intuition and is the subconscious mind’s way of communicating information that your conscious mind needs to know.
Can You Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind?
After much research, it has been discovered that positive thinking is not really as life-changing as once believed- and they still wonder why. Unless your subconscious and conscious minds are in alignment with one another, positive thoughts are not going to be very helpful.
Your subconscious is like a tape player, playing back what is in it. Unless you learn where the “record” button is, you’ll never be able to make any changes to the recording that is your subconscious mind.
Most people have not figured out that, though they’ve read numerous personal development books and practiced positive thinking, they are still living the same life they always have. However, it is possible to reprogram your subconscious mind and change the recording instead of talking to it.
The first way is to figure out what your deep-rooted beliefs are and making some changes to them. The second way is to put new information directly into your subconscious while your brain is functioning in alpha state, as when under hypnosis or in a meditative state.
We have only been given one mind, but that mind has 2 parts: conscious and subconscious. In order to make any changes to your subconscious mind, you must first start with understanding the subconscious mind. Only then will you be able to press the “record” button and reprogram your mind to do what you need/want it to do- reach your goals.