We human beings “live” our lives in our minds. While we experience life through our sensory perceptions of sight, smell, sound, touch and taste, the quality and interpretation of those experiences is primarily driven by our thoughts, emotions and perceptions. The brain is a biochemical organ, part of the visible and tangible human body. The mind is the invisible, transcendent world of thoughts, feelings, memories and intellect. The discussions surrounding the human brain, mind and consciousness is very serious and exciting and is currently heavily debated by top scientists and academia. For now, let us have a close look at the human mind.

According to Dr. John Kappas – considered to be the father of Hypnotherapy, the human mind can be broadly categorized into the Conscious Mind and the Subconscious Mind. Now visualize an iceberg with its tip sticking out in the sea. The tip of the iceberg, which is around 10% of its total mass, can be compared to the Conscious Mind – the part of the mind we are aware of. The major part of the iceberg, the 90% mass hidden under the sea surface, can be compared to the Subconscious Mind. Subconscious or Unconscious Mind because we are unaware of the existence and working of this part of our mind.

The Conscious Mind which constitutes 10 to 12 % of the human mind controls all voluntary functions of the body including motor organs, speech, sight, etc. Its functions also include thinking, feeling, logic, reasoning and decision making. The Conscious Mind completely shuts down when we sleep, during which the subconscious mind has total control.

The Subconscious Mind makes up 88 to 90% of our mind and is 6000 times more powerful than the Conscious Mind. This is the storehouse of all memories and experiences of our life. The Subconscious Mind controls all involuntary physiological functions like heart beat, respiration, digestion, circulation etc. It also controls our beliefs, fears, phobias, habits and behaviours. The other primary function of the Subconscious Mind is to protect the body through the primitive mind responsible for triggering the “flight or fight” response when confronted by danger or threat.

Our thoughts are the building blocks of our reality. Thoughts attract feelings and become emotions. Repeated experiences of similar thought patterns and emotions turns into beliefs. Beliefs create habits and these eventually become rules we live by. All beliefs, habits and behaviours are formed and stored in the Subconscious Mind. These are projected into the Conscious Mind and have a direct influence on the way we think, behave and act during our waking hours.

At times these beliefs and habits may be limiting and prevent us from living our lives to our true potential. The limiting beliefs may take the form of low self worth, low confidence, fears and phobias to name a few. This is the reason that a lot of inner work is targeted at the subconscious mind through affirmations, subliminal programming, hypnotherapy etc. It is here that the programs are embedded and it is here that the reprogramming or reframing has to be done.

But since the Conscious Mind dominates our behaviour during our waking hours, it is challenging to directly access the Subconscious Mind and its deeply conditioned impressions. The Subconscious Mind can be accessed only in states of deep relaxation – states called as the alpha or theta brainwave states. These natural states of relaxation are found just before falling asleep and for a few minutes immediately upon waking up. These states are otherwise induced during meditation and hypnosis.

I cannot emphasize enough the power of the Subconscious mind. Empowering beliefs help us create a happy, loving and successful life. Limiting or disempowering beliefs pull us down and we end up creating discontent, pain and suffering for ourselves and for those around us. We have the power to change our limiting beliefs and to transform our lives. Use this power to transform your life.

Watch out for my next post which will be about Affirmations and how to use them effectively.  Until then, be Empowered. Be the best version of you. 🙂

Love and light

P.S. If you are interested in exploring the power of your mind in detail, you may want to check out our flagship workshop currently being held in Bangalore, India – Unleashing the Power of the Mind. Call +91 9620543691/ email us at connect@purplenirvana.in for more details!