Communicating with the subconscious mind

[goldmother]

I was recently asked a question about how to go about communicating with the subconscious mind, for self-development and self-improvement. I hope no-one minds, but I thought the answer may be interesting for other people to read.



To effectively communicate with the subconscious mind, you must start at the beginning. It is easy for masters of hypnosis, self-hypnosis, meditation to make the whole process sound as straightforward as falling off a log - and for some people it is - but in fact for many people it isn't. Despite what is often insinuated by such masters, trance states of any kind are an art - being in touch with your subconscious mind is an art, and it takes dedication and practice to achieve such a level of communication with the subconscious.

We all, each and every one of us, have the ability to tune in to our subconscious, and to use that ability to make positive changes in our lives. It is a natural ability, not something that is given by another. But like any natural ability, each individual has varying levels of 'talent'. I will use a metaphor here, which will explain I hope what I mean a little better.

We are all born with an ability to communicate with others - whether on a verbal or non-verbal level. As toddlers we learn first to speak, then to write, as we grow older we learn to moderate our communication according to situations ariound us - we learn that it may not be appropriate to shout out in class at school, and we learn that there are times when a kind word to another is worth more than gold. These are natural, instictive skills - we all have them. But some people will go further - they may learn the art of captivating public speaking, like, for example, a world leader. They may become a prize winning author as they set down their words on paper. They may simply become a compassionate counsellor with sound advice.

As with everything in life, from communication to exercise, there are different levels - communicating with the subconscious is much the same. We have a natural ability to go communicate with our subsoncious, but we can enhance that and build upon it. Some people are born with an ability to communicate easily and on a deep level, for others it is more of a struggle and requires more effort, but the skills can be learnt. It just takes practice, and sometimes it IS hard work - but it is worthwhile.

And the other factor is one of recognition. How will you know when you are comunicating effectively with your subconscious mind? How will YOU define it? What are your expectations? How do you know they are right?

Another metaphor for you - imagine you had never seen any colours in your life - that your whole world was painted in shades of grey. Then, along comes someone who tells you that you should be able to see all the colours of the rainbow, and if you try really hard you will be able to see them. So you try - but what are you aiming for? How do you know what colour is green, for example, unless you are told that it is green? How will you recognise it? Do you see what I am trying to say here? Unless you are shown, or there is someone there to point it out and say 'hey THAT is green' then you won't know.

How will you know you are communicating with the subconscious? What marker will you use to tell you that you have done it? Some people need the guidance of others, to give them the confidence in their own knowledge and their own experience.

So start at the beginning, the very beginning, and don't expect thunderbolts and lightening flashes of insight because it simply doesn't work that way. It is a gentle process. Whatever drives you to do it, whether it is self-improvement or searching for insights, communicating with the subconscious mind is subtle, and first and foremost you need to learn to trust yourself and your experiences. And like most things, you need to walk before you can run, metaphorically speaking. Oh, and the other thing is not to get discouraged if it seems that things aren't working out the way you would like them to - be patient, it will come right in time, but in the time that fits you, not anyone else - this is something that is so unique - as unique as we are all individuals.

Just my offering for today xx

May you walk in love and light

Goldmother xx




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[goldmother]

vermindaspirit
Sacred Grove Moderator

Joined: Jul 2005
Gender: Female
Posts: 289
Location: Gleawecestre, Middil Engel....
Re: Communicating with the subconscious mind
« Reply #1 on Jul 22, 2005, 1:21pm »

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Thanks babe ...Such a well informed wise women that you are.....Thanks for taking the time to post that...Great reading!.. Verminda ..xx

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The Seeker of Truth, eventually has to Investigate Himself.....
(Kierkegarrd, 1813 - 1855)..





blickemblackem
Ectochaser

Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 50
Re: Communicating with the subconscious mind
« Reply #2 on Jul 22, 2005, 4:38pm »

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Oh I love topics like these. I, myself work diligently with my subconscious. It is through my subconscious that I then communicate with my higher self, and with other subconscouses.

I find I attempt this when someone is obviously frustrated or upset, I try to give them words of encouragement.






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[astralguardian]

I have been working diligent as always on this, I may have some words of experience to spare. I work not only using a device as a visual symbol and aid, but also in direct communication now. I still use the pendulum, but I do listen quite intently to my low self these days.

One thing I find interesting, is I never ask for the future. I leave that up to experience at a later date

[astralguardian]

But as you say, I should start at the beginning.

A concept one must accept is that you need to build trust with your subconscious. This may sound silly but it's really quite necessary. Your subconscious mind defends you, top to bottom, inside and out. This means that your beliefs, priniciples and ideals are also defended. You must start at the very beginning by showing your subsconious you trust them and that they can trust you. If you convey the need to change immediately, your subconscious will #1, fight you. #2, tell you wnat you want to hear in order to do #1. What you must convey if you are looking to change something, is to convey that the new "thing" is far SAFER and beneficial than the original. In order to do this, you must have trust built. It is the foundation as you are one and the same.

Work on your trust with one another. If there are doubts, or unacceptence, there is no way you will communicate further or beneficially. and ultimately, (as I get to it through this concept of self communication) that trust will allow you to communucate with your high self (spirit guide if you prefer) through prayer and ritual.

[seleena]

That is neat Astralguardian. What type of things would you suggest to do, to build that trust?

[astralguardian]

Let me see if I can convey this without sounding garbled. ok here we go (lol)

The first step I took in order to create a "relationship" as it were with my subconscious (be aware I may change gears and call the subconscious the low self ), is to give them a name. You can drum up a name, you can attempt to let your low self come up with a name, you can try to find a name, I personally went through two names before my subconscious was content (gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside). The first word that came to me was "Fire", so I went with that. But what I was doing was listening to what my subconscious though I should hear. after about a week of this, it started to not feel good. I'll explain why. So, don't worry if you start off with one name and move to another. You don't even HAVE to do this step, but I found it priceless, so I am sharing it with you. My low self's name is, Aark. Aark? these are some of my friends, friends? this is Aark, my subconscious

Once I had a name that "he" seemed content with, I moved to asking more indepth questions. AHA! skipping ahead aren't I?

Nope, just throwing you for a loop, hehehe ok enough clowning around.

There is another thread in this board called, Affirmations. This is one of the first steps. Try this as an exercise. Several times a day, tell yourself, "I love you (insert name subconscious name here) This will sound silly at first, but as time goes by, you will be amazed at how powerful it is. Give yourself compliments! "I look great today, thankyou SuzyQ!" Use compliments and always give lots of thanks when you feel that intuition kicking in. This was much harder for me as I am well... male... lol! These gut reactions come from somewhere don't they? We consciously process only a fraction of what all our senses absorb at any second of the day. Our low self however, stores ALL of this, it's just a matter of retrieval. Now, when we have our safety or the safety of a loved one on the line, our low self can spring into action. This encompasses anything that our low self see as worth protecting. That includes principles, beliefs, you name it. Our subconscious is very good at giving us just the info we need to protect ourselves. Some people choose to ignore it, others listen very well. Other peoples subconscuousnesses I am sure, have learned to give up on communucating, hence we have signs that say "MIND THE GAP". heheh

Affirmations drive home an aspect that our subconscious craves- Love and adoration. You know what? Our spirit guides already have this for us, but we and others around us, teach our subconsciousnesses this. Think of this too, when you either compliment or bad-mouth another person. You are driving a tiny little needle into thier subconscious, carving out the actual belief in themselves, what you say. So many of today's little snippets of kind wisdom seem to really show through with this concept.

Yes, we are in a sense, working on self improvement. Self esteem, self-worth. You bet we are. When you show adoration and love for yourself, your subconscious gleams and offers you every last bit of information it knows.

This all sounds well and good, but ok, so how do we apply this with a plan? Let me work on this for you. There are so many fascates of this, I apologize if I tend to skew one direction or another. Lots to say

While we work on our affirmations (scheduled times for this work wonders too by the way, along with the random acts of self kindness ), lets teach our low self a method of communication. To do this, the simplest way is to have a visual tool or aid. I will be using the pendulum as my tool This can take form of anything from a key on a string, to some extravagant crystal on a gold chain that cost $100 You know what? I bought one for $25 and you know what Aark thought of it "THIS IS KAKA!!!" LOL! I have a necklace that has this neat dragon pendant on it, with a nylon cord. One day while doing my business in the "mens Library", I eyed the necklace and felt Aark give me that butterfly, warm cozy feeling. (yes, your subconscious doesn't care if you are sitting in the Privy to communicate, that is afterall a bodily function it knows plenty about). So! I decided to use the necklace as a pendulum and WHALA!!!! woot! he was so happy with me LOL

Ok, NOW! in the beginning when I was using the KAKA pendulum, I taught Aark the rules of the "Game". This is how you want to go about teaching your subconscious a tool. Explain it to them as a game. They like these kinds of games, becuase you are asking it to retrieve information that they have stored. You are telling your low self, YOU TRUST THEM TO TELL THE TRUTH.

When we start, we explain a few things to our low self. We explain in sincerity, that there are no wrong answers. That is key. No wrong answers. Explain that whatever they think and feel is the right answer, no matter the answer. This teaches them that they can trust us, as we will hold no judgement over their feelings on something. Explain to your lowself that it can stop the game at anytime. In the beginning, they may not play at all. This is fine. One must never push or coax this step along. To do so will to make it very unappealing and you'll get the reverse effect- lose some trust. This is difficult as it is easy to become frustrated as you want results! Let me tell you... it took me 6 months before Aark said a peep. Now I personally don't even need the pendulum, but I still like to as it hones Aark's skills at other things (for later )

What we will start with, is teaching the answers We need to teach our low selves Yes, and No. We also need to teach it how to stop or have it swing the pendulum in a "waiting" fashion. I use two different types of swings, which complicated things at first. I use them now effectively, but lets start out easy- probably one of the reasons it took 6 months LOL!

The style I'll teach makes steps down the read easier to work with. on a piece of paper, draw a horizontal line, then a perpedicular line in the middle of the first line. Think of this like a compass or protractor. we have 180 degrees with our horizontal line, and have two 90 degree angles with our vertical and perpendicular line. ONn the left side, write No. On the right side, write Yes. later on we will add a small section near the vertical line called "poor question" but for now, lets stick with yes and no. The vertical line is where the "waiting" spot is. A non moving pendulum also works.

I hold the pendulum between my right thumb, index finger and the "birdie"finger. Keep the pendulum still. What we are waiting for is the minute muscle movements that our subconscious has control over (no there's no mystical spirit force moving the pendulum around at this point anyway.). I suggest you rest your arm however it makes it most comfortable.


Outloud, tell your subconscious (after you have prepared by telling yourself that this is a game to have fun with and that there are no wrong answers, and that they may stop at anytime). That this is the answer for YES. Swing the pendulum on the right side. Then tell yourself outloud, that this means STOP (swing the pendulum backward and forward over the vertical line. You can try both this version and the STOPPED pendulum version if the idle spot is getting to much side swing on it. Let your low self get used to these answers and swings.

Remember to tell your low self that this is a game to enjoy and for you to get to know them better than ever before.

Tell your low self to show you yes. Tell you low self to show you no. Work with this unti lyour and your subconscious are comfortable with this.

[seleena]

Wow! That is really cool. I am going to start practicing that. It makes sense. If we don't train ourselves to trust ourselves, then how will we ever grow as people. I know what I was doing wrong. I was getting frustrated. I realize now, that all I was doing was causing more animosity between me and my "lower self" for lack of a better word. I wasn't being patient, just expecting my lower self to know what to do. It's like every witchy skill, it takes practice. Doh!! I should have thought of that.

Thanks AG!! **Grabs AG around his spiny serpentine neck and plants a big one on his face. AG turns a funny shade of purple and smoke pours from his mouth. Me thinks I embarrassed him** Seleena giggles.

[astralguardian]

Yup! Trust is key, it¡¦s essential. No, it¡¦s not even that¡K.. it just IS. It¡¦s part of nature, it¡¦s a part of us. And remember, what your subconscious knows, is their truth! So if you say, I¡¦m fat and ugly¡K then guess what? That¡¦s the truth. Here¡¦s an instance where we come to another detail about the subconscious and how we apply concepts to it. The subconscious has control of our body¡K it¡¦s in control of the automatic functions. If we tell them that we are fat and ugly, chances are, it may do what it can to reinforce that ¡§truth¡¨. Now, I¡¦m not saying that we can turn ourselves into the most beautiful people in the world physically with our minds, lol each one of us has our own physical beauties so I¡¦m not going there.

This is where I come to the two most key words in my vocabulary. Patience and Tolerance. They really go together. I feel patience is the frontrunner, with Tolerance coming in right behind. With patience, you set yourself up for tolerance. Think of ways that if you were patient with yourself, you¡¦d tolerate a situation more and learn something from it. Think of the people around you that if you exercised patience, you¡¦d have more tolerance for their actions. Because remember, they act upon what they know as truth. Their world is based on truth as well, even though it¡¦s not the same learned truth you have. Knowing that people do things based on their learned experiences and their own truths, is a basis to have patience. With that comes tolerance. With that, comes understanding. With that comes kindness and compassion. With that comes unconditional love. With that, comes freedom for yourself from negative emotions.

With that, comes more room for more trust! Trust can give you a key to a doorway most don¡¦t know. With the vast majority of you being witches, you know something of this. What also goes along with trust? How about faith? What gives a spell, a prayer, a ritual power? How about faith that it¡¦s going to work?! That the god and goddess, whomever or however you view them, is listening and will assist you.

You see how this all connects?

Because I have such trust, I¡¦ve been able to convey through Aark, my thought form of spreading ¡§mana¡¨ or energy out in the form of a ¡§tail¡¨ or my ¡§wings¡¨. When you have trust in your low self, you also allow communication to other low selves. This also comes from the patience and tolerance of others ¡V understand how every low self works ƒº With this communication, I¡¦ve had people literally steer clear of a spot on the floor where I visualize my ¡§tail¡¨. I¡¦ve had someone very close to me (who is a very powerful sensitive) SEE my tail, my wings. They can ¡§see¡¨ what I am doing and will make a comment on it. I;ve tested this. I¡¦ve done this with no expressions and not even looking at the spot I am concentrating on. I¡¦ll then get a ¡§put that tail away, someone¡¦s going to trip on it¡¨. I¡¦ve said nothing to anyone about what I am doing.

Using a visual form, I am communicate that thought to Aark, who in turn communicates that to other subconsciousnesses, therefore they think they ¡§see¡¨ the tail too and tell themselves that they ¡§need to get out of the way or step over the tail¡¨.

Trust¡K.. Trust. Be patient with yourself. Be tolerant of the answers you will get, because it may not be what you think it should be. Just like you think the person in front of you should use their turn signal to get into the other lane. That¡¦s not what they are thinking or feeling.

It¡¦s hard though, it¡¦s no small feat. It¡¦s tough and it¡¦s rough. But the rewards are limitless. Because we are all magnificent.

[seleena]

I like how you explain trust and tolerance. That is so cool. I have never thought of them that way. It's something I do (trust in my spirituality, trust in my coven members) but haven't really delved into why. I think I have learned more in five minutes than I have in a while. They aren't new concepts, but you have such a wonderful way of explaining things. You should be a teacher, my friend. You have a wonderful way with words.

[astralguardian]

Well accept for the formatting. LOL!!!!! UGH! I dunno how you read through it. Never cut and paste from Word, into the text box LOL!

Well I am glad you find it enlightening

[seleena]

It was difficult at first, then I kinda ignored all the funny characters and it made sense, in a confusing low self kinda way. ROFLMAO

[Calibri]

I agree Seleena, he does have a gift. I can relate to exactly what he is saying. AG, I am going to give my anxiety a name, because it lives down there with my lower self. If I separate it out from me, I can take control of me again. I can talk to it, and yes, trust it and it can trust me, but I won't let it take control over the real me, especially my motor functions! I can't wait til GoldMother gets back, she is gonna have so much catching up to do!

[astralguardian]

Hey Calibri, have you named your lowself yet?