If you were to imagine an iceberg sitting in the ocean, we could designate the portion of the iceberg above the water as the conscious mind, and the larger part below the surface as the subconscious mind. The truth is, the conscious mind is only responsible for about 5-10% of our day, while the subconscious mind is responsible for the other 90-95%. The conscious mind is responsible for our will power, our short-term memory, and our logical and critical thinking. Our subconscious mind is responsible for our beliefs, emotions, habits, values, protective reactions, long term memory, imagination and intuition. When we are looking to change any of these, it is important that we use subconscious reprogramming.

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From the time you were a baby until you were about 7 or 8 years old, you were taking in the world around you unfiltered. So, what was said to you or around you, the kind of environment you were raised in, early childhood experiences, etc., all played an important role in forming the subconscious beliefs you now hold. This fact is fantastic for things that happened to you that were positive, but not so great for things that weren’t. Many negative thoughts and limiting beliefs that you have in your adult years are from this time period and are affecting you today. But when we learn to work with the subconscious mind, and harness its power, we can make sustainable changes to our lives.

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How to Reprogram your Subconscious Mind

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1. Rapid Transformational Therapy (hypnotherapy)

It probably comes as no surprise to you that I would recommend RTT since I am a certified RTT practitioner. However, the research shows that undergoing hypnotherapy is an extremely effective way to reprogram the subconscious mind. A certified hypnotherapist will get you into a relaxed state of mind and will help you to start shifting old narratives that are no longer serving you. RTT, which is different than traditional hypnotherapy, also helps you uncover the root cause of the problematic belief so that you have greater awareness and capability to shift the subconscious belief.

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2. Visualization

If you’ve decided that’s it’s time to reprogram your subconscious mind, visualization is a great way to do that. Our subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between “reality” and what we are visualizing.  For example, if you want to lose weight, your subconscious mind doesn’t realize that when you visualize yourself at your ideal weight or imagine how you would view yourself in the mirror, isn’t actually the “real time,” you. And it’s your subconscious mind’s job to seek evidence to support what it sees and believes. So the more you visualize what you WANT instead of what you don’t want, the more the subconscious mind will work to your benefit. Visualizations are extremely powerful and yet, extremely simple to do.

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3. Positive Affirmations

Similar to visualization, creating and reciting positive affirmations throughout your day is also extremely helpful in reprogramming subconscious beliefs. Again, the subconscious mind doesn’t understand the difference between present reality and statements or visualizations regarding your future so when you say a positive affirmation, your subconscious mind tends to believe its truth. There is one caveat to this, however, which is the affirmation can’t be something so outlandish or far-fetched that your subconscious mind would have a hard time getting behind. If you create positive affirmations like “I am extremely wealthy,” without having much in the bank, your subconscious mind is not going to believe the truth of that statement. In these instances it is best to phrase your affirmations in “I am in the process of…..[becoming extremely wealthy].” Your subconscious mind has a much easier time believing the truth of this!

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4. Theta Brain Wave State

As a hypnotherapist, I lead clients into the theta brain wave state, which is essentially the same brain wave state you are in when you start to fall asleep or wake up. I do this by having my clients look up into their own eyebrows or a real or imagined spot overhead while they take a couple of deep breaths. When their eyes start to blink or eyelids start to flutter, that shows me that they are getting into the theta brain wave state.

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The theta brain wave state is where subconscious reprogramming takes place. When we were children, we were in this state up until about 7 or 8 years old, and this is why many of the beliefs we are looking to rewire come from this period of time. What better way to rewire a belief system than to do it in the same state of mind it was formed in?

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Obviously, you can do the steps I listed out above on your own to get you into the brainwave state you need to be before listening to positive affirmations or doing a visualization exercise. Being in the theta state makes these tools much more effective than trying to do them in other brain wave states.

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5. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

The subconscious mind has been referred to as the “habit mind,” meaning, it doesn’t want to change easily. You can work with your subconscious mind to achieve your goals by making a practice out of whatever it is you are trying to change each and every day. Aside from hypnosis, the most powerful way to work with the subconscious mind is by repetition. With that said, don’t get frustrated if you don’t see an immediate change. Some people do see an immediate change, but for the most part we need to practice each day to have a complete override. Over time you will see the shift though, as you see yourself reaching each and every goal you set for yourself!

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These are just a few tools to help with reprogramming your subconscious belief systems if you feel you are stuck in the same patterns you have always been and want to make a change for GOOD. If you would like an experienced professional to guide you through what might be stored subconsciously, please visit my offerings page or schedule a free consult with me.