Reprogramming Your Subconscious Mind

Have you ever wondered why, when in a sticky situation, people react is such different ways? Or perhaps why on receipt of good news some people prefer to show their excitement while others prefer being subtler about it? Maybe why you’re more of an impulsive spender than the person next to you? And, do you act differently in different social groups?

Although we may not understand how the impulses work, one is compelled to believe that the subconscious mind is responsible for these impulses. Your subconscious mind has immense power in controlling your experiences - from the food you eat, to financial decisions you make and how you respond to stressful situations.

You could compare this subconscious mind to the auto-pilot feature on an aeroplane. It has been pre-programmed to follow a specific route. You cannot deviate from that route unless you change the programming.

So, what exactly is the subconscious?

I do not want to bombard you with details of discussions and debates that psychologists, scientists and philosophers have had over time immemorial so I’ll just repeat a widely used definition viz. the subconscious is that part of the mind which is not currently in focal awareness.

As you read these words on a screen it is your conscious mind that absorbs the words and their meanings but your subconscious is busily working in the background, either absorbing or rejecting the above inputs based on existing perceptions you may have.

This process of creating certain reactions to various stimuli began when you were an infant. Although predictability of human nature is almost impossible to prove but there are patterns that can be identified. At that stage, your mind rejected nothing. It functioned like a sponge which absorbed everything because it / you had no pre-existing beliefs or life experiences to validate it with. It assumed that all that it absorbed was true.

But as you grew up and your mind developed from that of an infant and you were of a certain age you already had a solid foundation of beliefs based on the programming imbibed from your surroundings.

Do remember all the times that you were told you wouldn’t amount to anything, or someone called you lazy? Or any other negative beliefs that you’ve imbibed overtime. Now that you are older, you think you can discard these beliefs, especially of things that may be hurtful or untrue. But, the truth is, it is not so simple.

Even though you may actively acknowledge that these beliefs that you have gathered are actually untrue, you even recognize that they are far from the truth. But the truth is that these thoughts or negative beliefs is below the level of your conscious awareness. You may brush them off or buy into counter narratives but the hard fact is that you don’t control what has already gone into your system. Your conscious mind may even suppress it. But it will remain in your subconscious. Often times we even forget about these things except when they act as hinderances in our daily lives.

What I mean by this is that often times due to the pre-programmed way of functioning, we have the tendency to self-sabotage. We create barriers in our mind and tend to buy into the narrative so strongly that we forget the reality. For example, if someone really attractive shows interest in you but perhaps, in the past you’ve been labeled as unattractive and you believe it to be so, then it can sabotage your chances with that person. It can play out in one of two ways- a) your sub-conscious convinces you that you are not good enough for him / her and tells you that it may be a joke b) your subconscious makes you act in a manner which could potentially sabotage the fledgling relationship.

But wait! Don’t be disheartened. The best part is that this can be changed. All that needs to be done is that you have to reprogram your subconscious.

That may sound a little more challenging than having to reprogram something like your computer. But if you know the techniques you can play around with the limits of your subconscious mind.

HOW DOES ONE REPROGRAM?

There are several ways to overwrite or play around with the limits set by your subconscious. A few techniques are listed below. Although some may seem obvious, an active effort could actually be very effective.

1) Environmental Influence:

One of the ways our biases and subconscious are formed is through our environment. The kind of surrounding you have can dramatically impact the subconscious wiring. The influence will be low if you constantly expose yourself to different environments. You will need to force yourself to be in the kind of environment you want your subconscious to emulate. Often times people surround themselves with positivity to overwrite negative limitations that have been set.

2) Binaural Beats:

The word binaural means “having or relating to two ears”. Research shows that when your brain is exposed to different audio recordings they deliberately alter the frequency of your brainwaves. Upon hearing two tones of different frequencies – sent simultaneously to the left and right ears through headphones – the brain perceives a third tone based on the mathematical difference between the two frequencies. The brain then follows along at the new frequency created, producing brainwaves at the same frequency (Hz). The technical term for this process is ‘frequency following response'.

This third tone helps trigger one of the five states that your brain can be in. In this altered state, your mind is more susceptible to absorbing new information thus helping you push limits of your subconscious.

The frequency of your brainwaves at different times are categorized as these five different states:

· Gamma when you’re engaged in certain motor function

· Beta when you’re fully conscious and actively concentrating

· Alpha when you’re relaxed

· Theta when you’re drowsy or lightly sleeping

· Delta when you’re in deep sleep

For example: if a 100 Hz sound frequency is sent to the left ear, and a 105 Hz to the right ear, the brain will process those two frequencies and perceive a new frequency at 5 Hz which is in the Theta range.

It should be noted that for this technique to be effective you need to couple it with affirmations or other forms of positivity.

For example: if you’re stressed you should listen to an audio that will trigger the alpha state in your mind.

It is said that the mind is more receptive to new information when you’re very relaxed, such as in the alpha or theta states. When you listen to an audio recording that triggers this state of being in your mind and you surround yourself with positivity or affirmations during this period your subconscious is more susceptible to getting rewired. Don’t be confused, this is not some form of mysticism. The simple science behind it is that during these stages your subconscious mind lets down its barriers and defences.

3) Other effective ways are through constant affirmations and positive visualization. Your mind starts absorbing these things even if they may not be entirely true. But your subconscious gets rewired due to the reinforcement.

It’s important to give this reprogramming process time to work. Don’t expect to see immediate changes — occasionally that can happen, but more often it takes time. It should be noted that to see changes you have to make an active effort to include these reinforcements in your life, by just simply brushing it off your shoulder will not prove to be effective, although you may believe that you’ve managed to come to terms with it- it’s probably just your conscious mind suppressing it.