Some other common limiting beliefs include the following:
“No matter what I do or how hard I try, it’s never good enough.”
“The decisions I make usually turn out wrong.”
“If people knew the ‘real’ me, they wouldn’t like me.”
“I blame others (boss, coworkers, my spouse, etc.) for my problems.”
“I shouldn’t try anything new or risky because I’ll probably just screw it up.”
“I can’t trust people to support me. All they really care about is themselves.”
“My opinion doesn’t really matter.”
“What I do isn’t really important.”
“It’s not safe to ask others for help because I can’t trust them to do the job right.”
It’s disturbing enough that negative beliefs may be a reflection of reality, but what’s more disturbing is that they actually help to create that reality. Beliefs establish the limits of what we can achieve. As Henry Ford once said, If you believe you can, or if you believe you can’t… you’re right! It is especially true when the beliefs are subconscious. Most of us agree, and behavioral scientists confirm, that our behaviors are a direct reflection of our beliefs, perceptions, and values, generated from past experiences.
The Biology of Beliefs
Relax. You don’t need to be a biologist or neuroscientist to understand a few simple concepts about the mind that will provide a more scientific basis for understanding how PSYCH-K works.
Programmable Minds?
Most of us are aware that computers are programmable, even if we don’t know how to program them. But not everyone knows that the human mind is also programmable. Fewer people yet know how to program the mind because they don’t understand how the mind acquires and stores its programs. Science may never be able to fully explain how the mind functions, but for our purposes the following information will provide a working model.
By breaking down the complex system of the mind into smaller components, it is possible to understand more about how it works. First, it is important to recognize that your mind is not your brain, in the same way that the central processing unit (CPU chip) in a computer is not the same as the memory of the computer. The brain is the physical mass of billions of cells located in your cranium. Your mind is the energy that interpenetrates and surrounds your brain. In fact, some theories suggest that the mind is not restricted just to the area of the head but is the energy field that surrounds your entire body.
Quantum physics leads us to the conclusion that in the final analysis everything is energy. Whether energy expresses itself as physical or nonphysical is a matter of the speed at which molecules vibrate, rather than some intrinsic difference in the energy itself.
If you think of your body and mind as comprised of molecules vibrating at different frequencies, you can better understand how you can have solid as well as nonsolid components that make up what you call “YOU.” “Mind” is simply molecules of YOU vibrating at a higher rate than the body molecules of YOU. A physicist might describe the mind as photons of light held in an electromagnetic field. The same could be said for computer memory. In fact, paradigm pioneer and cell biologist Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D., says that each one of the estimated 50-70 trillion cells that make up the human body is in fact a computer chip capable of input, output, and memory. In his course entitled “Fractal Biology—The Science of Innate Intelligence” he states,
By definition, the cell membrane comprises a self-powered single chip microcomputer. It is important to note: the cell membrane is not analogous to a chip, the cell membrane is homologous to a chip. Simply, this means that the cell is not like a chip; the cell membrane is a chip!
This breakthrough in understanding the nature of the body and mind is key to understanding how we function in the world, that is, how we got to be who we are and how we can change.
When you realize that human beings consist of trillions of programmable cells, it is especially important to know how the cells get programmed and how you can reprogram them.
In the Beginning There Was Conception
We are created as a combination of the sperm and egg of our biological parents. The sperm and egg come with various genetic codes (instructions for development) from the mother and father. This foundational software of the mind is in place long before we are born. During the gestation period this software is impacted by stimuli from the environment in the womb. For instance, the chemistry of the developing fetus is affected by the chemistry of the mother. In other words, chemically speaking, what the mother experiences, the child also experiences. If the mother is having a particularly stressful pregnancy, the fetus will experience the corresponding chemical stresses fed to it through the mother’s bloodstream. For example, babies born to drug addicts are themselves addicted to the same drug at birth. It is also one of the reasons why prospective mothers are encouraged not to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol during pregnancy.
The good news about the sharing of this chemical information between baby and mother during pregnancy is that it sends important information to the cells of the developing fetus, preparing it for the inevitable emergence into the world. The cells develop receptors for various environmental stimuli and learn to recognize and respond to their presence in the future. Your developmental experiences from the moment of conception are creating memories, receptors, and programmed responses.11 It is this kind of preconditioning that helps ensure survival of the baby as it enters its new world outside the womb. It is nature’s way of educating the child to his or her environment before having to deal with it directly, thereby increasing the odds for the survival of the child, and hence the species.
After birth, the environment into which the child is born often perpetuates this preconditioning. If the biological parents are both present in the child’s life, they typically reinforce the messages the developing fetus received during gestation. If the environment was stressful before birth it may very well be stressful after birth. Consequently, the child’s preconditioned response is perpetuated. Excessive amounts of adrenaline (a chemical associated with the stress response) released into the bloodstream over time can be harmful to the child’s health because it overtaxes the adrenal glands and kidneys, and reduces the overall effectiveness of the immune system. It can also lead to other stress-related disorders, including emotional disorders.
Because the body and mind are intimately related through chemistry, it’s not difficult to see how chemical imbalances in the body can lead to emotional and behavioral problems, and conversely, how emotional and behavioral problems can lead to physical difficulties.
The important lesson here is that our mind/body system comes with foundational genetic software that is programmed by environmental stimuli before birth, and that programming continues by way of parental and societal attitudes, values, and beliefs after we are born. In fact, research shows that we are most programmable from conception to about age six. During that time we have little or no faculty of conscious discernment. That is to say, as young children we possess limited capability to put into proper perspective harsh, critical, or mean-spirited comments directed toward us by parents, siblings, schoolmates, or adult authority figures. In effect, we take everything personally. It is this early lack of discernment that creates the mental software that makes up the foundation of our adult personalities. Contemporary studies in neurophysiology show that our reactions to various stimuli are decided before we become consciously aware of them.12 In fact, according to Emmanuel Donchin, director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Psychophysiology at the University of Illinois, “As much as 99 percent of cognitive activity may be nonconscious.”13 The fact is, as adults, we spend most of our time subconsciously responding to life rather than consciously creating it.
So the next question is: Can detrimental or outdated parental and societal software be changed?
The answer is yes.
Using PSYCH-K belief change processes, it’s never to late to have a func
tional childhood!
___________________
11 Conversation with cellular biologist Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D.
12 Richard Restak, M.D., The Brain, New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1984, Pgs. 84-85.
13 Brain/Mind Collections, March 5, 1984, Vol. 9, Number 6 A.
Chapter 6
Conscious vs. Subconscious Beliefs
Ever try to change your mind, only to find out that
your mind has a mind of its own?
Two Minds Are Better Than One
The software we have been talking about is often expressed as attitudes, values, and beliefs. These programs create a kind of filtering system through which we see the world and our place in it. These perceptions determine our choices and direct our behaviors. In other words, we don’t see the world as it is. We see it as we are!
Beliefs Are Filters for Reality–
You see the world not as IT IS…
but as YOU ARE!
Conscious Beliefs: When Awareness Plus Willpower Equals Change
Some beliefs can be changed at the level of the conscious mind by simply becoming aware of new information and then acting on it. For instance, in the Middle Ages people believed that the sun revolved around the earth, until new information was presented that proved otherwise. People’s beliefs changed because of indisputable new information, and despite continued religious resistance to the science of astronomy, our world was forever changed.
Sometimes all that is necessary to change a belief is to become consciously aware of the belief and have a desire to think or behave differently.
Subconscious Beliefs: When Awareness Plus Willpower Just Isn’t Enough
Not all beliefs change just because the facts suggest they should. A young girl with anorexia nervosa (a debilitating psychological disorder that affects thousands of preteen and teenage girls) can look at her body in a mirror and see a figure that is fat, while others see a dangerously emaciated body. Reasoning and facts do not seem to make a difference in this kind of situation. The young girl continues to insist she is fat, even in the face of the facts. Many beliefs and perceptions are impervious to facts, reason, willpower, or motivation. These beliefs are usually held at the subconscious level of the mind.
Unfortunately, many therapeutic and self-help change processes depend heavily on facts, reason, willpower, positive thinking, and motivation. It is one of the main reasons so many attempts to change negative thought patterns and behaviors fail. By learning the differences between the conscious and subconscious mind, you can avoid the disappointment of failed attempts and learn to make real and lasting changes in your life. Let’s take a look at another important characteristic of the subconscious mind.
Speaking the Language of the Subconscious
The subconscious mind is sensory based and knows the world only through the five senses: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), kinesthetic (feeling), gustatory (tasting), and olfactory (smelling). Consequently, effective communication with the subconscious is achieved by using one or more of these senses. Although taste and smell are occasionally useful in communicating a goal to the subconscious, they are secondary to the primary senses of seeing, hearing, and feeling. Therefore, I will restrict my examples to the “big three.”
It turns out that most people tend to specialize in one of these processing modalities. For example, people who visualize easily can use the visual modality to communicate a message to the subconscious by making a mental picture of what they want. People who are auditory processors are affected by sound in ways that others are not. They hear the subtle nuances in a voice or in a piece of music. They can use this ability to communicate with the subconscious and usually benefit by listening to audiotape presentations. The kinesthetic processors are unusually sensitive to physical sensations, movement, and feelings. They communicate with the subconscious best through physical activity or bodily sensations. Physically active processes for change will usually work best for them. It is important to remember that we use all of our senses. It is also important to realize that most of us show a tendency to specialize in one more than the others. This realization explains why a change process that depends heavily on visualization disappoints some people who specialize in auditory or kinesthetic processing. Or conversely, why audiotape programs often disappoint people who are primarily visual or kinesthetic processors. The messages are not effectively communicated to the subconscious.
Another important factor in effective goal setting for the subconscious is that, unlike the conscious mind, the subconscious thinks literally rather than abstractly. You know those inspiring affirmations you’ve been saying to yourself in the mirror for years, like “I love myself,” “I am a worthy person,” or “I am slim, trim, and healthy”? Well, those statements are mostly abstractions to the subconscious mind and therefore difficult to internalize except in a general way. Until such statements are defined in the language of the subconscious (sensory-based language), it is unlikely that the subconscious will be able to incorporate them into your life in a way that is meaningful and obvious. We will deal with how to translate abstract statements into the language of the subconscious later. For now it is enough to understand why using affirmations to change habitual behavioral and thought patterns can often be disappointing and frustrating. The subconscious simply does not understand what you are talking about. To complicate things a bit, a belief created by a past experience may be “wired” in such a way that it requires access to one or more of your nondominant modalities. In other words, even if you are primarily a visual processor, the issue you are want to change may be associated with an auditorily and/or kinesthetically based experience from your past. Consequently, a strictly visual approach to changing it may be ineffective. The secret is to use a change process that allows the subconscious mind to choose its own method of processing, rather than choosing the method consciously. The PSYCH-K belief change process takes the guesswork out of choosing the best method for changing a belief, based on the unique characteristics of that belief.
Now, let’s turn our attention to translating general goals into sensory-based language the subconscious mind can understand and act upon.
VAK to the Future
I always wanted to be somebody, but
I should have been more specific.
–Lily Tomlin
I have used this V–isual, A–uditory, K–inesthetic format for many years to translate nonspecific conscious goals into sensory-based language the subconscious mind can understand. Here is a typical example of a common goal and the method of defining it in a way that the subconscious mind can accept and put into action.
Overall Goal: Happiness
The problem with stating the goal in this way is that often the subconscious doesn’t really understand a general goal like happiness. What you mean by happiness probably includes various specific aspects of your life, including relationships, financial prosperity, health, and spirituality. Without specifying some details of your goal, chances are your subconscious will not have a clear idea of what it is you want. Remember, the subconscious takes things literally and will stop its efforts toward manifesting your goal as soon as it thinks it has satisfied your criteria. If the criteria are too general, the results will usually be disappointing because the subconscious won’t know what resources to mobilize in order to accomplish the goal.
It is important to define your goal as specifically as possible and to do it in sensory-based language (visually, auditorily, and kinesthetically). For example, if your goal is to be happy, it is helpful to the subconscious mind if you can answer the following sensory-based questions:
1. What will you see in your life that will let you know that you have achieved your goal?
More specifically, if you were happy, what would you see that you don’t see now? For example, you might see yourself surrounded by friends. You might see yourself on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. You might see yourself on a bathroom scale weighing in at your ideal weight. These ar
e all tangible, visual examples of having achieved your goal. The subconscious mind can literally see these examples.
2. What will you hear other people saying about you when you have accomplished your goal? What will you be saying to yourself?
The answers to these questions should be “quotes” from the future like hearing a friend say, “You’re one of the happiest people I know.” And from yourself you would hear a comment like, “I am happier than I have ever been!”
3. How will you feel when you have accomplished your goal?
This question is a little trickier in some cases because the answer may be expressed as emotions similar to happiness such as joyful or satisfied. These words are still abstractions to the subconscious mind so they need to be broken down into a more sensory-based description. The best way to accomplish this task is to imagine a time in your past when you had the desired feeling, such as joy. It is not necessary for the feeling you select to directly relate to the experience that inspired that feeling of joy in the past. It is only important that you experience the joyful feeling itself. It doesn’t matter how long ago it was. To describe it in sensory-based language, allow yourself to reexperience the feeling as much as possible, then ask the following questions:
While thinking about the past feeling, ask yourself where in your body you notice the greatest concentration of the feeling.
What color do you associate with it?
What temperature is it?
What shape is it?
Does it have a texture?
Don’t be concerned if you can’t answer all the kinesthetic questions. Just do the best you can.
Psych-K Page 4
