Those Stubborn Habits!

By Gayle North

"I've described the power of the subconscious mind, but I want to emphasize that there is no need to consider the subconscious a scary super-powerful, Freudian font of destructive "knowledge."  In reality, the subconscious is an emotionless database of stored programs whose function is strictly concerned with reading environmental signals and engaging in hard-wired behavioral programs, no questions asked, no judgments made.  

                    -  Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief

Do you wonder why it is so difficult for you to change your unhealthy habits with food, tobacco, gambling, shopping, internet pornography, alcohol?

Do you find yourself repeating the unhealthy pattern over and over even though you know that you would be healthier physically, emotionally and or financially if you changed stopped doing it? Who is pulling your strings?  Who is pushing your buttons?  What makes you sabotage your good intentions?  I've had new clients tell me it's almost as if, "The devil made me do it." 

Look first to your mind. You know that your mind has two aspects – your conscious mind and your unconscious mind.  Together they are a dynamic duo! The conscious mind can think forward and backward in time while the subconscious is always operating in the present moment. 

If you are daydreaming or creating future plans, or thinking about something from the past, your subconscious mind is on duty managing your behaviors without the need of conscious supervision. 

Bruce Lipton gives this example in his book, "The Biology of Belief." "Operating together, the conscious mind can use its resources to focus on some specific point such as the party you are going to on Friday night.  Simultaneously, your unconscious mind can be safely pushing the lawn mower around and successfully not cutting off your foot or running over the cat – even though you are not consciously paying attention to mowing the lawn."

The two minds are truly a phenomenal mechanism, but here's how it can go awry.  The conscious mind is the "self," the voice of our own thoughts.  It can have great visions and plans for a future filled with love, health, happiness and prosperity.  While we focus our consciousness on happy thoughts, who is running the show?  The subconscious.  How is the subconscious going to manage our affairs?  Precisely the way it was programmed.  The subconscious mind's behaviors when we are not paying attention may not be of our own creation because most of our fundamental behaviors were downloaded without question from observing other people.  Because the subconscious-generated behaviors are not generally observed by the conscious mind, many people are stunned to hear they "are just like their mom or their dad," the people who programmed their subconscious minds."

The learned behaviors and beliefs acquired from other people may not support the goals of our conscious mind.  The biggest impediment to realizing the successes of our dreams are the limitations programmed into the subconscious.  These limitations not only influence our behavior, they can also play a major role in determining our physiology and health." 

What would we be like if our subconscious mind had been programmed in a culture of highly evolved, conscious, loving parents and a community of teachers and people who serve as wonderful life models who always express the most humane win-win philosoph

But this happens for very few, if any of us – and you can kick the jukebox when it doesn't play what you want it to, but it won't help.  Similarly, we might as well realize that the subconscious mind will not change a pattern or habit just because the conscious mind yells or criticizes, or begs for a change.  Engaging in any kind of a battle with the subconscious mind is as pointless as kicking the jukebox to "make" it change its play list. Your Unconscious Just Replays All of Your Old Habits! That's its Job!

Habits with food: When you were small, did your Grandma console you with cookies? Did someone make you clean your plate before you could have desert?  And so here you are – years later- and you go for the cookies when you feel hurt or frustrated – or clean your plate even though it may no longer be a good thing for you.

Let's look at smoking:  Most people try smoking when they are young.   Some of us persisted through the coughing, sputtering, dizziness, and burning eyes – not to mention the awful taste – and repeated this behavior until the unconscious mind said, “OK, let’s download it and make it an automatic habit.”  From that moment on you become a smoker.  After it gets "downloaded" to the subconscious, even if you say to yourself, “I will not smoke – I will not smoke”, you find yourself wanting to reach for one because the conscious mind is no longer in control.  

The good news is that empowerment technologies are available today that make it easy change the programs in your subconscious mind.   Some of the methods can be self applied and some require the assistance of a trained practitioner.   

I invite you to check some of them out on the internet.  Emotional Freedom Technique  www.emofree.com,  www.123eft.com, Tapas Acupressure Technique  www.unstresforsuccess.com,  Rapid Eye Technology www.rapideyetechnology.com,  Psch-K  www.psychk.com.  and of course Hypnosis (just search on hypnosis for hundreds of informational sites)

Gayle North  offers Personal Coaching for Positive Change using recently developed empowerment technologies to clear mental and emotional blocks that keep people stuck in unhealthy habits and prevent them from performing at their highest potential  in school, sports, relationships, work and finance. Call 406-837-1214 to learn how you can STOP SMOKING IN ONE HOUR and for coaching in person or by phone.

changeiseasy@montanasky.net                  www.PositiveChangeInstitute.com