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Subconscious Mind

The complexity of our brains is mind-blowing, pun intended. Sigmund Freud used a metaphor of an iceberg to illustrate what he believed are three different levels of the mind: the conscious, the preconscious and the subconscious. 

The first level is the conscious mind. It’s the thoughts that we are aware of. The second level is the preconscious mind. It’s where we store memories and knowledge that we can call to our conscious mind. The third and deepest level is the subconscious mind. Also known as the unconscious, it’s where we store our experiences, beliefs and every image we have ever seen, among other input and stimuli. Our subconscious is much larger than either our conscious or preconscious minds.

Subconscious Mind

Photo via Wilderdom.com

Your subconscious mind plays a major role in how you behave and react to experiences. Since the subconscious mind determines our feelings, thoughts and actions, learning how to shape your subconscious mind can help you react more positively. Here are three easy ways to reshape your subconscious mind for the better.

1 Meditation

Subconscious Mind

Meditation helps train you to practice mindfulness. Instead of worrying about the future, learning how to stay in the moment and focus your thoughts on the present changes your mindset. Meditation can help shape your subconscious mind by bringing more awareness to your internal preoccupations and deepest fears. In her blog, Carly Heitlinger shares her experience with meditation and how it helped her overcome negative emotions stored in her subconscious mind. After a year of meditation, Carly writes:

“I feel so much more in control of my thoughts instead of feeling like my thoughts control me…”

There are various guided meditation apps out there to help people incorporate meditation into their daily lives. Headspace, which is also the go-to app for Carly Heitlinger, offers a selection of free guided meditations. Insight Timer is another app that offers free guided meditations, as well as lectures.

2 Inspirational Quotes

Subconscious Mind

Photo via Instagram / @itjustflows

Reading inspirational quotes is another great way to train your mind to seek a more confident perspective. When we read something positive, our brains focus on positivity. The more positive thoughts we expose our minds to, the more our minds learn to default to positive thinking. When you read inspirational quotes you are essentially conditioning your brain to have a more accepting and hopeful outlook on life.

There are a ton of Instagram pages for inspirational quotes, including powerofpositivity, stevemaraboli, and femalecollective. Use your social media to expose yourself to positive language and images. 

3 Positive Affirmations

Subconscious Mind

Photo Via Instagram / @emmaljung_

Positive affirmations are short, positive statements meant as personal mantras. The difference between inspirational quotes and positive affirmations is that affirmations are speech directed towards ourselves, versus quotes are universal ideas that don’t necessarily include the words I, my or me.

Like inspirational quotes, uplifting affirmations help to alleviate negative self-thoughts. When you change your negative language you change your negative thinking. Our subconscious minds learn to accommodate this positivity. 

Positive affirmations work best if repeated regularly. After a lot of repetition, our minds start to believe what we are saying. For example, if you wake up every morning and say “I choose to be positive,” even though at first you might not feel like you’re lying to yourself, eventually your subconscious mind will actually believe you what you tell it. Hence, if you tell your mind to be positive and accepting it will inevitably become positive and accepting.

Post your positive affirmations around your home or make notifications on your phone with your personal mantras so that you read and repeat them every day.

Edited by Chloe Lew
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