How To Make Your Conscious Mind Stop Sabotaging You
Posted by Jason Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:45:00 GMT
Your conscious mind tries to pretend that it is all of you, that it is what defines you. It isn't... it's just the part with the loudest voice, drowning out the rest.
Your conscious mind not only isn't "you", it doesn't even follow your best interests. It's as likely to sabotage you as to help you, misleading you and telling you to do things that deeper down you know aren't true.
It tells you things like you're not good enough, or pretty enough, or smart enough. It tells you not to try because you might fail. It even tells you not to do something just because it might be hard.
It tells you these things over and over again, at a high mental volume, drowning out the rest of you, your body, emotions, and spirit. Many times these other parts of you just give up and go along with your conscious mind because they can't get a word in edgewise.
Fortunately, your conscious mind doesn't have infinite energy, and you can use that against it. One of the best ways do that by going to a place where it doesn't have fresh input (a nice quiet place where everything is pretty much still, or at least has no call for your attention) and letting it talk itself out. Eventually, with a lack of anything new to talk about, it winds down and pretty much shuts up.
It's amazing how much of a relief it is to have your conscious mind shut up, so that the rest of you can actually communicate, like leaving a huge crowd that's packed too tightly... you don't even notice how much it affects you until you feel its absence. All of a sudden the rest of you starts relaxing and letting go, freeing up resources for healing physically and emotionally.
Your spirit gets to rest and recharge, replenishing its energy. Old mental wounds start closing and healing while your body cleans out the toxins it has built up. If you've never been there before, or if it has been a long time, the difference can be absolutely amazing, making you wonder why in the world you waited so long.
There are other ways to get your conscious mind out of the way, to make it stop talking... they mostly involve strong focus, especially on something that you are passionate about. Some people call that kind of focus being in the zone, or in the flow. While you're there, everything else just sort of fades away, keeping your conscious mind from receiving new input, like the quietness above.
You can also intentionally listen to one of the other parts of you, which has a similar effect... exercising makes you listen to your body, meditation and prayer can help you listen to your spirit, and loving contact can help you listen to your emotions. Any of these things brings relief to all of you... pretty much anything that takes your conscious mind out of the picture allows the rest of you to rest, heal, and do what it needs to do.
The good thing is that you can train your conscious mind to be quieter, to listen more to the rest of you... the more you do any of the things listed above, the more you are training your consciousness to stop promoting itself at the expense of the whole. Doing so generally results in improvements in all areas of your life, leading to a happier, more satisfied existence.
So, knowing that the things I mentioned (exercise, mediation and prayer, loving contact) are very general categories of things, do any of you have any specific practices that help more than others? For me it's definitely exercise (followed by a nice relaxing shower) and quiet time (which is sometimes the previously mentioned shower)... how about you?
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I have found the only way to shut up the endless voices in my head is to make them gasp for air. I used to run until I couldn't hear anything. Now I hike. Once I hit the top of the mountain, I take a deep breath and a long drink of water, sit on a rock and once I know that all is quiet, I head back down the mountain. It is when I head down the mountain that revelation comes.
That works for me, too, except that I do it at the gym... if I work myself hard and focus on the muscles that are straining, it lowers the conscious mind's endless chatter to a whisper.
Or, you could reprogram your subconscious mind. Thats what speaks to us all the time .
How you ask ? hypnosis... its just that easy.
Hi Jason.
I sense that reversing self-sabotage begins with raising self-awareness. Until a person realizes what is happening that is, the nature of unconscious behaviour, its unlikely any destructive patterns will change. You bring up points worthy of reflection.
I've found that one thing that helps me is to recognise that I'm whole. Trying to separate my mental activity into what's me and what's not me has always felt unnatural and sometimes deceitful. Acknowledging that my conscious mind is as much 'me' as the rest has allowed me to accept the thoughts that run through my head before they get out of control.
This is an interesting topic for sure. What came to mind first was the idea of who you are addressing in this article. People with OCD for instance have a very difficult time doing any of the above and struggle daily to keep the mind just so. Also, simply out of curiousity, are you a therapist? You have some great ideas here but they are geared towards a population without any pre-existing conditions and perhaps you can address that, so that those who come across this article know that you are making suggestions for people who do not suffer from thought disorder. Thanks. Veronica
That's true, Veronica... people with OCD have a very hard time shutting down their conscious mind, although that doesn't mean it's bad to try.
Also, to Mark, it's true that it helps to realize that your conscious mind is part of you... it's when you forget that it is ONLY a part of you that problems start, mostly. And even so, some time where it is just silent is still important.
Hi Jason.
I really like the way you treat Conscious Mind when it is in 'sabotage' mode as something that needs to 'shut up' rather than reasoned with (as Cognitive Therapy tries to do).
I support your comment that OCD can also be eliminated in a similar way - as I have found in clinical practice.
I have referenced your blog in my own blog and advised my readers to check your advice. I also describe a technique I teach my clients to use when they are ready to retake control of Conscious Mind.