THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND

THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND

So what else is happening behind the 7 plus or minus 2 chunks of information in our conscious thinking? What organises our heartbeat, our digestion, our response to outside temperature? What allows us to drive our car without having to think about it? What receives literally billions of pieces of external information, and processes them with no effort?

Psychologists refer to this part of the mind as the Unconscious, or more accurately, the Other-Than-Conscious, because it is far from unconscious. It is awake and active even when we are asleep. Doctors were surprised to discover that, under hypnosis, patients who had been anaesthetised were able to recall every word said in the operating theatre. One part of their mind was obviously fully aware of what was going on!

The brain looks after thousands of functions in the body every moment, and can handle astronomic amounts of information. What is most impressive is it can do all of these things at the same time without any need for conscious control. And fortunately, it never forgets how.

The Unconscious responds to every external stimuli, and every thought. Each response sets off a chemical reaction which is sent to the rest of the body. Therefore WHAT we think takes on a vital significance. The Unconscious is like a good assistant, and basically it will do what you tell it. But what exactly are you telling it to do?

You may say, "I deserve the very best," but if in your Unconscious the message is being countered with,"You?...You'll never amount to anything," what is going to be the result?

Unless you stop and think about it, you will be unaware of the Unconscious thought. All that you will probably be aware of is a slight sense of unease or something not being quite right An internal conflict may result and this will lead to incongruent behaviour. This explains why saying an affirmation, or positive statement about yourself, sometimes does not work.

NLP has techniques and strategies to help you become fully congruent. Congruence is when you align your mind and behaviour behind positive thoughts so there is total commitment to achieving an outcome. This is important because as Anthony Robbins says, "It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." A good way to experience congruence is to utilise past positive experiences and incorporate these into present behaviour. The result is new and empowered ways of thinking.

We each have ten billion neurons (brain cells). And there are more potential simultaneous connections between neurons than there are atoms in the known universe. Yes, you may need to read that again! This means we have an almost infinite capacity for creativity and problem solving. As Einstein pointed out, the ONLY way we limit ourselves is by not fully utilising this amazing gift. NLP is designed to help us access more neurological pathways and thereby create more choice in our life.

by PENNY TOMPKINS AND JAMES LAWLEY