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How do we discern what a situation is telling us?

How do we discern what a situation is telling us?

Question: How do we discern if a situation is the result of really deep subconscious negative thoughts/beliefs OR simply the ‘process’ we are in as the Universe brings us that which we have asked for?

Answer: Lots of things could be happening with it. If you’ve been doing a lot of intense releasing and inner work, your situation could be the subconscious clearing itself out. When a person transforms quickly, the subconscious tends to confront them with much of their old garbage, all at one time.

Imagine having a garage full of old stuff that you decide to clean out in a weekend. Lots of dust and chaos happens as you go through the process.

Another thing that could be happening is that you’re challenging a deeply held belief. It could be anything from “I deserve” to “Life flows easily.” Again, the old programming is unraveling and showing up very visibly in your life. You can pretty much tell if it’s either of these if the situation is similar to others in your life, but bigger.

Or if the condition is completely opposite to what you’ve been working on. For example, you’ve been affirming “I deserve,” and now people are coming out of the woodwork telling you how worthless you are. Just keep up with your inner work, and the outer will come into alignment.

Another reason this could be happening is that the Universe knows what you want, and is trying to move you out of a situation that you’ve outgrown and won’t leave willingly. So the Universe is making it so uncomfortable that you have to leave for something better.

No matter what, the situation is a result of old subconscious beliefs, either being released, fighting being changed, or having been outgrown and you haven’t let go of the outer experience yet.

Copyright 2002, 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Open Mental Pathways To Strategize Better

Open Mental Pathways To Strategize Better

When you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, your brain blocks access to both the rational and intuitive part of you. Essentially, your wires have gotten flooded with too much stimulus and nothing can get through.

This can happen in sports or in life. Your emotions can keep you from being able to think clearly, or you ruminate too much about an issue. Your mind gets into a negative feedback loop and you can’t move forward.

In Christopher Bergland’s article, “No. 1 Reason Practice Makes Perfect,” he writes about how we create grooves in our mind when we do things repetitively. He talks mainly about athletics and muscle memory, but it also relates to life in general.

“You become super fluid in sports – and in life – when you have freed up the working memory of your cerebrum [conscious mind] to strategize and keep tabs on the more cerebral aspects of everything that’s going on while completely trusting your gut and the intuitive powers of your cerebellum [subconscious mind].”

To clear away the mental debris, he describes a simple exercise. This allows your conscious mind to figure things out while opening up to the wisdom of your inner mind. He suggests, “relaxing the backs of your eyes, taking some deep breaths and ‘letting go.'”

Practice this several times a day when things are going smoothly. Then the process will be automatic when you really need it.

A Story About Setting An Intention

A Story About Setting An Intention

Recently, Jeff and I visited Phoenix, 120 miles away. I had a meeting and we planned to do some shopping. The afternoon was forecasted to be stormy, but I hoped the rain would hold off until we were on our way home in the early evening.

We were pretty lucky. The rain held off all afternoon. As Jeff shut the car door after our next-to-last stop, it started to rain. By the time we pulled out of the parking place, it was pouring.

We still had one stop to make, to get gas, which would have been interesting with the continuous lightning. But we drove out of that storm cell, and were able to stay dry while we got gas.

Our route remained dry most of the way home. Lightning lit the clouds all around us on our trip. About 30 minutes from home, we noticed a bunch of brake lights up ahead on the freeway. We slowed down, and as we got closer we noticed lots of cars pulled off to the side of the road.

As we got to the area, we realized that the ground and road were covered with hail. There were a few hailstones still falling, but nothing like what had created this hazard. We must have missed that storm by just a minute or so. A couple of miles further, we drove out of the precipitation.

Just a few miles from home, we drove through some rain and a few hailstones. But it was dry when we got home. We unloaded the car, and not fifteen minutes later, it started to pour. We were very fortunate to have ducked most of the storms that day and evening.

When I heard the weather report for our trip, I’d set my intention to stay dry while in and out of the car in Phoenix. For the most part, it happened. Do I believe I changed the weather? No. Especially since so many thousands of people in our drought ridden state wanted it to rain.

However, I believe my intention affected our timing. If we’d been in that last shop for 10 seconds more, we would have been drenched. We missed the hailstorm by seconds, and got home minutes before the storm hit. We weren’t able to avoid all of the storms, but we dodged most of them and the most damaging ones.

When you set an intention, you bring all the force and direction of your creative mind to bear on a situation. It can make you aware of opportunities, or inspire you to make a contact. Or it can affect your timing so that you return home safely during a day of storms.

The Problem Solving Capacity of Your Subconsious Mind

The Problem Solving Capacity of Your Subconsious Mind

Have you ever walked away from a problem, then had a light bulb go off in your head and had the answer? That’s the way the mind works when it’s looking for solutions. Several recent studies have validated that your subconscious mind is hard at work while your conscious mind is otherwise engaged.

Apparently, your subconscious has been hard-wired to accumulate information to make the best decisions for you. According to research, the conscious mind does a better job at making analytic decisions. But the subconscious mind is more capable of solving greater challenges and making discoveries.

Learning to trust the subconscious is key to allowing it to dealing with complex problems. If your conscious mind keeps turning the issue over and over again and keeps it front and center in your attention, the subconscious never has a chance to work on it.

Just like when you try to remember someone’s name and let it go. Shortly thereafter, while you’re in the middle of doing the dishes, it pops into your mind. You have to be able to let go of the problem.

The subconscious also helps you make better decisions. It uses the same process as with problem solving. Evaluate all the information, and then go on to some other task. This allows the subconscious to process the data. If no insight comes to the surface, reassess or gather more information and let it go again. Eventually, you’ll get a sense of which direction you want to go.

Your subconscious mind is creative, resourceful, and a problem solver. It processes the information that your conscious mind has given it and comes up with a solution. Now, research and studies are validating what many of us have known for decades.

Information in this article based on these studies from Science Daily:
Decision-Making May Be Surprisingly Unconscious Activity
Our Unconscious Brain Makes The Best Decisions Possible
Eureka! How Distractions Facilitate Creative Problem-Solving
Profound Impact Of Our Unconscious On Reaching Goals Revealed

Book Review – “The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence”

Book Review – “The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence”

Total Self-ConfidenceThe Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence
by Robert Anthony

I was introduced to this book over thirty years ago, when I heard the author speak. It’s a wonderful book that covers many basic tenets of how the conscious/subconscious/superconscious minds work.

One of the chapters is titled, “Dehypnotizing Yourself.” As a hypnotherapist, I tell people that my job isn’t so much to hypnotize them, as to de-hypnotize them of their outdated beliefs. Dr. Anthony explains that very clearly in this book.

Other areas he covers are letting go of the need to conform, self-acceptance, how to treat yourself gently, how to get over feeling guilty, loving yourself, and THEN he begins to address the deep stuff. He explains about the subconscious, how to program it, setting goals, meditation, affirmations, and much more.

If you’re ready to really begin to transform your life, and want great, easy to read guidebook, check this one out.

“10 Steps to Turbo-Charge Your New Year’s Resolutions”

“10 Steps to Turbo-Charge Your New Year’s Resolutions”

by Linda-Ann Stewart

This is a time of year when many people establish New Year’s resolutions to improve their lives in some way. And generally within weeks, if not days, they give up on their good intentions and go back to their old ways, feeling like nothing can ever change. Most people just don’t know how to set a goal and achieve it. Here are ten steps that you can use to manifest any desire you have.

1. Write down everything you want to change in your life.

I mean everything, from your weight to your mom stopping her nitpicking, increased income to putting up that little picture you got at the flea market. Big and small, write them all down. Take a small note pad with you to catch the ones you think of in the supermarket or at work. Add them to your master list.

2. Prioritize the importance of each one.

First, go through and eliminate the desires that you have no power to change, like your father’s health, or the state of the economy. With what’s left, give each one a number from one to ten to establish its importance, with one being very important, and ten being least important. Take the ones you rated a one or two, and again assign each a number of importance. Whittle them down to a few really strong desires.

3. Pick the most important one to focus on.

Choose one goal to work on. It would be nice if you could stop smoking, lose weight, start exercising, and quit biting your nails all at once, but that’s not realistic. Your subconscious can only handle so much change at once.

4. Write down why you want to achieve that goal.

What are the reasons and motivations you have for the realization of that desire? Why do you want to eat healthier? Is it to feel better, live a longer life, or to continue to be there for someone close to you? Get detailed because this is your driving force, your power for change.

5. Write down the steps you need to take to accomplish your desire.

Under each step, note down micro-steps. For instance, to lose weight, you could write, “Diet.” But what does that mean? Eat more fruits and vegetables, eliminate sweets, reduce calories or carbohydrates or simply eat less at each meal? You could then decide on various meals to prepare or foods to have on hand.

6. Be willing to do whatever is necessary to attain your goal.

That is, within reason, legal and moral. You may have to do things that stretch you out of your comfort zone, or that are difficult in the short term. But keep your attention on why you want it, and your subconscious will take your commitment and make it easier to reach.

7. Read your reasons and goal out loud at least three times a day.

This will help keep you energized and enthusiastic. Reading your goal keeps your subconscious focused on what you want. Visualize that you’ve accomplished it, and affirm that you have achieved it. You may not know how it’s going to come about, but your subconscious knows just what to do.

8. Take some action towards your goal each day.

Even if it’s the same thing you did yesterday, take one of the micro-steps you’ve chosen. This helps to convince your subconscious that you really do want the goal, and aren’t just daydreaming about it. And the action also sends out energy to attract what you may need to manifest your goal.

9. If you reach a dead end, ask the Universe for guidance.

You’re not in this all by yourself. At any point, from setting the goal to its actual manifestation, ask the Universe for direction and be open for any impulses or nudges.

10. Be grateful for the fulfillment of your goal.

You can have what you desire, through the power of your Higher Mind. Even before you see the completion in your life, you have received it. Thanking the Universe for Its help, guidance and success of your desire communicates to your subconscious. The subconscious uses the power of that emotion, and the feeling of conclusion to create your desire.

If you seem to resist doing any of these steps, or the goal isn’t manifesting, ask the Universe if you’re blocking it for some reason. If you are, find a way to deal with that and move forward. You could also be trying to force it, instead of trusting your subconscious to manifest it. That’s why the gratitude step is so important. This encourages you to let go of the worry and doubt, and let the Universe and your subconscious mind handle the details.

Affirmation

I can have anything I desire through the power of my Higher Mind. My creative mind knows just what to do and how to do it to accomplish my goal. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to make this positive change in my life. I keep my mind focused on my goal, and take the steps necessary for the fulfillment of my desire. I trust my creative mind, and the Universe, to take care of the details and bring me whatever I need to realize my desire.

Copyright 2009 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Book Review – “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind”

Book Review – “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind”

The Power of Your Subconscious MindThe Power Of Your Subconscious Mind
by Joseph Murphy

This book has been one of my inspirations over the years. It was one of the first books I read about the subconscious mind. It addresses how your subconscious mind works, how affirmations work to transform your life. It has chapters dealing with various aspects of life, and how to change them. It is a classic, and is a very easy read.

Many years ago, I took a cab to a conference, and started talking with the cab driver. It turned out that he used this book as his bible. I’ve heard this same sentiment from many other people over the years. I keep returning to this book time and time again, whenever I need to align myself with my Source.