In my journey to be less anxious and reduce physical symptoms while I’m under stress, I’ve been reading about neuroscience, biohacking and alternative therapies.
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman had already sparked this interest in me, with the succinct way he described how the brain works in five stages. First considering our sensations, followed by perceptions, emotions, and finally thoughts that end in actions. The concept of neuroplasticity has also led me to believe, as has been proven, that the brain can change over time, specially with deep and continuous focus on that change.
Some time later, I discovered neuroscientist Bruce Lipton, whose YouTube video motivated me tremendously and further supported my theories. I saw other videos, not as useful as this one, and I read other perspectives, which also didn’t bring me so much clarity.
So how do we change subconscious patterns after all?
After reading about what all these scientists had to say, I was able to form an opinion, which is nothing more than their statements.
“The things that you like and that come easily to you in your life are there because you have a program that allows them to be there. In contrast anything that you have to work hard at, put a lot of effort into or anything you have to struggle for to make it happen, is a result of your programs not supporting that. (…)
There is always that belief that you can talk to your subconscious mind. And people try that and then they find themselves playing their programs again. And they get frustrated, because they think ‘I keep talking to myself and it is not changing’.
You have to remember you are like an entity in the conscious mind. But the subconscious mind is just like a machine, it records, pushes a button, plays back.”
— Bruce Lipton, on brucelipton.com
So, as long as I don’t internalize ideas contrary to those I have today in my subconscious, it is not worth much to keep telling myself that everything is fine.
Working on a conscious level, as in psychotherapy, is of little help. The improvement is relative because the opposite is already programmed in the mind.
So the only ways Lipton pointed out as possible to change our fears, phobias or anxieties, is by working our subconscious.
But, technically, how?
1. Hypnosis
The subconscious mind is a habit mind, it doesn’t change overnight. You can’t read a book and automatically change a belief deeply rooted in your subconscious. According to Lipton, “The first seven years the mind is operating in a low vibrational frequency like hypnosis. So that is one way of changing the program.”
2. Habit
The other way is by doing something, or writing something, or reading something every day, until it sticks. “After you are seven you form habits by repeating something over and over and over again. Practicing, repeating, practicing.”
3. Energy Psychology
This last concept was the hardest for me to grasp. I had to dig deeper and understand it better. Essentially, these are methods that combines Eastern approaches to the mind and body with Western psychology and psychotherapy ideas. Activating the brain to be in a state of “superlearning”. Within this field there are different practices used to promote healing. Acupuncture, Acupressure, Emotional Freedom Technique or Thought Field Therapy are some of them.
I’ll continue on this self-knowledge journey, effortlessly reading more and more about ways to improve the way I feel, the external factors that trigger me, and how that can all be changed.
Reprogramming Subconscious
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