3 Ways to Positively Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind
What is Your Subconscious?
Our subconscious is the part of our minds that connects the subtle patterns needed to function in life. Our subconscious is programmed to carry out simple tasks so our conscious mind can ponder the complex.
Our brain functions are incredibly intricate with many facets still not fully understood. In computing terms, the number of operations per second that our brains are responsible for reaches into the thousands of trillions. While that number is truly impossible to conceptualize, to put it into perspective, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers was made to mimic one second of one percent of human brain operation by using 83,000 processors – it took the computer 40 minutes to complete the task.
And though our brains are far superior to these artificial processors, like a computer, certain elements of our brain functions can be programmed in different ways. Our brains are conditioned from a young age and from many directions, including society, family, and academia. Some of this conditioning is necessary and desired, but there are also subliminal elements that fly under the radar and can often be subversive and self-defeating. But the good news is that there are conscious steps one can take to correct this.
How to Program Your Subconscious Mind
- InnerTalk – A method developed by Eldon Taylor to reprogram your subconscious mind by targeting subliminal negative input that we receive on a daily basis.
- Binaural Beats – A dichotic listening technique in which sound is played at lower frequencies to stimulate the brain, achieving subliminal effects and altered states of consciousness.
- Meditation – The oldest and most effective way to reprogram your subconscious through discipline and consistency.
InnerTalk
InnerTalk is a method developed by Eldon Taylor that is designed to positively affect subliminal information processing. While it is possible to consciously input positive dialogue in our day-to-day lives, Taylor says he believes we are so heavily inundated with subliminal negativity that it doesn’t make enough of a difference. These negative thoughts often come from past failures or bad experiences that build up, to protect us from future defeat or rejection. Unfortunately, this can hold us back and prevent us from reaching our full potential.
One of the focuses of Taylor’s InnerTalk is that it conditions both sides of the brain based on its appropriate functions. The left hemisphere of the brain focuses on literal meaning, while the right side focuses more on overall conceptual or associative meaning. Taylor’s InnerTalk targets both the left hemisphere by using meaningfully spoken, forward-masked, permissive affirmations. The right side is targeted with directive voices recorded in metacontrast. Basically, the recordings are played so that they are just below the threshold of awareness. This means that they are not always heard or understood by the listener, but the subconscious mind picks them up. This method differs from hypnosis in that it bypasses certain mechanisms that hypnosis presents. Under hypnosis, there can be defense mechanisms that are still present.
Taylor’s subliminal method bypasses conscious awareness by working on our peripheral perception. Similar to sight, peripheral perception is the level at which something is pushed to a fringe where there is a 50 percent chance of hearing or not hearing the message being delivered. At this threshold, the message does not need to be fully understood because it is still processed by the conscious mind.
Binaural Beats
Similar in nature to the science of how we locate the direction of a sound, binaural beats are low-frequency sounds played dichotically, or differing in each ear. These beats are played below 1000 Hz and are the result of two different impulses in each ear. The frequency level for human hearing is in the range of 20-20,000Hz, so often the frequencies of binaural beats are not necessarily heard. The difference between these impulses creates a third frequency in a part of the brain called the superior olivary nucleus, where it is thought to have subliminal effects and can lead to altered states of consciousness. The process is referred to as brainwave entrainment.
Although there is some contention as to whether binaural beats have a positive effect on brain waves, some studies have found that they mirror the effects that meditation has on the brain, promoting states of relaxation. This is thought to be caused by an increase in Alpha and Theta brainwaves which correspond with relaxation and meditation. This is where the brain can be trained and reprogrammed with lasting positive thoughts.
The Alpha frequency of our brain exists between 7-14 Hz. This is found in states of deep relaxation and light meditation where you can start to influence the subconscious. In this state, memory and learning can be influenced. Theta wave frequency, between 4-7.5 Hz, is the most intriguing in that it occurs during light sleep and deep meditation and is where the subconscious mind is accessed. During Theta frequency, it is thought that a multitude of characteristics can be tapped into and affected, ranging from creativity and problem solving, to intuition and even physical healing.
Meditation
Using binaural sound and subliminal messaging seems like an easy way to influence one’s subconscious mind, but the desired effects typically mirror or are compared to the effects of meditation. While one could pair these methods with meditation to increase the likelihood of achieving positive results, meditation in itself is probably the most reliable approach. It has been proven, using electroencephalogram or EEG monitoring, that Alpha and Theta wave activity is most pronounced during meditation. This is where the subliminal stimulus of subconscious messaging and beats aim to influence the mind.
About the Author
Times of Social Unrest Appear to Boost Our Brain's Neuroplasticity
New research suggests that times of global unrest present a unique opportunity for neurological growth and profound behavior change, but only when leveraged correctly.
Kayla Osterhoff is a neuropsychophysiologist who studies the interaction of the mind and brain, which she calls the ‘human operating system.’
“One of the greatest mysteries in modern neuroscience is actually how the brain produces the mind. The reason why we have not been able to come up with the answer for this is because that’s not how it works. These two are actually separate systems that interact together to produce what I call the ‘human operating system,’ which is responsible for our version of reality as humans,” Osterhoff said.
Osterhoff has recently been researching the hypothesis that times of social unrest provide a valuable opportunity to neurologically upgrade this human operating system.
“Right now, we have this very unique opportunity to upgrade our ‘human operating system’ globally,” Osterhoff said. “And that is because as a society around the entire world we are experiencing this social unrest and this has caused a couple of significant cognitive and neurological shifts that have provided an opportunity for us to grow and evolve as a society.”
Osterhoff points to several fascinating factors that contribute to this phenomenon.
“So, studies are showing that acute states of stress, like shock, trauma, or something surprising like what we’re currently experiencing in our world, caused this cognitive psychological shift that actually makes our subconscious mind more suggestible, meaning that our subconscious mind is brought forward so to speak, and it’s more malleable, it’s more programmable,” Osterhoff said.
