Understanding the Mind

The mind operates like a body of water. When something is dropped in, the surface is disturbed and ripples are formed.

Our experiences create ripples. However, even after the ripples have visually settled on the surface, the disturbance continues to influence the internal state (under the surface) for a little while.

People sometimes continue to feel the old patterns of being but fail to realise that it is only the ripples that they feel. Unless one is aware of this, they may revert to doubting the change.

Two distinctive ways of creating change and starting new patterns are:

Create new ripples after the old ripples have settled first. This requires a still space before starting the new experience or behaviour.

Create new ripples outwards so that it can override the existing old ripple formations. The focus then is to create enough new ripples by cancelling out unwanted effects to create the desired ripple effect.

The Rules of the Mind below outlines the standard beliefs held in accordance with the understandings of traditional hypnotherapy.

Re-Emergence looks beyond these perspectives of the mind and provides below, explanations about the underlying aspects of the mind and how change can easily occur.

Rules of the Mind

1. The very thought and idea creates a physical reaction.
When you are sad, you are more likely to slouch or curl up. When you remember an angry experience, your body will reflect a defensive or attacking posture. When there is stress, it can be physically experienced as muscle tension or indigestion. Thought and body are very much inter-connected. Phrases we use also reflect this ie. 'a pain in the neck' etc.

2. What is expected will be realized.
When you expect a grumpy reception wherever you go, that is most likely exactly what you will encounter. When you expect to fail, that can affect your confidence and ultimately your results and outcome.

3. Imagination is more powerful than knowledge when dealing with your own mind or the mind of another.
You can know many things but it is your imagination that allows you to change what you know into reality through creativity and action. Many people understand the causes of their problems but remain stuck because they try to make changes based on pure facts and life conditionings. These conditionings are often fraught with limitations and expectations. Alternatively, imagination opens a door into untapped potential or unrealized solutions. People often allow their minds to imagine all the unfair things people can do onto them but very few open their minds to imagine what are the wonderful things others can do with and for them.

4. Opposing ideas cannot be held at one and the same time.
It is very unlikely to be angry and calm at the same moment in time. Like walking, each leg lifts and moves one leg forward at a time. We may be in love and be angry with one person but at any one point in time, one or the other emotion will rule that experience.

5. Once an idea has been accepted by the subconscious mind, it remains until it is replaced by another idea.

We may have an awareness that what we are doing is wrong but if we don't replace it with something that is true, we are likely to continue living status quo. For most, because the old idea can be so easily replaced, they let the random events of life determine which idea replaces it. Wouldn't it be better to replace it with an idea that is ideal for you rather than any other idea that is just floating around?

6. The longer the idea remains, the more opposition there is to replacing it with a new idea.
This may appear to be logically true but I have come to discover that this is a myth. It is completely false because when we tap into the internal truth, change can happen quite instantaneously. No amount of opposition can overrule a decision. So, the question lies not in the duration an idea has been in process but the clarity of the decision and the strength of the new idea that replaces the old.

7. An emotionally induced symptom tends to cause organic change if persisted long enough.
When we do not have adequate sleep or rest, the repair rate of the cells in our body may also be affected. We can notice our skin feels fresher after a few good nights sleep. Similarly, when someone worries too much, not only do they develop wrinkles on their forehead ... their ability to digest food in a balanced way may also affected. When we realise the cycle of cause and effect, we can begin to change the outcome and return to balance.

8. Each suggestion acted upon creates less opposition to successive suggestion.
When we are used to taking one route to work for some years, each time we take another route to go to another office we begin to develop a new memory pathway. The first few days after changing work/offices, we may unconsciously take the wrong turn towards the old work route but when we become aware of it, we turn around and go the right way to the new office. We don't keep on driving to go to work in the old office, do we?

9. When dealing with the subconscious mind and its functions, the greater the conscious effort, the less the subconscious response.
People put so much credibility and power into the subconscious and its functioning role in our lives by undermining the conscious mind. When we learn to drive, we have to first consciously learn where the brake, accelerator and clutch are. As we practice driving more and more, our subconscious learns to re-enact the action based on a set of driving scenarios. The subconscious tends to react so, when the conscious mind knows how to communicate with the subconscious, only then does the subconscious mind respond. When there is clear conscious communication, the subconscious responds perfectly. The answers lie in the communication, not in the effort.

Terms and Conditions for using this website