The Genie Within: Your Subconscious Mind (28 page)

USE THE PRESENT TENSE

The subconscious mind functions only in the present. When you say, “I will get better.” You will get better tomorrow but tomorrow never gets here. Tomorrow is always one day away.

“I will get better” tacitly states that you are not now well. So this statement gives your subconscious mind a goal of not being well now.

Give your subconscious mind the goal of
being
well. Say and picture yourself as being well
now
—no matter what your present condition is.

BE POSITIVE

Many successful gurus sometimes use negative affirmations. I would argue, however, that negative affirmations should never be used, and I will give you several reasons why.

Visualizing a negative is often difficult. Picture, for example, “Michael Jordan did not play basketball today.” Seeing someone not doing something is difficult.

Some psychologists believe that the subconscious mind does not see the “not.” Thus, when you say, “I am not afraid,” your subconscious mind hears “I am afraid.”

On the other hand, another school believes that any adjective in front of a noun emphasizes it in the subconscious mind. If they are correct, then the “not” in “I am not afraid” emphasizes “afraid” in your subconscious mind.

Once you say and visualize a word in association with something, it is difficult to forget that word. Close your eyes, relax and picture this: The door to the room you are in opens and a pink elephant enters. The elephant has on a silly party hat and is blowing a horn. The elephant prances around the room and steps on your foot. It hurts! Now forget the elephant. You cannot. If you vividly imagined that scene, you cannot forget that zany, pink, party-loving elephant.

A greedy king offered a fortune to anyone who could show him how to turn sand to gold. A clever sorcerer used a trick to make it appear that he turned sand into gold. He gave the king a sham method for turning sand into gold. Then the sorcerer told the king that he must never, never think of the word ”abracadabra” while turning sand into gold. Of course, the king could not get that word off his mind every time he tried to turn sand to gold. Thus, he could not blame the sorcerer for his failure.

So do not use a negative such as, “I am not afraid” because you emphasize being afraid and place “being afraid” in your mind. It is just as easy to say, “I am poised and confident.” The above reasons should convince you to use positive affirmations, not negative ones.

BE SPECIFIC AND LITERAL

When making up a picture of something you want, be specific. The vision you evoke by saying, “I see myself getting a new car” is weak compared with saying, “I see my new car. It is a blue Volvo S70 4-door sedan. I can feel the pressure on my toe as I kick the tires. I see myself sitting at the wheel. The upholstery is beige leather. I smell the new leather. I turn on the CD/cassette/radio and listen to the stereophonic music of the Beatles coming from the six speakers. I see myself driving along Route 66. I marvel how smooth my car rides. I see the scenery through the car window. I just passed a red barn...” etc.

PERSONALIZE IT

An affirmation in your words is better than one written by someone else. The words and images you paint will have more connotations and meanings to you. It will have more power. Plagiarize affirmations, but edit and personalize them. Doctor them up with
your
feelings and attitudes.

STRESS ACTIVITY

See yourself
doing
and
being
. “I am poised under all conditions. I see myself acting courageously in an emergency. I am alert and go into action. I see myself calmly calling the Fire Department. I recall where the fire extinguisher is and I go into action putting out the fire. I instruct everybody else to get out of the house. I see that those around me admire my calm, bold actions. I feel confident...” etc.

USE ALL OF YOUR SENSES

Use words that make you
hear, smell, taste
, and
feel
. “I see the look of understanding on my boss’s face as I ask him for a raise. His eyes twinkle and he smiles at me and tells me
I am doing a superb job. I feel elation when he gives me a raise and a bonus. I hear him congratulate me and say how much I deserve it. I can taste the champagne and feel the bubbles tickling my nose as my wife and I drink to my success.”

BE EMOTIONAL

Emotion is energy. Get excited. “I am so happy that tears are running down my cheek...I gladly...I enjoy...I excitedly...I feel strongly...I am sooo happy,” etc.

PERMISSIVE VS. AUTHORITATIVE

A permissive affirmation is, “You may relax,” or “I now allow my arms to relax.” An authoritative affirmation is “Relax!” or “I command my arms to relax now!” Both are effective. I suggest that the permissive type of wording is better if it get results. If your subconscious mind does not comply, then use the authoritative affirmation. Your subconscious mind must obey, but you want to establish a mutual, loving relationship. Friends or lovers do not command each other; they do not have to. They work together out of mutual respect and need.

I knew someone who was not getting cooperation from his subconscious mind. He went into the alpha state and berated his subconscious mind for not cooperating. He said that it was imperative that they work together for both their sakes. They lived in the same body and it was to their interest to keep that body healthy. Being emotionally healthy depends on single-mindedness. Internal turmoil is unhealthy, causes stress, and is counterproductive. He went on for minutes; it was a real heart-to-heart scolding. He claimed he was “out of sorts” for a few days but after that, his conscious mind and subconscious mind got along fine.

STEP TWO—ATTACH A TRIGGER

Attach a “trigger” to your affirmation. Every time you condition your subconscious mind, attach a trigger to it. I used the color green as one of my triggers for health. Near the end of the affirmation I say, “Each and every time I see or picture the color “GREEN,” this affirmation is repeated a thousand times. Each time I see or picture in my mind the color “GREEN,” this affirmation is reinforced and affirmed and acted on. Each time I see or think of the color “GREEN,” this affirmation is magnified, enhanced, and energized over and over.”

I chose the color green because I associate it with life, new growth, and health. I hung a sheet of green paper in my closet. After awhile my conscious mind ignores it but my subconscious mind sees it many times a day. Fortunately the color green is abundant, so my affirmation is energized hundreds of times every day.

STEP THREE—PLANT YOUR AFFIRMATION

You can imbed your affirmation in your subconscious mind in two ways. One, go into the alpha state and read it aloud. See it, speak it, and hear it. Command your subconscious mind to accept your affirmation and confirm it as you go into a deeper state of alpha. Then go deeper and preferably deep enough where you lose consciousness. When you are unconscious, your picky conscious mind cannot interfere.

The other method is to record your affirmation on tape. If you have not conditioned yourself to go into deep alpha in a short time, include a relaxation routine at the beginning. Turn on your tape player and go into a deep alpha. Go into the state using the word “RELAX.” This routine (at the end of Lesson Four) uses the word “sleep” in it. You will not go to
sleep; you will go into deep alpha and be unconscious. There is no word in English that means, “Go into the alpha or theta state and lose consciousness” so we are stuck with using the word “sleep.” Your subconscious mind knows what you want because of your
expectation
and
faith
that you will go into deep alpha. Going into a sleep state is best because your conscious mind is not able to interfere with the suggestions.

STEP FOUR—REPEAT

As a rule of thumb, repeat the affirmation every day for a week, every week for a month, every month for a year, and then, every year.

STEP FIVE—GROUPING AFFIRMATIONS

A lot of time can be saved by grouping affirmations and by using the “instant playback” technique. A suggested grouping might be to use a different fruit, flower, or color as a trigger for each affirmation. For example, you could use:

       •    An apple for your “Health” affirmation

       •    A pear for “Success”

       •    A bunch of grapes for “Relationships”

       •    A banana for “Abundance”

       •    A papaya for “Nutrition” and proper eating habits

After you condition yourself to these triggers, they can all be activated in your subconscious mind in seconds. Go into alpha and picture yourself placing each fruit sequentially in a basket or better, coming out of a cornucopia. Any time you are in alpha just take a few seconds to picture each fruit and you have repeated the five affirmations in total in only seconds.

HEALTH AFFIRMATION
CONDITIONING EXERCISE

This is an example of a generic affirmation. It is intended to bring your subconscious mind to the foreground and saturate it with concepts of excellent health. Use this affirmation as a starting point. Doctor it up so it expresses
your
emotions and feelings about health. Change it, add to it, cut some sections out—make it represent you. You can think of more parts and functions of your body that you want to fortify and bless. And remember, use phrases that conjure something you can visualize. Robust health should be thought of as natural and continuous.

A relaxation routine is placed at the start to take you into a deep state of alpha. When you can go into alpha in a few seconds using your trigger word, you can remove that section from the affirmation. Now, record it, sit in a comfortable chair, close your eyes, and playback the tape. Or, get comfortable in an easy chair, go into alpha, read it aloud, tell yourself that this affirmation is embedded in your subconscious mind at every level and at every age as you take yourself into a deeper state of mind. Then use the “RELAX” trigger to go into an unconscious alpha state.

NOTE: A recorded, updated and abreviated version of this affirmation is available at
www.thegeniewithin.net/affirmations-cds
.

HEALTH AFFIRMATION

I am about to experience deep relaxation. Because relaxation makes me feel good, I eagerly look forward to this routine and going into deep alpha and theta states. I like and desire the feeling of contentment it gives me. I can see myself in a state of bliss and enjoying it. Relaxation is so good for me. It restores and energizes me. It frees me of tension and allows perfect circulation in every part of my body. My body anticipates that feeling and desires to relax, relax deeply, ever so deeply and naturally. My eyelids close naturally and as they close, I feel a wave of warmth sweep over me from my head to toes
.

I now become aware of my breathing. I notice that it is slowing and deepening. I imagine that I can actually see the molecules of air that I breathe in. I see and know that each molecule is energy...the energy of life...each molecule contains the energy of the life force. I see this energy as tiny sparklers. I see a field of tiny sparks. These microscopic sparks enter my lungs and energize me...rejuvenate me...fill me with positive energy and vitality. This energy sizzles within me. I see this energy entering my lungs and being carried to every cell in my body. My body welcomes it and uses it with gusto. I thank the life force for energizing and rejuvenating my body
.

When I exhale, I see the molecules of air carry out waste...negative energy...everything that I no longer need. When I exhale, I see a cloud of gray exiting my body. These molecules of air also carry out with them tension and all anxiety, and I feel myself relaxing...growing more and more content with my body and my life
.