As you read these words, you aren’t thinking “ok, that word has those squiggles, which looks like the word ‘thinking’, and thinking means to consider something using thoughts, so I’ll hold that concept in my mind whilst I move onto the next word…”
– it just happens. It’s automatic!
Thanks, brain.
When you see a pesky crocodile wriggle out from behind a parked car at Tescos, you don’t think “oh that’s unusual, but also potentially dangerous, I suppose weighing up the odds of winning a fight with this thing vs the energy expenditure of moving, I should leap out of the way”. You just shout “aaaARRGGHH %&$&” and leap out of the way (we’ve all been there).
Right?
Ok, so they’re small examples of automatic cause-and-effect.
Things happen, and our automatic imagination leads to responses to do things (or consciously think or want or avoid things) without us really consciously choosing to.
It just happens. Happenings, rather than doings.
When we watch horror films, we don’t choose to feel fear at the times that we do – we automatically respond to all the ideas and suggestions on the screen (all the visual, auditory and psychological ideas).
Don’t think of a black cat.
Please – don’t imagine it just sat there, looking at you with its loving little eyes.
Definately don’t imagine its tail twirling at the end.
Don’t think about a polar bear rollerskating…
So words can create automatic responses in our imagination.
Well what about ideas?
What about automatically responding to ideas in our imagination – is that possible?
Well, yes, of course.
Normally when someone presents you with an idea, such as to do something, you think about it first. You consider it, compare it against past experiences, imagine (automatically) potential happenings, that kind of thing. There are all sorts of theories about the workings of this mechanism, from executive control, to the feeling of consciousness. For now we’ll just call this part of the mind the executive function. Its not a “real thing” it’s just a metaphor for the idea of your conscious analytical thoughts.
It’s what normally stops you from dancing like a chicken when someone tells you to (sorry, I had to get that massive cliche out of the way somehow). You would think “actually no, I don’t want to do that, because I’d look like an idiot”. See?
But many suggestions are accepted automatically without engaging that system.
As we begin to look at examples of this, you’ll get a better understanding of what I mean by automatic unconscious responsiveness.
But first, lets look at where all this happens, below the level of conscious awareness.
The Subconscious Mind
First and foremost – don’t buy into that typical iceberg analogy! The truth is far more interesting than that limiting idea.
A ‘subconscious mind’ implies we have two different minds – conscious and subconscious. Like the iceberg analogy (conscious above the water, subconscious below) this isn’t a useful model because it suggests a false idea of the mind being “fixed”, when actually it’s far more dynamic than that. And yet, so many naff soft-skills training courses, websites and books about hypnosis still resort to this idea of an iceberg or two minds.
I prefer the analogy of the mind being like a vast library of ideas (which could be associations, memories, beliefs, expectations all captured in the beautiful complexity of neuronal connections). The conscious ‘mind’ is then more like a small torch, roving around the shelves. A small light of conscious awareness in the darkness.
But even this analogy is of course limiting – because it implies your awareness is only ever in one small part of the mind. Perhaps a few tiny penlight torches would be a more accurate version. Also, this vast library of ideas is always changing. Perhaps some Harry Potter-esque CGI is called for. This is why analogies of the mind are difficult!
Awareness
A lot of stuff is happening in your mind that you are not consciously aware of – meaning you couldn’t talk about it. If you close your eyes, meditate, and things emerge, whether memories, beliefs or ideas – then your ‘torchlight’ (awareness) has just brought something out of the subconscious realm. This of course happens all the time – the mind is far more flexible and dynamic than an iceberg.
Someone saying “I feel a bit subconsciously anxious” doesn’t make much sense – if they feel it enough to know they feel it, then it’s conscious awareness. Conscious anxiety.
But if they felt their hands were trembling a bit, had become dry in the mouth, felt a warmth creeping over the shoulders, it might be reasonable for them to say “I think I have some subconscious anxiety going on”.
Because of course, we can still sometimes feel the effects of subconscious processes, or notice patterns in our every day living that might point to them.
Becoming more aware, self-aware, aware of what’s going on under the hood (there’s another limiting analogy), aware of the various softwares and malwares running in the background (there goes another), is a very useful thing.
This is why therapeutic model that helps develop more awareness is more useful than the ones that don’t. We’ll take a closer look at mindfulness as a way to develop awareness in the hypnotherapy section.
Subconscious Automaticity
The vast majority of our responses to things are purely automatic. Walking. Talking. Playing a videogame. Driving. Meeting new people – most of the time, subconscious processes are handling all of that for you. Your automatic subconscious responses are far more powerful and plentiful than any provided by (or more accurately, with) that tiny slither of conscious awareness.
Subconscious beliefs and expectancies are constantly influencing your bodily processes, breathing, heart-beat, hormones etc. This is why placebos are so powerful – every action of a pill, medicine or treatment needs to first outweigh the natural power of your expectant mind before it can be validated.
The Subconscious Awarenesses
All of your memories are stored in the subconscious mind. When you remember something, it becomes conscious. Of all of the things that are happening right now around you, the ones you are aware of are conscious, and the rest are being perceived by the power of the subconscious mind. Until now, you may not have been aware of your hand on the mouse (or holding your phone). Or your feet on the floor (or resting on the bed). Or the sounds outside. Or what is beside the screen. You’re aware now that I have drawn your attention to them, but your subconscious was scanning all of this stuff beforehand.
When you are in a room full of people, you are only consciously aware of a few things, such as what you are talking to someone about, their face, or what you are going to say next. You’re subconsciously aware of all this as well as your internal states, how long you have left, what things you have associated in the past with all the things that are being talked about, and what other people are talking about. You might not be consciously aware of other people’s conversations until your subconscious automatically draws your conscious attention to hearing your name being mentioned.
You’re constantly processing millions of things at any one time. If someone asks you a question, even after giving a consciously adequate answer, your subconscious mind will continue to search and process. Then, a better answer may just ‘pop’ into your mind, even though you didn’t realise you were still thinking about it. You were, but subconsciously.
You sleep on a problem, and wake up with the answer.
Often when in a difficult situation such as an argument or conflict, we can operate on autopilot, without really thinking at all. Emotionally driven behaviours and thoughts can run riot without conscious control. Then, later, the subconscious continues to process it all, affecting our thoughts and feelings. It may also throw up new answers or suggestions for things that could have been said better, so you say to yourself ‘why didn’t I think of that at the time?’ There is even research to suggest that the subconscious continues to process 30 ‘units’ a second as part of a search process, whilst the conscious mind is distracted with other things. Isn’t that fascinating? (Reference: Sternberg, S. (1975) Memory Scanning: New Findings & Current Controversies. Quarterley Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22 1-32).
Subconscious Learning
It might feel as though the conscious ‘mind’ acts as a kind of middle man between the environment and your subconscious ‘mind’. You can think about, critically evaluate, and choose more or less how important you think anything is before you ‘accept’ it (i.e. it becomes a learning, or belief). It feels like most stuff just gets thrown out, never to be thought of again (such as most TV and small talk, and the odd accidental name or phone number).
But most ideas are sneaking in that you aren’t aware of. These could be unwanted, and may adversely affect your self-esteem, behaviour or perceptions throughout your whole life.
As an infant, before your conscious mind had fully developed, your subconscious was completely open to suggestion. It had to be, in order to learn the basics, notice patterns, form beliefs, motives and expectations, and develop the conscious awareness in order to be more selective later on. During this period you were probably stuffed with a whole bunch of limiting perceptions assumptions and beliefs, leading to unnecessary fears or anxieties.
As an adult, the subconscious mind continues to automatically absorb through other ways. One is the sheer confidence of some information, that goes straight in without you really thinking about it through the sheer weight of suggestion. Repetition is another way that something could gradually seep into the subconscious (e.g. songs on the radio, the negative suggestions that some people plague you with everyday). These are just some examples of how things can get inside our heads without our conscious awareness.
The Subconscious as your Personal Assistant
A lot of people don’t have the patience to even acknowledge that they have a subconscious. They would prefer to believe that they are aware of everything that goes on in their heads. They feel that the idea of an automatic ‘mind’ running the show undermines a sense of personal control and identity.
The way round this isn’t to fight for control, but to simply embrace the lack of it, before working with it more efficiently. Your subconscious is very much you. It does everything for you, it protects you, it learns for you, it chooses what you should attend to, it monitors your physiology, it does a huge amount of work round the clock whilst you are distracted with other things. It reminds you of things you might forget, it figures out answers for you whilst you sleep, it carries out your automatic tasks, such as driving, sleeping, walking and talking.
So why neglect it? There is definitely a variable of self-awareness in people. Some seem to be very much in rapport with themselves, and embrace their whole being, such as great artists or the enlightened. They seem to be whole, complete beings, who yield the personal power by using their resources.
Others seem in total conflict with themselves, trying to claim conscious controls and beliefs whilst doing the opposite subconsciously. The positivity guru who’s in denial of how arrogant or inadequate they are. The comedian who identifies with being the heart and soul of the party who’s actually depressed. The YouTube influencer who craves attention but feels completely empty and alone inside. These are extreme examples, but we all lie somewhere along the spectrum. We lose sleep, get into trouble, ruin relationships, act against our interests and experience negative emotions because we’re constantly fighting with ourselves.
This is why building awareness and self-rapport is one the most powerful goals each of us could have.
Knowing ourselves, directing ourselves, being in a position to make the right choices.
That is when we really feel the power of what we’re capable of, where old stagnant feelings are washed out by new and exciting ones that serve our true goals more effectively.
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