By: Shlomo Vaknin, C.Ht

The subconscious mind contains everything in your mind that you are not aware of. Some of these things are easy to become aware of. Stop and listen to the sounds around you that you weren’t aware of until…now. Some of these things you can directly influence, like if your fidgeting without knowing it and someone asks you to stop. You can even influence some of them indirectly, like when you learn relaxation or stress man-agement, and lower your heart rate or brainwaves.

This brings up an interesting point. Where should you draw the boundary between the subconscious mind and the mechanics of the body, such as the electric impulses and chemical reactions that regulate the heart-beat? Since NLP has evolved into a holistic approach, it thinks of the body and mind as an interplay or an entity, not as two things with a definite line between them. The mind can have extraordinary effects on the body. Countless research studies have shown this. NLP has hundreds of patterns, far more than you could possibly need to be an effective practitioner, that can alter your state. There’s even one for allergies. All as-pects of you are connected. This point of view empowers you.

And please remember that we used the word “influence.” There’s no reason to feel guilty if you get sick, as if you have total control over every aspect of your body. We call NLP a practice because you can learn and improve your use of NLP over your entire lifetime. Some people get carried away, like a person who said not to talk about personal growth using the word growth, because that would give you cancer. That’s defi-nitely getting carried away.

They probably said that because subtle word choices can have a big effect on how people perform. We will be learning a lot of powerful language patterns during this program. Words will become your allies in creat-ing powerful skills for a more fulfilling life.

Among its many jobs, the subconscious mind decides what needs to become conscious, what you can do subconsciously, and what your mental filters can dispose of. Neuropsychologists have even found a physical area of the brain that serves to filter your sensory impressions. It allows you to focus on what you need to do, but if it detects possible danger, it directs your attention to it. The subconscious mind performs many such tasks, so a lot of our behavior gets shaped by things we don’t think about. But you could say that since you have a subconscious mind you have a responsibility and an art form, because the subconscious mind can shape our behavior in unwanted ways as well. Just as animal trainers shape the behavior of tigers, dogs, and dolphins in complicated ways, our behavior has been shaped without our knowledge. Our patterns of experi-ence, our temperament, and even programming by commercial advertisers influence us. The subconscious can actually put up barriers to awareness in the form of psychological defenses, NLP provides the antidote. It puts the tools of behavior change in your hands to use according to your values. It helps you restore awareness where you need it. And better yet, it can be a lot of fun to use NLP, and it can create plenty of inspiration in your life.

This can get people into a lot of hang ups, avoiding things that they would be better off dealing with. NLP can make it easier for people to be assertive and proactive in their lives, because it can open up a positive pathway to action. This way, the subconscious mind does not busy itself so much putting up obstacles or defenses. The anxiety gets reduced, and the person becomes reconnected with their joys, passions, and higher values. When people switch on this way, they are much more successful and attractive.