Before I begin this explanation, here are some useful scientific facts about the human brain:
- It is estimated that the human brain has about 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses.
- Each one of our more than 100 billion neurons may be connected to hundreds of other brain cells by as many as 10,000 synapses.
- The National Science Foundation states that the average person thinks between 12,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day. Experts say that 96-98% of those thoughts are those that we don’t think consciously.
- Every thought that we think is used by the same networks of brain cells and synapses—every single time.
- Every thought attracts thoughts of a similar nature because neural electrical branches are capable of growing secondary branches that will lead to similar but different thoughts.
- The more you consciously think a thought, the easier it will be to think that thought again because the connections between the brain cells that support it will become wider and broader. The less you think a thought, the more the connections that support it will thin out and eventually dwindle away.
How to Control your Subconscious Mind
Subconscious thoughts come to us in the form of auditory phrases and mental images. When we have subconscious auditory thoughts, they play in our minds without any deliberation whatsoever and they formulize our perception of our surroundings—sometimes without us even knowing it. Subconscious mental images are transparent pictures that flash in our minds that either originate from our past or from our discernible future.
Subconscious thoughts come to us effortless because the synapses that give life to them are wider and information can pass through them more easily. They usually represent the sights and sounds from our past that have been mentally revisited the most often or have affected us on the deepest emotional level—whether positively or negatively.
One of the worst difficulties anyone can cope with is to be haunted by negative thoughts that constantly repeat themselves in our head without our conscious control. These negative thoughts serve no beneficial use to us whatsoever and are even known to drive some people insane. If you let them, they will take away all of your confidence, all of your happiness, and even your desire to better yourself. The negative subconscious thoughts from our childhoods are particularly brutal because they are the most deeply-ingrained and we have the tendency to let these thoughts define who we are in every situation of life.
Fortunately, one of the greatest discoveries ever made about the human mind is the fact that we can choose which subconscious thoughts to develop and which to eliminate. You can do this by choosing thoughts that are the complete opposite of your negative thoughts; positive thoughts that are stronger and more vivid in nature. Like radio signals traveling through space, the waves that have more force behind them will counteract those that are weaker in nature. The synapses that supported those negative subconscious thoughts will dwindle from disuse and the neurons that they passed through will be used for another purpose.
Just by repeatedly thinking something that you want to think about on a daily basis, you can make those thoughts “self-moving” within a matter of about 4 weeks. Within that time, those positive thoughts will affect your habitual emotions, your self-identifying belief systems, and your subsequent behaviors.
You will control your subconscious mind instead of letting it control you.
—
If this article raised your awareness about this topic, take just a minute to share your thoughts in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe to Inspiration Pro for free updates.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I absolutely believe in this Tim. It is said that our outside world is merely the reflection of our inner world. Whatever it is that goes through our subconscious is what we act upon, so I agree that we must put on the positives.
Walter´s last blog ..Why are we having problems with problem?
Very interesting, Walter. It seems that we all view the world through perspectives that have been filtered by our belief systems. But by introducing new thoughts to our mental habits, we can change the chemical composition of our minds.
Thanks for the reply.
Nicely put. I like the fact that you make the effort to provide facts on the article Tim. No pun intended. Actually, if you really think about it, what we see has always been what the mind tells us. All our 5 senses are received by neurons which then transmit the information to the brain, right? Then how can you say the table in front of you for example really exist beyond what our brain tell us? Sorry if I confused you. I’ll write about this topic in the future when I have the chance.
Karlil´s last blog ..How To Be Interesting
I live for this stuff, Karlil.
According to the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, everything that could possibly happen is happening right now in parallel universes. The things that are most likely to happen (1 – 99% probabilities) are occurring in the ones most adjacent to our universe while the ones that seem the most impossible in this world (.000000000001% or less probability for example) are happening in more distant universes that have different physical laws from ours.
Some people have even claimed to see these different worlds when they ingest psychoactive chemicals (which I do not endorse here).
I can’t stand behind this theory a hundred percent though because I don’t think there’s solid proof for it’s validity that we know of, but that is interesting information.
Hmm, really interesting Tim. It’s such a coincidence that I was watching this video from boing boing on my iPhone today talking about the brain and synesthesia: http://bit.ly/wxbnU
The brain is an amazing element of our body and controlling the subconscious, like you said, might be the key to real happiness. Great post!
Paul L’Acosta | Marketing Fails´s last blog ..marketingfails: Love the cleanliness of its template! RT @StaciJShelton: Get Your Zen On! | Announcing Zen Family Habits http://bit.ly/2Hph7o
Thanks for sharing that video with us, Paul. I’m sure that research on Synesthesia will teach us untold secrets about the mind that many of us never thought possible.
I will watch it tomorrow and tell you what I think.
Very interesting video, Paul. The Neuroscientist at 5:53 gives a notably comprehensive explanation of what likely causes Synesthesia.
Thanks for the link.
The ancient seers and Rishis knew this and developed the practice of mantra repetition as a way to control the mind in meditation. Utilization of a mantra is a very effective way to participate with your mind in a loving and compassionate way.
Meditation Ralph´s last blog ..Meditation and Your Brain
That’s a mind expanding link, Ralph. Asking where our thoughts arise from would probably teach us more about ourselves than anything else. And it is much better to learn to use our minds as allies instead of letting negative thoughts turn our minds into our enemies.
Before I go to bed I give my subconscious mind to heal parts of my body that are in pain, and by morning I feel refreshed. Napoleon Hill has stated that we need to give our subconscious mind orders before going to sleep. This is how Napoleon Hill came up with his “million dollar title” for his book Think and Grow Rich. He drilled it in his sub that he needed a million dollar title for his book and about 2:30am he woke up and had the title Think and Grow Rich.
DJ´s last blog ..This is too Funny not to Share!
I listened to that statement too a while back.
“Give orders to our subconscious minds to fulfill the purposes of our own choosing.” Interesting advice, that is. Makes me wonder how effective it is. I’ll give it a try.
Thanks for the intriguing reply, DJ.
great post. I love how you explained the way the synapses work. using the information makes it easy to see how you can change your outlook on your life by changing your dominate thoughts.
Julia´s last blog ..Steps to Find Your Passion and Cash In On It!
Thank you, Julia. I’m glad it was helpful.
Thanks Tim,
I have been banging away at this subject for sometime myself, It is extremely complex but at the same time simple to mold so it is working in your favor. If someone is aware that what has happened in their past can effect actions in their life right now, that is a great start. Allot of people don’t realize that their subconscous rules their lives.
It takes a conscious effort to change the subconscious mind. The benefits of reprogramming your subconscious mind are endless as to where you can go and do.
Another great read!
Thanks for taking the time to put it all together.
Brad West ~ onomoney
Brad West´s last blog ..Hypnotic Conversation Totally Rules
I appreciate the thoughtful reply, Brad. Our subconscious mind does seem to rule our lives. It’s true that we can shape it into any form that we are willing to dedicate it to.
Thanks for stopping by.
very nice article..keep it up..i will be back for more information. pls visit my blog http://www.mindpowerclassified.com
Thank you, Sanmay. You’re blog has very important information as well.
Thank you Mr. Enalls
Very interesting indeed, this very same information is covered extensively in the Bible.
All sensations are manifestations of energetic vibrations. Sound, color, even smell — all if it could be transferred to a graphical representation similar to a musical score and thus made equivalent. Chakra people know this. The chakras, or energy centers, have colors assigned, as well as chant frequencies.
So … maybe the vibrational signals for one sense very simply activate a different set of receptors in select people, causing a parallel but very different experience.
My real question is whether the synesthetes experience sensations in more than one modality simultaneously.
Maybe they do since two regions of the brain are activated at the same time for Synesthetes.
On the subject of energy vibrations, I recently saw a show called “The Universe” on the History Channel where I heard the claim that the human body is held together by electromagnetic forces. And whenever we touch something, we’re not actually touching it because the nuclei of atoms (which comprise the mass of atoms) are astonishing distant from the electrons that orbit them. When we touch anything, we are actually touching the vibrating energy fields of that object.
Thoughts are also a form of energy vibration which result in subsequent emotions of the same frequency.
Thanks for your meaningful reply, Sharon. It was extremely thought provoking.