Many people I’ve worked with were in a state of hypnosis prior to seeing me. One of the things I always did was to bring them into a deeper state and then bring them back out in a fully awake “beta” brain wave state. Each moment our subconscious mind is being affected by both external and internal environments. When we self-talk, we affect ourselves. When we are engaged in an emotionally-charged movie, we are being affected. Emotions lie in our subconscious mind (or limbic system). By the way, the subconscious mind is not the same as the unconscious mind. When we are unconscious, we are completely disengaged from those mental stimulations. If you’ve ever been knocked out into unconsciousness, you’ll know what I mean. Most experience unconsciousness in a sleep state. The subconscious state is simply that which is below conscious awareness.
A great many people are walking around unaware of what is going on around them. If they are not normally engaged into the moments of life, then they are disengaged from their surroundings. In self-defense classes I’ve taught, the practice of awareness is the number one strategy to avoid being attacked and hence, a victim. Since most people are not trained to be aware in this way, they have a higher probability of becoming a victim. The aware mind is important in other areas of life too.
Being able to see the beauty of the moments is one. We lose out when our minds are filled with clutter. Ramblings from the past or anxiety of the future, stops one from knowing moments in time. Again, our subconscious mind takes over for us. Think about when you’ve driven on the freeway and wondered how you got from point A to point B. That is is simply your subconscious mind taking over. And during that driving time, your mind may have been engaged in other thoughts, like a meeting you have to get to.
Being able to focus on the present is important for knowing your surroundings (as I stated earlier) and reducing stress/anxiety. Jon Kabat-Zinn has been teaching mindfulness for several decades now and has been able to show its effectiveness to live a higher quality life. Mindfulness meditation as well as hypnosis helps to increase awareness in the present. It seems crazy that being in a meditative state helps to fully awaken those that do it. It does. Going into an alpha, theta or delta brain wave states helps one to awaken fully in the beta state. Some highly trained individuals have experienced the super conscious state of awareness known as “Gama”. They have absolute control of remaining focused in the present moments.
Some pointers for you for getting and remaining fully aware when you need to be:
- Practice meditation and/or do self-hypnosis
- Get enough sleep
- Exercise more
- Eat healthy
- Practice conscious observation and don’t describe what you see, hear, feel, taste or smell. Just remain engaged in the present with no thoughts.
I wish you the best in getting to an awakened and aware mind. When you do, you will get to fully know what it is to be alive.
Cheers,
Bob