The Language of TheUnknown Self
A friend asked, “How can hypnosis help shape behavior?” I told her, “Hypnosis is a direct pipeline to the unconscious. It grants access to the operating system operating in the background.”
“What is the subconscious though?” She felt I was implying that she was under the control of an unseen alien force.
It is the great unknown within each of us. It is thinking and knowing without noticing or focusing. It is that part of us that we trust the most but also holds our deepest fears and pain. The names and labels we use to describe the concept, unconsciousness, spirit, soul, subconscious, original face, and the true self may have subtle differences in interpretation, but all indicate an invisible and powerful guiding force that influences our daily lives down to the formation of each individual thought and perception, every interaction and emotion, and every behavior and belief. Can you imagine any other force so powerful that is so misunderstood or overlooked?
This subconscious mind is the storehouse of memories and the repository of knowledge. The vast sum of memories each of us holds is not actively dancing in our conscious, active minds. That does not mean that is unavailable to us - this knowledge and experience is encased inside everyone’s cranium; it is not confined to some external storage. The subconscious allows for efficient processing. Could you imagine needing to remember to do each breath consciously? Time to inhale … time to exhale … time to inhale … time to exhale. The simplest tasks – turning a doorknob, for instance – would be insurmountable without some behind-the-scenes mechanism at play to fill in the gaps. The subconscious allows for creative and imaginative creativity and problem-solving. It breaks free from the constraints of linear, literal thinking by integrating the imagined with the real, the rational with the emotional. By nature's demand, the aware, conscious, rational mind bends its knee to the emotional mind. Reacting to emotional stimuli is nature’s shortcut to guide behavior, generally to actions supporting survival over comfort. Where the waking mind is subservient, the subconscious plays a key role in processing emotions. Where sleep plays a key role in physical healing, subconscious processing plays a key role in emotional healing.
The subconscious can also play the foe in one’s phenomenological experience. Trauma and its dark companions; fear, pain, and negative beliefs take root in the quiet safety of the subconscious. From this perch, they shape behavior in maladaptive patterns that lead to loneliness, isolation, apathy, and failure. Resistance to change is a subconscious expression of fear, fear of moving forward into the unknown, giving up something comfortable and familiar, or fear of having one’s negative core beliefs validated. “Why do I keep doing this to myself?” You keep doing it because it is familiar; because it is familiar, you have a sense of control, a sense of control provides safety, and safety is the antidote to fear.
While the subconscious does not whisper to us into our language-hearing ear, we can engage with the subconscious in our dreams (day and night), through visualization, by noticing and examining patterns that emerge in our lives, and by the “felt sense.” This felt sense is what drives the relationship between our emotions and behavior; it is the puppet master. We understand the felt sense, or physiological sensation, through “somatic processing. Soma, the Greek word for body (vs. Psyche, the mind) implies this is an examination of the connection between physiological experience and an emotional process in the brain. Sometimes, these somatic elements can be maladaptive; we call these psychosomatic symptoms. Whatever the nature of these signals, recognizing and processing them, perhaps reframing or dwelling on them, are paths to mental health, emotional stability, and self-control. When an emotional thought becomes persistent, or sticky, or intrusive, it is often because this physiological sensation continues to send its signal to the limbic system (emotional/fear center of the brain). Emotions lead to “automatic behaviors,” behaviors nature has preselected for each of us, tailored for our individual needs, and aimed to support our best chances of survival. If these emotions have urgent or painful stories or narratives associated with them – “I am in danger”, “I am worthless”, “I’m not good enough”, “I’m too different” – then that physical sensation will automatically unfold the entire script associated with that automatic thought and drive behavior; Run! Fight! Deny! Isolate! Strike first and hardest!
If nurtured, calmed, and supported, the subconscious can provide a framework for confidence and growth. By leveraging the concept of neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to modify and reshape its physical structure - positive affirmation, meditation, mindful movement, breath-centered focus, talk therapy, and reframing of cognitive distortions – all allow for modification of experience through mental exercise that can literally be seen in the brain’s microscopic shape.
Hypnosis is a method by which one may gain a more direct connection to the subconscious mind and either explore hidden or lost content - or install resources and support natural confidence and resilience. Similar to meditation, focus is the secret sauce of hypnosis. Focus is the cognitive ability or skill of recognizing where one is directing one’s attention, then willfully – with intention, directing that attention to the object one chooses to focus on and holding it there. The evocative image used by Buddhists, “The monkey mind,” illustrates the problem – the monkey is not naturally compliant and will not be caged. Through repeated practice of noticing and directing focus, it becomes a stronger and more easily accessed state. Hypnosis bypasses the monkey. The ego, self-talk, and mental chatterbox are part of the surface mind, often obstructing and overwhelming the deeper sense of awareness.
The key to success in any endeavor, smoking cessation, weight control, habit formation, interpersonal connection, overcoming anxiety, or quitting unproductive or harmful patterns is recognizing unconscious motivations or blocks, then accessing internal sources of strength and knowledge to gain the advantage needed for success.
