Hypnosis and the Subconscious Mind
How Are Hypnosis and the Subconscious Mind Connected?
Hypnosis is how we access the subconscious mind.
If you want to make changes in your life, you have to make them in your subconscious. The subconscious is where our beliefs live, and our beliefs are the foundation of everything we do. You can slowly (and I do mean slowly) change your beliefs through conscious efforts like mindfulness and exposing yourself to the beliefs you wish you had through reading, podcasts, or following people who believe and live the way you want to, but that takes an extraordinary amount of time and diligent effort.
Working to change beliefs that are strongly held in the subconscious through these conscious methods is working from the outside in.
To change the beliefs we have in our subconscious, we have to access the subconscious. It’s tricky because we use our conscious mind to point our focus, to bring our awareness to something, and when we want to focus our awareness on our subconscious programming, we have to leave the conscious state!
And that’s not all; in addition to leaving the conscious state, we also have to deal with the Critical Factor, which acts as the bodyguard of the subconscious and the beliefs contained within.
To access the subconscious and bypass this bodyguard, we need hypnosis. This is the connection between hypnosis and the subconscious mind. We use hypnosis as the vehicle that gets us into the subconscious where we can use the power of the subconscious to make real change.
Is Hypnosis Subconscious or Conscious?
Hypnosis is simply being in a state of heightened awareness focused on just one thing. It’s neither conscious nor subconscious but is what allows us to go from the conscious to the subconscious. Think of it as installing an elevator that moves from the conscious down into your subconscious.
Can Hypnosis Change the Subconscious Mind?
Hypnosis itself doesn't change the subconscious mind; it’s what allows us to access the subconscious mind so we can make changes. Using our analogy from above, the elevator goes down; the elevator stops, and the elevator operator announces “Subconscious Floor” as the doors open - we use hypnosis, whether it’s hypnotherapy or through hypnosis audios, to go from the conscious down to the subconscious!
How Do We Access the Subconscious?
We know we access the subconscious through hypnosis, but how does that truly work? There are a few pieces that need to fall into place to use hypnosis to get through to the subconscious.
When we want to make changes and are willing to do what it takes to make those changes, we have the first piece we need to trigger/access the subconscious - willingness.
For hypnosis to work, we need willingness. And because it takes our willingness to be in a state of hypnosis - all hypnosis is actually self-hypnosis (how empowering!)
So if we’re already willing to make the journey to the subconscious because we’re ready to do what it takes to make changes in the place it actually matters (or maybe it’s just plain curiosity that makes us willing), we have the vital “willingness” component in place (hurray!).
The singular focus we get from hypnosis is how we can leave the conscious state, excuse the Critical Factor of his bodyguard duties, and gain access to the subconscious.
As we clear the Critical Factor, we bypass the threshold of suggestibility - meaning - we can bring cool, new information or plans into the subconscious without being shut down or thrown out.
When we use hypnosis to access the subconscious mind, we move beyond this part of you that wants to stay the same, and as we do, the walls come down, and we have the ability to go in and make big, beautiful changes.
If you’re just getting started with hypnosis, you may want to try one of my hypnosis audios as a way to test the waters and start creating new beliefs that align with the life you want to be living.