The #1 missing link to improving our lives

"That’s when the Bomb dropped….95% to 99% of our lives are created from our subconscious mind.  Only 5% of our lives are created by our conscious thoughts."

In order to transform our lives, we need to change our subconscious minds. We learn and increase our conscious awareness, and we need to use our increase awareness to change our subconscious mind, which creates 95% of our lives. This is the missing link

I did a whole of things and I just know if you did these things, if you went through the Bamboo Process of Transformation, you too will be able to transform your life also. But I could not easily explain why it worked or which was the critical ingredients and how they all related. I could just tell you that if you switched on the light and did these things, your life would be improved and I could explain to you the whole process and each component, but it was not simple enough for a kindergarten student to understand.

I knew that during the last year I learned to improve my conscious mind by learning to increase my awareness, my focus, my will power, positivity, and praising thoughts. Using visualizations, affirmations, RIM, hypnosis, and Reiki, I was able to change my core beliefs, values, self-image, habits of thought, actions and vibration level at the subconscious level to create my loving inner world. I am in the process of creating a clear vision of my future for my achievements and relationships, and having learned the science of achievement, and learning how to have better relationships, I have changed at the subconscious level my the core beliefs and mindset to access my future. I just could not explain in a simple explanation of why it worked so well. 

However, during the last two months, I have listened to Bruce Lipton, professor at Medicine at Stanford, and author of Biology of Beliefs (I read a while back but obviously didn’t understand then) on YouTube, some of the videos more than 10 times such as here (I can teach you to program your subconscious mind by Bruce Lipton). I was learning about the various ways to change your subconscious. My mind could not believe what it was hearing or seeing and I literally had to replay the videos over and over again.

Your Subconscious Mind Runs Your Life

That’s when the Bomb dropped….95% to 99% of our lives are created from our subconscious mind.  Only 5% of our lives are created by our conscious thoughts. We used to believe (this was less than 20 years ago) that the mind, composed of the conscious and subconscious was a single mind. We used to believe that if we learned it in the conscious, then the subconscious mind would follow along because they were both together. However, today, we know, through new technology of measuring the brain, that is not true. The conscious mind is located in the frontal lobe and is separate from the subconscious mind. Also, most importantly that the conscious mind and the subconscious mind learns differently. And operates at different speeds. The subconscious mind operates at 40 million bits per second. The conscious mind operates at 40 bits per second. 

Your Conscious and Subconscious Mind Learn Differently

These differences in how they learn are part of understanding the crucial missing link. The conscious mind is a creative mind. While the subconscious mind is a habitual or repetitive mind. So the conscious mind can read a book and say aha, I know how to change and improve my life. But our lives will not change just reading the book. The subconscious mind is a habitual mind. The information you read was pickedup, educated and enhanced your conscious awareness AND DID NOT touch any of your subconscious programs. You had the same behaviour when you read the book as you had after you read the book. Why? The conscious mind was educated, but the subconscious mind does not learn by one reading of the book—one reading is not a habit.

The subconscious mind is a habitual mind. It runs programs, algorithms, or habits based on the things we have learned. The core of these habitual beliefs and habits were learned before the age of 7 when the brain was running in Theta state (REM or dream state). Hence, the vast majority of people are running their programs based on information that we learned when we were children. Therefore, we are creating our lives based on information gathered as children. If you had great parents who were able to instill in you the beliefs that were helpful to achieve your dreams for the life you want to live, then your mindset supported you to achieve your desires. If your mindset or these beliefs, values, self-image or habits did not support your dreams, you have struggled in those areas of your life. If your subconscious supports you, then life is great. If your subconscious mind does not support you, then you struggle in life (or that area of your life) 

What we believe about money, who we are, who and what we are capable of, how to achieve what we want, how to behave in primary relationships, how we feel about ourselves, etc. are the result of what we have learned through the years, with the vast majority of the beliefs that are running our lives formed before we became adults. It is true that we obtain vast amounts of knowledge after age seven. For example, I learned lots of information in high school, undergrad degree, masters, CA, CFA, CFP certifications etc.

However, virtually all that knowledge pertained to “book work” or professional knowledge. It related very little to how to create inner peace, how to achieve what I wanted in life, how to create loving relationships. 

Most importantly, it is true that I did read lots of books on these self-improvement topics; however, even then, they didn’t work because I only learned the majority of the things improved my conscious awareness. They did not touch my subconscious mind. I did not learn to make them into rituals or programs of the 95% of the subconscious mind that was controlling my life. The subconscious mind does not learn from conscious awareness. The conscious awareness has to use what it has learned to change the programs in the subconscious mind. 

The Mind Compared to a Computer

This is very similar to how a computer works. Our brains are like computers that have memory and “software programs” or algorithms it runs. Let us assume that our computer was running a word processor (software program) from the 1990’s that only handled text to do presentations using an “overhead projector”. We would type the words for each sheet because the old word processor could not handle pictures (there were no insert pictures here function). So we would have to cut and paste pictures onto the typed sheet itself. It didn’t matter if we loaded 1000 pictures into the computer memory, the old word processor could not make slides with words and pictures. The old program only had the ability to type words.  However, fast forward to 2020, we now have a new program (i.e. a new algorithm) that can make slides with words and pictures. However, we have to load a new program called PowerPoint into the computer. If we use the old word processor from 1990, we cannot use the new data in our memory. In order to get new results ie. Presentations with word and pictures, we need to load a new program and then use the pictures and data in memory in the new program and we get a wonderful PowerPoint presentation faster and more beautiful. 

Similarly, in learning the new knowledge from self-help books and tapes, I stored the information in memory. However, I did not change the program that is Mark’s age-7-year-old-program in my brain to use that new information. So the information stayed in my memory. And my age-7-year-old program ran my life without the new information. However, what I needed to do was change my age-7-year-old program so it could use the new information to change my life. I did not take the knowledge to create new beliefs, new habits, new values, new self-image ie new programs. Instead, the knowledge stayed in my conscious awareness and the subconscious programs that kept running my life were based on the old beliefs, values etc.

Our Subconscious mind programs run our Life

Unfortunately, most of us do not know what these beliefs, values, self-image, and habits of thoughts and actions were placed in our subconscious because most of these were placed automatically in our minds before the age of seven. (like the iceberg picture above from www.mindunleashed.com 95% of the iceberg is under the water and when we are sailing, we only see the tip of the iceberg) What we believe about ourselves and what we are able of and who we are, most people don’t really know the full extent to what are in our minds.  However, as Bruce Lipton states, the easy way to find out is to look at your lives today. In the areas where you are struggling in relationships or money or inner peace, you are struggling because what is held in your subconscious mind is not supporting you in those areas of your life. Your subconscious mind is creating your life, so if it is not working then the programs in your subconscious mind are not supporting you in creating the life you want. Before you object, let me explain some more.

For example, my net worth was about $6 million in June 2008 before I literally lost all of it within 2 years. Why? I had crazy beliefs about money instilled by those growing up around me. My grandfather once told my mother that based on looking at me as a baby that I would have lots of education but I would not be rich. Well, I certainly have had lots of education, but there I was, essentially retired in 2008 and thinking about how long it would be to accumulate $100 million (age 71 based on compound interest), and my subconscious mind said, wait for a second Mark, you are not to be rich. You are not to be rich. You are not to be rich. You are not to be rich. This was the belief in my subconscious mind placed there by my mother via my grandfather’s belief.  Then my subconscious automatically went to work to systematically make sure I lost all that money. The subconscious likes things to stay consistent and habitual. Having money was not consistent with my past that made me survive until that point. Even though this would have probably increased my chances to survive, the habitual mind, and the beliefs said, this is not good. The program says Mark is not supposed to be rich (and then I used to think rich meant millions) and the subconscious went ahead to correct the situation by making Mark not rich. LOL.  I know that now. And I am still working on that belief and hope it is now eradicated or overridden. In my relationships, I have never seen within my 100+ relatives many great marriages. So I have no beliefs or understanding on how to model a great relationship. Therefore, it does not surprise me that I have poor primary relationships. I now have to learn and practice the steps to have a loving and lasting relationship i.e. love rituals.

Why Changing Our Lifes is So Difficult Using the Conscious Mind

The subconscious mind learns via repetition or major emotional/stressful events. For example, the subconscious mind is where the functions of how to walk are stored. When we were babies we learned how to talk and walk via trial and effort. In learning to walk we watched others and also use our innate intelligence on walking to learn to walk by first learning to roll, sit-up, crawl, then stand up, then walk 1 step, then multiple steps and eventually run. Finally, when we are able to learn to walk and run, the subconscious has in the brain, the programs on how to walk. The conscious mind just thinks about going to grab a drink from the fridge and the subconscious mind automatically knows to get up, and walk to the fridge to get the drink. We don’t have to think about walking any longer. 

However, the subconscious mind is the mind whose primary goal is to take care of our survival. It’s the mind that ensures we stay alive and keep our DNA alive via sexual reproduction. However, it is also a habitual mind. Once things are going well, it does not change course easily. For example, once we learn to walk, it does not change the way we walk easily. Just imagine, it took most babies from when they learn to sit-up at about 5 to 7 months old to learning to walk at about 11 to 13 months old, about 6 months to learn to control all the muscles in their legs and body. Once they have learned, even if you try to change the way they walk, it doesn’t happen for the first time or second or third time. We can’t just learn a new way of walking via the conscious mind and say to the subconscious mind, now walk this new way. We actually have to practice it over and over because the subconscious mind is a repetitive or habitual mind. 

Why? Well, what would happen if we just told our mind to walk in a new way but this new way of walking was not good for the long term survival of you—so the subconscious waits and tests and learns and waits and tests and learns. Dancing is a new way of “walking” and for most of us, it takes months and practice to learn to dance (ahem, some of us are still learning. LOL). We practice dancing. The subconscious mind sees that it is fun and then do it some more and sees it is fun etc. (some of us though were laughed at when we danced and the subconscious mind said, that is not a good thing to dance, so don’t dance. I was told at a young age that I danced terribly—so just today, while writing this, I now realize why I never wanted to dance and why when I get training, I have difficulty learning to dance—I didn’t change my subconscious mind beliefs). 

The Conscious Mind is the creative mind. It thinks, it can remember the past and project into the future or stay present. When the conscious mind is thinking about past or future events, the subconscious mind runs our lives in the present moment. For example, when we first drove to work, we had to figure out on the map where to go, or at least pay attention to Wave or Google Maps. We got the address, programmed it into the computer, had a general sense of the route we were going to take and listened for instructions and paid attention to the new roads that we don’t normally drive on. So we were present for the first journey. Same with the second and probably third and maybe even the first two weeks. However, after that, we probably learned the way, and we no longer needed Waze for directions. We drove automatically along the route that we had learned. Some of us can listen to the radio, talk on speakerphones in the car and drink coffee all at the same time, while our subconscious mind drives us to work. Our attention or our conscious mind is on something else, either planning for the day at work or thinking about our great night last night or on the Impeachment Trials or Coronavirus.

Why We Need to Change Our Lives Using our Subconscious Minds

In changing our lives, we may set a goal to lose 5 pounds and out of willpower, we are able to start exercising. However, after 2 months, we stop exercising because we are not showing progress and it is hard to exercise all the time (especially when we are not showing and weight loss). We read a book on sleeping better and we decide to switch off our phones 1 hour before bed and then 2 months later, we notice we are sleeping at the same time as before and reading texts before going to sleep. The reason why these small steps do not work is because we are using our conscious minds (i.e the 5% that controls our daily lives) and our finite daily will power to try to change our lives. It does not work most times. What we need to do to change is our subconscious mind, the 95% part of the mind that is running our lives.

If we want to change our lives, we need to use our subconscious minds to change our habits. In James Clear Atomic Habits, he notes that many small habits over time can create massive changes over time for people. He understood that changing habits were the key and in order to change habits, you had to use your conscious mind and will power to change the habits. Once the habits were in place, the subconscious mind would then automatically use these new habits to run your life. Then as you change more and more habits, your life would change. However, you had to change the habits which the subconscious mind was using in order to change your life.

James Clear went one step further though in understanding how to change the subconscious mind. He noted that in order to permanently create a new habit, you had to change the self-image and belief of the person. Self-image (or beliefs about ourselves) is part of the subconscious mind. The best example he gave was that of the smoker. A smoker generally says that I am a smoker trying to quit. That’s the belief that makes up the self-image. A non-smoker says I am a non-smoker i.e. I do not smoke. My self-image is that of a non-smoker. So if a person is trying to quit smoking, they must first change the belief to “I am a non-smoker”, while visualizing themselves i.e. self-image as a non-smoker.

Therefore, if we want to change our lives, we need to change our subconscious mind. We need to change our beliefs, our self-image, values, habits of thoughts and habits of actions. If we want to transform our lives we can work on changing our subconscious and our conscious minds and work diligently in how they work and operate and do that intensively like what I did the last year, or you change many of our habits and over time, the results will be compounded. Either way, either one habit at a time or changing our subconscious and conscious mind intensively, you need to change your subconscious mind.

How Do You Change Your Subconscious Mind

Bruce Lipton says there are 3 categories of changing your mind:

1. Via Hypnosis—either clinical or states when your brain is in Hypnosis i.e. Theta State like when you are falling asleep or just waking up.
2. Via Repetition to create habits, Affirmations and Visualization
3. Energy Psychology—Bruce Lipton lists a host of these on his website including RIM (which I have passed my Essentials course), EFT and Psyche-K

In Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind by Joe Dispenza (famous for What the Bleep Do We Know movie), he describes the physiology of this change. “The purpose of this book is to show us how to evolve our brain. What we are talking about is taking advantage of the brain’s biology—in particular, the frontal lobe’s enormous capacities—to build new circuits; consciously abandon old, outdated, and no-longer-needed circuits; and literally build a new mind. We’ve heard this before and it bears repeating: we can make up our mind to change, and we can literally make up a new mind. A new mind makes a new brain, and a new brain facilitates a new mind.” Let me translate that into the context of what we are talking about in this article. First, you have a desire to change to something new, then we create using our conscious minds, what that new future self looks like. We then practice via either mental rehearsing (affirmations and visualizations) for at least 21 days or repetitive behaviour what that new future self looks like. During this practice, the brain literally creates new neural networks to create what this new self looks like. When you do it for long enough, the brain builds the new self. The old self, because the neurons are not used, the old self dissolves and the new self now takes it place. 

Now Joe Dispenza gives us one more great tip while mentally rehearsing this new self i.e learning to be patient is his example. We must love this new self like when we are falling in love for the first time. “If we love the concept of our new self from the start, love is the only emotion we can associate it with, because we have yet to experience the new self. Those experiences are yet to come, and they are an important part of evolving our brain to the highest degree possible. The side effect of this creative process is joy.”

Why You Need to Improve Your Conscious Mind

However, in most of these instances, we need to uncover the beliefs or what is wrong before we can change them. This is why we need to increase our awareness using our conscious mind. Our awareness is what allows us to listen to our habits of thoughts, and see our habits of actions, beliefs, values, and our self-image. So we need to increase our awareness. We can also learn to increase our conscious mind’s ability to create—the conscious mind is the creative mind and it can create our future. Therefore, We also need to increase our ability to focus, to think through the issues, and help us create the habits of thoughts and actions.

Once we have created in our conscious minds the programs we need to create our dreams, we need to learn to use our conscious minds to program our subconscious mind. We can learn to use our conscious mind to help us to focus on our strengths and for us to think positively and to reduce our negative thoughts, to change our inner critic to our inner coach, and to help us to parent ourselves via praise and compassion and being our best friend.

Hence, in order to transform our lives, we need to change our subconscious minds—this is the missing link. We also need to learn to use our conscious minds to become more aware and learn how to give instructions to our subconscious minds. When we learn these skills, then we are able to change the programs in our minds, to run the programs that we install that in the future will support us in achieving our objectives, goals, and dreams.

  Action Items

1. There was a lot here to sink in. What was the most important point you learned that you want to implement?
2. In what areas of your life that you are trying to change for years but not succeeding. Are you able to figure out why given your new awareness of how to change yourself using the conscious and subconscious mind?
3. What one habit do you want to change, perhaps a New Year’s resolution, and how will you use your new awareness to program your subconscious mind?