How to Take Control of Your Subconscious Mind

Engage in positive self-talk. Replace negative statements with affirmations. Changing your words can shift your thoughts and override negative actions and subconscious patterns. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this!”, say, “I can do this!”. Instead of saying, “I fail at everything!”, try saying, “I will succeed!”. If you find yourself drowning in negativity, pause and take a deep breath. Reflect on why you feel you can’t succeed. Identify the triggers that make you negative. Recognize these as triggers and recommit to affirming yourself.

• Changing your self-talk won’t happen overnight. It takes time and consistency. Stay positive as you work to free yourself from negative subconscious behaviors and thoughts.

Create a positive mantra. When feeling stressed or anxious, stay calm and silence negative thoughts by repeating your personal mantra. Regularly practicing this technique helps reduce the emergence of negative thoughts and actions from the subconscious. Identify negative thoughts and acknowledge that your self-judgment is baseless. Craft a healing mantra that counters the accusations you place on yourself. Create two additional mantras expressing the same idea for variety. Choose a body part to focus on during this practice, such as your heart or stomach. Place your hand on that area and repeat the mantra. Focus on the action and build confidence.

• If you feel inadequate, use mantras like “I am enough,” “I am worthy,” and “I deserve this.”

Practice visualization. Visualizing or imagining achieving your goals is an effective way to engage and train your subconscious. Start with visualization exercises using one or two senses. Try to picture every detail of a familiar image or object. Once comfortable, move on to visualizing entire scenes from a movie or your memory. Recall sounds, colors, and tastes. When you can focus and describe details accurately, begin imagining yourself achieving your goals. Make the visualization as realistic as possible. Avoid negative or failure scenarios; instead, picture yourself succeeding and reaching your goals! For example, if visualizing a speech, imagine overcoming stuttering or forgetting lines rather than people walking out.

• Visualize specific goals. Clearly define what you want to achieve. Identify the location, time, and context of your success. The more specific, the better!
• Don’t imagine yourself as a superhero; imagine yourself as you are.

Prepare for meditation. Meditation helps you focus and tap into your subconscious. Before meditating, decide on the duration. If you’re a beginner, try meditating for 5 minutes. Wear comfortable clothing. Set a timer and meditate in a quiet place. Choose a spot where you won’t be disturbed. You can meditate outdoors, on your apartment floor, or on your backyard porch. Stretch before assuming the meditation posture. Touch your toes, release neck tension, and relax your shoulders.

Set your posture. Find a stable seat. Sit on a chair with a backrest, feet flat on the floor, or cross-legged on the floor. Sit upright—maintaining the natural curve of your spine. Keep your upper arms parallel to your body, elbows slightly bent, and hands resting gently on your knees. Lower your chin slightly and gaze downward. Hold the posture, becoming aware of your body before beginning.

Focus on your breath and thoughts. Close your eyes and begin observing your breathing rhythm. Concentrate on inhaling and exhaling. As you relax, your mind may wander. Thoughts will shift from the subconscious to the conscious. Notice these thoughts without judging them. Let them exist. When you realize your mind is wandering, refocus on your breath. Each time your mind drifts, return your attention to your breathing. Repeat this process until your meditation time ends.

Prepare. Grab a pencil or pen and paper. Find a timer: a kitchen timer, stopwatch, or phone will work—set it for 5-10 minutes. Sit in a quiet, undisturbed location. Silence your phone. Avoid using a computer or tablet, as they can distract you!

Start writing. Sit comfortably, take deep breaths to focus your thoughts. Start the timer and begin writing. Don’t approach this as a to-do list; let your thoughts flow freely. Whenever a thought arises, jot it down. Write even mundane or strange thoughts—they may stem from your subconscious. Avoid judging or analyzing your thoughts. Just write. Continue until the timer goes off.

Analyze your writing. When time’s up, read what you’ve written. Reflect on the words you’ve put down. Identify recurring thoughts or unusual phrases. Look for connections between different ideas. Note any thoughts that might originate from your subconscious. As you continue this exercise, revisit writings from previous sessions. Track the progression of your stream of consciousness and assess whether your subconscious is becoming more self-aware.

Documenting Your Dreams. Prepare for a journey into your subconscious by keeping a journal and pen beside your bed before you sleep. Upon waking, whether in the morning or during the night, immediately jot down your dreams in as much detail as possible. Capture every fleeting image and subtle nuance. Over time, as you accumulate these entries, observe recurring themes, symbols, or objects that frequently appear.

• Your subconscious often communicates through dreams. By recording and studying them, you gain valuable insights into your deeper thoughts and feelings.

Assessing the Significance and Categorizing Your Dreams. Not all dreams carry deep meanings; some are merely reflections of your immediate environment, incorporating sounds, smells, and actions from your surroundings. However, significant dreams stem from the subconscious—these are not ordinary but are often bizarre, enlightening, and puzzling. If a dream holds significance, determine its type. Is it a precognitive glimpse into future events? A warning? Does it reflect reality or confirm what you already know? Perhaps it inspires or fulfills desires, or maybe it represents a wish for harmony with someone or something.

• Vivid dreams often carry substantial meanings.

Deciphering Meaningful Dreams. You don't need to be an expert to analyze your own dreams! A bit of effort and research will suffice. Utilize online resources and library reference books to aid your exploration. When analyzing a dream, consider it holistically. Each remembered detail holds significance and aids in decoding the dream, offering insights into your subconscious. If a dream dictionary's definition of a symbol seems incomplete, interpret the dream within the context of your own life. Reflect on why certain images, people, or objects might appear in your dreams.