You may think that it is your conscious thoughts that control your life, but without you realizing it, it is the subconscious thoughts that really take control. You can learn secret ways to manage the subconscious mind … We will teach you how.

Have you ever found yourself halfway to the fridge but can’t remember why you went there? Something prompted you, but what? And, have you ever looked up while driving all of a sudden wondering how you got there without realizing it? Your subconscious mind took control without realizing it … You were busy thinking about something else. You know that we are not always aware of what we are doing, but we are thinking of something that forces us to do it.

Sometimes subconscious thoughts (assumptions we have made about life and the people in it) control our decisions and therefore actions without us even being aware of it. If we stop to pay attention, we can see what is happening and begin to make conscious decisions.

Why do we have invisible thoughts?

Some thoughts are patterns, patterns etched into our brains . We don’t really stop to wonder when we open the milk carton in the morning to pour milk over our cereal. We also don’t really think about signaling when we make a turn with the car . We just do it, often while thinking about something else. However, if we stop to consider what we are doing, we will see.

If the brain did not establish patterns, we would constantly have to relearn things. It’s really beneficial for us if we learn that fires burn our hands, which means we don’t really think about it, we just keep our hands away from the fire.

Compare that to intuition: Most of us, at some point, feel like we should turn left instead of right. It wasn’t a thought that seemed logical at the time, so we didn’t pay attention to it , until we were stuck in a traffic jam for an hour. Then we suddenly remember that we had a feeling we were turning left instead of our usual right. This is very similar to invisible thinking: the decisions we make without thinking about making them, since our attention is focused on something else.

How are invisible thoughts?

Invisible thoughts become visible the moment you start paying attention to them. They are never really invisible, it’s just that your attention is elsewhere. If you don’t look at the cat sitting next to you, you won’t see it, but the cat is still there.  So are “invisible” thoughts.

To become aware of what you are thinking, start paying attention to what you are feeling. Pay attention to your body , your breathing, your voice … and your thoughts. One way to learn to pay attention to yourself is to set your cell phone alarm a couple of times a day and ask yourself how you feel. Why do you feel that way? Include your body. Do a mental check of where you are, what you are doing, how your body feels, and what you are thinking.

Also, it is a good idea to make a mental note, to repeat yourself daily, to pay attention to your feelings . If you feel happy, uncomfortable, sad, agitated, etc., there are thoughts that sustain those emotions. Instead of feeling nervous, ask yourself why you feel this way …  You will find that just looking at thoughts sometimes dissolves anxiety.

Managing the subconscious mind: what NOT to do

Let’s say you realize that you have a very disturbing thought about men because of something that happened in your childhood .  What you should not do is eat three tubs of ice cream while crying to make yourself feel better, or put your thought in the recesses of your brain and try to keep it there. Don’t control it. Don’t put a lid on it. Don’t declare war on him.

It is just a thought. It is not real. It is not based on reality.  It is an assumption that your brain made based on real events that happened to you. Our brains are capable of making the most ridiculous and traumatic assumptions. Just because you think about it and have unconsciously ruled your life doesn’t mean you believe it once you find out. 

It is a thought, not reality. Fighting your thoughts is like fighting: they won’t go away because you’re hiding them. If you try to hide them, you push them down and they stay there. However, if you befriend them, you realize that they are not harmful. Accept your emotions or thoughts, even if they are negative.

These are just a few assumptions your mind made a long time ago based on events.  You don’t have to act on them. Once you recognize them, they tend to evaporate and so do the emotions associated with them. The funny thing is that we often also have opposing thoughts in our minds, which are activated at different times. We grew up with different influences and different events trigger those influences.