Thought 121: Reprogramming yourself

Information that gets into the subconscious mind is the basis of all your beliefs and actions. What gets through into the subconscious mind, however, is what is allowed to get through by the conscious belief system, which acts as an aperture with a shutter. The belief system closes and opens the shutter of this aperture; this is how it regulates the flow of information into the subconscious mind. Any information, which runs counter to the belief system is effectively filtered out. This is how the subconscious mind acquires all its limitations. Subconscious mind has no limitations except those put on it by your belief system and your self-talk. The information, which gets through, determines your self-image. Your self-image determines, in turn, your performance. You can always, of course, improve your self-image, by reprogramming your subconscious mind.

The thinking, analysis and determining part - that is, the reprogramming part - is done by the conscious mind. The conscious mind tells the subconscious mind what is to be done. The subconscious mind implicitly obeys the commands of the conscious mind. Since it cannot think, subconscious mind believes that whatever has been told by the conscious mind is the truth. Subconscious mind acts like a computer, obeying the set of instructions programmed into it; “garbage in and garbage out” has far as the subconscious mind is concerned. If the program says "you can do it", subconscious can do it and it does it. Nothing is impossible for it. On the other hand, if the program says "you cannot do it", subconscious mind cannot do it. It will not do it also.

Negative attitudes – which are a legacy of the programming of the childhood days (see thought 56) - give rise to negative self-talk in you. This is how you continue to put limitations on yourself. These limitations are programmed into you by your self-talk. These are the tendencies (Samskaaras) that you acquire. You can only act according to what has been programmed into you.

However, you do not have to carry the burden of these tendencies all through your life. You can change – provided, of course, you have the determination for doing so. Just as, when you load a new program into a computer, it will ignore the old program and execute the new program, your subconscious mind also executes the new program, deleting effectively, what has been programmed earlier. It is easy to do that. This is done through a technique called, imprinting. Dr Robert Anthony, in his book, "The Total Success", describes this technique in great detail. If you reprogram yourself properly using this technique, you can overcome many of the limitations that have been programmed into you in your childhood. You can, thus, cancel most of the limitations of your past and start with a new promise and a new expectancy. The learning process, which started when you were born, therefore, need not stop when you grow up. Reprogramming is continuing education. Education is a "womb to tomb" occupation for man.

The next thought is “About Vaasanas”