Subconscious Mind Archives

Your World

Your world is as big as you make it.

I know, for I used to abide

In the narrowest nest in a corner.

My wings pressing close to my side.

But I signed the distant horizon

Where the skyline encircled the sea

And I throbbed with a burning desire

To travel this immensity.

I battered the cordons around me

And crafted by wings on the breeze.

Then soared to the uttermost reaches

With rapture, with power, with ease!

~Georgia Douglas Johnson

In wellness,

Susan

Susan is a Life Coach based in Seattle, WA. Her main focus is to coach people build a strong emotional container so that we can experience the fullness of life coming from a place of deep confidence. Susan also coaches clients looking to heal adrenal fatigue by using a mental meta-model aimed at breaking down old mental patterns and behaviors so that we can finally tap into our own personal power.

Photo by Florian Biedermann on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 6/1/18 {Boredom Is Fear In Disguise}

Wow guys, it is JUNE.

June?!

Can you all believe just how fast Summer arrived? Where are we with our goals and evolving to become our better and best selves? This will be a whole other blog post but for now I hope you’ve been enjoying the better half of the year and have taken progress toward your dreams.

So, back to boredom.

According to the Googs (Google), boredom is, “…an emotional or psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is not interested in his or her surroundings, or feels that a day or period is dull or tedious“.

A multitude of thoughts can cause boredom; here are a few common ones I hear:

I already know what to expect at work
There are no eligible people to date
My partner is not as fun as s/he used to be
I’ve done everything this city has to offer

Please know that boredom itself and/or the circumstances that cause boredom is certainly not to blame. Yes, I repeat, NOT to blame.

Boredom is a state or feeling that is caused purely by a thought. You can just as easily change the thoughts above to something much more positive and useful that would serve you such as:

How can I challenge myself more at work?
I wonder if there are other resources I can use to expand by dating network? What don’t I know?
How can I show up in my relationship to add fun and new ideas?
Is this true? Can I branch out of my usual hobbies and check out new companies, services, and neighborhoods that I might have looked over?

Now that you know YOU are the one in control and have eliminated any blame outside yourself, there are moments in our lives when we are called to expand and evolve, and yet our primitive minds are too comfortable with where we are. (You know EXACTLY who you are even without expanding on this further.)

This feeling of complacency often is accompanied by feelings of restlessness, anxiety, hopelessness, etc. and can often by eased by buffering ourselves in the form of over drinking, overeating, over spending, over internet-ing, etc.

However, buffering is a false positive. We know that already. Buffering only leads to short term pleasure and long term pain.

Instead, what our soul is longing for is expansion. We long for creativity, growth… and the constant evolution of who we are! Yet underneath all that we thought was “boredom”, fear is really holding us back.

The fear of what you say?

You tell me.

What is it your soul has been longing for? What do you dare not to dream? If you were granted as many wishes your heart desired, what would you wish for? What are you afraid to do? What are you afraid of?

Don’t use boredom as an excuse. Honor what you’re feeling and truly dig deep. What is boredom hiding for you?

My hope is that we build enough personal power to know deep down we can handle anything. And when we know we can handle anything… that’s when we can face any circumstance or emotion (such as boredom) and know we will come out the other side as a bigger, better, evolved human being.

Here’s to understanding boredom, and thanking it.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Callie Morgan on Unsplash

Are You Using Negative Affirmations Without Knowing It?

Did you know that our brains only understand positive language? For example, when we say, “Don’t eat dessert today”, our brains only interpret, “~~Don’t~~ eat dessert today”.

When you look at the course of the day, how often do you think in negative affirmations vs. positive affirmations? It’s crazy to think we have the capability of thinking 60,000 THOUGHTS PER DAY. Yes, 60k!

Of the 60k are you managing your brain in a way so that you are directing it’s course? Are you mindful of the positive or negative thoughts you are generating?

Here are a few more examples of just how easy it is to use negative affirmations when we’re not aware of what we’re doing:

Don’t spill the drink
- Be careful with the drink
I won’t mess up on the next date
- I’m going to show up as my authentic self
Don’t forget to breathe during the presentation
- Focus on your breath
Don’t get mad
- I understand emotions only last 90 seconds if I allow myself to feel

Knowledge is power, and when we understand how our brains work we are better equipped to manage the direction of our thoughts.

Ask yourself, how can I re-phrase my thoughts so that they are USEFUL to me?

Exercise:

Get a piece of paper and create 5 huge bubbles on the page. These bubbles represent the 5 major thoughts a person has every day until it is solved, at which point a new bubble appears (because our brains are THAT good at problem solving).
Inside the bubbles write a word or phrase that represents the major thought and/or problem you find yourself constantly thinking about
Of the major thought and/or problem statement, re-write how you can now use positive affirmations vs. negative affirmations

Remember, our brains are ALWAYS at work. Give it something positive to work on and watch the magic unfold.

In brain wellness,

Susan

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Your Imagination: How Often Do You Use It?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

~Albert Einstein

A little inspiration on this beautiful Monday morning!

Could we ever have imagined a life where letters would come from a screen? Where you can punch a few numbers and contact your mom in less than 2 seconds? Where you can see virtual pictures of anywhere in the world through a tiny screen in your hand? Where you can press a button and have whatever you want delivered to your doorstep in a few hours?

Our brains do such a good job of keeping a record of our capabilities based on past results, but it also does a good job of keeping you exactly where you are because it’s safe.

In the past, we needed to be safe. Safe from lions, safe from starvation, safe from blistering cold weather.

Now? Now we know better yet our brains haven’t evolved with our pre-frontal cortex.

So, how are YOU using your imagination to dream big? What NEW frontiers are you asking of yourself so that you can grow and evolve to a bigger, better version of you?

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 5/25/18 {Taking Action}

Sometimes it’s hard to take action, especially when you don’t know what the future holds or how you even feel about which direction to go toward.

But I’ve learned time and time again, and coach this as well, that not taking action IS action – you’re just directing your energy the other way!

Oftentimes we let our perfectionism get in the way of taking action. We don’t want to mess up, or better yet, FAIL, because how horrible would that be?!

But guess what? Staying still doesn’t make it any better. Sometimes, we need to take one tiny, small step in order to gain a data point so that we have more information. And sometimes, we need to take a couple of steps in order to get better information.

It’s the only way we’ll ever know.

Besides, what we’re most afraid of isn’t necessarily what happens, what we’re afraid of is how we deal with what happens. It’s our thoughts and emotions about the situation that cause us suffering.

It can either be a learning experience or a time to shame ourselves. Which one will you choose? Because yes, our brains are that powerful to create both realities.

So, in what ways will you take that one, small step? How will you choose to think about this next goal of yours? Will it be an adventure or will it be something you have to do?

The choice is yours, always.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Deanna Ritchie on Unsplash

The Secret

“Therefore the secret of all power, all achievement, and all possession depends upon our method of thinking.

This is true because we must be before we can do, and that we can do only to the extent which we are, and what we are depends upon what we think.”

~Charles F. Haanel

Our minds can lead us to the largest and unthinkable potential of ourselves or the exact opposite.

What thoughts are you thinking yourself towards today?

In mindful wellness,

Susan

Photo by Unsplash

You Have Everything You Need

“You have everything you need; a miraculous body, a phenomenal brain, and a vast and Powerful subconscious mind. Now it’s just a matter of focusing them in the right direction.”

~Marc Allen

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

How Many Times?

Have you ever counted your thoughts? Or noticed just how many times a specific thought automatically pops into your mind?

The funny part is that we do everything we can do solve “the thought” or analyze “the thought” in order to make it unimportant, not realizing there’s an equally if not more important thought that takes over. Oh the irony!

The point here is two fold:

Meditation – the more you meditate the more easy it becomes to become aware of exactly how your mind operates. It’s like Joseph Goldstein once said, “If you want to understand your mind, sit down and observe it”. So simple, yet so true. Typically people misunderstand meditation as a practice to ignore or stop thoughts. However, the deeper, true practice is to sit back and be in awareness of the thought; to notice it, to say, “I see you”. When “seeing” the thought you’re recognizing it for what it is, a thought! The more you practice the more you’ll begin to observe in what patterns and reactive ways your mind tends to lean toward; and you’ll begin to notice just how habituated your thinking and so called “problem solving” skills truly are. It’s quite fascinating.
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There’s nothing but the present – we’ve heard this one before, but it’s true and it’s important. If we already know a thought will be taken over by another thought, aside from meditation, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to enjoy THIS present moment. I liken this to a bumpy car ride. You know the ride is going to be bumpy and you’re already on it; are you going to torture yourself by thinking how horrible it is and ask yourself, “will I survive this?”, OR are you going to stare out the window and see just how magical the world is, as well as get to know the people next to you on a more intimate level? If we don’t choose the latter we miss the beauty, magic, and love that is right in front of us when we become wrapped up in our heads thinking the thought is the most important thing!

Did I mention homework?

It’s this – begin to notice your thoughts.

You’ll be quite surprised at just how little a variety of thoughts you actually think in a day, and you will notice it’s about the same 3-5 things your mind wants to mull over again, and again, and did I mention, again?

Here’s to more clarity, simplicity, and peace of our minds.

In wellness,

Susan

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What Is It You Desire?

So often we focus on what is going wrong in our lives or our day… but how often do we spend time thinking of what we already have or would rather have?

I see way too many people focus on what is lacking, versus the abundance that already is, or the possibility of what is to come!

Take a moment to answer this question and don’t skip ahead 😉

What are the 3 words that pop into your mind with this word: Job

Pause a moment

Pause….

Ok, do you have your 3 words? How easy was it to come up with the words? What were the FIRST words that popped into your head before you started analyzing for the perfect 3 words?

You see, there are categories of words that reflect your own resonance with the word “Job”. For example:

Words that are similar to: Sucks, 9-5, Ok, Annoying, Not Fulfilling, etc. tend to reflect all the things that are going wrong.
Words that are similar to: Love, Thankful, Creative, Friends, Mentors, etc. reflect all the things that are enabling you to feel gratitude and the things that are going well.

This exercise is a great way to see in which areas of your life you focus on the lack rather than the abundance/desire.

You can apply this exercise to any word and you might be surprised to see what words pop into your head. And of course, try not to analyze or change the words right away. The point here is to allow yourself to be honest with what comes up so you can pinpoint what’s truly going on.

Do you see how changing your focus can make you see and feel things differently? How one word can change your enter feeling state toward something much more positive and healthy?

Give it a shot today, focus on what’s working or what you’re sure is coming into your life and see just how different the world looks.

In Abundance,

Susan

Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 2/9/18 {Hits Of Inspiration}

Did you know that inspiration comes to us all the time in a multitude of ways? Unfortunately, we’re too busy thinking to recognize the subtle hits of inspiration!

For example, how many times have you thought of an tantalizing idea while taking a shower, only to forget it once you’ve put on your clothes? Or, how about when you’re driving to your destination but just as soon as you turn off the ignition you’ve already forgotten what it was?

You see, we’re too busy thinking all the time. We allow ourselves to get caught up in the current of the few rotating movies we have in our minds eye; and when we’re too busy being involved with the movie, it’s no surprise we forget or even notice when creative solutions to our problems or future arise.

The key here is to notice.

Notice the subtleties. The small quiet voice. The thought before the thought. The flash of a picture or symbol in your mind’s eye before you move on to the same ol’ thought or problem.

The second key here is to write them down.

The more you write down the subtleties the more you understand how and when inspiration hits you. In addition, you’ll begin to differentiate between normal thinking and unconscious, creative thinking.

This is a routine practice for me and I’ve come to appreciate and find joy each and every time I notice these hits of inspiration. Oftentimes they provide insight or a pathway to a part of my life whether it’s a relationship, creative endeavor, travel, career, you name it!

I’m curious, how do you find your hits of inspiration? Do you notice a recurring theme or pattern in your day to day life as to where or how this inspiration finds you?

In wellness,

Susan

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