This section of my book is about "inner assessment." You already know that you can't change something until you are aware of it, or show willingness to be aware of it. A big problem in working with disorderly eating, addictions, or anything for that matter, is that often we aren't "aware of attuned to the facets." We either simply don't know or we have chosen not to see. In this chapter we are going to "attune" to many facets that sit below the surface of compulsive or disorderly eating, some of which are deep inside the subconscious mind library.
MIND EXERCISE
Take a moment to deeply relax, and just as if you were looking in a big filing cabinet, find the folder that contains your current lifestyle patterns. As your mind scans the material, notice that some appear familiar, but others may not be quite so clear. While you think you know yourself and how you spend your time, you are about to find out that you know less about yourself than you thought. That is because a good part of your day is spent in a very limited conscious state known as low-level awareness, or automatic pilot I call this is day-sleep walking, a form of automatic self-hypnosis.
There are many areas of lifestyle behaviors that are on automatic pilot. The areas in the above box represent only a few. It helps to imagine that each automatic pilot area has a separate folder in your subconscious mind. As you work with your personal assessment, you will be opening these folders and researching the many aspect of the automatic pilot programming. Some aspects may need to be deleted, changed or mind-edited in some way. Other parts may appear to be fine, but it's a good idea to review these anyway. Your subconscious librarian may have suggestions to make these even better than before.
We all tend to think within certain boundaries, but unfortunately when we do so, our innate creativity can be curtailed. Practice allowing your mind to open and flow. Your subconscious mind will apply this to other areas of your life each time you encourage creative thinking. Very soon you will find yourself doing so on automatic pilot, and this is a great creative self-gift.
While automatic pilot has some benefits, it also has drawbacks. When you are not fully awake, you give up your rights to observe, assess and manage your thought processes. Thoughts are goals. Whatever you play in your mind becomes your goal for that moment. For example, if you decide to brush your teeth, you will most likely participate in an automatic pilot program designed for oral hygiene. While this may be a safe, automatic mind program for you, suppose that you have a tendency to over-brush, therefore injuring your gums. Since this type of continuous abrasion can lead to some serious gum problems, you will want to dismantle your old automatic program. As you practice heightened awareness, you will be able to edit many of these subconscious mind programs, allowing them to better serve you and your desired outcomes. If any of these come to mind now, make a note of them in your journal. Consider them awareness gifts from your subconscious mind librarian.
You can actually encourage these to surface. Here’s how to do that. Relax into the chair where you are reading this. Sense the chair pulling your gently down. Pay attention to what you are reading. You are currently in the process of reviewing and perhaps editing lifestyle behaviors. Notice if you are managing any addictions or any disorder in your life. Perhaps you binge on food or some other substance. Ask yourself if any of your automatic programs are blocking your goals for a healthy life.
Notice if you are wearing a belief coat that no longer fits, or one that you never wanted in the first place. Notice that you can edit or correct whatever you choose. Take your time in this moment. Your subconscious mind may send some suggestions now, or later, but your questions will be answered. You can ask questions in the forms of words or through imagery. Place an image or an idea on your mind screen and ask how to achieve this. It’s as simple as that.
SELF-ORGANIZING AND INNER ASSISTANTS
This personal assessment is helping you self-organize both consciously and subconsciously. You are evaluating your needs, both present and future, as well as viewing your weaknesses with the tool of detachment, allowing you to see without self-judgment, shame, blame or guilt. Here you are uncovering the obvious, as well as your hidden resources known as resilience. You are learning how to utilize these as stepping-stones for health, growth and development. Through the detachment tools you are re-examining past successful inner motivation programs, preparing them for current use.
Automatic programming is continually taking place, and so we need an “inner assistant or Therapeutic Self" to help with this major work. Relax into the moment and image your subconscious mind librarian or inner coach. Both are great images and work very well here in this program, as well as in your daily life. This inner assistant will be your first line of command in asking for what you want or need in any given moment.
Thoughts and mind pictures play continually in the theater of the mind, forming directives or orders.. In hypnosis these are called suggestions. Some of these are useful while others are not. Your inner assistant or Therapeutic Self helps to keep order based on your specific requests.
Keep in mind that your subconscious filing cabinet is huge. Besides your automatic programs, you have an unlimited number of choices that may be better suited to meeting your needs in any particular situation. Your assistant can bring these to your attention if you give directives for that. In your work here, you will learn how to wake up, assess what’s playing and make a program switch if appropriate.
A NOTE TO NEW READERS:
This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" This book is not published as yet, but you have the opportunity to read it in it's unpublished state. If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes. The inner mind is creative & rather child-like, loving to play with images, especially when they are emotionalized. Just like the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words", well-planted mind images, can be worth hours of therapy. We can actually change or motivate in 1/200th of a second. So come along & look forward to some lifestyle-changing events.
Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.
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