Is it time to shift the paradigm?
Do you sometimes feel stuck in old patterns that aren't serving you well?
It is estimated that 95-97% of all our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are driven by the subconscious.
In other words, most of the time, our subconscious is in the driver’s seat, operating from learned behaviour, from deeply ingrained belief systems developed during childhood, and from our wounding and fears. Which means whether we like it or not, our subconscious can be overriding our better judgement or preferences, sometimes without us realising what’s actually happening on a deeper level.
Most of our subconscious beliefs and patterns were developed during the experiences of childhood and were created through the lens of the emotional response at the time of the experience, creating the conditioned mind that we arrive at adulthood with. Unlike our conscious mind, the subconscious has no capacity for logic and reasoning – it simply runs from its stored data and patterns. It can be helpful to remember that the subconscious response developed through the lens of our childhood self is not necessarily true or relevant to us now as an adult. So we find that sometimes (or oftentimes) our conditioned self or our fears or woundings are in the driver’s seat, rather than our creative, rational, free-minded selves.
By bringing awareness to this, we can start to catch, challenge, and change our conditioning, and re-frame and rewrite to create more supportive patterns that align with our truth… shifting the paradigm entirely.
Dr Joe Dizpensa describes really well how neuronal pathways can be re-wired in this Ted Talk.
If you are wanting to shift your subconscious patterns, here are 4 recommendations:
Photo by Silas Baisch on Unsplash
1. Moderate the stress response
Biologically speaking, the brain behaves differently under stress; when we’re stressed, we can't think as clearly, creatively, or rationally as we otherwise would.
Why? When the brain perceives a threat, it kicks into survival mode: the pre-frontal cortex of the brain (the 'CEO' of the brain, the area responsible for higher thinking, rational, problem solving, etc) goes offline, while the brainstem part of the brain (the part of the brain responsible for survival) takes over. Which means, under stress, we're operating from our subconscious survival mode on old patterns and reactions which are often fear-based, rather than our creative, rational, compassionate, better judgement.
We can take a multi-approach to moderating the stress response, such as tools to use in the heat of the moment, awareness and managing triggers that create a stress response, and certain meditation practices that help the nervous system process and release accumulated stress from the system.
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
2. Get support from a life coach or inner-growth coach
A skilled coach will help you pick up on the underlying limiting beliefs that are playing out for you and will help you rewrite them to match your truth, completely shifting the mindset and the outcome. By asking probing questions, offering other perspectives, and noticing the subtle queues from what you are saying, a coach can help bring awareness and empowerment for making transformational change. (Read more about life coaching here.)
3. Practice self-reflection and digging deeper
Small steps really do make a big difference! Starting to pay attention to your self-talk and starting to ask yourself questions (in the moment if possible, or afterwards) will help you dig deeper to notice what is underneath fueling the reaction. Eg. 'What is this actually about?', 'What is the fear behind this reaction? And what is underlying that? (And so on)', and 'What am I avoiding here?'
Bringing awareness to the belief or fear that underpins the pattern is the first step to rewriting the pattern. Again, this is where a coach is invaluable!
4. Meditate daily with an effective practice
Meditation naturally works on all of the above points... it is far more than just a relaxation practice - the more profound benefit of meditation is that it helps to clear accumulated stress, conditioning, and fear-based patterns from the nervous system, and cultivates mental freedom and higher states of consciousness.
It also very quickly starts to develop self-awareness and the witness perspective which naturally leads to a greater capacity to notice what isn’t working and to take the action to course-correct. I recommend meditation to all of my coaching clients who are wanting to make positive changes in their life, for that reason.
It is a common report from regular meditators with a Being meditation technique that we notice old habits and patterns simply starting to fall away, and things that were once a red hot button lose their charge. Read more about how that works here.
Of course, this is a life’s work! But it is empowering, rewarding, and entirely possible to change the mindset and break through the conditioning to create the change you want to see in your life.
If any of this is resonating with you, you’re not alone. If you’re feeling that it’s time to shift the paradigm, and you would like support in this through coaching, or through strengthening the witness perspective with meditation, then reach out and book in. I would love to support you in this.