Hi everyone,

The subconscious mind exerts a continuous and powerful force over our existence and experience of life. It maintains and runs the body. It stores and organizes memories, emotions, beliefs and energy. It filters higher guidance and insights. As a result, we benefit from understanding its nature.

1. It is a servant - it follows orders. Your conscious mind is the gate-keeper to monitor those orders. The subconscious does not distinguish between physical reality and what you are thinking - it’s all real to it. It has no sense of humour and takes everything literally.
   
2. It responds with instinct and habit. As patterns are deepened they become habits that become harder to change.
   
3. It is programmed by repetition, authority and emotion. Affirm and visualize often. Be strong and wilful and command the subconscious mind using your passion and emotional power.
   
4. It does not process negatives. If you say "I will not gain weight," the subconscious mind only hears "I will gain weight." State all affirmations in positive terms.
   
5. It represses memories with unresolved negative emotions yet these unacknowledged, stored memories affect your experience now. Any time you feel strong guilt, resentment, fears, anger and depression, this is an opportunity to own and release them.
   
6. It works with symbols and metaphors. Watch your dreams closely for meaningful symbols.
   
7. It takes everything personally. It keeps a photocopy of everything. As you resent, judge and project onto others, you are doing it to yourself.
   
8. It works on the principle of least effort. It follows the path of least resistance. Engrained habits are often a path of least resistance.
   
9. It has a need to be moral. The subconscious mind connects to (and also filters and discolours) your higher self or what ever you want to call it and supports your evolution towards love, beauty and truth.
   
10. It knows only now. There is no future or past in the subconscious mind. All stored experiences are processed as NOW. So affirm in the now, not in the future. Know that the past affects you NOW, offering an opening for healing NOW.

What is in your subconscious mind? See our list in the Resource list below.

Just to remind you that at the bottom of every Growth Tools ezine we link you to the top 10 questions you can ask yourself each day, week, month and quarter year so you can focus ON your life instead of simply struggling IN your life. Last week we offered monthly smart questions and this week you can define what is important with our weekly retreat questions.