How Our Minds Can Often Sabotage Our Own Success

A detailed look into how our minds work and the quickest way to make positive change.

The clinical definition of Hypnosis is “the bypass of the critical factor to establish acceptable selective thinking. Simply put Hypnosis is a receptive state in which a person becomes more open to suggestion. All Hypnosis is SELF Hypnosis. You will be the one in charge of putting yourself in a receptive state and as a Hypnotist I am merely a guide that will help get you into that receptive state.
When a person is hypnotized, they are accessing their subconscious mind, where we can reprogram outdated information, change habits, behaviors and even thoughts and reactions. It is simply the act of going to a place in our minds where you are in control of your thoughts, feelings and emotions. 
Our brain has 3 separate and distinct minds. They each do different things and have a hard time communicating with each other. These 3 parts are the CONSCIOUS, SUBCONSCIOUS, and UNCONSCIOUS MIND.
First, we have our UNCONSCIOUS MIND and it does two things. It controls our immune system and it controls the automatic body functions, such as: heartbeat, or eyes blinking, swallowing, etc.  
Second, we have our CONSCIOUS MIND. This is where we spend most of our time and it serves four basic functions.

1. Analyze—It looks at problems and figures out a way to solve them at that very moment. It’s also the hundreds of little decisions we make in a day that go unnoticed. Decisions that we think are automatic but they are not. Things like, “Should I open the window?” “Should I put on a coat?” We think these things are automatic functions, but we must make a decision as to whether or not we want to do these things.
2. Rationalize—This part of our minds must give us a reason why we behave a certain way. You see, if we don’t have a reason why we behave a certain way or do the things we do we become anxious, nervous, frustrated and if it goes on long enough it can turn into a serious mental illness.  The problem with the RATIONAL mind is it can never give us an original answer on why we behave certain ways.
3. WILL POWER—Everyone is familiar with WILL POWER. You may say “This is my last pack of cigarettes and nothing is going to stop me from quitting this time. Or perhaps you decided to lose some weight and improve your health. Think about the last time you went on a diet. Just how long did that last? It usually lasts just until that willpower weakens and the old habit patterns comes back.
4. WORKING MEMORY—This is the memory we need everyday. How do I drive to work? What’s my spouses name? What are my children’s names? What is my phone number, etc? The memory we need to get through an average day.

Lastly, and most importantly we have our SUBCONSCIOUS MIND. This is the most powerful part of our minds. It can make you into anything you would like to be. Wealthy, Healthy, Thin, Happy or Sad, Nervous or Anxious it is all REAL to us in our SUBCONSCIOUS minds.

To understand how this part of our minds works you need to understand it is very much like a computer and operates just like a computer does.  Just like a computer, our minds can only operate based on the programming that has been downloaded. It has no other choice to operate based on what has been installed.  When you instal new programming it can no longer operating on the old programming. Our minds are the same way. It can only operate on the most current programming and information. Much like a computer, we program our minds every day through our different life experiences, and everyday we are adding new programming.  The primary job of our computer (or subconscious mind) is this; It makes us into the type of person that it perceives us to be, based on all the programming that has been placed into it(good or bad) and will continue to be placed into it until we die.
For example, if that computer of ours, based on its programming, says we are fat, we’re fat. If it says we’re thin or a smoker, a success or a failure, then that is what we are. It adds up all the programming and makes decisions about us and the type of person that we are. This programming has been placed in there from many sources and it must operate on this programming.
What exactly does our internal computer or subconscious mind run off of?

• First is all our memory since the day you were born. We think of things that have happened to us in the past as either forgotten or retained in the form of memory. The subconscious mind is like a video camera. Everything that has ever happened to you, that you have heard, seen smelled or tasted in locked permanently into the memory banks of your mind. We never actually forget anything. If there is a reason, in hypnosis we can access that memory bank. This is much more than simply recalling the event. You can see what happened, can smell, can taste, and can hear it very clearly. We never forget anything in the subconscious mind, only on a conscious level can we forget.
• The second type of programming we have in our subconscious mind, is our habits. There are three types of habits that we all have and only three. Some of our habits are actually good, but when most people hear the word habits they recall the not so good, but actually most of our habits are utilitarian. Meaning, we automatically respond in a certain way when something happens. Example, when the phone rings we automatically answer it and depending on our mood, we answer it in a certain manner.

• Next up in our subconscious mind is emotion. Most of us wouldn’t want to be without our emotions, loving and caring and all those other good emotions that make us feel good, but sometimes our emotions get us in trouble. The conscious mind (everyday mind) cannot deal with emotions in any way, that is not part of its job. Any time we have emotions our mind parts like the Red Sea and we deal with this particular situation with our irrational conscious mind.  
• Probably the most important thing in our subconscious mind is our protective mind. It must protect us against danger real or imagined. You see if something is imagined by the subconscious mind, its as if it was actually happening, and it can’t tell the difference, and IT MUST PROTECT US against danger. Protection is its primary job.
• The last part of the subconscious mind is a negative part of us. Although the subconscious mind is so powerful, it is also the laziest part of us. It doesn’t like to do the work that is required to accept positive suggestions. It likes to keep things just the way they are, because it would take too much work to change.  Positive suggestions are one of the most difficult things to get into our subconscious mind.  However, negative suggestions go in easily and quickly, because it doesn’t take any work for it to accept a negative suggestion.   

Example:  You take a heavy person and they get out of the shower. They stand in front of a mirror to dry off, and what do you think they are saying to themselves as they look into the mirror? “Boy I’m fat!” Now that idea or thought goes right into the subconscious mind and the subconscious mind says “Yes, that matches the programming that’s in here, that matches the perception I have of you.” Therefore, it accepts that suggestion so the perception of that individual being fat becomes stronger and they become heavier. On the other hand, if you take that same heavy person and stand them in front of that mirror and have them say, “I’m thin, I’m trim, and I’m attractive.” That goes toward the subconscious mind and the subconscious mind says, “No, that does not match the programming,” and that way of thinking is not allowed in.
It’s important to understand this; If an idea, a thought, or a concept is allowed to go into the subconscious mind, then it must happen. You are changing the programming of the inner mind and it must operate and respond to the new programming. Sounds easy, right? Well, unfortunately it’s not quite that simple.
Just how can we get that new suggestion or programming into the subconscious mind?  One of the easiest ways is hypnosis. What hypnosis does is this. It by-passes the security guard in our minds called the critical factor, that is guarding that part of our minds. The instant this critical factor goes away our conscious mind is by-passed and change can occur.  By simply putting in new suggestions into our subconscious minds, this becomes the new operating system.
When we hear those suggestions you have to make one of four decisions about that suggestion. Which decision you make determines whether that suggestion is allowed to enter your subconscious mind or whether it is rejected. If it’s allowed to enter, you will have the change that you are seeking.  If it’s rejected, there will be no change.
Those four choices are: 

1.  First, when you hear the suggestion, you may think or say something like this, “ I like that suggestion, I know that is going to work!”,  allowing that suggestion to go into your computer programming and change can begin. 
2. The next choice could be, actually hating the suggestion, or feeling it’s something against your moral belief, or perhaps that suggestion is a bit uncomfortable for you. If a suggestion sounds just the tiniest bit uncomfortable to you for any reason, it is automatically blocked with the conscious mind and it is not allowed to enter your programming and there is no change. 
3. Next, you are neutral about the suggestion, you don’t care if you get it or if you don’t get it. It is kind of a meaningless suggestion to you. The conscious mind automatically blocks that suggestion and it cannot get into your programming. 
4. The last choice you have is probably the choice which causes more people to fail with hypnosis. It goes something like this. When you hear the suggestion, you say to yourself, “Oh, I like that suggestion, I hope it works!” The word hope is the twin sister of the word try.  Being honest with yourself, anytime said you were going to try and do something you probably failed. Try means failure. When you say the words hope or try, that suggestion is automatically blocked by the conscious mind and not allowed to enter.

You don’t need me to go into a beautiful, deep state of hypnosis and you certainly don’t need me to give you suggestions of positive change for your life. You can do that all by yourself. The reason you don’t and you’re considering participating in a Hypnosis session is that you don’t know how to do it. Because all hypnosis is really self hypnosis. The reality is, a hypnotist is merely a trained guide for you and nothing more.
If you allow me to be your guide, I’ll show you how to place yourself in a beautiful state of hypnosis, feeling the physical relaxation and mental alertness. If you don’t want to stay in this beautiful relaxed state, the slightest thought by you and it is over and you are back to a normal state of awareness. If you allow yourself to stay there, and more importantly, if you accept the suggestions given to you with the correct mental attitude, you’ll have the change that you desire. If you take one of the other choices I explained, then you won’t. I cannot force a suggestion into your mind. Only you can accept it and allow it to happen.
Hypnosis is 100%  up to you. Usually the only thing that keeps a person from going into a deep state of physical relaxation and mental alertness is from a misconception about what hypnosis really is. 
The good news is, if you accept the suggestions with the correct mental attitude then hypnosis will work for you. If you doubt it, then it won’t. It is always up to you for the success you’ll have.