AlexK’s Blog


Getting results


Feb 04

Posted: under Personal development, expectation, frustration, learning, success.
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Are you getting the results you desire with all those self help audios?

Often people use tools like meditation and hypnosis tapes to improve an area of their lives and despite committing their time to listening to the tapes they feel they have a program running that blocks them. Some even feel like they are going backwards when they use self improvement audios. They find themselves gaining weight or even more fearful or anxious than when they started.

One thing I have discovered through the years is that often people say words like confidence, determination, stamina but they don’t really know  what they mean to them. When I ask them what they want they might say, ‘I don’t want to be afraid.’  They are focusing on what they don’t want. And if you do this the meditation, the hypnosis or any audio guide you’re working with will work to keep you where you don’t want to be.

Think about it. The mind works in pictures. Need help?

Not, a polar bear in a pink polka dot bikini wearing a lime green tutu.

Did you laugh? Did you see the polar bear? Did you notice that your mind pictured what came after Not?

What do you picture when you think of not afraid? Since the mind has no meaning for not it draws up an image or memory of being afraid. Then when you listen to a program designed to help you conquer this fear it winds up reinforcing exactly what you fear.

Since the non-conscious mind takes things very literally it works with the image you bring up. This is where you need to put some conscious reasoning to work. Because if you want to change you need a different picture. The opposite of being afraid. Since using the expression not afraid with the first image or idea that pops into the mind is someone who is afraid we know the non-conscious mind is not that great with opposites so we need to think of a word that means the opposite to us. In this example it might be  “brave”. When you think of this word a completely different image comes to mind.

So when using a self help audio and consider what you want. Pay attention to the word “not”. It’s a valuable cue that you need to discover the opposite image.

Another problem area is with the meaning of words. Or rather what the words mean to you in your experience

For example if someone says the word ‘confidence’, do you get an image of yourself weak lacking in confidence because that has been how you’ve experienced yourself in the past? If you keep this image as you listen to a guided self help audio you’re going to be successful in keeping the image you have of yourself. Again you need to change this image. One of the easier ways to do this is to think of someone who exhibits the quality that you desire. Think of that person and then pretend you are that person. Play it out in your minds eye. When you are ready and can say, that’s what I want. That’s how I want to be. Then you have an image of what you can become and then the audio programs or your meditations have a greater chance for rapid success.

Just to be clear. This article isn’t saying that those audio programs won’t work.  However your mind is powerful and by focusing on what you don’t want you will keep it in your life longer. A good program will get you to make that switch to seeing the image of yourself how you do want to be, eventually. You can help yourself and accelerate that process by checking what you are seeing or sensing in your minds eye. If it’s the image of the problem that you want to end.  Clear the picture and paint the image you do want.

© Alex Viefhaus Feb 2009

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