Consulting the Subconscious in Everyday Life

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Many of my patients who have learned to interact with their subconscious have consulted regularly with their inner selves to deal with day-to-day matters.

I help my pediatric and young adult patients learn how to rely on themselves by teaching them to use self-hypnosis, which can be defined as “using your imagination to help yourself.” We define subconscious as “the part of your mind of which you are usually unaware.”

In the long run, the most common ways my patients gain access to their subconscious include the following techniques:

Quieting the Mind

• Patients pose a question to their subconscious (aloud or as a thought).
• Then, they quiet their mind with a brief meditative state (such as through focusing on their breathing) or a hypnotic state (such as through imagining a safe, relaxing place).
• In that quiet state of mind, they listen for an answer.

Using a Whiteboard

• Patients are prompted to imagine seeing a whiteboard in their mind’s eye.
• They pose a question to their subconscious.
• The answer is provided by the subconscious in words or images on the whiteboard.

Finger Motion

• Patients are instructed to place one of their hands on a flat surface and to not move it on purpose.
• The subconscious is asked to indicate “Yes,” “No,” and “I don’t know” by moving different fingers to represent each response. When this occurs, patients report feeling as if their fingers have moved “on their own.”
• Patients then pose yes or no questions to their subconscious.

A frequent question posed by my patients is, “How do I know that the responses are from my subconscious?” I ask three questions in response: Did it seem to you that the answer came without conscious effort? Did the answer surprise you or give you more insight? Did the answer come in a form different from your usual thoughts (such as louder, quieter, faster, slower, or with a different rhythm)? A “yes” response to any of these questions is suggestive of a subconscious response.

Finally, I ask, if the answer is meaningful to you, does its origin matter?

There are many reasons that have prompted my patients to consult with their subconscious. These include asking their subconscious to do the following:

• Give or confirm answers to examination questions: One of my patients was running out of time on a math test. He asked his subconscious to answer the multiple-choice part of the test and received an 86 percent of that part of the test.
• Improve their athletic performance: A patient asked her subconscious to help her reach the zone better during running competitions, which she believed propelled her to the state finals.
• Give creative ideas that can be used in school, hobbies, or professionally: A few of my patients have asked their subconscious to show them a drawing that they copied onto paper or canvas.
• Identify the location of lost objects: A patient misplaced her car keys, and her subconscious told her she could find them behind the living room sofa.
• Improve their motivation: A patient asked how to become more motivated and became aware that he was having difficulties focusing on his reading because he could not comprehend the written material well. It turned out that this patient had undiagnosed dyslexia.
• Help in making important life decisions: Some of my older teen patients have asked their subconscious for input regarding their career choices.
• Interpret dreams: Since the subconscious is the source of dreams, many of my patients have asked their subconscious to explain the meaning of their recurrent dreams.
• Help them deal better with physical or psychological discomforts: The subconscious can often provide relief from such discomforts simply by being asked to do so.
• Gain spiritual understanding: The subconscious will usually answer existential questions when prompted to do so.

Takeaway

Interactions with the subconscious can be greatly enriching, as demonstrated by the examples in this post. Thus, I believe that learning how to directly engage with the inner self should be part of everyone’s life experience.