RAS Lesson 4 – The Subconscious Mind

The second little RAScal is the subconscious mind. This is the recording device and the filing cabinet of your brain. You may think of it as your memory.

The subconscious records whatever you tell it to record. It records it literally, no questions asked. It is not like a video camera, it stores the edited version of events, your version of the situation. It records your interpretation of the situation, not the actual events that took place.

Your subconscious mind does exactly what you tell it. If you say it is true, so be it. Once you store it, it becomes reality – your version of truth.

This is why eyewitnesses to a crime rarely have matching stories. Each one records what they interpret is happening, not the actual event. Your perception of the event is the key to your response to future similar events.

As we learned in lesson 3, the subconscious mind also stores in generalities. It lumps similar experiences into the same “drawer” and expects the same outcome.

The subconscious mind is in charge of three types of storage: truths, habits, and attitudes.

Truths are your version of reality. They are acquired; you are not born with them.

The truths you store do not have to be true; you simply must believe them to be true. They become your version of how things are.

You create reality and then find evidence to back it up. You develop a certainty about the future based on past experiences.

Until you change your beliefs, your future will look exactly like your past.

Habits are an entire lesson in themselves. They are learned behavior, a shortcut around the conscious mind. I will post in detail about how habits work once we learn the basics.

Many people are unsuccessful in breaking bad habits merely because they try to control the behavior first. As I hope you are beginning to see, it is thought that will change the behavior, not the other way around.

Changing the way you think will change the way you act.

Attitudes are your stored emotional reality. Remember the 3D thought from lesson 2? Your attitude is how you feel about things. Your emotions are stored in the subconscious mind.

Your attitude controls what you will do about a similar situation in the future. To change behavior, you must change how you feel about that behavior and that starts with what you believe.

Related posts

• Where is Your Attitude Taking You?
• 5 Easy Ways to Raise Your Self-Esteem
• Give Yourself a Break
• The Realism Myth
• Lose Limiting Labels
• Mastering Your Thoughts