Have you ever seen an iceberg floating in the Arctic? It's pretty fascinating, right? But did you know that what you see above the water is only a small part of it? Well, the same goes for your mind! You see, the conscious mind - the part of our mind we are aware of - is only a tiny part of the whole picture. There's another part of our mind, the subconscious mind, that we are not even aware of, and it's way more massive than the conscious part. So, how do we tap into this massive, seemingly inaccessible part of our minds? That's the real question! The answer lies in a classic book from the early 1960s called "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" By Joseph Murphy. This book teaches practical techniques that can help you to unlock the hidden potential in your mind and transform your life for the better. In this summary, I’ll share with you three key lessons that I learned from the book.
Key Lesson #1: The subconscious mind is highly suggestible, so take advantage of that
Think back to when you first learned to ride a bike. At first, it required a lot of attention and focus from your conscious mind. But after a while, your subconscious mind started to take over, and before you knew it, riding a bike became almost effortless. That's the power of conscious to unconscious learning, and it's a tool that you can use to your advantage by harnessing the power of your subconscious mind through the repetition of positive thoughts. Just take Enrico Caruso, the Italian opera tenor. In the late nineteenth century, he performed at famous opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. However, he used to suffer throat spasms and would find himself drenched in sweat moments before he was supposed to sing. Why? Well, his mind was filled with negative thoughts; he always imagined the crowd laughing at him. But he overcame this fear by telling his “small me,” or conscious mind, to stop interfering with his “big me,” or subconscious mind. By repeating this, his subconscious mind learned to ignore his fears, and he was able to focus all his energy on his powerful voice. But the power of the subconscious mind doesn't stop there. In fact, it's so powerful that it can absorb and manifest any idea that you suggest to it. Just look at the experiments psychologists have done where they put people into a hypnotic state and suggest that they're cats. Those people then start acting like cats with total authenticity, all because their subconscious minds accept whatever their conscious minds believe to be true. So, the power of your subconscious mind is truly incredible, and by tapping into it, you can achieve amazing things!
Key Lesson #2: Subconscious mind has the power to heal diseases
Back in the eighteenth century, priests had a unique way of healing the sick. They convinced them that God would make them well, and amazingly, it often worked! But here's the kicker: it wasn't God who was doing the healing. It was actually the power of the subconscious mind that was at work, healing the body from within. Joseph Murphy tells the story of one of his relatives that were severely sick. His son was desperate to help him recover and came up with an ingenious plan. He told his father that he had bought a special cross from a monk who visited a healing shrine in Europe. But in reality, it was just a random piece of wood that he picked up off the street. The son claimed that touching the cross had already healed many people, and he was sure it could work for his father too. So, the father held the cross and prayed with it as he fell asleep that night. The next morning, he woke up feeling completely healed, as if the illness had never been there in the first place. It's amazing what the power of positive thinking can do! The father was so convinced that the cross had healed him that no one had the heart to tell him the truth. They were afraid that breaking the illusion might cause the disease to come back. This story clearly shows the healing power of the subconscious mind. The son was able to use the power of suggestion to tap into his father's subconscious and convince it to heal his illness. This shows that the subconscious mind can have a profound impact on our physical health and that positive thoughts and beliefs can have a remarkable healing effect.
Key Lesson #3: You can ask your subconscious mind to guide you while you are sleep
Did you know that we spend almost one-third of our lives asleep? Yup, that’s a lot of time. But before you think it’s just wasted time, think again! Our bodies are actually quite active while we sleep, restoring our energy, digesting, and healing. And it's not just our physical bodies that are at work during sleep; our subconscious minds are working hard too, helping to guide us and even protect us. Joseph Murphy tells the story of a woman who lived in Los Angeles and worked at a company that she really liked. But then, out of nowhere, she got an offer to work in New York City with double the salary! It sounded amazing, but she was really torn about whether to take the offer or not. Feeling stuck, she decided to turn to her subconscious for help. She meditated as she fell asleep, hoping that her subconscious would guide her in the right direction. And guess what? The next morning, she woke up with a really strong feeling that she shouldn't take the job. She trusted her intuition and turned down the offer, even though it was a really tough decision. But as fate would have it, just a few months later, the company filed for bankruptcy! It turns out that her subconscious mind had guided her to the right choice. Pretty cool, right? So don't underestimate the power of your subconscious mind while you're catching some sleep. Who knows what kind of wisdom it may be able to offer you!
So, in summary, your subconscious mind is a powerful tool that's always working, even when you're asleep. It's incredibly suggestible, which means that you can use it to overcome any challenge you might face in life. In fact, it's so powerful that it can even help heal serious illnesses once a positive thought has penetrated the subconscious mind. But here's the catch - your subconscious mind will only guide you if you ask it to. It's always there, waiting for you to call upon it for assistance. So if you're facing a difficult decision or need guidance, all you have to do is ask your subconscious mind for help. It will work behind the scenes, even when you're not consciously aware of it.