The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

Joseph Murphy

• Publisher: Passerino
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9791220228091
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

The New Thought movement is a spiritual movement which coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was preceded by "ancient thought," accumulated wisdom and philosopy from a variety of origins, such as Ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Chineses, Taoist, Vedic, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures and their related belief systems, primarily regarding the interaction between thought, belief, consciousness in the human mind, and the effects of these within and beyond the human mind. Exploring the power of one person to directly influence another person's mind to another person's physical condition and behavior, Franz "Anton" Mesmer experimented with the power of suggestion, practicing so-called Mesmerism (a precursor to hypnotism). The unpublished writings of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, originally a clock-maker and later known as "the father of New Thought," show that Quimby built on Mesmer's methods, and he identified the mind of a person being influenced as the actual locus of control. He theorized that human behavior and human health change after the human mind is convinced to think and believe in so-called "new thoughts" and new beliefs. Quimby gave speeches to explain to people that, since human thoughts and beliefs affect human behavior and human health, people can learn to think and believe in ways which create individual healing. Quimby developed the New Thought philosophy and he used methods such as hypnosis, mind power, and prayer to help people to heal themselves. Quimby's developing philosophy and healing treatments healed and informed Mary Baker Eddy (known as the mother of the Christian Science movement) and also inspired Emma Curtis Hopkins (1st Editor of the Christian Science Monitor magazine), who went on to influence both religious leaders, leading to the Divine Science and later, Unity faith healing movements; and also non-religious thought leaders. There are numerous smaller groups, most of which are incorporated in the International New Thought Alliance. The contemporary New Thought movement is a loosely allied group of religious denominations, authors, philosophers, and individuals who share a set of beliefs concerning metaphysics, positive thinking, the law of attraction, healing, life force, creative visualization, and personal power. Joseph Denis Murphy (May 20, 1898 – December 16, 1981) was an Irish-born American author and New Thought minister, ordained in Divine Science and Religious Science.

HOW YOUR OWN MIND WORKS

You have a mind, and you should learn how to use it. There are two levels of your mind – the conscious or rational level, and the subconscious or irrational level. You think with your conscious mind, and whatever you habitually think sinks down into your subconscious mind, which creates according to the nature of your thoughts. Your subconscious mind is the seat of your emotions and is the creative mind. If you think good, good will follow, if you think evil, evil will follow. This is the way your mind works.

The main point to remember is once the subconscious mind accepts an idea, it begins to execute it. It is an interesting and subtle truth that the law of the subconscious mind works for good and bad ideas alike. This law, when applied in a negative way, is the cause of failure, frustration and unhappiness. However, when your habitual thinking is harmonious and constructive, you experience perfect health, success and prosperity.

Peace of mind and a healthy body are inevitable when you begin to think and feel in the right way. Whatever you claim mentally and feel as true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring forth into your experience. The only thing necessary for you to do is to get your conscious mind to accept your idea, and the law of your own subconscious mind will bring forth the health, peace or position you desire. You give the command or decree, and your subconscious will faithfully reproduce the idea impressed upon it. The law of your mind is this: You will get a reaction or response from your subconscious mind according to the nature of the thought or idea you hold in your conscious mind.

Psychologists and psychiatrists point out that when thoughts are conveyed to your subconscious mind, impressions are made in the brain cells. As soon as your subconscious accepts any idea, it proceeds to put it into effect immediately. It works by association of ideas and uses every bit of knowledge that you have gathered in your lifetime to bring about its purpose. It draws on the infinite power, energy and wisdom within you. It lines up all the laws of nature to get its way. Sometimes it seems to bring about an immediate solution to your difficulties, but at other times it may take days, weeks, or longer...Its ways are past finding out.

Conscious & Subconscious Terms Differentiated

You must remember that these are not two minds. They are merely two spheres of activity within one mind. Your conscious mind is the reasoning mind. It is that phase of mind which chooses. For example, you choose your books, your home and your partner in life. You make all your decisions with your conscious mind. On the other hand, without any conscious choice on your part, your heart is kept functioning automatically, and the process of digestion, circulation and breathing are carried on by your subconscious mind through processes independent of your conscious control.

Your subconscious mind accepts what is impressed upon it or what you consciously believe. It does not reason things out like your conscious mind, and it does not argue with you controversially. Your subconscious mind is like the soil, which accepts any kind of seed, good or bad. Your thoughts are active and might be likened unto seeds. Negative, destructive thoughts continue to work negatively in your subconscious mind and in due time will come forth into outer experience, which corresponds with them.

Remember, your subconscious mind does not engage in proving whether your thoughts are good or bad, true or false, but it responds according to the nature of your thoughts or suggestions. For example, if you consciously assume something as true, even though it may be false, your subconscious mind will accept it as true and proceed to bring about results, which must necessarily follow, because you consciously assumed it to be true.

Experiments By Psychologists

Innumerable experiments by psychologists and others on persons in the hypnotic state have shown that the subconscious mind is incapable of making selections and comparisons, which are necessary for a reasoning process. They have shown repeatedly that your subconscious mind will accept any suggestions, however false. Having once accepted any suggestion, it responds according to the nature of the suggestion given.

To illustrate the amenability of your subconscious mind to suggestion, if a practiced hypnotist suggests to one of his subjects that he is Napoleon Bonaparte, or even a cat or a dog, he will act out the part with inimitable accuracy. His personality becomes changed for the time being. He believes himself to be whatever the operator tells him he is.

A skilled hypnotist may suggest to one of his students in the hypnotic state that his back itches, to another that his nose is bleeding, to another that he is a marble statue, to another that he is freezing and the temperature is below zero. Each one will follow out the line of his particular suggestion, totally oblivious to all his surroundings, which do not pertain to his idea.

These simple illustrations portray clearly the difference between your conscious reasoning mind and your subconscious mind, which is impersonal, non-selective and accepts as true whatever your conscious mind believes to be true. Hence, the importance of selecting thoughts, ideas and premises which bless, heal, inspire and fill your soul with joy.

The Terms Objective & Subjective Mind Clarified

Your conscious mind is sometimes referred to as your objective mind because it deals with outward objects. The objective mind takes cognizance of the objective world. Its media of observation are your five physical senses. Your objective mind is your guide and director in your contact with your environment. You gain knowledge through your five senses. Your objective mind learns thought observation, experience and education. As previously pointed out, the greatest function of the objective mind is that of reasoning.

Suppose you are one of the thousands of tourists who come to Los Angeles annually. You would come to the conclusion that it is a beautiful city based upon your observation of the parks, pretty gardens, majestic buildings and lovely homes. This is the working of your objective mind.

Your subconscious mind is oftentimes referred to as your subjective mind. Your subjective mind takes cognizance of its environment by means independent of the five senses. Your subjective mind perceives by intuition. It is the seat of your emotion and the storehouse of memory. Your subjective mind performs its highest functions when your objective senses are in abeyance. In a word, it is that intelligence, which makes itself manifest when the objective mind is suspended or in a sleepy, drowsy state.

Your subjective mind sees without the use of the natural organs of vision. It has the capacity of clairvoyance and clairaudience. Your subjective mind can leave your body, travel to distant lands and bring back information oftentimes of the most exact and truthful character. Through your subjective mind, you can read the thoughts of others, read the contents of sealed envelopes and closed safes. Your subjective mind has the ability to apprehend the thoughts of others without the use of the ordinary objective means of communication. It is of the greatest importance that we understand the interaction of the objective and subj mind in order to learn the true art of prayer.

The Subconscious Cannot Reason Like Your Conscious Mind

Your subconscious mind cannot argue controversially. Hence, if you give it wrong suggestions, it will accept them as true and will proceed to bring them to pass as conditions, experiences and events. All things that have happened to you are based on thoughts impressed on your subconscious mind through belief. If you have conveyed erroneous thoughts to your subconscious mind, the sure method of overcoming them is by the repetition of constructive, harmonious thoughts frequently repeated, which your subconscious mind accepts, thus forming new and healthy habits of thought and life, for your subconscious mind is the seat of habit.

The habitual thinking of your conscious mind establishes deep grooves in your subconscious mind. This is very favorable for you if your habitual thoughts are harmonious, peaceful and constructive.

If you have indulged in fear, worry and other destructive forms of thinking, the remedy is to recognize the omnipotence of your subconscious mind and decree freedom, happiness and perfect health. Your subconscious mind, being creative and one with your divine source, will proceed to create the freedom and happiness, which you have earnestly decreed.

The Tremendous Power Of Suggestion

You must realize by now that your conscious mind is the “watchman at the gate,” and its chief function is to protect your subconscious mind from false impressions. You are now aware of one of the basic laws of mind: Your subconscious mind is amenable to suggestion. As you know, your subconscious mind does not make comparisons or contrasts, neither does it reason and think things out for itself. This latter function belongs to your conscious mind. It simply reacts to the impressions given to it by your conscious mind. It does not show a preference for one course of action over another.

The following is a classic example of the tremendous power of suggestion. Suppose you approach a timid looking passenger on board ship and say to him something like this: “You look very ill. How pale you are! I feel certain you are going to be seasick. Let me help you to your cabin.” The passenger turns pale. Your suggestion of seasickness associates itself with his own fears and forebodings. He accepts your aid down to the berth, and there your negative suggestion, which was accepted by him, is realized.

Different Reactions To The Same Suggestion

It is true that different people will react in different ways to the same suggestion because of their subconscious conditioning or belief. For example, if you go to a sailor on the ship and say to him sympathetically, “My dear fellow, you're looking very ill. Aren't you feeling sick? You look to me as if you are going to be seasick.”

According to his temperament he either laughs at your “joke,” or expresses mild irritation. Your suggestion fell on deaf ears in this instance because your suggestion of seasickness was associated in his mind with his own immunity from it. Therefore, it called up not fear or worry, but self-confidence.

The dictionary says that a suggestion is the act or instance of putting something into one's mind, the mental process by which the thought or idea suggested is entertained, accepted, or put into effect. You must remember that a suggestion cannot impose something on the subconscious mind against the will of the conscious mind. In other words, your conscious mind has the power to reject the suggestion given. In the case of the sailor, he had not fear of seasickness. He had convinced himself of his immunity and the negative suggestion had absolutely no power to evoke fear.

The suggestion of seasickness to the other passenger called forth his indwelling fear of seasickness. Each of us has his own inner fears, beliefs and opinions. These inner assumptions rule and govern our lives. A suggestion has no power in and of itself except it is accepted mentally by you. This causes your subconscious powers to flow in a limited and restricted way according to the nature of the suggestion.

How He Lost His Arm

Every two or three years I give a series of lectures at the London Truth Forum in Caxton Hall. This is a forum I founded a number of years ago. Dr Evelyn Fleet, the director, told me about an article which appeared in the English newspapers dealing with the power of suggestion. This is the suggestion a man gave to his subconscious mind over a period of about two years. “I would give my right arm to see my daughter cured.” It appeared that his daughter had a crippling form of arthritis, together with a so-called incurable form of skin disease. Medical treatment had failed to alleviate the condition, and the father had an intense longing for his daughter's healing, and expressed his desire in the words just quoted.

Dr Evelyn Fleet said that the newspaper article pointed out that one day the family was out riding when their car collided with another. The father's right arm was torn off at the shoulder and immediately the daughter's arthritis and skin condition vanished.

You must make certain to give your subconscious only suggestions which heal, bless, elevate and inspire you in all ways. Remember that your subconscious mind cannot take a joke. It takes you at your word.

How Autosuggestion Banishes Fear

Illustrations of autosuggestion: Autosuggestion means suggesting something definite and specific to oneself. Hebert Parkyn, in his excellent manual of autosuggestion, records the following incident. It has its amusing side, so that one remembers it. “A New York visitor in Chicago looks at his watch, which is set an hour ahead of Chicago time, and tells a Chicago friend that it is twelve o'clock. The Chicago friend, not considering the difference in time between Chicago and New York, tells the New Yorker that he is hungry and that he must go to lunch.”

Autosuggestion may be used to banish various fears and other negative conditions. A young singer was invited to give an audition. She had been looking forward to the interview, but on three previous occasions she had failed miserably due to fear of failure. This young lady had a very good voice, but she had been saying to herself, “When the time comes for me to sing, maybe they won't like me. I will try, but I'm full of fear and anxiety.”

Her subconscious mind accepted these negative autosuggestions as a request and proceeded to manifest them and bring them into her experience. The cause was an involuntary autosuggestion, i.e. silent fear thoughts emotionalized and subjectified.

She overcame it by the following technique: Three times a day she isolated herself in a room. She sat down comfortably in an armchair, relaxed her body and closed her eyes. She stilled her mind and body as best she could. Physical inertia favors mental passivity and renders the mind more receptive to suggestion. She counteracted the fear suggestion by saying to herself, “I sing beautifully, I am poised, serene, confident and calm.”

She repeated this statement slowly, quietly and with feeling from five to ten times at each sitting. She had three such “sittings” every day and one immediately prior to sleep. At the end of a week she was completely poised and confident. When the invitation to audition came, she gave a remarkable, wonderful audition.

How She Restored Her Memory

A woman, aged seventy-five, was in the habit of saying to herself, “I am losing my memory.” She reversed the procedure and practiced induced autosuggestion several times a day as follows: “My memory from today on is improving in every department. I shall always remember whatever I need to know at every moment of time and point of space. The impressions received will be clearer and more definite. I shall retain them automatically and with ease. Whatever I wish to recall will immediately present itself in the correct form in my mind. I am improving rapidly every day, and very soon my memory will be better than it has ever been before.” At the end of three weeks, her memory was back to normal and she was delighted.

How He Overcame A Nasty Temper

Many men who complained of irritability and bad temper proved to be very susceptible to autosuggestion and obtained marvelous results by using the following statements three or four times a day – morning, noon and night prior to sleep for about a month. “Henceforth, I shall grow more good humored. Joy, happiness and cheerfulness are now becoming my normal states of mind. Every day I am becoming more and more lovable and understanding. I am now becoming the center of cheer and good will to all those about me, infecting them with good humor. This happy, joyous and cheerful mood is now becoming my normal, natural state of mind. I am grateful.”

The Constructive & Destructive Power of Suggestion

Some illustrations and comments on heterosuggestion: Heterosuggestion means suggestions from another person. In all ages the power of suggestion has played a part in the life and though of man in every period of time and in each country of the earth. In many parts of the world it is the controlling power in religion.

Suggestion may be used to discipline and control ourselves, but it can also be used to take control and command over others who do not know the laws of mind. In its constructive form it is wonderful and magnificent. In its negative aspects it is one of the most destructive of all the response patterns of the mind, resulting in patterns of misery, failure, suffering, sickness and disaster.

Have You Accepted Any of These?

From infancy on, the majority of us have been given many negative suggestions. Not knowing how to thwart them, we unconsciously accepted them. Here are some of the negative suggestions: “You can't,” “You'll never amount to anything,” “You mustn't,” “You'll fail,” “You haven't got a chance,” “You're all wrong,” “It's no use,” “It's not what you know, but who you know,” “the world is going to the dogs,” “What's the use, nobody cares,” “It's no use trying so hard,” “You're too old now,” “Things are getting worse and worse,” “Life is an endless grind,” “Love is for the birds,” “You just can't win,” “Pretty soon you'll be bankrupt,” “Watch out, you'll get the virus,” “You can't trust a soul,” etc.

Unless, as an adult, you use use constructive autosuggestion, which is reconditioning therapy, the impressions made on you in the past can cause behavior patterns that cause failure in your personal and social life. Autosuggestion is a means releasing you from the mass of negative verbal conditioning that might otherwise distort your life pattern, making the development of good habits difficult.

You Can Counteract Negative Suggestions

Pick up the paper any day and you can read dozens of items that could sow the seeds of futility, fear, worry and impending doom. If accepted by you, these thoughts of fear could cause you to lose the will for life. Knowing that you can reject all these negative suggestions by giving your subconscious mind constructive autosuggestions, you counteract all these destructive ideas.

Check regularly on the negative autosuggestions that people make to you. You do not have to be influenced by destructive heterosuggestion. All of us have suffered from it in our childhood and in our teens. If you look back, you can easily recall how parents, friends, relatives, teachers and associates contributed in a campaign of negative suggestions. Study the things said to you and you will discover much of it was in the form of propaganda. The purpose of much of what was said was to control you or instill fear into you.

This heterosuggestion process goes on in every home, office, factory and club. You will find that many of these suggestions are for the purpose of making you think, feel and act as others want you to and in ways that are to their advantage.

How Suggestion Killed A Man

Here is an illustration of heterosuggestion: A relative of mine went to a crystal ball gazer in India who told him that he had a bad heart and predicted that he would die at the next new moon. He began to tell all members of his family about this prediction, and he arranged his will.

This powerful suggestion entered into his subconscious mind because he accepted it completely. My relative also told me that this crystal gazer was believed to have some strange occult powers and she could do harm or good to a person. He died as predicted not knowing that he was the cause of his own death. I supposed many of us have heard similar stupid, ridiculous, superstitious stories.

Let us look at what happened in the light of our knowledge of the way the subconscious mind works. Whatever the conscious, reasoning mind of man believes; the subconscious mind will accept and act upon. My relative was happy, healthy, vigorous and robust when he went to see the fortuneteller. She gave him a very negative suggestion, which he accepted. He became terrified and constantly dwelt upon the fact that he was going to die at the next new moon. He proceeded to tell everyone about it, and he prepared for the end. The activity took place in his own mind and his own thought was the cause. He brought about his own so-called death, or rather destruction of the physical body, by his fear and expectation of the end.

The woman who predicted his death had no more power than the stones and sticks in the field. Her suggestion had no power to create...