Awakening the Inner Healer

“For the mind to flower it has to go beyond what it knows.”

What does this statement mean to you?

For me, this is a statement that highlights the power of the unconscious mind.

From birth, and even while in utero, we begin a life of learning, moment by moment. The lessons begin long before we have a conscious sense of ourselves as a separate entity, and the strength of the lesson is in part due to the emotional charge attached to the experience. If our behaviour leads to physical/emotional nourishment, we do more of it; if it leads to deprivation or pain, we avoid it.

With time, as we behave in line with these lessons, we then internalize the lessons such that they literally become a part of who we are- they become “second nature”. This can be valuable, as the unconscious thinking can operate far quicker than our conscious thinking, and it can take in far more information at once. This feature allows us to then put attention on other things, and thus further our learning.

The problem arises when the early lessons, those that happen before age 5 (around when we develop an awareness of ourselves), are limiting ones, such as, “In order to receive attention, I must be ill.” (Or, “To receive nourishment, I must never get upset.”) When such lessons become “unconscious” through practice in childhood, then they operate beyond our awareness in adulthood, quietly shaping how we perceive and function in the world around us. And as these early lessons constitute the building blocks of our belief systems, all further learning is laid down upon this shaky framework. We then experience significant frustration, when, as an adult, we consciously wish for a certain experience, and yet repeatedly find ourselves in unwanted situations, wondering how it happened (and who is to blame).

Because we are not consciously aware of the deeply programmed lessons, we remain powerless to change them, even when they don’t serve us well. The truth is thus beyond what the mind knows.

In order to move beyond such limitations, in order for the mind to flower, we must tap into these unconscious realms, and bring to light that which we are consciously unaware of. It requires us to stretch our perception beyond what we currently know, and to re-acquaint ourselves with our deepest intentions and beliefs.

The beauty lies in that once these hidden agendas are brought to light, the innate healing system of the human organism immediately sets in motion. And while the re-programming takes time and effort, now the absence of resistance makes the journey both possible and fascinating.