Written by: Karuna Jain, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Most of us are taught from a young age that we need to work hard to succeed in life, and we grow up working harder and harder to reach our goals and manifest our dreams. What if we could work smart instead of just working hard? I want to share a new perspective on this topic.
Between your ears, you have two computers. One uses about 10% of your brain power. Actually, most of us barely use 4% to 6% of this computer. This is like a 1960’s computer, old and slow. We can barely process 3 to 7 bits of information in a minute. This computer likes to rationalize and analyze. Relying on extreme use of rationalization may get us into paralysis by analysis. This is the computer we use whenever we are awake and alert. It is called your conscious mind.
We have another very powerful supercomputer between our ears. Part of this computer processes all the functions in your body. There are millions of processes happening in your body every moment, monitoring your blood pressure, digestion, elimination, hormones, organ function and more. Even to raise your hand, millions and trillions of instructions have to fire to every cell of your arm. This should give you an idea of how powerful this computer is. This is the computer that is running your life. Some of the things you store in this computer are beliefs, values, habits, behavior patterns, experiences, emotions, triggers for happiness, joy, stress, fear, anxiety and more. This computer is about 90% of your brain power. It is called your subconscious mind. The subconscious computer does not rationalize. It faithfully plays the programs that are stored there. Just like a regular computer. What you store is what is executed. For example, it doesn’t matter how much you try to rationalize someone’s fear, the fear does not go away. You cannot change stored programs in the subconscious mind by rationalization.
Most of us are living our life using the conscious computer. That computer really does not store much, the processing is very slow, and it has very little memory. Hence when we try to make changes using this computer, we slip back into old habits. You need so much effort and will power to make the changes with the conscious mind. This is working hard. If what you are trying to change consciously is conflicting with that which is stored in the subconscious mind, then the bigger and more powerful subconscious computer wins. You go back to who you were before the change. For example, let’s say you are working on changing your eating habits consciously. It takes a lot of willpower to change the habit. When your willpower is low, you fall back into your old ways of eating. The conscious computer is not powerful enough to override the subconscious computer.
The smarter approach would be to go into the subconscious computer and make the change there. Once that happens, you don’t need willpower or even much effort to start living differently. Do you know people who are into fitness? It doesn’t matter what the weather is, they will find a way to exercise. That is because they have the fitness program installed in the subconscious mind. This supercomputer will push you to go exercise. Just like many of us who like to start our day with coffee. Even if we are getting late for work, we will still find a way to get our coffee. The subconscious mind, once it learns a program, will motivate you and find creative ways for you to execute the program.
In these days of information overload, you cannot live with the 60’s conscious mind computer. Hence there is so much more stress, anxiety, and depression in the world. You just cannot process so much information and hence we get overloaded, which leads to patience and tolerance decreasing and frustration increasing. Our productivity decreases as we process so much information with an out of date 60’s computer. We work harder and harder.
If you could find a way to use even an extra 5% of your subconscious mind, you have tripled or quadrupled your productivity, as 5% of the supercomputer is way more powerful than 5% of the conscious computer. This is working smart versus working hard.
I was volunteering in a library when I read about hypnosis. Hypnosis is a state of focused concentration. That rang a bell. I needed focused concentration to study. That is what prompted me to learn self-hypnosis. I was trying for more than a year to finish a certification course when working in Information Technology (IT). With a full-time stressful job (I was project/ program manager) and young kids at home, finding the time and focus to study proved to be very difficult. Whenever I sat to study, my mind wandered into the innumerable tasks I needed to do while balancing work and home. Within 2 ½ months of learning self-hypnosis, I passed the certification with flying colors. My focus and concentration improved significantly, my memory retention and recall was amazing, my productivity was off the charts, my patience levels went up. This happened just by learning to access my subconscious mind when studying. Suddenly I found myself having more spare time as I finished tasks quicker and with greater efficiency. When you give your 100% focus on a task, you do it faster, efficiently and with better quality,
Hypnosis is a natural state. We go in and out of hypnosis all day long. Most people don’t know how to get into this state consciously. Driving on familiar routes, we naturally slip into hypnosis. Our conscious mind is not even aware of the roads or the signal lights as the subconscious computer has been programmed to go from point A to point B through repetition of the familiar route. Consciously we could be listening to music and thinking thoughts and the subconscious reaches you to the destination. This is an example of hypnosis whilst driving. When studying it was difficult for me to get into a state of focused concentration/ hypnosis. By learning techniques to consciously get into hypnosis, I was able to study even as I was sitting in the soccer field as my son played. I was able to read a page and retain the information quickly. I was working smart now versus working hard.
I come from a science background, and I have done my Masters in Physics. I wanted to understand what is going on in my mind and why it is working so much better. That started my journey into learning hypnotherapy, a nine-month course along with working full time and taking care of kids. I switched from working hard, struggling to balance home and work, to becoming highly productive, balancing easily and still finding time for myself. I was fascinated with the mind and how to use it to reach my higher potential. I read, I researched, I practiced. I had so much time on my hands now. I landed up switching careers and starting a healing center. I have seen the amount of stress and anxiety in the corporate world. I want to teach people about their supercomputers and empower them to have a better life. So, I became a hypnotherapist. Later I added Life Coaching and various energy healing modalities to my practice. I am constantly discovering new abilities within me. The potential to grow has no ceiling. I truly believe we have limitless potential if we can tap into the supercomputer between our ears.
So the question now is what can you do to work smart versus working hard? You can start by learning techniques to move into your subconscious mind when working and to slip out of it when you are done with your tasks. Use the supercomputer to learn, make better quality decisions, change habits or behaviors, or clear up old data that is no longer serving you and replace it with new data that aligns with your goals and your dreams. Some initial effort is required to learn how to use your supercomputer. Without effort, one cannot develop and grow. The great thing is that once you learn how to do this, you can change your life and use the technique over and over again. You can actually use it to improve your health, and remain young in body, mind and soul. The benefits are only restricted by your creativity in using this computer. Your subconscious computer is after all the most powerful supercomputer on the planet! We are still researching and discovering new aspects of this computer and the mind as a whole. Let’s look at some ways you can learn to use the subconscious supercomputer.
1. Deeply relaxing is a way to open the doorway into the subconscious computer. You can use whatever methods you are familiar with to relax yourself. It can be music, exercising, relaxing hobbies. It has to be something you can do by yourself, not in the company. Once you are deeply relaxed, sit quietly with your issues, learn, use positive affirmations, visualize manifesting what you desire, and change habits. You may have to learn the art of creating affirmations and visualizations.
2. Learning meditation. There are so many modalities to practice meditation. Find one that works for you and is easy for you to master.
3. Learn self-hypnosis. I had been meditating for decades before learning self-hypnosis. However in my personal experience and working with clients, it is easier to get into deep relaxation via self-hypnosis. For me to enter into alpha states (relaxed state) through meditation used to take 30 to 45 minutes. With self-hypnosis, I can move into alpha within a minute. I have been teaching clients self-hypnosis, the art of setting affirmations and ways to program your subconscious mind. I believe life has to be simple and so the techniques I teach are simple and easy to master.
4. There is a concept of anchoring that the mind uses to function. An example could be the smell of coffee. Many people have anchored a state of pleasure to the sight and smell of coffee. The memory and smell of mom cooking your favorite food may equate to feeling relaxed and happy. That is anchoring. It happens unconsciously for most people. We anchor with our senses. For me, the smell of the Earth when it first rains remind me of the wonderful years I spend hiking in the mountains. It brings up joyful, relaxing emotions. Using this ability of the mind, you can now consciously anchor states of deep relaxation. This way you can access the subconscious very quickly.
5. Breathing is another way to get into a relaxed state. When we are relaxed and calm we do deep breathing. When we are stressed, our breathing is shallow. Your breath is linked to the state of your mind. You can move into a relaxed state by taking a few nice, slow deep breaths. As the breathing becomes slower, you move into alpha states of mind, getting access to the subconscious computer.
I don't think we were meant to be on earth to work hard. We are here to fulfill our mission while enjoying and having fun on the journey. We were given a supercomputer and it is time to harness the power of this computer. Time to work smart versus working just hard. I switched careers and started my own healing practice, discovered so many new abilities and talents I have, and reached goals that I could not even dream about. My mission is to empower and educate people in a compassionate, loving, non-judgemental way to reach higher and higher. To work smart versus working hard. You can make life easier, more fulfilling, have more adventures, and surprise yourself as you access your supercomputer. I welcome feedback. My email is info@karuna-healing.com. Blessings on your journey.
Karuna Jain, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Karuna Jain is a certified Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Energy Healer, Past Life Regression therapist, Corporate speaker. She combines science and spirituality in her work. She conducts classes in various topics including teaching Reiki healing. Her clients are global. She is into metaphysics, multi-dimensional realities, consciousness expansion, reincarnation, soul integration, meditation. She is very passionate about empowering people to take care of their own health. Teaching and sharing knowledge is her major life mission. Her emphasis is on healing the mind and body through Universal Compassion. Her Mission: To assist her clients to reach their goals in a loving, compassionate, non-judgmental environment using the best of eastern and western methods of natural mind-body healing modalities.
