Communicate with Your Subconscious to Make Your Resolutions Stick

For many of us, the most important second language to learn is the language of our own subconscious minds. Your senses, behaviors, feelings, and imagination are the best translators for communicating with your subconscious mind.

In turn, your subconscious will answer and cooperate with you through these same channels, in the form of intuition. Resolutions tend to make a quick exit when our conscious and subconscious minds are not aligned and communicating in these areas.

To invite your intuition to respond and help you keep your resolutions, find ways to communicate in these three areas:

• Auditory~ music, spoken language (affirmations, poetry), chanting, listening to nature, reading your journal out loud
• Kinesthetic~ movement, rituals, smell, taste, awareness of bodily sensations, writing in your journal
• Visual~ collage, photos, view nature, the written word (affirmations, inspiration), guided imagery, symbols

Remember that your intuition also lives in a different time zone! The answers and supportive synchronicities will come at times that will seem random to you. Just go with the flow! The responses from your intuition will come through the same three channels as listed above:

• Auditory~ a thought pops into your mind, song lyrics related to your resolution run through your head, affirmations are reflected back to you as new neural pathways are formed in your brain
• Kinesthetic~ a spontaneous nudge to take a certain action, a pleasant or unpleasant bodily sensation, writing something in your journal that you had no idea you were thinking, a taste or smell that seems to come from nowhere
• Visual~what you've been visualizing is showing up in reality, a symbol that now strengthens your resolve and helps you move forward

You get the idea...get your conscious and subconscious minds in the same "head space." :-) You'd be surprised how often they're not, due to limiting beliefs that cause inner conflict about what you consciously want.
Happy holidays,
Susan
P.S. 'Need support in this area? Contact me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial coaching session by phone or in person.

***All of Susan's creative4life posts are copyright of Susan Cleaver.***

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Talking to Volleyballs and Beyond

This post ties into my last topic (June 2), about imagination and journaling, even though I didn't plan it that way. So much the better! I credit my subconscious with much of what ends up here on my blog, anyway. :-)

Remember Tom Hanks' character in the movie "Cast Away," who was stranded alone on a deserted island? Taking on an imaginary friend (in his case it was a volleyball, animated only by his imagination) was probably the sanest thing he could have done! Refer back to my June 2 post for more about imaginary friends and how this helpful psychological tool grows with us and shows up in different forms at different stages of our lives.

If you remember the details of the movie, you'll recall one conversation in particular that Hanks' character, Chuck, had with the volleyball that saved his life. Chuck was preparing to commit suicide, when he imagined the ball (whom he named Wilson) advising him to test his method of demise first. He did so, and after the test clearly failed, Chuck had a change of heart and decided to focus on staying alive instead.

On the movie site, http://www.imdb.com/, Wilson the Volleyball is listed as a character, played by himself. :-) He even has a short bio on the site! He's also mentioned in the awards list for the film. The Broadcast Film Critics Association named him "Best Inanimate Object" for 2001, while the Teen Choice Awards recognized Wilson and Tom Hanks for their on-screen "chemistry"! MTV Movie Awards nominated Hanks and Wilson for "Best On-Screen Team."

Most of us who have had imaginary friends in some form have had ones without movie credits, but they may have served an important function in our personal lives, as they did for Chuck.

The whole concept reminds me of Gestalt Therapy (see my June 2 post), but Chuck didn't have a name for it. He just developed his relationship with Wilson in a seemingly spontaneous way that his instincts led him toward to safeguard his sanity and clarify his thinking. He even had arguments with Wilson, and complained to him about the "laxative effect" of coconut milk! :-)

Maybe your "Wilson" is your journal or what you call your Muse. In any case, never underestimate the power of the imagination. As Einstein said, it's "more important than knowledge." And Einstein did all right for himself!

Imagining the best for you,
Susan

P.S. Two quick reminders:

*'Didn't quite get to your spring cleaning before spring slipped away? Join us in tele-space for the complimentary Summer Cleaning Dig-In Tele-Party this Saturday, June 28, from 9 am to noon Eastern. Contact me by Friday at scleaver@dejazzd.com for the call-in codes and more info.

*This blog now has an alter ego! No, I don't call it Wilson! :-) It's my snail-mail newsletter called "Susan, Unplugged...Your 'Slow-Tech' Source for Creative and Healthy Living Tips." It's complimentary in the continental US; elsewhere I'll ask you to pay for the postage only. Contact me at scleaver@dejazzd.com and give me your snail-mail address to receive this light and informative newsletter. Thanks for being part of my self-development and learning community!

***All of Susan's creative4life posts are copyright of Susan Cleaver.***

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Multi-Tasker's Delight!

Greetings!

Are you a multi-tasker? Here's a buffet of practices and healing modalities that double as jump-starts for your creativity and intuition!

Hydrotherapy
Let's start with a very easy and accessible one that you do already every time you take a shower! Your mind wanders and leaves space for the ideas to come through. A bath is great, too, and a whirlpool is even better! What a great invitation for your right brain to kick into gear!

Journaling
Journaling expert Kathleen Adams calls her journal her "79-cent therapist," because it's always ready to listen without judgement. Julia Cameron, best-selling author of The Artist's Way, has an exercise in that book called "Blasting Through Blocks" that I use a lot in my journaling.

The guided journal I've written, The Whispering Heart, contains fifty quotes and accompanying questions to get your thoughts moving. It's available through me for $10 US. Please email me for more information at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Tax and shipping will depend on where you live.
Or you can ask for a free 5-page sample!

Meditation
Meditation is also great for getting out of your own way to let the ideas and intuitions come through. Meditating with a group is even more powerful. If you have trouble with sitting meditation, try walking meditation. The rhythm of the movement is a plus.

Reiki
Intuitive pops are common during Reiki treatments for both the giver and the receiver. Reiki practitioners generally see this get stronger over time in themselves. Level One practitioners can give Reiki to others and to themselves.

If you'd like to know more about Reiki, you can send me your questions anytime at scleaver@dejazzd.com. I've been at the Master-Teacher Level of Reiki for about a year, and I've noticed some interesting ways that is has affected my outlook (and therefore my output.)

Massage
Again, this is a way to open the door and let the "still, small voice" be heard. I particularly love Shiatsu massage, which works by stimulating the accupressure points along the body's meridians.

However, as long as the method you choose is gentle enough to be relaxing, I believe it can double as a welcome mat for creative ideas and intuition.

Dream Study
You can do this on your own, or better yet, with a therapist who is experienced in working with dreams. Dreams are loaded with creative and intuitive messages! A good therapist will know what questions to ask to help you make connections between your waking life and your dream life. Keep a notebook and pen by your bed so the dreams don't slip away. The symbols and metaphors will amaze you!

Labyrinth Walks
This ancient form of meditation takes you on a meandering path to the center of the Labyrinth, where you can sit and meditate for a while and then meander back out. It produces a similar quieting of the mind as I have discussed above, and again, it invites your creativity and intuition to come out of hiding.

There are indoor Labyrinths, outdoor Labyrinths, and even finger Labyrinths that I've seen carried in catalogs. Give it a try!

Life Coaching
Coaches are trained to ask expansive questions, to be thoughtful listeners, and to be effective brainstorming partners. We also encourage you and hold you accountable during that bumpy stretch between your "ah-ha!" and your finished product.

Please contact me for a free trial phone session at scleaver@dejazzd.com!

Gestalt Therapy
This is an interesting and revealing ride, and your imagination is in the driver's seat! The therapist will guide you as you act out dialogues between one part of yourself and another or between you and another person, object, animal, dream figure or creative project! And because you are doing this without forethought, you get to the heart of the issue quickly. Your left brain doesn't have time to interfer or object!

Please post your comments about your experiences with these practices!

Thanks,
Susan