The Critical Factor - And Your Plastic Brain

"I think therefore I am", is Descartes most renowned contribution to our human quest for self-knowledge. But we now know he would have been more accurate if he had said: "I think therefore it is". The fact that every success in our lives begins in our minds first is no longer conjecture, it is common wisdom and people everywhere, everyday are waking up to the fact.

Once awoken, and understanding the implications of this, you realise that not only does the way you think have to change, but the way you view the way you think has to change also, if you want to live as successfully as you possibly can. For most this is not usually an easy or immediate process. You need to become fully aware of your thinking patterns and what they are perpetuating in your life, but once aware of them, and resolved to changing them, you will discover those thought patterns, having become part of your identity, will prove tenacious, holding to you like barnacles to a rock.

The reason for this is because through years of repetitive thinking, the development of your brain has actually formed according to your thinking style. It was once thought that the brain was 'hard set'. That the brain you were born with could not be changed, and would only deteriorate with time. We now know that this is not true, that in fact, the brain is 'plastic', and can grow, increasing or decreasing its development of certain regions, depending on the quality of one's thoughts and the frequency of those thoughts.

Discovering that the brain is 'plastic' is revolutionising the way we view personal development, and business has not been slow in making use of this discovery, releasing a multitude of brain training products into the market. But although it is true that practicing new thought patterns will in time change your brain's structure, in order to fulfill their benefit, they will have to get passed your "critical factor" in order to be assimilated into your subconscious mind, where the wheels of all your life's desires get put into motion.

It is estimated that ninety percent of our life is a result of our subconscious thinking and if you want anything to change or happen in your life, you have to get your subconscious to accept it first. The incredible power of the subconscious lies in its ability to accept what it is given as real, whether it is or not and in turn causing you to live in a way that makes those things that are 'real' in your subconscious , to become real in your conscious, outward life also.

This is why it can be hard to penetrate your subconscious mind with new thoughts. Its critical factor acts as a vigilant guard against the unknown. Designed to protect you, it often rejects what is unfamiliar to it, even if it is of real benefit to you. For example, let's say your rational mind, your conscious mind, has come to realise that you have to change your belief system to change your life and so you decide to adopt a new belief system. Your critical factor will most likely reject this new belief system for a while, sometimes a very long while, because it is strange to it and has no proof of its benefit to you. It doesn't matter if you know consciously that the new belief will improve your life, it is unknown to the subconscious and therefore a possible threat and so, its critical factor rejects it, stopping it from entering your subconscious mind, .

Fortunately there are methods for overriding your critical factor. Hypnosis is one way and is specifically intended to override it or to put it 'to sleep' temporarily. But it is not necessary to hire a hypnotist to do this, you can hypnotise yourself. Without realising it, we often put ourselves, or others into a hypnotic state. For example, most of us have drove our car somewhere, parked it up, but don't even remember taking all the turns in the road that got us there. This is because we were in a hypnotic state. Another example of self hypnosis is when you find yourself so engrossed in something, you don't hear someone calling your name, or hours go by without realising it. By getting yourself into a deeply relaxed, but highly alert, focussed state, you can override your critical factor, and get it to accept new thoughts and beliefs as real. By doing this, by overriding your critical factor, and by becoming aware of your thought patterns and consciously practising changing them, you will remodel the workings of your brain, and in time create a new mind set for yourself, and a new life. All it takes is time and resolve

For more information and suggestions on reprogramming your subconscious mind you might want to read: change your thought power   brain engineering or visualisation or check out the site map

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