Here’s a fascinating exercise to try out.

In the past I have blogged about the challenges we face when our conscious goals are sabotaged by our subconscious minds (http://davidmichie.com/is-your-subconscious-mind-sabotaging-your-conscious-goals/)

Part of our dilemma, when we’re unable to follow through with an objective we have consciously set ourselves – whether it is to start to meditate; to eat more healthily; to curb an  unwanted habit, and so on – is that we don’t actually know if our subconscious mind is the problem, for the very reason that it is subconscious.

But there is a very simple way to find out if our subconscious mind is in harmony with our conscious wishes.  I first learned of it when training in hypnotherapy, and more recently was reminded about it in Bruce Lipton’s wonderful book The Honeymoon Effect.  It’s variously called ‘muscle-testing,’ ‘arm-testing,’ or ‘the muscular resistance technique.’

You’ll need someone to help, so it may be an idea for you to take it in turns to act as subject, and assistant, to help each other muscle-test ideas.

The instructions are as follows:

Hold your arm out from the side of your body at shoulder height.

Assistant applies some force to try to push your arm down.  You resist the downward pressure.  This is not an arm wrestling match.  You are trying to find a balance where you can comfortably resist your assistant’s pressure with reasonable effort.

You now test a concept which your subconscious mind is highly likely to support.  For most of us, this is as simple as saying your name.  While keeping your arm out, and while your assistant continues the downward pressure, says ‘My name is ….’

The balance between downward pressure and the your resistance will remain the same.

Now test a concept with which your subconscious mind will not be in harmony.  Maintaining the same pressure, say, ‘My name is Barack Obama.’  (If you are reading this, Mr Obama, may I suggest you try ‘My name is George Bush!’)

At this point, your muscular resistance will weaken, and your arm will slump down.  This is because the statement conflicts with your subconscious programming.  You can repeat the exercise with another incorrect name or fact – the same thing will happen.

Having established the method, you can now move onto more revealing concepts to test.  Concepts like ‘I accept myself the way I am,’ ‘I am fully open to giving and receiving love,’   ‘I deserve to be financially successful,’ and so on.

This is a powerful way to find out the degree of subconscious harmony with what you consciously wish for.

How do we reprogram our subconscious mind to get it on the same page as our conscious mind?  Mindfulness, hypnotherapy, habit formation, repetition and energy psychology techniques are some of the answers, which you’ll find more fully explained in The Honeymoon Effect, and which I will write about more in future months.

I’ll be sharing more on this fascinating subject.  If you would like to receive future blogs, please click the ‘Follow’ button on the bottom right hand of your screen now!

And please let me know how you get on with the test!

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I hope you enjoyed this experiment.  Here’s a few other things you can do:

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