Dear Friends,
Have you ever wondered how to solve a problem, and in your stuck state you worried and fretted about finding a solution, but in vain? Eventually when you had given up and focused your attention on something else entirely different, the answer came to you in a flash. Or perhaps you were struggling to remember someone’s name and when you stopped thinking about it, in a quiet moment, the answer just popped into your head.
It often seems that when we let go of conscious thinking, the desire to analyse and fret over something, the desire to control the outcome, then we begin to gain access to the vast potential of our unconscious mind that seems to know so much more than we do.
Our conscious mind is a wonderful tool for logic and reasoning but our unconscious mind has so much more potential than we can ever dream possible.
I remember the first talk I gave many years ago. I did a lot of preparation but still didn’t feel happy about how it was shaping up, and I was quite anxious about standing up in public for the very first time (public speaking is apparently the number one fear for most people!). The night before the talk I went to bed and as I drifted into sleep, drifted into that alpha state, it was as if the top of my head opened up and a whole stream of consciousness flowed into it, as if I was giving the talk in that moment, and word for word the whole talk flowed into my mind, like a download of information – all ready for the next day. On the day of the talk I was amazed at how easy it was to tap into it once again.
Trusting the unconscious mind
And as I gave more talks the process continued to happen. But the journey for me was not about the information given – it was about learning to trust the unconscious mind.
And over the many weekend workshops that I have run, I began to trust the process more and more. There were times when I wanted a metaphor or story to start the day and just couldn’t find the right one. And as I drove to the training centre that day, about three quarters of an hour’s drive, almost on auto-pilot, the unconscious mind would ‘download’ the perfect story that embraced all the learnings for the day. I learnt to trust that I could tap in to the unconscious mind, and the answer would be there.
When we can still the conscious mind in some way, slow down that busy, busy, chattering mind, whether drifting into that alpha state just before sleep, daydreaming or in meditation, then our unconscious mind can find the space to communicate its wisdom to us. When we let go of fear – often fear of failure, sometimes fear of success – then miracles can happen.
Miracles can happen
In The Physics of Miracles, see p.4, Richard Bartlett’s follow up to Matrix Energetics, he tells us that ‘By cultivating the habit of asking powerful, mind-altering questions, you are training your right brain to respond to the signals from your unconscious mind.’ He continues by saying ‘Persistence and belief are the keys. Believe in yourself. You have the right to guidance, love, and assistance from the realms of Spirit. Whatever question you ask sends your mind on a search for the answer to your query. As you ask questions (powerful open-ended questions) trust that whatever shows up is useful in some way. If you begin to trust that you deserve whatever knowledge you require, you can have it. Trust that things are just as they are meant to be.’
As we learn to trust the process, all manner of extraordinary things can happen in our lives. People and situations turn up for us at just the right time and we begin to recognize that inner feeling when we just ‘know’; a knowingness that defies rational explanation but that is invariably correct. ‘Knowing,’ Dr Bartlett says, ‘has nothing to do with thinking, but rather is a quality found in and through the heart. When we are able to suspend conscious thought, however briefly, the field of our heart takes the reigns.’
Thinking from the heart
Interestingly, recent research has shown that the heart is not just a simple pump, but has its own nervous system. Scientists have discovered that neurons, once believed to store long-term memory only in the brain, are distributed in a so-called ‘heart-brain’ located deep inside the heart’s tissues (which may explain how some heart transplant patients can pick up on certain memories from their donor). They have discovered that the heart has an electromagnetic field that is several hundred times greater than the brain, that not only envelops every cell of the human body, but also extends out in all directions in the space around us. The heart can send information to the brain through this field. They have also learned that the frequency structure of the heart energy signal correlates directly with our emotional states. How important then is it for us to focus on positive emotions, not only for the sake of our own health, but for the health of all those around us.
Happiness through compassion
David Hamilton’s new book Why Kindness is Good for You, see opposite, shows that kindness, compassion and a sense of gratitude has a positive impact on the heart and immune system, as well as altering the chemistry of the brain. He describes several studies of participants split into a ‘gratitude group’ and a ‘hassles group’ in which it was found that those people who practise gratitude were much happier, less likely to be depressed and had a greater sense of well-being.
Matthieu Ricard tells us that happiness and a positive mindset are skills that you can learn, just as you can learn to play an instrument. In his new book, The Art of Meditation, see p.8, he shows the significant benefits that meditation, based on selfless love and compassion, can bring to us.
‘The fruition of meditation could be described as an optimal way of being, or again, as genuine happiness. This true and lasting happiness is a profound sense of having realized the utmost potential we have within us for wisdom and accomplishment. Working towards this kind of fulfilment is an adventure worth embarking on.
We can begin to appreciate our heart intelligence, that provides us with an intuitive awareness beyond logical thinking, and learn to connect with others from that place that many spiritual practices call ‘the opening of the heart.’
When we focus our attention not in our heads but in our hearts, when we communicate from the heart level, extending our heart energy out with positive emotions of love, compassion and gratitude, then miracles show up in our lives.
With our love,
Annie and the Cygnus Team
