Our Subconscious takes it ALL in…
Do you like a nice chapter of horror before drifting off to the land of nod? Or is a novel featuring an abusive relationship more your thing? Perhaps you prefer a good crime to think about solving as you snuggle under your duvet? You could even be more of a war, battle and ammunition kind of fan, finding this just the tonic before you switch off the lights. But what you may not realise is this: whatever you read before bedtime is quite literally planting a seed into your subconscious. Which, depending on the material your eyes are feasting upon, may not exactly be the best of ideas.
It’s called The Law of Consciousness.
And it operates 24/7 – as most of us are blissfully unaware that the very thoughts we think… particularly those entering our heads as we’re about to slumber or nap, carry a quite potent power. It is these very thoughts and images which impress themselves upon the subconscious (sleeping mind). And the subconscious mind, in turn, accepts them as fact.
Which would be fine, except, because the subconscious sees these thoughts as the truth, it will be hellbent on making the ‘essence’ of these ideas appear in our life… sooner or later.
“The subconscious never fails to express that which has been impressed upon it. The moment it receives an impression, it begins to work out ways of its expression. It accepts the feeling impressed upon it, your feeling, as a fact existing within itself and immediately sets about to produce in the outer or objective world the exact likeness of that feeling. The subconscious never alters the accepted beliefs of man. It out-pictures them to the last detail whether or not they are beneficial.”
Neville Goddard, taken from ‘Feeling is the Secret’.
Skeptics will slam these observations…
Well, of course. Naysayers will nay! And that’s fine by me. Carry on reading whatever floats your boat at your leisure, whenever and wherever. I am not here to preach, neither am I here to put crime publishers or authors out of business. Actually, some of the latter are my friends! Although now they may wish to write me into one of their future titles…
Creation occurs in the subconscious.
That’s the news I wish to impart. And therefore, it’s not simply a matter of what we read prior to bedtime, but how we feel. It’s the stuff we do right before bedtime that matters. Line up good feeling thoughts for the subconscious to mull over just before you turn out the lights and watch how your conscious (waking) ‘reality’ starts to manifest more of the good stuff. Likewise, if you have a scenario approaching in ‘real life’ and want it to go swimmingly… but doubt and fear is starting to creep in, use your pre-bedtime ritual as the perfect opportunity for a little visualisaton.
By pre-paving the scene and seeing and feeling it in the way you’d love for it to unfold, believe me, you are setting the wheels in motion for an accurate future manifestation in the flesh. The athletes will back me up here. You can use visualisation at all times of day, but precisely because creation occurs in the subconscious mind (while we sleep), there is no better time than to use all the powers of your imagination to play out your desires like a movie just before you nod off.
Make a date with sleep.
I quote a lot of Neville Goddard in this article, but with good reason. Goddard was an influential and talented Metaphysical Teacher with a profound understanding of the sheer power of the mind – to work for or against us, particularly in the domain of sleep. And one of my favourite quotes from his book, ‘Feeling is the Secret’, has to be this:
“Our understanding of and delight in what sleep has to bestow will cause us, night after night, to set out for it as though we were keeping an appointment with a lover.”
Spiritual teachers, Abraham Hicks back this up too…
“Never go to sleep feeling discouraged or dissatisfied,” Goddard continues. “Never sleep in the consciousness of failure. Your subconscious, whose natural state is sleep, sees you as you believe yourself to be, and whether it be good, bad or indifferent, the subconscious will faithfully embody your belief.”
How tricky is the above to achieve if you are reading a tale whose focus is murder, betrayal, injustice, disease, bank robbery or infidelity?
How many of us have struggled to sleep after watching a disturbing film?
How many of us have tossed and turned after receiving bad news?
How many of us have tried (in vain) to count sheep when all we can really think about is that bank statement we just opened before woefully trudging up the stairs in our over-sized animal slippers?
If we want a better reality facing us in the morning, we have to re-train our minds.
And one of the simplest ways to do that is to get into a new routine of positive – or for those of us currently in an Eeyore frame of mind – even neutral ways to pass the time. An hour long stint in front of scary headlines on the news, ain’t going to cut the mustard… A sit-com on the other hand, a tipsy game of Scrabble, an uplifting holiday brochure, meditation, or even skimming the pages of a cookbook, would be a great place to start!
Which isn’t to say that we’ll be robbed tomorrow or break out in Ebola if we don’t change our ways…
But if low vibration subjects such as these are on our mind prior to slumber, well, we’re pre-programming our subconscious mind to conjure up similar vibration subjects in our not too distant reality. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we could probably live without the drama!
“Unless you consciously and purposely define the attitude of mind with which you go to sleep, you unconsciously go to sleep in the composite attitude of mind made up of all feelings and reactions of the day. Every reaction makes a subconscious impression and, unless counteracted by an opposite and more dominant feeling, is the cause of future action.”
So definitely, never EVER go to sleep on an argument.
And when this really can’t be avoided, when making up is impossible – at least until dawn! – try to find elements of the ‘idiot in question’ that you like as you drift off to sleep. You might even visualise yourself having that forgiveness hug. It may be a stretch of the imagination, but you’ll feel a whole lot better for one thing and you are instructing your subconscious before dream time in the most uplifting way.
I’m not saying I’ll convert you all to Happy Ever Afters and Self-Help books…
But if you want to fast track your next day into one of good things, a couple of pages of the above would certainly give you a head start! And if you really can’t turn your back on crime, thrillers or the dangerously hot cheating guys and girls of the literary world… maybe read about them before midday. Totally not-do-able in the office, I know. But once you see how not only your nightmares mysteriously disappear, but your ‘reality’ also ramps up a gear in the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious stakes, you’ll be converted quicker than a pickpocket could swipe your watch… Yes, really!
Now excuse me, I’m off for some hot cocoa, Mary Poppins and cosy bed slippers before I turn in.
Sleep tight!
