“Sorry, I don’t do well with names.” “Once I crack the carton of ice cream, I can’t help but finish the whole thing.” “Nobody ever listens to me.” “No matter what I do, I will never get better.”

There is a common human tendency to pop phrases and words into expressions about what we are feeling without realizing the weight they have on our future. Without thinking too deeply about it, we casually introduce concepts with our thoughts and speech that have far more impact on how our lives run than most of us understand. If we pay attention to the negative thoughts and words that we think and say, we will find that we are telling an interactive story about the subconscious programming that shapes us.

Perhaps you recall Helen Hadsell, a woman who won contest after contest throughout her life. She won hundreds of sweepstakes contests—everything from kitchen appliances to an all-expenses-paid vacation to at-home permanent kits, but her biggest win was a brand new home built anywhere in the U.S., lot included. She won and won and won.

Can this be a coincidence? You and I both know that it can’t be, and so did Helen. Words and thoughts have energy, and she practiced and honed the way to create the energy of winning. When we change our energy and have an emotional response to the change, new neural pathways form. We begin to train our minds to remember to come back to that experience again, good or bad.

It would be nice if we could all figure out a way to create a similar superpower with our minds that gave us the thing we desired. The reason that most of us can’t or don’t is due to the programming that was instilled in us at a most sensitive developmental time for our brain: before the age of seven or eight. Even the most loving and best-intentioned parents have their own subconscious patterns from which they are working, and spillover occurs.

Helen may have had a fantastic primary experience with winning when she was young. Or maybe she grew up in a home where the feelings that were instilled were that she could always expect success. We know from her books that she willed or manifested her wins with positive words and thoughts. I see a woman who created the right combination of energy to get what she hoped for in her mind so well that metaphysical laws called for her to win, and the elements and energy we cannot see were compelled to deliver.

So how do we get programming like that? First, we’ve got to get rid of the old patterns and thoughts so our subconscious minds aren’t but in a bind, confused about what we really want.

Most of us think we have certain present or ongoing issues that arose from x, y, or z. The truth is, because of the science behind brain development, most of our present struggles have been a part of our patterns since we were quite young, which is what makes them so difficult to notice. We can see subconscious programming during our conscious state if we begin to notice the feelings that we have, track when they emerged, and ask ourselves, “How long have I had this feeling? Where did it begin?”

We can also pay attention to our thoughts and our speech to begin to get clues about what lies in our subconscious. When I speak to clients for the first time, much of what I need to know about what is plaguing them subconsciously can be summarized in one or two sentences they say in our first few minutes of conversation.

We are always writing our future with our words. When we say something like “I’ll never be able to afford that,” the subconscious mind is obedient. It then says to itself, “Jennifer wants to never be able to afford that.” It does a little I Dream of Jeannie impression, and poof—her wish comes true and finances continue to be a challenge.

It is interesting that when it comes to words and thoughts, the inverse is also true. When we start to change negative thoughts and words about ourselves and our situations, the patterns in our brains begin to be challenged, and we give ourselves the opportunity to create new programming. It probably won’t happen overnight, but with consistent effort over days, weeks, months, and sometimes years, the new pathways will eventually deepen and change your energy and the frequency with which you resonate. In theory, you could become as proficient at changing your energy as Helen Hadsell.

A faster way to do this is with hypnosis. With direct access, we explore where the maladaptive programming began. We do some healing work and let you begin to create the new feelings you want. From there, your ability to change old words and thoughts that reinforced negative patterns becomes much easier and more automatic. You can change things consciously with sheer will and determination, and my hat is off to you when you do. But being able to access the subconscious directly through hypnotherapy is a fast pass to changing your mind, energy, and frequency.

If nothing else, please stop saying or thinking anything that reflects negatively on you in a permanent way. For instance, “I’ll never be able to afford that” can become “I can’t afford that now, but I’m going to be able to soon.” There is no reason to reinforce the idea that life is going to be hard.

Change your thoughts, change your words, change your patterns, change your energy and frequency, change your life.

If you would like more information on hypnotherapy, please call or text Erin at (435) 429-2560 or email [email protected].