The Unconscious Mind...the Emuna Mind

I'd like to think that how I view myself and how I respond to life is coming from a conscious place, and that I am fairly in control. However, I am learning that the conscious mind is only a small part of our greater mind. In fact, our unconscious throws a lot more weight in terms of our thoughts and feelings than we realize.

Ah, yes, the unconscious mind. This was the cornerstone of Sigmund's Freud's psychoanalytic theory. Formed in our childhood, this 'dark' side of the mind harbors a lot of repressed emotions and memories, negativity, and things we are simply not aware of. And people will unknowingly act on that negativity or the positivity that resides there.

And this could explain why a seemingly well-adjusted guy has trouble maintaining a job or has difficulty staying in a healthy relationships. If in his unconscious, he really believes he is a loser and unworthy of love, this is what he will keep attracting in to his life. The unconscious mind will be expressed!!

Now what? If I've had a lot of hard knocks in life, all these negative experiences are probably swimming in my unconscious mind, waiting to explode, or worse is actually bringing more negative experiences into my sphere.  C'mon there was my emotionally abusive father, difficult incidences at school, and yo, there's constant negative messages about Blacks in the news, in the movies, there's  misinformation about Jews, there's a lot of crap out there!!

I don't know about y'all, but I find this horrifying!!!

Ok, there are websites that go on and on about this, and they're all quite fascinating. And some suggest meditation and positive affirmations to re-program our unconscious mind. And that's all great. One website had the fascinating perspective that positive affirmations don't truly remove the painful feelings and might just be a lame whitewashing attempt over true pain. Interesting point!!

Well, in Jewish Breslov Chassidic thought, hitbodedut is stressed big time. Hitbodedut is basically talking to G-d.  It's taught that in order to change ourselves, we must imagine the change and we must express this desire in words OUT LOUD.

The world was created with Ten Sayings. Hashem 'spoke' and the world was formed.
We, too, can create with our speech. But it begins in the mind.

The Jews were in Egypt for 210 years. That means they were enslaved for decades upon decades. They had surely adopted a slave mentality. Low self-esteem, depression, misery might have been as common as their daily staple. Yet, there was a glimmer of hope. In their minds, they believed that G-d/ Hashem would save them through a Deliverer. (Remember the Ten Commandments movie. I don't think Moses looked anything like Charlton Heston, but I do love that film!)

And because they believed, this truth became manifest. Not only that, but on the night of their great exodus from Egypt, G-d commanded them to do a sacrifice, a korban Pesach. They were to slaughter the sheep, the god of their enemy. Why was this celebratory act done while they were still in Egypt, still in the mire of that 'dark' place?? I heard a beautiful vort explaining that before a person can actually be free, they have to first imagine themselves free in their mind.

I call this the Emuna Mind.

The Emuna Mind connects to the good that G-d wants to give us. And the Emuna Mind needs speech to exist. G-d doesn't want to see people enslaved, languishing in ghettos with low self-esteem. He doesn't want genocide. He doesn't want the oppression of spirit. When we look around the natural world, we can see how much G-d loves Life, Health, Kindness and Abundance. It's all over the natural world, and it's all over the Torah.

The negativity in our unconscious is most likely going to take us away from that life, love and abundance. I don't need to analyze my unconscious to know that. My unconscious is my Egypt, where my enslaved mind hides. I know 'cuz  I've had hard knocks!! And so have you.

Jews are commanded to remember the Exodus from Egypt every day. Egypt is a difficult place to leave. Most of the people chose to stay and did not leave with Moses. And once in the desert, even the brave that left often thought of returning to the familiar comfort of enslavement.

G-d took us out of Egypt. And He does so every day.
But He is looking for our desire to leave.

By speaking honestly to G-d, learning about the good He wants for us, imagining that good manifesting in our lives, and expressing that through our speech, we can revolutionize every cell in our minds, in our bodies and every cell in the whole world to create our Exodus from Egypt.

G-d bless!!

Check it out:
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-difference-between-the-unconscious-and-the-subconscious.htm

http://www.lifetrainings.com/Your-unconscious-mind-is-running-you-life.html

A Wonder...

Pesach/Passover is tomorrow!
We learned the story of the Hebrew slaves leaving Egypt. Charlton Heston's Ten Commandments always comes to mind.

The story here is slavery

and being liberated

Sages say that time is like a spiral. Each moment in time carries with it an energy signature. And although years may pass, we keep going back to the same energy track.
For example, there's this Tuesday, and there's next Tuesday. Two very different days. But two very similar days in that the "Tuesday energy" exists in both days (and in every Tuesday that was and will be!)

So, right now, we're celebrating Pesach/Passover which is all about liberation. That means the energy of freedom is in the air. The energy of breaking free from constraints. The energy that propels us to step out of old boxes. The energy of sawing off chains. Removing bitterness. Changing our mindsets. Looking forward to a better future and a new life. Life.

Changes.

"The wind is blowing in another direction..."

And I want to know how I can tap into this energy and effect the changes that I WANT!!! People naturally want to be free. And, in fact, we're taught to imagine ourselves leaving our "Egypt" every day But we get blocked. We get stuck. We get ensnared.

Enslaved

Lazer Brody writes about modern-day "slavery":
"Lack of self-respect, self-deprecation, and ignorance of one's own marvelous qualities and heritage are tickets to the slave train. Shame or embarrassment about one's ethnic or religious background is tantamount to carrying around an iron shackle with a 50-lb. ball and chain.

These feelings of inferiority are an invitation to let society dictate how you should live your life. People who feel inferior are weak; it's easy to exploit a person with no backbone. Controlled and exploited people are the most miserable creatures on the face of the earth."

And we have to know, G-d made no mistakes when He created us. He made us EXACTLY how He wanted.

He made you and I perfectly.

The depth, the beauty, the widsom that exists in you are beyond words. BEYOND! Here you are. You! There has never ever been anyone exactly like you in the whole world before! Your DNA... how you think...what you say...your potential...

You

are a wonder.

Hmm...what is your life like?
Can we even begin to understand what you go through? How do you endure? Where do you find your strength? What makes you happy?
HERE YOU ARE. Alive.

Able.

And know!
Your depth and beauty has the upmost value because of your source.

Your source being the Creator.

Who took and takes the time to "build" you. To free you!

Faith/Emuna is the key. And it's not just believing G-d made you, end of story.
Oh no. It's knowing that life isn't a purposeless vacuum. It's understanding and appreciating that He is intimately involved in your life.

loving you every second

waiting to hear from you

and WANTING good for you

yes, even when you fall...

and, even when it seems He's out to get you! But hold on and believe this truth.

"Faith/Emuna helps you feel good about yourself. As soon as you begin feeling good about yourself, you become free. Every human has an inherent right to freedom; that's the universal message of the Passover holiday."

G-d bless!