Imagine that this circle is your mind.

We are born with primitive instincts such as a fear of falling and a fear of loud noises and also basic reactions of fight or flight. These fears and basic reactions are the Primitive Mind. The rest of the mind is pretty much a blank slate, waiting to be filled.

Throughout our infancy and childhood, our minds are like sponges. We learn through identification and association. Our minds absorb everything we experience, good or bad. We learn that we like hugs and kisses and that we don’t like to be spanked. When we are small, we tend to believe just about everything we see or hear, whether it is true or false. Someone may tell us that the sky is blue or that we are a bad boy or girl, and we believe it. All of these positive and negative thoughts and ideas become our “knowns” or our life script, and they are stored in the Subconscious Mind. These “knowns” are responsible for our habits of thought and behavior.

As we grow older, between the ages of 0 and 8, we develop the Critical Mind. The Critical Mind acts like a filter. When we experience something new, we compare it with what we already know. If the new thought or idea agrees with what we already know, we tend to accept it, and it becomes part of our “knowns” or life script. If there is a conflict, we tend to reject the new thought or idea.

The Conscious Mind is that part of our mind that contains our logic, analytic ability, reason, decision making, and will power. It is the thinking part of our mind.

It is estimated that the Subconscious Mind makes up as much as 88% of the mind or more. The Conscious Mind is only about 12% of the mind. We may decide with our Conscious Mind that we want to change the way we do things; but without the agreement of the Subconscious Mind, it can be very difficult. If 12% goes up against 88%, guess who wins?

Hypnosis is a way by which we can open a window in the Critical Mind so that we can go in and change a negative known into a positive. By changing the programming of the Subconscious Mind, we can make changes in our thoughts and habits that will help us achieve our goals.