Most of us take our subconscious minds for granted. Every day our subconscious minds regulate bodily functions like breathing and our heart beat without our conscious minds having to think about it. It even gives us warnings when something isn’t “right” – whether we’re consciously aware of it or not. This is easily demonstrated by our “fight or flight” response, which causes us to react to perceived threats without consciously thinking about it and even before we’re consciously aware of them.

The subconscious mind also has the capacity to allow us to learn and perform without even thinking. One example of this comes from my own experience…

When I was in grade school, I went through D.A.R.E., a program designed to help kids stay off drugs. Once the program was completed, our entire grade level had a graduation ceremony in the school auditorium. I was waiting in line for my walk across the stage when a teacher came up and handed me a piece of paper. It said I had won the D.A.R.E. essay contest and would be reading it on stage in front of the entire auditorium!

I remember feeling shocked, since I’ve always been very shy and have never read in front of a large audience before. I felt completely unprepared.

Once I got on stage, however, my subconscious mind – and its familiarity with my essay – took over. I simply read the entire paper without even thinking about it. In fact, to this day, I have barely any memory of actually doing this.

This is only one example. People from all around the world, from Buddhist monks to neuroscientists have shown that the subconscious mind can perform what some might even call miracles . . . like the mother lifting a car because her child was trapped underneath.

Scientists and others are still exploring this hidden part of the mind, and probably will be for quite some time. It is also something that should never be overlooked in your search for life coaching excellence.

As a life coach, you should be able to help your clients distinguish between perception (i.e., seeing things through their thoughts and fears) and reality. Henrik Erickson, a neuroscientist in Stockholm, Sweden did experiments to trick the brain in order to see the subconscious responses. First, he placed two cameras above a set of mannequin legs and linked them to the headset of the subject, giving them a first-person point of view of the legs. He then created the false reality effect in the brain by stroking both the mannequin’s leg and the subject’s leg at the same time. Interestingly, the subject began to believe that the mannequin’s legs were actually his own legs.

When the experimenter threatened the legs of the mannequin (say, with a knife), the person responded as if their own legs were in danger. Even though the subject knew they are looking at mannequin legs, the subconscious response to danger actually overrode the conscious mind.

Erikson’s experiment was a great example of subconscious control of perception (Discovery Channel even reproduced this experiment on “Through the Wormhole.”)

These are just a few examples of the power of the subconscious mind. They also demonstrate why your life coaching should be focused on more than just communication directed at the client’s logical mind. When it comes to stress situations (or what the subconscious perceives to be a threat), the conscious mind is actually powerless. All the NLP and affirmations in the world won’t create effective, lasting change until it achieves a “buy-in” from the person’s subconscious mind or “subconscious self” as Dr. Michael Craig calls it.

By gaining access to the subconscious mind (or self) and working with it, you can create changes and success in your client’s lives. I’ve experienced this myself with Dr. Craig’s Logical Soul(R) Method. His life coaching process is simple but amazingly effective. The main reason for this is because it acknowledges, respects, and communicates with the subconscious mind as a “self” in a way I’ve never seen before.

If you’re looking to cause positive transformative changes in your life coaching clients, I highly recommend exploring the power of the subconscious mind/self and checking out Dr. Craig’s books.

For more life coaching business tips from Dr. Craig, get his FREE report for coaches.

What kin of results are you getting by working with the subconscious? Let us know in the comment section below!