What often happens is that a vague want for approval, control or security arises from the subconscious mind. This is accompanied by the corresponding emotions. The mind anxiously searches for a solution to the problem – it has to because it is experiencing pain and feels that the solution can only be found through thinking about it.
In the case of a want for approval, the mind may come to the conclusion that you need more friends or for someone you know to respect you more or you need to have a romantic relationship. If you are a Christian you might hold onto the belief that you need to get more involved in church activities or even that you need to get into full-time ministry. If it is a want for security, you might believe that you need a bigger house or that you need to have more money.
Sometimes anxious thoughts arise when triggered by a particular event. For instance, the news comes on the T.V. and tells you about how bad the financial markets are performing – so your response is, “I should never have bought those stocks.” Perhaps you’re waiting for a train to arrive at the station and it does not turn-up – your response could be, “My train should not be delayed.”
A lot of the time, anxious thoughts just arise when we least expect it and for no apparent reason. When anxious thoughts do arise – we can meet them with inquiry. An anxious thought is the result of contraction around a belief or idea. We do not ask for these beliefs neither do we make conscious efforts to establish them. In his classic book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Dr. Joseph Murphy, likens the subconscious mind to an old, light-sensitive, photographic plate: it gains impressions through the lens, likened to the five senses.
We often do not know what beliefs have been established in the subconscious mind – until we feel the pain of contraction around a thought and we become consciously aware of a certain thought which causes us stress. Oftentimes, these impressions that we gain via the senses lead to some ridiculous and inhibiting beliefs being established. It is the role of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy to determine the source of these beliefs and to dispel them.
One of the most famous Psychologists, of course, is Sigmund Freud. One of Freud’s most famous cases is the Story of Anna O. Anna O. was the pseudonym of a patient of Josef Breuer- her real name was Bertha Pappenheim. This woman developed various disorders, many of which were cleared-up when she recalled seeing a woman drink from a glass that a dog had just drunk from. This even had led to a sense of disgust that triggered other disorders. Inquiry, I believe, can facilitate this process of dispelling long-held beliefs that limit our lives – much in the way that Psychology does. Inquiry can either be facilitated with, unsurprisingly, a facilitator; or, inquiry can be performed by oneself, because the answers can only be found in the individual.
Fear says “I can’t” or “I’ll never.” These beliefs basically limit a person’s life experiences; it is like shutting down areas of a person’s life. Strict adherence to religious teaching can cause this kind of fear. The mind often seeks to counteract the limitation caused by fear by trying to instil false hope through fantasies. If a door in front of you is closed, so to speak, the mind will try to open a door that is to the side of you – even if that door is closed and has no relevance in your life. Perhaps you are meant to go thorough the door in front of you, but fear prevents you from doing so.
The mind works through association: if you see someone who is happy and well-liked, you might assume that the reason is because of his material possessions, his pretty wife or his ability and achievements. When the mind establishes such beliefs, it may then be driven to pursue those things in the belief that they will meet your needs and make you happy.
When a person adopts a self-help or spiritual method that promises the attainment of what you want – these fantasies become your goal. Unfortunately, self-help teaching and Christian faith and prosperity teaching has taught us that the pursuit of these things is good, right, possible and even Biblical. I believe that it is good for people to prosper, but the Bible says that we should not actively pursue wealth. Why? Because straightaway it causes stress and all sorts of unpleasant things to happen. This is something that is also recognised in releasing and inquiry which argue that we should seek peace and freedom above the attainment of success and material gain.
Byron Katie says that if we want to suffer on purpose – get a plan. Eckhart Tolle wrote a bestselling book, The Power of Now, to deal exclusively with the necessity of keeping our minds on this present moment in time. As soon as our minds gravitate towards the past or the future unnecessarily – we suffer. Gerald Jampolsky also asserts the same notion in his classic book, Love is Letting Go of Fear. By the way, I found a website with some great quotes by Gerald Jampolsky here. I feel that these quotes express the heart of this wonderful man.
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