Tapping Your Superconscious Mind

By: Brian Tracy

You have available to you, right now, a power like a supercomputer that can enable you to solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal you can set for yourself.

This power has been used throughout history to take people from rags to riches, from poverty and obscurity to success and fame, from unhappiness and frustration to joy and self-fulfillment. And it can do the same for you.

This power has been called many things by many people in many places. It is the fundamental principle of most religions, philosophies and metaphysical teachings. It underlies much of psychology and is the cornerstone of all success and achievement. In its simplest terms, it is called the “subconscious mind,” although this is a misunderstanding because the true subconscious mind is merely a memory bank of senses and impressions that reacts automatically based on your previous experiences.

It has also been called the “universal subconscious mind” and the “collective unconscious.” The great Austrian psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, referred to this as the “superconscious mind.” He felt that the collective wisdom and knowledge of all the ages was contained in this superconscious mind and was available to everyone.

Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to it as the “oversoul” and wrote that, “We live in the lap of an immense intelligence that, when we are in its presence, we realize that it is far beyond our human mind.” Emerson, the great American transcendentalist, felt that all power and possibility for the average person came from using this mind on a regular basis.

Napoleon Hill, perhaps the greatest researcher on success of the 20th century, called this power the “infinite intelligence.” After spending more than 20 years interviewing 500 of the most successful men and women alive in America at that time, he concluded that, without exception, their ability to tap into this higher form of infinite intelligence was the primary reason for their great success in life.

Whatever you choose to call it, this power is as available to you at this very minute as it ever has been to anyone, anywhere. I refer to it as the “superconscious mind,” the mind that is above and outside all other minds or intelligences.

The superconscious mind is the source of all examples of pure creativity. It is the superconscious mind that is functioning at the creation of anything that is completely new in the universe. The superconscious mind was tapped into and used by all the great inventors, writers, artists and composers of history on a regular basis, right up to the present day. Every great work of art or creativity is infused with superconscious energy.

Thomas Edison used his superconscious mind regularly to come up with hundreds of brand new ideas and inventions, more than 1,000 of which completely transformed America at the beginning of the 20th century. More recently, William Gates came up with an idea for a basic operating system for the early computers, which he called “MS-DOS.” It was so unique and revolutionary that he and Paul Allen were actually writing the program on the airplane as they flew to their meeting with their first customer. Today, Bill Gates is the world’s richest man, and it all came from a superconscious flash of insight. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms tapped into the superconscious mind regularly to write some of the finest music ever heard. Mozart was so finely tuned into his superconscious mind that he could both see and hear the music in his head and was then able to write down some of the most beautiful music of the ages, note perfect, the very first time he put pen to paper.

Whenever you see, read, listen to, or experience a great achievement of any kind that touches something deep inside you, you are witness to a superconscious creation.

Your superconscious mind can access every piece of information stored in your conscious and subconscious minds. It can also access data and ideas outside your own experience, because it actually lies outside your human mind. This is why it is called a form of universal or infinite intelligence.

You will often get ideas that come to you from far beyond you. It is not unusual for two people separated by thousands of miles of distance to come up with the same idea at the same time. When you are well-attuned to another person, such as your spouse or mate, you will often have thoughts identical to him or her at the same time during the day, and you will only find out that you had reached the same conclusion when you compare notes hours later. This is an example of your superconscious mind at work.

Sometimes when you are with other positive, goal-oriented people, your combined superconscious minds will form a higher mind that you can all tap into. This is why, when you are involved in a conversation or listening to a lecture, ideas and inspirations will often leap into your mind that have no direct connection to what is being discussed. But those ideas and inspirations may be exactly what you need at that moment to move you forward on your journey. Your superconscious mind is capable of goal-oriented motivation. When you are working determinedly toward a goal of your own choosing, your superconscious mind will generate a continuous flow of ideas and energy to help you move onward. In fact, your superconscious mind is a form of “free energy.” This free energy becomes available to you when you become excited or inspired about achieving something that is really important to you. You seem to be able to continue hour after hour without fatigue. Sometimes you even forget to eat, and you need far less sleep than you would normally. After you have achieved your goal, you may collapse in exhaustion, but while you are moving toward it, you seem to be flowing with continuous energy and enthusiasm. Your superconscious mind automatically and continually solves every problem on the way to your goal, as long as your goal is clear. Your superconscious mind will also give you the lessons and experiences that you need to succeed, in the form of setbacks, problems, frustrations and temporary failures.

Your superconscious mind will also bring you the exact answer you require to solve your problem or achieve your goal, exactly when you are ready for it. When your superconscious mind gives you a hunch or an inspiration, remember, this is time-dated material. You must act on it immediately.

I’ve had many experiences of wrestling with a problem that I have been unable to resolve until the last minute. Then, right when I need it, the answer becomes perfectly clear. This will happen to you as well when you use the power of your superconscious mind.

The critical factor in using your superconscious mind is your attitude. Your superconscious mind functions best with an attitude of calm, confident expectations. When you adopt an attitude of faith and acceptance, when you confidently accept and believe that everything that is happening to you is moving you progressively toward the achievement of your goal, your superconscious mind seems to come alive, like all the lights have been turned on in a room. This is why successful people seem to have tremendous clarity concerning what they want, along with tremendous calmness and confidence regarding their ability to achieve it. This combination of attitudes will throw the power switch on your superconscious abilities.

Because of your superconscious powers, anything that you can hold in your mind on a continuing basis, you can have. Emerson wrote, “A man becomes what he thinks about, most of the time.” Earl Nightingale wrote, “You become what you think about.” In the Bible it says that, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap.” And this law of sowing and reaping refers to mental states; to your thoughts. Of course, there is a potential danger in the use of your superconscious mind. It is like fire¾a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. If you use it improperly, and think negative, fearful thoughts, your superconscious mind will accept your thoughts as a command and go to work to materialize them into your reality. What is the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people? It is as simple as this: Successful people think and talk about what they want, and unsuccessful people talk about what they don’t want.

So here is a 10-step plan for plugging into your superconscious power to get what you truly want in life. Make this plan a regular habit, and you will be astonished at the results.

1. Decide exactly what you want. This is usually the biggest problem that people have. They don’t know what they want and then they’re surprised when they don’t get it.

2. Write your goal clearly in every detail. A goal that is not written down is merely a wish. When you write it down, you signal to your superconscious mind that you really want to accomplish this particular objective.

3. Write your goal in simple, present tense words on a three-by-five index card and carry it with you to read and re-read throughout the day whenever you get a chance.

4. Make a list of everything you can think of that you can do that will move you toward your goal. Making a list intensifies your desire and deepens your belief that the attainment of the goal is possible for you.

5. Organize the list by priority. What is more important and what is less important?

6. Resolve to take action every day on one of the items on your list. Do something every day that moves you toward your goal so that you can maintain your momentum.

7. Visualize your goal repeatedly. See it in your mind’s eye as though it were already a reality. The more clear and vivid your mental picture of your goal, the faster it will come into your life.

8. Get the feeling of pleasure and enjoyment that you would have if your goal were realized at this very moment. Create the emotion of happiness, satisfaction, and pleasure that you would have if you really achieved your goal.

9. Confidently behave as if your superconscious mind were bringing your goal into reality. Accept that you are moving toward your goal and it is moving toward you.

10. Release your goal completely to your superconscious mind. When you turn your goal over to the power of the universe and just get out of the way, you will always know the right actions to take at the right time.

Starting today, try this power of yours, your superconscious mind, on one goal or idea, and practice it continually until you succeed in achieving that goal. By doing so, you will move from the “positive thinking” of the hopeful person to the “positive knowing” of the totally successful person.

There's An Artist In All Of Us

by: Marguerette Gilmore
Reprinted from Reader's Digest, July 1983

       One afternoon when my husband and I were living in a little town, a friend looked out from our kitchen window and remarked, "Not much to see from here, is there?"
       The area is mostly plains, but I was surprised by her remark: I loved the view from that window. I tried to look at it with my friend's eyes – a straight-line horizon, a water tower, dozen cottonwood trees, a few houses and an expanse of wheat field covered with stubble. That was all. And yet, from the moment I first saw it, that scene had held grandeur and endless inspiration for me.
       With the bright afternoon sun shining, the wheat field was a  sea of silver ripples: cotton-candy clouds floated in an immensity of blue, and mosaics of yellows and nut-browns ringed the cottonwoods. By evening the scene would shift into sundown colors, the houses would send rays of warmth from lighted windows and the water tower, splendid at any time, would be more magnificent, holding a red light to guide the passing planes.
         I thought of all I had viewed from that window, the visual magic that had enhanced my life. Early spring would drape the  cottonwoods in wispy chartreuse, enabling July mornings to sift through bright summer-green leaves. The fields would melt into oceans of emerald and wait out the months for molten gold, all the time providing lush nesting places for meadowlarks, brown thrashers and turtledoves. The lemon-yellow moons of spring would swing from pearly-plated evening skies, and then at harvest time rich, orange ones would lurk low on the horizon.  Every day and night I would find myself fascinated by the subtle changes across the vista, like pages turning slowly toward the fall and on into winter's silent scenes of white.
          I had reaped endless inspiration from one simple  landscape, and yet my friend found it uninteresting. After she left, I thought about this difference in viewpoints. I wondered just how true is the statement, "You take the beauty to the roses."
          I know I am far from being alone in my appreciation of the  natural elegance and charm of this earth, but I wonder how many people find beauty in the usual, normal scenes, the so-called drab, monotonous ones. It is easy to appreciate the scenes that are too wonderful to ignore. But how many people feel their daily surroundings are dull and that only at vacation time or at other rare times, can they enjoy true beauty?
          It is essential, I feel, to find beauty in the ordinary settings in which we live. Great painters know this. Henri Matisse once told a friend, "I grow artichokes. Every morning I go into the garden and watch these plants. I see the play of light and shade on the leaves and I discover new combinations of color and fantastic patterns. They inspire me. Then, I go back into my studio and paint."
          The appreciation of symmetry and grace, of color combinations and aesthetic qualities in ordinary scenes, comes as a built-in feature – not only for a few chosen ones like the painters, the writers, the musicmakers and dreamers. It is a part of everyone and can be awakened so that each person, no matter how humble the surroundings, can have an abundance of it in his or her life.
           If you want more of this radiance in your life, start looking at  everything with new eyes. Think beauty, expect beauty, take beauty wherever you go. As the French writer Joseph Joubert said, "You won't find poetry (or any other form of art) unless you bring some with you." Every landscape has something to offer, even on a cloudy day in the dreariest month of the year.
           When you are tired or lonely or bored – or in a mood to experience something truly uplifting, look out the window or take a walk. Hunting the beautiful is like truly collecting paintings or  jewels of great worth, except that the intangible treasures cost you nothing – but giving of self and can never be taken from you.
            When you get started on this hunt you will make many unusual finds – an old fence draped with ivy, a slice of sunshine on a shadowy field, a sturdy banyan stretched on a purple sky. Or maybe just a path lined with pebbles becomes a wonder of shapes and designs that will intrigue the imagination. Courtless simple scenes become many-faceted diamonds spread along  your way to enrich the mind and soul.
            As you become more observing, more appreciative, new and unexpected vistas will open up. Your world will never again  seem drab. You will have discovered your own artistic self, and life will become more rewarding when you really see and appreciate the loveliness around you. When you no longer label any scene as ordinary, when you can describe a gray day a gray scene in terms of beauty, you are an artist in your own right.
            You may never write or paint or compose a song on paper  but in your heart and mind and life you will create a change that will equal nothing less than a masterpiece.