The mind consists of 3 main ingredients: beliefs, emotions and thoughts. Other names for physical mind include personality or ego. This aspect of consciousness exists for the purpose of allowing you to focus in physical reality and in general, make sense of it. The physical organ that processes the activity of the mind is the brain.
Beliefs
Beliefs are definitions we hold in our minds about reality, ourselves and everything in between. A belief is something one perceives to be true. Many of the limiting beliefs we hold about ourselves and our surroundings result from the conditioning we have received from our parents and the environment we were brought into as children. In other words, many of the beliefs we hold in the mind are actually not ours – we have simply bought into them through reinforcement. Most of these beliefs are stored in the subconscious mind, which means we are seldom consciously aware of them. Here are some examples of common limiting beliefs:
I’m not good enough.
I don’t deserve to be loved.
Money is the root of all evil.
I’ll never amount to anything.
Success is difficult.
A mind that has not been conditioned by negative limiting beliefs, operates from a sense of self worth and self love. This is the mind that is aligned with one’s TRUE INNER SELF (Soul, Higher Self, Divine essence, etc.). Children, up to a certain age, function from this place which is reflected in their purity of being and ability to love and accept themselves for who they are. At the core of our being, we are all children. The only difference between a ‘child’ and an ‘adult child’ is the negative baggage an adult carries in the form of negative belief systems about themselves acquired from other people. This baggage veils human authenticity and prevents one from reaching their fullest potential.
In the brain, belief systems are reflected in the formation of neural connections & pathways. In other words, they are ‘wired’ in the brain and keep their structure through reinforcement. Beliefs give rise to emotions and emotions arise from beliefs: your most intense feelings reflect to you your most strongly held beliefs.
Emotions
Emotion is energy in motion. Emotions have either a negative or a positive energetic charge, that is, they either enhance or deplete your life force-the energy of the soul. Emotional energy runs through the energy centres (chakras) and energy channels (meridians) of the body. It comes through as a feeling sensation, which then extends into the biofield (the aura) of the physical self.
As a result of hundreds of years of collective conditioning, many people function on auto-pilot to resist and block what we often refer to as ‘negative’ emotions like fear, anger, sadness, etc. When negative emotions are suppressed, they get stuck in the body’s energy pathways, blocking the flow of life force energy to various organs. The longer a negative emotion is suppressed, the deeper its negative charge settles into the cells of the body. Holding on to negative energy leads to the potential cellular break down of tissues and organs and the onset of what we refer to as dis-ease.
Our emotions serve as a remarkable guidance system that informs us when we are in and out of alignment with our true self, our soul-essence. All emotions arise from beliefs we hold in the mind about ourselves with regards to the situation we are emotionally reacting to. Negative emotions serve as wakeup calls to let you know that there is a belief you are holding on to that is out of alignment with your true self; in other words, a limiting belief about yourself that does not serve you and prevents you from acting on your most exciting dreams and greatest joy-the very guidance of your soul! It is up to you to let it go and replace it with one that serves you.
Thoughts
Every thought you think reinforces a belief, produces an electric charge in the brain, followed by a release of chemicals into the body. One of the most magnificent attributes of the brain is what’s called neuroplasticity-the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. When we change the way we think, when we change a belief or thought pattern from a self-sabotaging one to a self-empowering one, we change the wiring of the neural pathways of the brain, the chemistry of the body and finally, our emotional states. When the emotional state of being changes and moves from negative to positive, from one of hopelessness to one of hope, from one of fear to one of love, we begin to see reflections of the new state in our physical reality through the Universal Law of Attraction.
Changing limiting beliefs
To change limiting beliefs, you must first become aware of their existence. Awareness of limiting beliefs comes from:
1. Examining your emotions and emotional reactions (you cannot have an emotion without a belief to back it up)
2. Looking at your physical reality as a reflection of your beliefs.
Once awareness is established, it is essential to release any negative emotions associated with the negative belief. As the negative energy of the emotion is cleared from the body, it opens up the space for the replacement of the former belief with one that serves your highest good. This is achieved through conditioning/sensitizing of your mind and body to the new belief. In the brain, this happens with the breakdown of old neural pathways and the formation of new ones.
Natalia Ria is an Integrative Healing Practitioner, Energy Therapist and a Life Coach. She is a certified practitioner of Energy Medicine, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT-Cert I), Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselling, Yoga, Meditation, Tibetan Healing, Reiki and Ashati energy healing.
In her early twenties, escalated feelings of disconnection and depression lead Natalia to quit her corporate job and embark on a journey to India in search of fulfillment, healing and meaning. She took up residence in an ashram and immersed herself in spiritual practices and studies, which marked the beginning of an inner journey. She quickly became drawn to the wisdom of spiritual traditions and holistic healing and upon her return, dedicated the next 5 years of her life to the study of the interrelationship between body, mind and soul. This lead her on her personal healing journey and ultimately, a spiritual awakening.