The beliefs that create our reality

We live most of our lives (roughly 95%) from our subconscious mind—all the things you don’t think twice about and simply do automatically—and only a small percentage (5%) is conscious. Cognitive scientists and psychologists estimate that the average person has about 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. With these numbers in mind, this means we have roughly 57,000 subconscious (automatic) thoughts and only about 3,000 conscious thoughts on a daily basis.

There’s a reason why this balance is so unequal; it comes down to energy.

Your brain is your hungriest organ. It takes up roughly 2% of your body weight, but it consumes about 20% of your daily energy (another very important reason why you want to eat real, nutritious food!). If you had to consciously think about every single action—like balancing your posture while sitting, or executing the complex, exact movements to take a step—your brain would run out of fuel. By automating these processes, the subconscious acts as an energy-saving filter so your conscious mind can focus on novel, complex tasks.

Why is this interesting when it comes to our beliefs creating our reality?

It is interesting because our subconscious mind is primarily programmed during our early childhood years, specifically from birth up to around 7 years old. During these foundational years, a child’s brain predominantly operates in a Theta brainwave frequency. In adults, Theta waves typically occur during deep meditation or right before falling asleep, meaning that a child is in a constant, highly suggestible, trance-like state. Added to this, because the analytical, critical filter of the brain is not yet fully developed, everything a child observes, hears, and experiences is accepted by the subconscious as its absolute truth. Furthermore, as a child, you are entirely dependent on your caregivers. If something feels scary or uncomfortable, you instinctively develop behavioural strategies to 'survive' and fit into your environment—working out what you have to do (or not do) to secure safety, connection, and a sense of belonging.

So what this means for us as grown-ups is that many of these childhood survival strategies and emotional blueprints are carried directly into our adult lives. We react from them, create from them, and live based on them a large percentage of the time.

If, say, a child learns to please her caregivers in order to get the love she needs, then this is most commonly what she will do in the relationships she exists in as an adult, possibly causing stress and/or burnout. Another example could be a child who was constantly criticised, directly or indirectly, who then grew up carrying a deep, subconscious belief that he was flawed or unloveable—a core dynamic he would most likely bring into his adult relationships while potentially drowning his sorrows in food or cigarettes. 

Sometimes adults know that these beliefs are the driving forces behind a reality that isn't serving them. Yet, no matter how much they try to change it consciously, they simply wind up back in the same pattern. This happens because the subconscious operates on deeply ingrained, automatic neural pathways.

Enter RTT.

Those who are familiar with RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) know that it is a hybrid therapy approach that combines elements of hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural techniques and neuroplasticity. The process is designed to help you access the subconscious mind to uncover the root cause of the behaviour or habit you wish to change. By processing these past experiences through hypnosis, you can reframe the old narrative and actively work to build new, supportive neural pathways.

The powerful fact about becoming aware of an underlying belief via RTT is that you get to review it with adult eyes, rather than the eyes of the child who originally formed it. While you cannot change what happened to you, you can take control of the narrative and transform it into a powerful story that serves you.

It’s not so much about what happens to us as it is about the story we tell ourselves about what happens to us. This is one of the reasons why you’ll have a family with several siblings who, despite living through the exact same environment, will turn out very differently and have entirely different recollections of the same events.

We are all deeply unique, and our interpretations of our experiences shape us. How have yours shaped you?

I offer a free initial consultation if you are curious about how RTT can help you explore and rewire your own subconscious patterns.