Improved Concentration
We have all heard something go bump in the night and found that with little effort, all our senses become quiet and perfectly trained on finding the source of that sound. Or we have read a good book or seen a good movie and a time of two hours "seemed" to take only fifteen minutes! On the other hand, we may have sat down to concentrate on some important work, only to find that our mind is continually interrupted by irrelevant and distracting thoughts. Thoughts such as "Do I need to phone so and so?", "Have I paid that bill?" or "What shall I have for lunch?" This seems to happen despite our desire for it not to occur! Why does this happen?
Concepts Of Distracted Thought
Scientists have classed brain activity into four states. Beta (doing state), Alpha (single focused concentration and learning state), Theta (creativity, healing and meditation state), and Delta (deep sleep and physical regeneration state).
As well, your mind has two parts, each with separate functions. There is the conscious part, which is 12% of our mind, and the subconscious part, which is the other 88%. The conscious mind is the one we readily identify with. It is our "doing action state". It is what we use to perceive the world and to make decisions such as "I need to find my keys".
The subconscious mind is responsible for storing our memory ("I left my keys on the kitchen bench"), beliefs and habits, self-image and personality. It also controls our bodily functions - notice you don't have to consciously think about doing these things.
When we are functioning with our normal conscious awareness (thinking of many things at once), we are in the Beta state. In this state you can think of up to 9 things at a time - it is also the state where we take on stress. This level of thinking and working forms a very large part of our everyday behaviour.
We also train our subconscious mind to support that behaviour by automatically reminding us of things that we have previously thought to be important. When the conscious mind attempts to change its awareness to single focused concentration (or the Alpha state), it immediately has to battle the existing subconscious habit of multiple thinking (Beta state). When you try to sit down and concentrate on one thing, the subconscious mind will interfere with your efforts by bringing different thoughts to your attention.
This is something you can change! Through guided exercises and practice you can re-train your subconscious to support your efforts to concentrate. Call us today and we can help.